The following quotes are from NFL scouts, coaches and front-office personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

• "How do you think Jim Harbaugh feels about getting burned by a (Ohio State) Buckeye? Not having Ted Ginn (Jr.) really hurt them. Kyle Williams went from the fourth receiver in October to starting and handling kicks and punts in the (NFC) championship game. He had a phenomenal second half of the year, but asking him to handle all three of the duties in his second year — I don't know if anyone can do it. I think they put too much on his plate. Outside of Alex Smith, no one had more stress or pressure on him."

• (Oakland head coach Dennis) Allen did a very good in Denver. They played better at the end. He got everything out of that defense — that tells me he is a good coach. The problem is (the Raiders) don't have many picks for three years and they are up against the cap. They are going to have to be patient. I guess they have to be married to Carson (Palmer)."

• "(Bears offensive coordinator) Mike Tice is an excellent coach. The Bears will be a lot better on offense next year. He played a long time in the league. He understands the big picture. He is a very underrated coach."

• "I am hearing terrible stories about Super Bowl tickets. It's the biggest scam in Indianapolis right now. The owners are selling them at five times face value to ticket brokers. Tell me what is right about that. If you are a family of four, you have no chance to go to a game with what it costs now."

• "If you do not mind doing some recruiting, a college (coaching) job is probably a much better job than the NFL right now. You know the time and guidelines. Let's be honest — you can raise a family better as a college coach than you can in the NFL. How many staffs are in one place for five-plus years in the NFL? Kirk Ferentz has been at Iowa for a long time. Barry Alvarez retired on his own. There's a little more pressure at Michigan and Ohio State, but look how long Lloyd Carr and Jim Tressel were there. I think you'll see more good (NFL) coaches going to college."

• "There is not a coach in the NFL that evaluates his own players better than Bill Belichick. That is what he is so good at. How many players has he cycled through in the secondary this year? I don't think he gets enough credit for thinking outside the box. Look what he has playing in the slot. He keeps throwing something at the wall until it sticks. If it were a one-week window, I think it would be hard to beat the Giants. With two weeks to prepare, it's going to be hard to beat Belichick. It will all come down to the rush and what they do up front to confuse Eli (Manning).

• "If the Pats win, it could be the last one for (Tom) Brady. He is getting close to the end. … Ryan Mallett has the arm, but I'm not sure he has the brain to avoid the big errors. I think (Bill Belichick) will develop him and trade him like Matt Cassel. To get a second-round pick for (Cassel) was pretty good."

• "Jeff Fisher's dream job was with the Bears. It's where he played. It's a serious football town. They play his brand of football ­— a tough, physical style. He would have been a great hire (in Chicago)."

• "(Before) Matt Leinart decided to stay in school, there was a lot of talk about whether he would have been the first pick instead of Alex Smith (had he declared). I think Leinart stayed in school because he knew he was going to fail. That's what worries you about some of the kids that decide to stay another year. I still have to study (USC's) Matt Barkley, but that was my intial reaction when he decided to stay in (school)."

• "I feel terrible for Jack (Harbaugh). To have to watch both of your kids lose the way they did — there's no one that could have felt any worse than he did after (the conference championship games)."