NFL News and Notes: Hines Ward Dancing With the Stars Rally, Eli Manning Thinks Plaxico Could Come Back Easier Than Tiki, Jacoby Ford Breakout Player?

Time for another installment of News and Notes, let’s see what we can find around the web.

Eli Manning Would Rather Have Plaxico Burress than Tiki Barbe on his team

In regards to who’d he rather have on the team: “Probably Plaxico, He has probably fonder memories, winning a Super Bowl, that catch for the touchdown in Super Bowl XLII. Tiki just ended on a bad note. It’s really a shame, he should be remembered as a great Giants running back and a terrific player — because he was — but the way he went out he burned a few bridges. . . . So I think Plaxico would probably be welcomed back a little quicker.”

The entire video interview can be found here

The City of Pittsburgh is going to honor Hines Wards Dancing with the Starts win on Thursday

Seriously. There will even be a dance off between three couples who can get the most facebook likes form their youtube video.

According to Profootballweekly:

The Dolphins are going to add a free agent veteran running back.

The new free-agency rules could benefit the Dolphins, who have not been shy about their quest to add a veteran running back to complement rookie Daniel Thomas. DeAngelo Williams and Ahmad Bradshaw would be the top free-agent running backs. Williams isn’t the receiving option that Bradshaw is, but is more likely to be available and already has shown interest in coming to Miami. Darren Sproles also would be an option as a scatback.

Darren Sproles is an interesting one to me, but makes sense. Before the draft we wrote a lot about how the Dolphins wanted to add a lot of speed on offense and Sproles will definitely bring the speed. It seems likely the Giants will resign Bradshaw, but I think Williams could be a nice fit in Miami.

The Denver Broncos will consider moving LB Mario Haggan to the defensive line

Because of their limited depth on the defensive line and head coach John Fox‘s preference for a fast, athletic defense, we hear the Broncos could move LB Mario Haggan to the defensive line. Doing so would give the team more options to be creative with its defensive packages and also allow rookie LBs Mike Mohamed and Nate Irving to see more playing time.

Last year Haggan had a pretty solid year. 87 tackles and 5 sacks. Haggan is listed at 6’3 257 pounds. The 31 years old has come on strong the last two years with the Broncos after being mostly an afterthought with the Bills for the first five years of the career.

Paul Posluszny is the top free agent priority for the Bills.

We hear that the Bills want to keep Posluszny, who in addition to being the team’s top tackler is a leader in the locker room. He might not be a big-play maker, but he fits well inside in the team’s 3-4 scheme. One daily observer believes a blue-collar city like Buffalo fits Posluszny well and doesn’t think he will leave.

Poz definitely can make all the routine plays and is the surest tackler on the Buffalo Bills, tackling all over the field. But the big question about Poz is can he be a bona-fide play-maker? Can he ever be dominant? I’m not so sure, it’s tough to be dominant without the horses up front and so far in Paul Posluszny’s career, Buffalo hasn’t been great up front. There may not be another team out there willing to throw a big contract at Poz. I think he’ll stay. Unless he goes to the New York Giants.

Paul Posluszny. The Bills will work to keep him, and there’s some thought that he’s better off as an inside guy in a 3-4 scheme than as the middle man in a 4-3. But we’ve heard the Giants connected to him a lot, so it’s possible he’s a name on their list of targets for their middle spot.

If Poz doesn’t believe Buffalo will compete anytime soon he could be lured to the potential Superbowl contender New York Giants. Dan Graziano also notes that the Giants could consider DT Pat Williams as a veteran stopgap while Linval Joseph and Marvin Austin continue to develop (if Barry Coefield leaves via free agency).

Hue Jackson thinks Jacoby Ford is about to breakout.

Jacoby Ford made an impact for the Raiders last season as a rookie mainly as a kickoff returner, but he will be a a huge part of the team’s passing game in his second year. Head coach Hue Jackson recently said that Ford “is going to become a household name, because he has some very special ability.” Going into the campaign without a true No. 1 wideout, it wouldn’t be a shock for Ford to grab that position.

Jacoby Ford was impressive last year for the Oakland Raiders. Making plays on special teams and also as a wide receiver. Ford had 25 catches for 470 yards (18.8 yards per reception) and two touchdowns. The undersized Wide receiver has speed to burn and so far hasn’t been shy playing in the middle of the field. The former Clemson Tigers standout has seemed to earn the trust of the Oakland Raiders coaching staff and Jason Campbell. He could push former #7th overall pick Darrius Heyward Bey wayside and be the number one or two WR for the Raiders.

The Charlotte Observer takes a look at five things the Panthers must do once the lockout is lifted

An interesting note is that Ryan Kalil has been lobbying for the Panthers to resign Jake Delhomme if he’s released by the Cleveland Browns. I wonder if there are any Panthers fans who would want to see Delhomme come back to the team.

The Chicago Bears players (Greg Olson for one) says that Jay Cutler is looking good

That’s all I have for you guys today.

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