Curran's Quick Slant: Waiting out Talib is way to go

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It has been famously said that if Jeffrey Dahmer could have run a 4.3, NFL scouts would have said he had an eating disorder. That may overstate it a touch. But somehow, someway, if a guy can play, he gets a chance. And we will see that with Manti Te'o.

Dan Patrick said this morning on NBC Sports Network, "If you want to get away with something, today's the day to do it . . . " And I would guess nobody is happier about this Te'o thing than Lance Armstrong, whose Oprah interview is supposed to hit today. But Armstrong, of course, lived in his own alternate reality, so he's probably pissed he doesn't get the full spotlight treatment. "Wait, I admit to lying about all that stuff for more than a decade and destroying people's lives and some kid who lied for a little while about ONE thing that really only hurts him gets all the attention? Where's the justice?"

All Te'o jokes are null, void and apologized for if he truly is as naive as Notre Dame insists.

Aqib Talib has to be a top offseason priority of the Patriots. Cover corners with his ability don't just materialize and he's going to be a free agent. Bill Belichick talked about Talib on Wednesday. Words that never found their way into a sentence describing Talib prior to his trade to the Patriots were uttered: "Hes a good football player, good teammate, he's very well respected because of his professionalism. He studies hard and prepares well. Hes tough. He competes well, both in practice and on Sundays. Smart kid. I like him; the team likes him. He's a good guy to be around, and he works hard and competes well. I think those are his most impressive qualities."

Once the season ends, Talib will have to decide if New England is the right fit for him and whether he wants to accept a contract that will likely be incentive-laden and tied to future behavior. His first game with the Patriots was November 18. Today is January 17. He's been a good guy by conventional measures for two months in a supervised environment where he really HAS to be very good on the field and off to continue his NFL career and make sure he enjoys a good wage. The offseason will be the challenge because there won't be the same structure he has while in New England. If you're the Patriots, you wait and allow Talib to become a free agent and see how he holds up away from the building. You also wait to see who else comes knocking. Will teams shrug and say, "Good for New England, but he's not our kind of guy . . . " and leave Talib with a down market? That would seem to be the wisest plan of action for the Patriots. Because, if Talib re-signs with New England, he needs to be doing it because he believes he needs the Patriots more than they need him.

NFL Turning Point on the NBC Sports Network is terrific viewing. Tom Brady was miked up in the win over Houston and there were three exchanges in particular that caught my ear. The first was offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels seeming to explain to Brady a play call of personnel group by saying, "When I don't have Gronk, I gotta use what I got . . . "

After Brady hit Brandon Lloyd on a wide receiver screen for a touchdown (Brady audibled from a run to the throw because the Texans corner was playing off of Lloyd), Brady said to Lloyd, "Way to see that! Big play."

Finally, after the kill-shot touchdown pass to Shane Vereen following the Rob Ninkovich interception, Brady got to the sideline and said, "All week it was patience, patience. Right there, there was no patience. We just went."

Bill Belichick isn't going to rant and rave about things that drive him crazy. He uses the side door to take amusing passive-aggressive shots at things he can't stand. He did so Wednesday when discussing the strengths of Joe Flacco. "Id say his ability to number one, not turn the ball over and number two, to make big plays, and number three, to score points, which theyve scored a lot of points this year which is really what the name of the game is. Its about points, not all the other stats that we sometimes like to throw out there. Those are the areas that he's excelled in. And I think if you're scoring points, youre not turning the ball over, then probably playing pretty well." The needle here? Passing yards. Point taken. The top three passers in 2012 in terms of yards were Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford and Tony Romo. All have been poolside since January 4.

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