MCNABB HELD BACK

McNabb has shoulder tendinitis, sits out practice

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Donovan McNabb is sitting out the Philadelphia Eagles' passing camp Tuesday with shoulder tendinitis. The five-time Pro Bowl quarterback likely will miss the rest of the week's organized team activities. Kevin Kolb, a second-round pick last season, worked with the first-team offense in McNabb's absence.

McNabb hasn't played an injury-free season since leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004. He missed the final seven games in 2005 with a sports hernia, sat out the last eight games, including playoffs, in 2006 with a torn knee ligament and missed two games last year with a sprained ankle and injured thumb.

TANK WILLIAMS FITTING IN

Williams wants to make big bang with Patriots

FOXBORO, Mass. -- In the last two-plus years, Tank Williams has had to move a few times, as he went from the Tennessee Titans to Minnesota Vikings to his new team, the New England Patriots.

But his moving isn't done just yet.

A former second-round draft pick out of Stanford University, Williams is a strong safety by trade. But during the Patriots' just-concluded offseason team activities, Williams at times was moving up to linebacker in third-down and substitution packages, much like Rodney Harrison has done in recent seasons.

While the job of learning a new playbook at safety has been consuming, Williams is excited to add another.

"In my career I've been playing back deep, 10 to 12 yards off the line of scrimmage, and up at the line of scrimmage," Williams said. "I just go out where the coaches tell me and play to the best of my ability."

Williams was thought to have plenty of ability coming out of Stanford. The Titans used their second-round pick in 2002 on the 6-foot-2 Mississippi native, who had been named an All-American after his senior season with the Cardinal.

After starting every game in his first two seasons with Tennessee, Williams tore the ACL in his left leg in the 10th game of the 2004 season. But he returned to full strength in '05, once again starting all 16 games and recording a career-best 83 tackles.He parlayed that season into a free-agent contract with the Vikings, but during his first training camp in Minnesota Williams fractured his left kneecap. He spent the year on injured reserve. The Vikings cut and re-signed Williams before last season, and he played in 13 games.

Last week Harrison noted that his new teammate is quiet for a man his size, and Williams' thoughtfulness was evident when asked about the injuries.

"It was a little frustrating; I can't say it hasn't been. But everything I've gone through has molded me into the man I am today," he said.

Though New England gave him what amounts to a one-year, "prove-it" deal, Williams is grateful for the chance he's been afforded with the Patriots.

"There's good coaches here, good players and I'm going to try to make the most of this opportunity," he said. "I took the opportunity to come here (for a visit) and listen to what the coaches had to say and I liked what I heard. They offered the best opportunity to get on the field and I just want to put myself in position to get back on track."

Williams has been studying as much as possible since signing with New England, and takes full advantage of asking questions of his teammates. Harrison was spotted tutoring him on the sidelines, and Williams is eager to soak in whatever Harrison offers.

"Everyone knows how great of a player he is and how knowledgeable," Williams said of the 15-year veteran. "I talk to Rodney, Tedy (Bruschi), all of the guys to get as much knowledge as I can."

His given name is Clevan, but as a baby, Williams drank so much milk that his sister commented to their mother that she should get him a tank of milk instead of just a bottle. The nickname stuck.

And if Williams can get back to hitting like a tank, all the better for the Patriots.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Courtesy: The Providence Journal

LECHARLES BENTLEY UPDATE

Browns' Bentley cleared and back in uniform.

BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- Center LeCharles Bentley practiced with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday, the first time he has been on the field with the team since injuring his left knee at the start of training camp in 2006.

Bentley passed a physical and running test Monday and was cleared by the Browns to return.

"It's been two years," general manager Phil Savage said. "Obviously, he's made a tremendous step to even be out here at all."
Bentley will participate in individual drills during the three-day minicamp that started Tuesday but doesn't know when he can take part in contact drills.

Bentley, a two-time Pro Bowl center with New Orleans, signed a six-year, $36 million free-agent contract in March 2006 with the Browns. His dream of playing for his hometown team ended quickly when he tore his left patellar tendon on the first full-contact play of training camp that year. He hasn't played since.

Following surgery to repair the tendon, he developed a staph infection and needed three more operations.

It remains to be seen whether Bentley can help the Browns, whose improved line was a major factor in the team's high-scoring offense and 10-win season last year.

"He's made a lot of progress," Savage said. "He wants to give it a go."

Tight end Kellen Winslow also reported to minicamp after skipping the team's voluntary organized team activities last month. He underwent offseason knee surgery and wants to redo his contract.

Winslow missed most of his first two seasons in the league with injuries. He has three more years left on a contract that the Browns restructured after he missed a year following a motorcycle accident.

FOOTBALL LIFER PASSES AWAY

Former OU star, Seahawks coach Tom Catlin dies

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Tom Catlin, a longtime NFL assistant coach and a two-way star in the 1950s at the University of Oklahoma, has died. He was 76.

Catlin died Saturday at a hospice in Seattle of complications stemming from recent surgery, said his brother, Charles Catlin, who added that his brother recently had Parkinson's disease.

Catlin was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, where he coached from 1983-1995. He earlier worked as an assistant coach for the Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League, then the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills in the NFL.

Catlin played center and linebacker at OU from 1950-1952, and was a member of the Sooners' 1950 squad that won the national championship under coach Bud Wilkinson.

Catlin was selected in the fourth round of the 1953 draft by the Baltimore Colts, and was traded to Cleveland and played for the Browns in 1953-54. He was an Air Force pilot in 1955-57, and returned to the Browns in 1957-58 before finishing his playing career a year later with the Philadelphia Eagles.

He is survived by his wife, Betty, daughter Kimberly Ekdahal and son Thomas Jr., four grandchildren and his brother.

AP-ES-06-10-08 1101EDT