Sunday Post: Eagles can't land Boldin with modest offer

Michael Lombardi surveys NFL topics in newspapers from around the country and adds in his own analysis and perspective.

Things we learned last week in the NFL ...

If they really want Boldin, the Eagles must offer more. (Getty Images)

2. Jason Taylor re-signs with the Dolphins. This will be an interesting signing to evaluate this summer. Last year, Taylor didn't play well before the injury, and it's possible his Dancing with the Stars offseason training affected his season. Now, with a good off-season behind him, Taylor must prove to all in Miami that age is not a factor and that he can still rush. Someone once told me that linebackers hit a wall at age 34. If Taylor can play well as he turns 35, he might dampen that theory.

3. The salary cap has again increased by another $1 million.

4. The Colts have a new offensive line coach and a new offensive coordinator. As we've talked about for the past two weeks, more changes have come to the Colts' coaching staff. In time, it will be interesting to hear what Peyton Manning has to say about them and how they might affect him and the offense.

5. HBO has chosen the Cincinnati Bengals for its Hard Knocks series this summer. This show can go either way for teams. It can build confidence in the fans, or it can turn them off completely by showing them that their team doesn't have the leadership command in place. I understand it's TV, but I felt that the year the Chiefs were featured on the show, it hurt them with their fan base. It showed an intimate portrait of the decision-making process and overall leadership of then head coach Herm "Let's Build Something Together" Edwards. It will be interesting to see a behind-the-scenes look at the Bengals. Head coach Marvin Lewis must bring his "A" game to the show, as he is trying to impress his players and build confidence in the fans.

6. Michael Irvin asked a small crowd of about 70 people, including current and former Cowboys players, for donations to help Rich Behm, who is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the collapse of the team's indoor practice facility. As Frank Sinatra would say, now that's class. It's a wonderful gesture by Irvin to help the Behm family. We at the Post wish Rich the best. We believe and pray that he, as his wife Michelle said, will one day walk again.

Things I heard around the NFL last week ...

1. When the draft ends, the free-agent market heats up, and there are often some gems left over who can make teams. Here's a list of the top-paid college free agents from this year. As you can see, the Carolina Panthers spent a great deal of money ($125,000 here alone, which is high in the CFA market) in this area to offset the fact they didn't have a first-round pick.

Carolina Panthers, Marlon Favorite, DT, $25,000 (signing bonus)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rob Bruggeman, C, $22,000

Carolina Panthers, Larry Beavers, WR, $20,000

Carolina Panthers, Patrick Brown, T, $20,000

Carolina Panthers, Gerald Cadogan, T, $20,000

Carolina Panthers, Hunter Cantwell, QB, $20,000

Carolina Panthers, C.J. Davis, G, $20,000

Minnesota Vikings, Colt Anderson, DB, $20,000

New York Giants, Maurice Davis, DE, $20,000

St. Louis Rams, Roger Allen, G, $20,000

Tennessee Titans, Mitch King, DT, $20,000

Now, for most of these players, this size of signing bonus means there was more than one team interested in trying to sign them. Competition creates a better deal in any market, in this case 24 players getting signing bonuses of more than $15,000.

2. The NFL phone lines were quiet last week, but here are a few names of players (fourth round or lower) who I hear might make an immediate impact for their teams:

Louis Murphy, WR, Oakland Raiders; D.J. Moore, DC, Chicago Bears; Terrance Taylor, NT, Indianapolis Colts; Kevin Huber, P, Cincinnati Bengals.

Time and preseason tape will determine if these players are for real.

3. After reading the trade column I did the other day, one fan suggested that I put down the accurate trade value instead of just talking about making the call. That was a great idea. The next time I write a similar column, I'll be sure to include that information.

Remember when ....

Each time I watched Oklahoma's women's basketball team play and saw Bubba Paris' girls dominating the game, it reminded me of their dad and a funny story.

In 1984, my first year in the NFL, starting 49ers left tackle Bubba Paris, one of the first big men of a new era in the NFL, was battling his weight. Niners head coach Bill Walsh wanted him to lose a few pounds to help his quickness handling the edge rushers in the NFL, most notably Lawrence Taylor of the Giants (a few pounds is putting it mildly). He wanted this so badly for Bubba that as an incentive for losing the weight, Coach had bought a big-screen TV that he was going to give Bubba if he achieved his goal. Remember, this is 1984 -- no cap, no rules on giving and, most importantly, not many big-screen TVs in households.

My role was to sit with Bubba at every meal and monitor his food intake. When I was done, I had to write a report and hand it to our conditioning coach, Jerry Attaway. Weeks passed, and with hot practices and a controlled diet, the weight should have come off Bubba rather easily. But for some reason, he never lost a pound. Coach was angry with me, believing I wasn't doing my job and was allowing Bubba to cheat. I pleaded innocence, but there had to be a reason Bubba wasn't losing weight.

Soon after the weigh-in, Coach expressed concern to the media about Bubba's inability to lose even one pound. So naturally, in all the papers the next day, stories appeared that Walsh was unhappy with Bubba, searching for a reason why, with all the workouts and controlled dieting, the scales reported not a single decrease.

Thankfully, for my job security, a man showed up at the office the next day with the Rocklin Daily sports page in his hands about Bubba's weight trials and tribulations. The man said he knew why Bubba was not losing weight. It seemed that this man owned a pizza parlor in town, and one of his frequent quests was Mr. Paris, who consumed two large pies each night. That's right -- two each night before curfew and bedtime.

With this news, I was off the hook for any crimes -- and Bubba was in big trouble. Eventually, Bubba got some of the weight off but never enough to win the big-screen TV that ended up going into the players' lounge at training camp.

Book of the week ...

Jose Marti famously said that a man must do three things in life: write a book, plant a tree, have a son. Well, my good friend Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News has done one of the above. In the next week, Rick's book, Goodfellows, the Champions of St. Ambrose, will be available for purchase. Rick was kind enough to give me an advance copy of the book, with tremendous forwards from former Colts coach Tony Dungy and current Lions coach Jim Schwartz.

"St. Ambrose High, one of the most storied programs in high school football history, didn't even have its own football field. But success pulsated from the three-story building in Detroit between 1957 and 1967, when tiny St. Ambrose produced five football All-Americas, 12 all-state performers, and future NFL players and Super Bowl champs. They were products of this legendary place where old-fashioned values reigned, where teamwork triumphed over individual glory and where football was the glue of this community."

Gosselin, a graduate of St. Ambrose, spent countless hours researching this book, which over the past 10 years became a driving force in his life. With a quick scan, Goodfellows, the Champions of St. Ambrose may have only local appeal, yet with each page you turn, the names involved become a who's who of the NFL. From Tom Boisture to George Perles to Tom Beer to Joe D'Angelo, this tiny school, from the coaches to players, made an impact in all levels of football.

There are lessons in leadership, lessons in commitment, and most of all, lessons in team building. This is a great story, written from the heart.

Happy birthday ...

I'd like to extend a big happy birthday from my family to our good friend, CBS' Emmy-winning broadcaster Jim Nantz, who celebrates his 50th today as he covers the PGA in San Antonio. As kind and friendly as Jim appears on camera, he is kinder, nicer and friendlier off camera. He's genuine, sincere, caring and, most of all, very, very giving. His wit and charm, along with his enormous talent, make him truly one of a kind.

Jim is the kind of friend who enjoys his friends' success. Seeing the joy in his eyes as he presented the Masters green jacket to his college roommate and friend, Fred Couples, tells you everything you need to know about this man. And it's all genuine.

Happy Birthday, Jim.

Enjoy your weekend. Thanks for reading....