Scout.com: Bring us up-to-date on your injury, where everything stands, and how it happened.

Ellis Hobbs: Well, of of right now, there is no injury anymore. Pretty much everything is bandaged up.

On Sunday night football against the Cowboys in November, I took a bad hit, but not too bad. I suffered a herniated disc. Dr. (Alexander) Vaccaro in Philadelphia took the disc out in December. I was in a neck collar for nearly a month and a half.

Right now, I’m doing fine. I’ve been working out. I feel good and I don’t have any tingling in my fingers. They compared it to a root canal. When the tooth isn’t there there’s nothing there any more. They replaced it with a minimal amount of bone. If anything, I just lost a little range of motion after the surgery. But it’s back now.

Scout.com: At this point, what are you allowed to do? Are you lifting weights, running?

Ellis Hobbs: I’m lifting and running, everything I would normally do. But they want me to gradually go through the process. I’m doing more aerobics, more body stretching. Fortunately, I wouldn’t be doing a lot physical stuff now, anyway. That comes in May.

Scout.com: When you had that injury, did you have any idea what happened? I know that there are times when it’s hard to tell what exactly happening.

Ellis Hobbs: I had a pretty good idea when it happened what was going on. When I got hit, I just dropped. I couldn’t feel certain things. If anyone had a stinger or a burner before, that’s what we call them in the NFL, you know what I mean. I couldn’t feel anything in my shoulders. But the good thing was I started to feel pain after a while, which was a good considering I couldn’t feel anything at first.

It’s funny, when I went to the sidelines, the neurologist and our physician told me on the sidelines after seeing me walk off under my own power that I was done (playing for the game). After we went and did the X-rays, it showed a herniated disc on the spinal cord and they said if we get this thing fixed now, you can come back full-go. But if you let it go, it could get worse and worse.

Scout.com: Getting back to one of the reasons why the Eagles traded for you, you’re known as one of the NFL’s best kickoff returners. Watching your returns over the years, I find your style a different from the other top returners. I know your average was down a bit last season, but you almost brought a few back for scores. If I recall correctly, a few of your good returns were lost due to penalties.

Ellis Hobbs: My personality is like I play. I’m kind of fearless. I’ll take the ball out from anywhere. You’re kind of at an advantage when you do that. When a team kicks it five yards deep, they don’t expect you to take it out. But with the speed that I’m bringing to the table and then with my vision, and my athletic ability, I think I can bring it to the house at any time. One of the things I take pride in is, all the years I’ve played, I’ve done the kick return role, but also been starting at cornerback. Not a lot of guys can do that.

Scout.com: When the Eagles traded for you, what role or roles did you think you would have?

Ellis Hobbs: Well, I thought I would have both roles, but they had something else in mind. But that’s out of my control. It didn’t work out the way I had planned, plus I got hurt. But I know in my mind I’m a starter and I know I can return kicks. I’m fortunate to have a job and get paid a good amount of money. I did the best that I could. Anytime I go out on the field, I give my best effort. Unfortunately, my season didn’t end the way I wanted it to.

Scout.com: You turn only 27 in May, so if you come back to the Eagles, you could be given a chance to start. Do you want to come back or play elsewhere?

Ellis Hobbs: I want to win, I don’t want to be around a losing mentality. Obviously with the Eagles, they are a winning organization. With the CBA and restricted free agency, I don’t really have much of a choice.

Scout.com: Since you would have become an unrestricted free agent with a new CBA in place, what are your thoughts of likely becoming a restricted free agent on Friday?

Ellis Hobbs: It’s one of those things that it’s out of my hands. Fortunately, I didn’t have any control over it. My agents take care of that stuff, but it’s not their fault. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys that have to deal with this situation.

Scout.com: Assuming the Eagles tender you, that means you’ll be back for at least one season. And they did give up two fifth-round picks to acquire you. Do you feel like they would give you a chance to become a starter again?

Ellis Hobbs: There’s no question that my record speaks for itself. I’ve started a lot of games in my career. If I’m given a crack, I’ll blow it wide open. But will I be given a chance? My effort and professionalism is probably a plus. But I know it’s a business, so I have to earn what I get.

Scout.com: You have a unique perspective of playing for Andy Reid and Bill Belichick.

Ellis Hobbs: Oh yeah, but it’s funny. On my exit physical, coach (Reid) said we hadn’t really had a chance to talk before. I missed half the season and I was only around for a little while. But probably coming from a professional organization like New England, and being that I’ve been around in the league for a while, coach didn’t really have to say much.

Coach Belichick is probably more vocal, but they are both great coaches.

Scout.com: Did you notice any differences in both from each team? More man, less zone? I know the Eagles historically have played more man than most teams.

Ellis Hobbs: Well, I don’t want to get into the playbook, but with the Eagles, there’s a controlled chaos. That fits me more than the controlled scheme in New England. You can see how you can make plays in the Eagles’ scheme.
 

Scout.com: Do you prefer man or zone coverage?

Ellis Hobbs: I’m a smaller guy, so I prefer man. Getting up in a guy’s face and jamming (him). The good thing about zones and how intricate they are, there a lot of man-zones, but there are a lot times you can still get in your man’s face in cover-2 or cover-5 with your techniques. At the end of the day, in man, that’s your guy, so that’s what I prefer.

ROTB: The Cardinals obviously changed offensive coordinators in 2009 and there was a noticeable difference in the offense. What was the biggest adjustment between Ken Whisenhunt and Todd Haley? Do you feel that coach Whisenhunt will be calling plays next season?

Ben: I think that as an offensive unit we still had success regardless of who called the plays. I think our staff did a good job of delegating different areas for each person and then all bringing it together into one plan. So I don’t think there was a huge adjustment because the terminology was all the same. Whomever calls the plays next season, we will be just fine.

ROTB: In what ways have you progressed since being drafted and how can you keep improving? What is your ultimate goal in this league?

Ben: I think through experience on and off the field, I’ve become a better man and player. I’ve gotten better at blocking, recognizing defenses, and running crisper routes. I’ve also learned how to manage my life better and overcome many different obstacles from being cut my rookie season to overcoming my rough start at the beginning of this season.

ROTB: What’s the best part about being a player in the NFL?
Ben: Being able to have people and children look up to you and live through you. We have a big impact on many people’s lives. Many that we will never know. But it’s a good feeling.

ROTB: Is there another tight end past or present that you mold your game after? And if so, who and why?

Ben: Every tight end strives to be a good every down tight end. I like Heath Miller. He’s not a flashy guy, but year in and year out puts up numbers and is a big part of Pittsburgh’s game. He flies under the radar compared to the bigger name guys but his game is well respected.

ROTB: Now that the offseason is officially here, what do you do with your spare time? Do you stay in Arizona?

Ben: Rest my mind and body a bit. I have several trips set up to go visit family and friends. I’ve also got a trip set aside just for me, so I can get away from it all and recharge my mind.

ROTB: What do you see as the Cardinals biggest need for 2010? What do you guys need to change as a team?

Ben: We need to improve in every phase. Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. I’m sure there will be some off season moves that will address those needs. We have a good foundation in place and we need to continue to build on it.

ROTB: Was tight end always the position you wanted to play through high school and college? What other positions have you played and would you be able to play them in the NFL now?

Ben: Tight End is the right fit for me. I grew up a baseball player so football was relatively new in college after playing one year of highschool football.

ROTB: The Cardinals offensive line has often been criticized yet they’ve been able to keep Kurt Warner out of harms way. How has your blocking improved with Russ Grimm as a coach and what factors do fans often overlook when looking at the Cardinals offensive line?

Ben: Because our offense puts up big numbers and points, the foundation of our offense is overlooked. Our offensive line has been key to our success. We were able to run the ball on almost any team this season. It’s something definitely overlooked in the run game and in the pass game. They gave Kurt time to pick apart secondaries all year long.

ROTB: How important is Kurt Warner to the Cardinals offense and do you believe he’ll return to the team next year?

Ben: Kurt’s numbers and leadership abilities speak for themselves. Obviously his return would be favored by many fans, but should Kurt retire, we have 2 more then capable quarterbacks waiting in the helm to take over in Matt Leinart and Brian St. Pierre. They both are very good quarterbacks and have the ability to lead our team to where we want to go.

ROTB: Finally, who is your hero/idol/inspiration and why?

Ben: My mother is my hero. Growing up, I watched her run her own business, raise two children, attend virtually every athletic event me and my brother participated in and was still able to separate all of those things and be my best friend. She did all this on an income of 30,000.00 year in and year out. Growing up I didn’t understand it, but as a man now, it is one the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen. The word resilient isn’t quite enough to describe her. I’ call her the modern age Super Woman.

I want thank Ben Patrick for talking with Revenge of the Birds and letting us in on some information that we may not know. With the tight end position wide open right now, I see no reason why he won’t be able to start next year given the talent he has shown us.

That meant saying goodbye to former Joes such as Steelers tight end Heath Miller and Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson and prospective ones such as Texans quarterback Matt Schaub and Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley. And with a shrinking pool of Joes to choose from, it also meant adopting a more exclusive “all-pro Joe” format this year rather than serving a cup of Joe to each conference as in years past.

Most importantly, we gladly renounce the rights to All-Joe all-timer London Fletcher of the Redskins, whose Joe eligibility should have been exhausted long ago. The linebacker who’s made 100-plus tackles for 11 consecutive years and whose streak of 192 consecutive starts is second only to Brett Favre among active players finally got his Pro Bowl promotion when New Orleans’ Jonathan Vilma vacated his spot.

“I’m extremely ecstatic,” Fletcher said. “It is a long time coming — 12 years and one overtime later but it was worth the wait.”

Here’s hoping some current Joes —Bengals tailback Cedric Benson, Jets linebacker David Harris and Chargers punter Mike Scifres stand out — don’t have to endure nearly the wait Fletcher did.

THE 2009 ALL-JOE TEAM

OFFENSE

QB: Joe Flacco, Ravens— Who more appropriate to lead the All-Joe team than Joe Cool? The sophomore continued to blossom in the passing game while taking a greater role in leading Baltimore back to the postseason. Alex Smith, 49ers— The former No. 1 pick waited for a chance to revive his career then did just that after becoming a starter in November. Matt Moore, Panthers— Every team needs a good emergency quarterback, so why not pick a guy who won four of his five starts after replacing Jake Delhomme and outdueled Brett Favre and Eli Manning along the way.

RB: Cedric Benson, Bengals— A consummate hard hat guy, he led the NFL with 23.2 carries per game and rushed for a career-best 1,251 yards in just 13 games for the AFC North champs. Fred Jackson, Bills— Did you know his 2,516 all-purpose yards were the fourth-most ever? Did you know he became the first player to rush for 1,000 yards and have 1,000 kickoff return yards in the same season? Quite a year for undrafted former Division III standout. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers— Pro Bowler DeAngelo Williams’ backup only started three games, but led Carolina with 1,133 yards on the ground despite battling foot and Achilles’ problems. Stewart and Williams became the first teammates to both rush for 1,100 yards in the same season.

FB: Ahmard Hall, Titans— When you have a hard-nosed former Marine as your point man, as Chris Johnson did this year, it becomes a little easier to rack up 2,000 yards.

WR: Santonio Holmes, Steelers— Followed up his Super Bowl stardom with his first 1,000-yard season. Sixty-three of his 79 grabs produced first downs. Greg Jennings, Packers— With 16.4 yards per catch, this emerging talent makes the most of his opportunities. Jerricho Cotchery, Jets— Given his reliability on third down and ferocious downfield blocking, he could be the next Hines Ward. Jason Avant, Eagles— Fearlessly plies his trade over the middle. But he can also step in seamlessly as a starter as he proved in San Diego (8 catches, 156 yards).

TE: Zach Miller, Raiders— Despite Oakland’s passing game, he’s averaged 61 catches and nearly 800 yards the past two years. He also blows people up as a blocker. Brent Celek, Eagles— He stepped up as one of the weapons Donovan McNabb needed, falling 29 receiving yards shy of 1,000 while catching a team-high 76 passes.

T: Michael Oher, Ravens— All-Joe guys generally don’t translate to the silver screen, but Oher lived up to his first-round billing and storybook background, shining at both tackle positions. Mark Tauscher, Packers— Fought back after shredding his knee at the end of the 2008 season. Once he got back on the field, QB Aaron Rodgers was sacked only 15 times in eight games. He went down 35 times before that. Winston Justice, Eagles— The 2006 second-rounder seemed to be a bust. But he stepped in for injured Shawn Andrews and started all 16 games at right tackle.

G: Brandon Moore, Jets— The Jets cut him in the offseason then decided they couldn’t do without him. He justified that decision as a linchpin of the NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack. Jake Scott, Titans— Another of Chris Johnson’s favorites. Nate Garner, Dolphins— Gotta like any guy who can play tackle, guard, center and even tight end.

C: Jason Brown, Rams—Steven Jackson doesn’t lead the NFC in rushing without this guy. Alex Mack, Browns— A major reason the Browns finished eighth in rushing offense.

K: Ryan Longwell, Vikings— Somehow, one of the game’s finest kickers has never received Pro Bowl recognition. We’ll take anyone who goes 26-for-28 on field-goal tries.

KR: LaRod Stephens-Howling, Cardinals— Rookie averaged 24.2 yards a pop while serving as a willing tackler on coverage teams.

LS: Jason Kyle, Saints— On target for the biggest snap of the season in overtime of the NFC Championship Game. Good enough for us.

DEFENSE

DE: Johnny Jolly, Packers— Jolly thrived in the thankless job of playing end in a 3-4 defense throughout Green Bay’s transition to the scheme. His 75 tackles is an amazing figure considering the number of blocks he had to absorb and a major reason Green Bay finished first against the run for the first time in its 89-year history. Andre Carter, Redskins— Despite his 11 sacks, don’t pigeonhole him as a pass rusher. He stood tall against the run, too, as indicated by his 62 tackles. Calais Campbell, Cardinals— A second-rounder in 2008, he became a starter in 2009 and responded with seven sacks.

DT: Ryan Pickett, Packers— Earns recognition along with linemate Jolly on the NFC’s top-ranked defense for manning the nose, the key cog to any 3-4 defense. Has come a long way since looking like a first-round washout. Kyle Williams, Bills— His 66 tackles topped all defensive linemen, and he routinely gives some of the interior linemen fits. Sione Pouha, Jets— Things looked bleak when Pro Bowl NT Kris Jenkins went down with a knee injury. But New York allowed 17.1 fewer rushing yards per game with Pouha as the starter.

OLB: Tamba Hali, Chiefs— No All-Joe team would be complete without a member of the Chiefs, and Hali smoothly slid from 4-3 end to 3-4 backer and responded with a career bests for sacks (8.5) and tackles (66). Anthony Spencer, Cowboys— When this 2007 first-rounder took off, so did the Cowboys. All six of his sacks came in the final six games. Daryl Smith, Jaguars— Defensive captain made 107 stops while playing inside and out.

ILB: David Harris, Jets— Despite playing in New York, doesn’t get much pub. The 2007 draft pick was the leading tackler for the NFL’s top defense. D.J. Williams, Broncos— During his six-year career, this former first-rounder has done everything Denver has asked: weak side, strong side, middle, 4-3 and now 3-4 inside, and done it well. Jerod Mayo, Patriots— Last year’s top defensive rookie led team in tackles (103) despite missing three games with a bum knee. Barrett Ruud, Buccaneers— Tackling machine has averaged 131 stops since 2007. David Hawthorne, Seahawks— He didn’t start until Week 8, but had a team-best 117 tackles.

CB: Leon Hall, Bengals— How does one half of arguably the best corner tandem in the league not make the Pro Bowl? Johnathan Joseph, Bengals— How does the other half of arguably the best corner tandem in the league not make the Pro Bowl? Terrell Thomas, Giants— It’s probably not a good thing when a cornerback leads the team in tackles (85). Still, Thomas gets a nod for getting dirty at a position not know for that kind of effort. Quentin Jammer, Chargers— Not the physical freak that Antonio Cromartie is, but Jammer has always been effective against the run and pass.

S: Bernard Pollard, Texans— Dumped by K.C. right before the season, Houston scooped him up. He was thrust into the lineup in Week 4 and was widely credited for clotting a hemorrhaging defense. Melvin Bullitt, Colts— Filling Bob Sanders’ shoes is no easy task. But Bullitt slipped them on, and look where the Colts are now. Louis Delmas, Lions— Rookie appears to be a cornerstone for rebuilding Lions. Had 94 tackles, an interception return for a touchdown and fumble return for a touchdown. Thomas DeCoud, Falcons— Sophomore took over as a starter and showed dynamic ability. He can hit, cover and blitz, a perfect package for a young free safety.

P: Mike Scifres, Chargers— An underrated weapon, he almost single-footedly beat the Colts in last year’s playoffs with his deft directional touch.

PR: Darren Sproles, Chargers— Slippery and speedy, he’s tough to find and tougher to catch. Not bad out of the backfield, either.

ST: Tim Shaw, Bears — The latest monster on Chicago’s always strong special teams, he led the NFL with 20 special-teams tackles — even though he didn’t join the team until Week 2.

One of the first players to arrive at practice and among the last to leave the field, Weaver can always be counted on to be ready for a game.

“This is a great sport and I feel blessed just to be a part of it,” Weaver said. “To get paid good money to play a sport I played for free as a kid is unbelievable to me. Just think about it. I get a heck of a paycheck for doing this. Now, I work my tail off, so I know I’m giving 100 percent full speed ahead all the time.”

That’s a big reason the Philadelphia Eagles signed the bruising fullback to a one-year contract. Weaver, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, filled a need in Philadelphia and ended up being named to the Pro Bowl.

Weaver had other options, but there was no way he was going to pass up an opportunity with the Eagles.

“I like the passion here for football,” Weaver said. “It’s a great, great sports town and the Eagles fans are great. They care so much about their team. I wanted to be part of that passion on a day-to-day basis. I had a lot of factors to think about, and I know I made the right choice. What a great city and a great football town.”

On Sunday, Weaver will make his first Pro Bowl appearance, making him the first Carson-Newman football player to earn the honor of playing in the NFL’s all-star game. The opportunity to play with the best of the best is one that Weaver has always dreamed of, but his ultimate goal is winning a Super Bowl title.

“The goal for every player is to get that Super Bowl ring,” Weaver said. “When I came in to meet with the Eagles before signing, we talked about a lot of things, and I was so impressed with their winning attitude. I want to win championships.”

While with the Seahawks, Weaver earned a couple of nicknames—“Church Van” and “The Bishop.” The reason is simple: he recently became an ordained minister and hopes to start his own church when he retires from the NFL.

“I went through a training session in Knoxville, Tennessee, to get ordained,” Weaver said. “I have a lot of faith. This faith keeps me going through everything. I’ve needed it in my life and everyone does. Whether it’s an injury or a family-related problem or whatever, your faith helps you through it.”

During Weaver’s rookie season in ’05, his grandmother passed away suddenly due to diabetes. It was an extremely difficult time for Weaver, who eventually started the Leonard Weaver Foundation to help those with diabetes and to spread knowledge about the disease.

Weaver has assisted the American Diabetes Association in the Seattle area and hopes to continue that work one day in Philadelphia.

“When something touches you personally, it means more when you put the time in to help,” Weaver said. “I have a personal stake in it. I want to do whatever I can to help. If I help just one person in a given day, that’s awesome. It means you’ve done something positive. For me, getting out in the community is important. When it means something so close to your heart, it makes it even more worthwhile.”

The 6-foot, 250-pound Weaver makes every block worthwhile, and he’s known as one of the fiercest blockers in the league.

Off the field, Weaver enjoys peace and quiet. He’s especially peaceful when listening to quiet gospel or R&B music.

“Football is such a physical sport and you have to go all out,” Weaver said. “It’s not a sport you can play at half speed. It won’t work. You won’t last. Away from the sport, the calmness of the music gets me mentally ready and helps to center me, if you know what I mean. It gets me in the right mode when I get back on the field and get ready for the next week’s game.”

And getting ready for that game each week makes all the hard work that much more meaningful.

“You get out of this game what you put in,” Weaver said. “For me, I know I will never get cheated. I will give it everything I have. I’ve been that way since I was a kid and it has worked for me. I only know this way.”

•Shane Lechler : The five-time Pro Bowler is the highest paid punter ($3 million per season) in NFL history for good reason. Lechler, drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round in 2000, trails only the legendary Sammy Baugh for best career average per punt. He has set an NFL record for best net average each of the past three years (43.9 yards in 2009).

•Brian Moorman: A versatile athlete, Moorman twice has been selected to the Pro Bowl team with the Buffalo Bills, with whom he has kicked since 2001. Last season, Moorman, holder on a fake field goal attempt, suddenly lofted a 19-yard touchdown pass in a 34-10 victory against the Seattle Seahawks— the team that drafted Moorman in 1999.

•Todd Sauerbrun: The troubled, up-and-down veteran boomed punts for five NFL teams, including four in the last decade (Kansas City, Carolina, Denver and New England). Drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1995, Sauerbrun was a Pro Bowl kicker from 2002-04. He led the NFC in gross average three consecutive seasons (’01-’03). In ‘06, the NFL suspended him for four games after he tested positive for a banned substance.

•Mike Scifres: The three-time Pro Bowl alternate made his debut for the San Diego Chargers in ‘03. In an ‘09 playoff game against Indianapolis, Scifres averaged nearly 52 yards a kick on six punts, often pinning the Colts inside their 10. His long kick of the day was a 67-yard blast.

•Jeff Feagles: The oldest player in the league at 43, the ageless wonder kicked for only two teams during the decade — Seattle (’98-’02) and the New York Giants (’03-present). He has been in the league since 1988.Overall, no punter in league history has more punts for more yardage. In 2008, he made his second Pro Bowl team. In ‘05, Feagles smashed the league mark for consecutive games played (283), regardless of position.

*****

Voting in USA TODAY’s balloting for All-Decade punters:

1. Shane Lechler, 50 (10 first-place votes)

2. Brian Moorman, 29

3. Todd Sauerbrun, 25

4. Mike Scifres, 20

5. Jeff Feagles, 12

Others receiving votes: Craig Hentrich, 4; Donnie Jones, 4; Dustin Colquitt, 2; Hunter Smith, 2; Tom Rouen, 1; Andy Lee, 1.

ON THE BIG JOB: A Player Rep’s role is unique to anyone else on the roster. The person is obviously deeply involved with the union issues, but also has a need for understanding how things work. It is their responsibility to convey all the inter-workings, all the conference calls, any role changes, anything that affects the benefits or has to do with the non-playing side of football. It is it their job to relate and basically interpret all the rules and everything that affects us off the field. So they have a big job to do.

ON TWO SIDES TO THE JOB: Player Reps kind of come in and out of style, so to speak, in the locker room. Sometimes in labor negotiations when things are good, you are the good guy who everyone wants to talk to because there’s a wealth of knowledge that they want to get from you. But then when things aren’t going too well and guys are pissed that something has not gotten done, then you are the guy who has to answer for everything the union does. So, it is a job that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s very important because the unity we share through our Reps and on to each team is only reflective of that Rep on that team. You are only as good as the communication you have with your constituents, and that’s the Player Rep’s job.

ON HAVING FAITH: I would tell the players to be smart with their money, number one. Number two, I would tell them to have faith on how things work [at the Players Association] and the process that we are trying to push forth because we’ve gotten so many things accomplished over the last 25 years. It would really be a shame for the members of the union—who really stand the most to lose—to not fight at a time when everything that we’ve worked so hard for has come to this culmination point. Now is the time for Reps to stand strong, be firm and tell their teammates to have faith in this union because this union is the one that has brought the game to where it is now.

ON KEEPING IN SHAPE: I have always been a work out nut and my wife is also very athletic—she runs marathons and triathlons. Over the years, I have stayed in shape by default during the off-season by just working out with her. But now, I’m looking for that next challenge, one that will challenge me physically and push that spirit out of me, the competition. So, right now it is my goal to do a triathlon.

ON TRAINING FOR A TRIATHLON: I ride between 50 to 100 miles a week, depending on the calendar. I swim twice a week, usually about a mile at a time. I run between 15 to 20 miles a week as well.

Bart Scott talks trash freely and incessantly, all day, on any topic, on matters from petty to profound. He has singled out Bill Cowher’s chin, LenDale White’s gut, T. J. Houshmandzadeh’s ponytail and Reggie Bush’s manhood.

A Jets linebacker, Scott views trash talking as an art, or science. He has developed and refined his method. He has studied loquacious athletes from years past. And he has practiced, from the first day he tugged on a uniform all the way to Sunday, when he will unleash another torrent of mostly unprintable barbs on the Atlanta Falcons.

His mouth runs 365 days a year. In fact, the first time he met Woody Johnson, the Jets’ owner, Scott smacked him on the backside and clamored for a free case of baby powder.

“Bart is an original,” said Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune.

In his basement last month, Scott’s earliest inspiration — professional wrestling — flashed across the television. He imitated the voice inflection of Hulk Hogan, the dramatic delivery of Ric Flair, the intensity of Rowdy Roddy Piper.

Scott grabbed a visitor and performed the figure-four leg lock, an arm bar and the crossface chicken wing. The chatter never stopped.

When Flair said: “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. Whoo!” Scott repeated every word, calling that sentence the “most realistic line in the history of life.” His wife, Darnesha, walked past and shook her head.

“Forget trash talking in football,” Scott said. “This is trash talking at its finest. This is what I aspire to.”

The evolution of a trash talker began in southeast Detroit, where at age 6, Scott became obsessed with professional wrestling. His sisters, older by 7 and 10 years, left Scott with ample solo television time. Wrestling, said his mother, Dorita Adams, was his baby sitter on occasion.

Scott loved the character development more than the actual matches. He ate his vitamins and said his prayers because Hogan said so. He screamed at the television, waking his family each Saturday morning, and he cursed when commercials interrupted. He still calls wrestling a soap opera for men, still believes in its authenticity.

Outside, Scott was surrounded by more brash talkers: the older boys who played touch football on the street, and his oldest sister, Cutrice, whose oratorical motor most closely matched his.

All Scott needed was a uniform to set his mouth in motion. He played for a junior team outside his neighborhood, and they wore the Miami Hurricanes’ colors, an odd mixture of orange and green. Scott told everyone that his jersey shone the brightest.

The boys settled disputes over whose uniform was best by lining up 5 yards away, then charging like bucking rams. Their helmets turned all sorts of colors from the collisions, and they called the markings “meat.”

“That’s when my hatred for my opponents started,” Scott said. “Basically when I got my first opponent.”

Scott described himself as an “average to medium trash talker” back then. He was already developing his method, starting with preparation. Loading up your gun, Scott called it.

He took jokes from the neighborhood into school and returned with insults he had borrowed from his classmates. He searched for any edge. He spied mothers with curlers in their hair. He gossiped for information. He bullied bullies. He became creative, telling classmates with high-water pants to pull their shoes up.

When others stopped, Scott turned up the heat. He knew then that they were out of insults, but he had saved his best material. He used all of it, and parents and older siblings sometimes came looking for the small boy with the big mouth.

When all else failed, Scott had what he labeled his break-glass-in-case-of-emergency routine — “yo momma” jokes. Regardless, the back-and-forth would end there, in laughter or in fisticuffs.

“I keep ammo on everybody, even if they never joked on me,” he said. “Because I will never be caught off-guard. No one will outtalk me. Ever.”

Those who listen to Scott regularly do not disagree. When he played for Baltimore, the Ravens watched as he found an old rap video of their teammate Deion Sanders, in which Sanders wore snakeskin boots and danced around with a muscled man wearing a Speedo. Scott said Sanders was “the most harassed football player in the history of comebacks” and “that might be why he retired again.”

Scott regularly told Houshmandzadeh that he planned to beat him with his ponytail. He drew Cowher’s ire for calling him the Tick, a superhero with a super-size chin. And Scott went so hard after Ryan Fitzpatrick last season when he quarterbacked the Bengals that Scott said Houshmandzadeh and Chad Ochocinco pleaded with him to stop.

“He’s good with words, you know,” Houshmandzadeh said of Scott. “Before the game, during the game.”

Mike Pettine, the Jets’ defensive coordinator, might agree.

“I don’t know if it’s possible to talk as much as Bart does,” he said. “I just saw him in the lunchroom, and he was eating and talking.”

Scott uses a three-step trash-talk template. He starts with research. He scours ESPN, Google and scouting reports, which include pictures. He wants to understand the opponents he will talk to, understand what angers them, what makes them tick. He looks for police incidents, problems with wives or girlfriends, expanding stomachs, funny faces.

To aid in his delivery, Scott watches wrestling videos, or famous trash talkers like Muhammad Ali. They taught him Step 2: mixing fact with fiction. Scott wants his barbs to be believable, but he often uses exaggerations, or lies disguised as truth, for maximum effect.

This leads to Step 3: know your audience. The more people responding, the more the insults will sting, Scott reasoned. He especially likes when his targets’ teammates laugh.

This style works for more than Scott’s amusement. Angered opponents have become distracted, thrown fits, or tried to hurt Scott.

Last season in the playoffs, Scott said, White spent so much time arguing with him that his Titans teammates yelled at White to get back into the huddle. (White has said he hates Scott more than any other N.F.L. player.)

“I get satisfaction from that,” Scott said. “I can talk and play effectively. I’m used to it, I do it all the time. When people get out of character, they’re going to be distracted.”

But Scott occasionally crosses lines. Last weekend at Tampa Bay, he ripped off an opposing player’s helmet. And Pettine said he must remind Scott to drink his daily glass of “shut up” during meetings.

With Scott, that is all part of the package. Even his mother says she notices the difference when her son steps onto the field.

“It’s magic,” she said. “It’s on. His whole personality changes.”

What Scott loved most about professional wrestlers was the way they became the characters they portrayed, the total immersion, until it was impossible to tell the difference between them.

Scott remains a character, the Mad Backer, the loquacious linebacker, the titan of trash talk. When the Jets lost six of seven games this season, he drew criticism for that style. But he will not apologize for it.

“How do you expect me to be different?” Scott said. “I wasn’t trying to entertain you. I was entertaining myself. I was being myself. This is me.”

Scott continued talking.

“I don’t get nervous,” he said. “If you put me in front of Barack Obama, I’m not going to be nervous. I’m going to say: ‘What up, Barack? What’s crackin’?’ ”

And continued talking.

“You can go back and ask anybody I ever played with, same spiel. I’ve always been funny. I’m opinionated. I speak my mind. I like to talk, O.K.”

When the NFL schedule came out in early April and the Chargers discovered they’d be on the road against the Titans on Christmas night, many players started thinking of ways they’d rearrange their family celebrations to accommodate for the travel.

Linebacker Tim Dobbins began thinking about how much he would enjoy the unusual wrinkle to the schedule.

“I get to go home and it’s on Christmas,” Dobbins said. “I’ll have all my family there and everybody is going to the game. What could be better than your family getting to see you play on Christmas?”

Dobbins is from Nashville and was a part of the Chargers’ 2007 overtime win at LP Field, but his role wasn’t as prominent at the time. As a second-year pro, Dobbins was mostly a special teams player, but in his fourth season he’s seen his opportunities increase.

“I didn’t get too excited about going back there a couple years ago but this is special,” Dobbins said. “I’m getting a chance to make some plays so this trip will be fun.”

The trip comes with some good timing for Dobbins, and not just because of the holiday. After perhaps his best game of his career in Kansas City, he suffered a knee injury in Week 8 that caused him to miss two games and have a more limited role in three others as he worked his way back.

“I’m starting all over again but things are going well,” Dobbins said.

Now he’s back to the workload he enjoyed earlier in the season and he’s making the most of it. Dobbins was in on a key goal line stand in a win in Dallas two weeks ago, and last week he led the Chargers with 11 tackles against Cincinnati. He also forced a fourth-quarter fumble that set the Bengals back 20 yards and forced them to settle for a game-tying field goal rather than a potential game-winning touchdown.

“I played without my knee brace last week and that really helped,” Dobbins said. “I ran better. I did a whole lot of other things better.”

Head Coach Norv Turner isn’t surprised at the playmaker Dobbins has become.

“Tim is a very aggressive player,” Turner said. “He’s a physical football player. He’s always had the knack for making big plays but I think the more he plays, the more comfortable he is with the different things in terms of pass coverage.”

Dobbins says the last few weeks have been a lot of fun for him, and Friday will certainly be an enjoyable experience as he plays in front of his family on a special day.

“I’ve been playing at a high tempo,” Dobbins said. “I’ve been able to produce. I’m trying to keep that up and keep making plays. This is a business trip for us, but it will be nice to see my family while we’re out there trying to take care of business.”

Dallas lost 20-17 to San Diego. Dobbins’ comments, via the Dallas Morning News:

“I don’t know what they were thinking but after the second time you gotta think, ‘don’t run that play no more.’ I don’t know if they watched film or what.”

Late in the first half, the Chargers stopped Barber on three consecutive runs from the 1-yard line. The final stop came on fourth down, and the Chargers took possession of the ball and cemented a 10-3 halftime lead.

Dobbins said Barber and the Cowboys’ offense was fooling no one:

“In our mind, we knew he wasn’t blocking. We knew he had to get the ball. He’s not getting paid to block. Everybody knows that, everybody in the stands knew that. We knew it was going to be a flip or a dive, one or the other. I don’t know what they were thinking.”

Dallas owner Jerry Jones, who said last week that he wanted Barber to be more involved, said he had no problem with the play-calling.

Dobbins told reporters the Cowboys could have hurt the Chargers’ psyche if they scored. “They called the same play over and over anyway,” he said.

Charlie was the Hilliard family dog.

It was Charlie who taught young Lex Hilliard to get quicker – or else – as a boy growing up in remote Kalispell, Mont.

“Constantly, I was trying to juke the German shepherd,” says Lex, the Dolphins’ second-year running back and special-teams ace. “You’re riding a bike, he’d try to bite the tires. I’m out in the yard playing football, he’d try to bite my ankles.”

Elvis Hilliard Sr. would watch these battles play out and never once thought about making Charlie stop tormenting his youngest son. Why would he? Elvis Sr. could see the boy getting more elusive by the day.

“That’s why Lex runs with his legs high,” the proud father says by phone from his Montana home.

“Quick twitch,” Lex says with a laugh.

Charlie is gone. He died when Lex was a senior in high school.

But his memory remains as one of many unconventional training methods Elvis Sr., a contractor who coached both his sons, used to help Lex build on his natural athleticism.

Some of them, you might say, were handed down as family heirlooms.

Henry Hilliard, Elvis Sr.’s grandfather, had sent a German shepherd named Speedy after him in much the same way when he was growing up in New Mexico.

“If you can outrun that dog, nobody can catch you from behind,” Henry Hilliard would tell Elvis Sr., who became quite a high school running back himself.

When it came to Lex, Charlie was just part of the obstacle course.

Lex was whacking his father with boxing gloves as a toddler. Soon he was riding small motorcycles and driving lawnmowers (blades removed) around the family’s property.

By 8, he was playing two-hand touch with Elvis Sr.’s regionally known rugby club. They were named “The Moose” after Moose Miller’s saloon, which sponsored the team.

The kid was fast. More importantly, the kid was tough.

“Rugby,” says Elvis Sr., 53, “was where Lex got a feel for how to run the ball.”

When Lex was 11, a Moose member named Mark Herron returned from a rugby trip to England and taught him the “power step,” a sort of kick-forward technique he still uses to bust through the line.

“Gives you a little super burst,” Elvis Sr. says.

How about Lex’s ability to run “downhill,” as Dolphins coach Tony Sparano likes to say? There was a drill for that, too.

In his teens, Lex would spend hours literally running downhill out behind his old junior high school. Often he’d take a teammate or two up there with him, Chase Kisler being the most persistent.

As the boys would come sprinting down the steeper of two hills – the whole path was perhaps 50 yards long — Elvis Sr. would be waiting for them along the way. Without warning he’d throw down a rock or a stick and bark out orders on which direction to cut.

Left of the stick. Right of the rock.

Then they’d climb the hill and do it all over again.

Elvis Sr. got that drill from Lex’s great-grandfather too.

“I can’t tell you how many times I wrecked,” Lex says. “My buddy was a little shorter than me. He could cut on a dime. I’d tumble and fall, but I got used to it.”

The point?

“Makes you think on your feet,” Elvis Sr. says.

Around the time Dolphins training camp started, Elvis Sr. took a hard fall off a horse while giving riding lessons to a class of 22 Croatian kids. He landed on his head and shoulder, sustained a hairline fracture of his skull and is still dealing with swelling on his brain.

“My speech is slurred and my short-term memory comes and goes,” Elvis Sr. says, “but I was very lucky.”

That didn’t stop him from flying to South Florida in early October with the rest of the family to see Lex play the Bills. The cabin pressure led to more pounding headaches, and his neurologist told him not to do that again, but when the Dolphins play the Steelers in early January, Elvis Sr. plans to be there.

Hey, it takes a lot to stop a Hilliard.