After speculation ran rampant that the Packers hadn’t taken down Brett Favre’s nameplate in their locker room, the team finally announced it was giving the retired quarterback his whole locker. It’s a nice gesture by the team, but it still won’t quash rumors in the coming months that Favre might magically return.

So here’s my advice for Packer fans, and I don’t mean this with malice or sarcasm: Just accept that Favre won’t be returning. Accept that Aaron Rodgers might struggle, and that the team won’t finish better than 8-8. Accept this will be a transition year. Don’t get your hopes up, and be pleasantly surprised if Rodgers and the Packers exceed expectations. I’m not saying Favre won’t come back (though I really believe it’s unlikely), but don’t think he’ll be the savior when things go bad.

It’s just going to be that sort of year in Green Bay. Hope for the best, don’t wish for miracles, and look to 2009.

I must have been on vacation when I missed this in March, so let be be incredulous now: The Raiders signed sometimes injured, sometimes unhappy receiver Javon Walker to a six-year, $55 million deal? Will the Raiders EVER learn? But at least I can take solace in the knowledge that no matter how much the NFL changes over the years, some things will never change, like bizarre signings in Oakland.

I still haven’t found any new fantasy football magazines at any stores, but the trusty folks at Fantasy Sports came through when the current issue — devoted just to football — arrived in my mailbox today. I’ve been sneaking peeks at it all day, and though I’m glad it arrived and usually trust Fantasy Sports as a reliable source of fantasy info, I am puzzled by some of its forecasts:

— Tom Brady is not their No. 1 overall pick. In fact, he’s down at No. 8. He only had the greatest fantasy season ever. Granted, he might not repeat the feats of last year, but he still seems the closest thing to a sure bet week after week that you’ll find this year. Is Fantasy Sports simply too running back-centric? They do admit the core of RBs is deep this year, so why brush Brady off to the mid-to-late first round?

— Frank Gore is the No. 6 pick overall! Obviously FS thinks Gore will rebound in 2008, but would you seriously draft Gore ahead of Brady? Or Larry Johnson? Or the next six running backs? The magazine points to how Gore came along at the end of the 2007 season, but that was at the end of a season of infuriating fantasy owners.

— Ronnie Brown as the No. 19 RB. Yes, an injury did end his season early, but he was putting up big numbers before then.

— Willie Parker as the No. 24 RB. His lack of TDs hurt, as did the fumble-itis, but he still rushed for 1,316 yards in 15 games. Yes, the Steelers drafted Rashard Mendenhall, but will he cut into Parker’s carries that much?

For the record, Fantasy Sports is an awesome fantasy magazine, and it’s great that I’ll see another issue of it before August with updated info. When I see puzzling things like this, I wonder if I was simply off-kilter in my initial rankings (which I purposely compiled without consulting too many other sources). I’m sure I was — I probably like Parker, for example, more than the majority of fantasy owners. But some of my predictions I’ll stand by, too (there is no way I would ever draft Gore in the first round). That’s why I like consulting several sources when amassing my draft research. Every source might have its own biases, its own brilliant moments, its own “what the hell” predictions. With multiple sources including my own rankings, at least you can identify some consensus

The NFL Network featured the 10 worst teams of all-time. It’s been fun to watch, but without suspense, because as it began, I knew No. 1 would be the Buccaneers of the mid-1970s. Though I’d never seen the program before, I just knew it.

The program is at least a year old, because the 2007 Dolphins weren’t included. Were last year’s Fins bad enough to be included instead of the 1990 Patriots (who were at No. 10)? Probably, remember, they needed overtime to get their only victory of the year.

I’ll say it again, NFL Network in the offseason rocks.

The Broncos signed running back Michael Pittman to add depth to their backfield that was riddled with uncertainty last year. I’m not sure adding Pittman is going to shore things up.

Recall last year when Travis Henry was in trouble with the league (but cleared) as well as fighting injuries all season. Now, he’s battling a hamstring injury and will miss some offseason workouts.

Pittman might be a better escape hatch than Selvyn Young, but he’s not the running back he once was, otherwise, he would have emerged as the Buccaneers’ top RB instead of Earnest Graham last year (Pittman also was beset by injuries last year). The Broncos better hope Henry stays healthy come September, or that Jay Cutler becomes an absolute stud of a quarterback. Cutler is good, but not that good just yet.

I’m downgrading Henry on my fantasy list, don’t even think about making him your RB1, and I’d be leery of him as an RB2. Pittman is an RB4 at best, don’t expect a career renaissance from him in Denver.

NFL Network, in the throes of its offseason schedule, is airing old “NFL Follies” seemingly daily, and one more recent episode I watched was originally produced in 2000 and featured a long segment about the much-mailigned kicker.

Part of the maligning was kickers’ inability to tackle returners, until, the nanrrator espoused, John Hall came along. Hall, who played for the Jets at the time, was a departure from the average NFL kicker in that he wasn’t a skinny guy. The show featured clips of Hall tackling, sometimes severely, kick returners, then followed those clips with other kickers making tacklers (including one forcing a fumble, how embarrassing).

Having worked in Madison, where Hall played in college at the University of Wisconsin, I remember when he entered the league and and brought his big leg with him. Over a decade later, his frame is the norm for NFL kickers, now stronger than they were 20 years ago. For perspective, Sebastian Janikowski is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds. They might not necessarily better tacklers, but no longer are they the most fragile athlete in pro sports, Martin Gramatica notwithstanding.

Remember the old “Saturday Night Live” sketch called “We Are the Kickers” which presented as NFL kickers as unique, mostly foreign, small guys. (”But please, no Green Bay, brrrrrr!”) A younger NFL fan might watch that skit today and not understand why it was funny. Hall might have had an average NFL career, but in one sense, he and other non-miniscule kickers that emerged in the 1990s changed the game.

Frankly, I’m becoming bored with Spygate and all the allegations against the Patriots. NFL teams look for an advantage, the Patriots simply went over the line and got caught. They have been penalized, the NFL can’t come up with any more wrongdoing against them, let it be over.

But the latest allegation that the Patriots used players on injured reserve during practice — a clear violation of NFL rules — needs to be investigated. Injury rules are in place for a reason, as evidenced by players with a hangnail making the injury report every week — to prevent chicanery as teams prepare for each other. If a team uses an experienced player in practice that is supposed to be sitting out the season (essentially, a pro redshirt), it gains an advantage over a team forced to use a reserve or practice-squad player in that role.

We’ll see what emerges from this, but hopefully it’s the end of the current obsession with cheating. It’s not good for the game, and it’s not good when bloggers resort to using the word “chicanery.”

As I did a couple times last year, I went through the upcoming NFL schedule, week by week, decided who was going to win and lose and added up the standings. I wasn’t that accurate last year, but it was fun to compile, so I’m repeating the process this year. I’ll probably go through this two more times, once in July and once in early September, and see if my convictions change. And I’m not even attempting playoff predictions yet.

Looking at what I came up with, there are too many extremes in my picks and not much middle ground. I have little faith in the Giants, the AFC North and Aaron Rodgers, and too much confidence in the Eagles, Panthers and Lions. But, I’ll be the first to admit this is inexact, I’m sure I’ll have some different opinions come July.

NFC North
Lions 8-8
Vikings 7-9
Packers 6-10
Bears 6-10

NFC East
Cowboys 10-6
Redskins 10-6
Eagles 10-6
Giants 9-7

NFC West
Seahawks 11-5
Cardinals 9-7
Rams 5-11
49ers 3-13

NFC South
Saints 10-6
Buccaneers 10-6
Panthers 10-6
Falcons 4-12

AFC North
Steelers 9-7
Browns 7-9
Bengals 6-10
Ravens 2-14

AFC East
Patriots 14-2
Bills 7-9
Jets 7-9
Dolphins 4-12

AFC West
Chargers 11-5
Broncos 5-11
Chiefs 5-11
Raiders 2-14

AFC South
Jaguars 12-4
Titans 11-5
Colts 11-5
Texans 9-7

Over the last couple days, I’ve had a tremendous craving for a fantasy football magazine.

I made a point to avoid any magazines, or online material, as I compiled my first batch of rankings. With my lists complete except for defenses/special teams (which I may not even rank until the summer), I was ready for something to read. Something to peruse while sitting on my porch and winding down. Something to read at stoplights or while overseeing my kids at the park — my 2-year-old won’t fall off that slide while I study running backs, will he?

Alas, I couldn’t find a magazine last night, then went to Barnes & Noble today and couldn’t find one either. Am I crazy, or in past years were these out sooner? I know there were a few that would publish even before the NFL Draft — did those publications suddenly wise up?

So, no fantasy football reading over Memorial Day weekend. I’m sure the first slew of magazines will be out soon. Until then, I go searching online for rankings.

Amid the NFL’s owners opting out of the collective bargaining agreement are rumblings the league might add a 17th game to the schedule and cut into the preseason.

Imagine the possibilities. An extra week of fantasy football. An extra Sunday of NFL madness. No more .500 teams (unless one goes 8-8-1, stupid ties). One less meaningless preseason game that just makes you wish the season would start. The season beginning Labor Day weekend again rather than after.

One of the reasons I’ve heard to cut into the preseason was that being an NFL player already is a 12-month job, unlike the old days when players had a job in the offseason and needed four (and at one time, six, yikes) preseason games just to get back into shape. There are still obstacles for this to become reality — Gene Upshaw didn’t seemed too enthused about it, but it’s been a grumpy few days for him — but hopefully as the league, players and owners hammer out a new contract, they figure out a way to make 17 games, or even 18 games, work.