The timing of the JaMarcus Russell release wasn't a surprise. The team was prepared to let him go last week, but Al Davis wanted to give him one more look in minicamp. Russell apparently had a decent Friday practice, but he started to revert to the past mistakes in the final couple practices. Russell simply didn't get better during his 25 starts. Though gifted with a great arm, Russell never conditioned himself correctly, but even worse, he didn't improve his ability to look off defenders or read defenses. Another problem was leadership. For the Raiders, the Russell era turned into a $39 million mistake.Big blow for Vikes? It's too early to determine if Vikings defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams will be suspended for the first four games of the season (a Minnesota judge has sided with the NFL in the StarCaps case), but their absence could cause a tough start. The Vikings have road games against the Saints and Jets in the first five weeks, and those games will be hard to win without the run-stopping ability of the Williams Wall. Home games against the Dolphins and Lions, who now have Jahvid Best in the backfield, won't be easy. Of course, the bigger disaster would be if Brett Favre doesn't come out of retirement to help the offense. That would leave the Vikings without three Pro Bowl-caliber talents.Bengals have faith in Pacman: The Bengals, who appear close to signing Pacman Jones, believe Jones can help their defense and special teams. Jones would give defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer a coverage cornerback to go along with two of the better coverage cornerbacks in the AFC -- Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph. He could also give the Bengals an additional returner. Defensive tackle Tank Johnson, who has done well in resurrecting his career, has helped to broker the addition of Jones.Brown on the block? With Rams left tackle Alex Barron a possible candidate to go to Dallas for linebacker Bobby Carpenter, you wonder if Jammal Brown of the Saints will be the next left tackle moved in a trade. He was shopped around before the draft and the Redskins were interested at one point. Brown, like Barron, is on the one-year restricted free-agent tender and the Saints don't appear to be willing to give him a long-term extension.