NEW ORLEANS --  New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick basically stuck out his middle finger to the other 31 coaches in the NFL Tuesday.

How else can you explain his not attending a supposedly mandatory media breakfast here at the NFL league meetings?

The other 31 coaches all showed up, some probably a bit reluctantly, but not Belichick.

And word is the league will do nothing about it.

He's bigger than the game. Didn't you know? There is no arguing that Belichick is a great coach. But does that mean he gets to adhere to his own rules?

I can tell you this: Several coaches were more than aware that he wasn't there and weren't thrilled that they had to be and he wasn't there.

I just hope one of them has the guts to call him out on it. Rib him about it.

"So your time is more valuable than ours?" they should say.

Why wouldn't you? He's just a peer, even if he sometimes acts like he isn't.

This is just another way of Belichick showing his arrogance. It's like when he pushed that photographer a couple of years ago. Or when he got caught in Spygate.

Rules are for fools?

Too bad the biggest fool Tuesday was the guy who doesn't follow them.

 I would have to say that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is in the argument for being one of the top-5 coaches of all time.

 So why can't he handle Randy Moss?
 
That's one major question that is being severely overlooked after the Moss trade to the Vikings.

 Isn't part of the coach's job to control players if they are locker-room problems? It's not like Moss was getting in trouble off the field. If the reports of a halftime blowup with quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien are true, shouldn't Belichick be the one to handle the problem?

Instead, he got rid of it.

That's foolishness. If coaches make $5 million a year, the reason is to not just deal with the Xs and Os. It's about dealing with Jimmy and Joes. It takes massaging problems at times.

Belichick is supposed to be the master of discipline. So why did he fail here?

It's an interesting question.

He traded away his only real deep threat because he couldn't handle him. This might go down as an even dumber move for Belichick than fourth-and-jackass from last season's Colts game. It might be a major demerit in his rankings of coaching greatness and it's definitely something his team will feel on the field.

---We will never forget Bill Belichick's Fourth-and-Jackass play in Indianapolis. Now we have the little brother, Fourth-and-Stupidity. It came Sunday in New England's loss to the Miami Dolphins. Leading 14-7 and facing a fourth-and-1 from the Miami 6 late in the first half, Belichick went for the first down instead of kicking a field goal to make it a 10-point lead. That was dumb. Not only did Miami stop Sammy Morris for no gain, but they also went down and got a field goal before the half and all the momentum. Nice going, Bill. What has happened to his football acumen?

---With the Dallas Cowboys losing their first game in December to the Giants Sunday, the December swoon talk is on again. It's also led to questions as to whether Tony Romo should have gone to Las Vegas the night after the Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day Game. Why not? What's the difference if he spends the night partying in Vegas or partying in Dallas? He was back for his treatment Saturday. Big deal. And he wasn't the reason the Cowboys lost. He was actually one of the players who played well.

----If the Colts and Saints want to they both have a real chance to go undefeated. The question is whether they will try it. Both could have home field rapped up and there would no reason to try to go unblemished. I think the smart thing is to sit guys. What if a star went down in a game that didn't matter? In the end, I think both coaches will do the wise thing. Undefeated doesn't mean Super. Just ask the Patriots from 2007.

---The Chargers have won seven consecutive games, making them a hot team. That streak has to bring Philip Rivers into the MVP mix. He's having a great season, one lost in the hype going to Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Brett Favre.

---Speaking of Favre, was Sunday night's two-interception game a sign of a late-season collapse or just an aberration? In each of the past two seasons, once with Green Bay and once with the Jets, he tailed off at the end of the season. Last season, and injury was blamed. But is it happening again? You have to admit if you're a Favre lover, it's going through your mind. Admit it.

---I really like the look of that Arizona defense. They are athletic. With that secondary, they can do a lot of blitzing, which disrupts offenses. Defensive tackle Alan Branch and defensive end Calais Campbell are also improving.

---Jimmy Clausen made the right decision to enter the college draft. He will be a high first-round pick. There is no reason to go back. Just ask Sam Bradford. He went back and got hurt. Go when you can. Clausen will battle Bradford and Washington's Jake Locker to be the top quarterback picked. The scouts I've talked to think his impressive junior year has elevated him to the elite level of quarterbacks.

---Atlanta defensive end John Abraham might be done. He doesn't have the same burst, doesn't play with the same explosiveness he did last season. He has 3 1/2 sacks this season after getting 16 1/2 in 2008. He's 31 and that could be an issue. The Falcons are high on rookie Lawrence Sidbury, who had his first NFL sack Sunday against the Eagles. The Falcons have to focus on the defense in the off-season. They need a pass rusher, a corner and a safety.

---The Raiders have talent. I've said it all season long. It's all about the quarterback. And now they're getting good play from Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback, which is why they beat the Steelers. This team isn't far off if they can get somebody to play quality games at quarterback. I mean it.

---Talked to a scout this week that watched Matt Cassel on tape. He said he can't believe the Chiefs paid him big money. The scout said Cassel can't get the ball down the field. If you read this column, you know that's something I've been saying for a long time.

---I still think Jason Campbell can be a decent starter in this league. They let him play loose against the Saints and he had a huge game. That's all it took.

The NFL owners on Tuesday approved the proposal to allow a defensive player to wear a speaker in the helmet to communicate with the sidelines.

Like on offense with the quarterback, one defensive player, who is identified by a visual indicator on the helmet, can wear the speaker in the helmet. A second defensive player can have a speaker, but he has to be a sub for the first player. You can't have two players on a defense on the field at the same time who both have a transmitter in their helmet.

This rule was shot down a year ago, but passed this year. The feeling is the move was made in part to counter the chances of having another Spygate.The New England Patritos were caught videotaping the signals of the New York Jets and that led to a big fine for Bill Belichick, the team and they forgeited a first-round draft pick.

This would make it so teams wouldn't have to signal in the defenses. Thus, it's the Bill Belichick rule. Interestingly, the Patriots voted yes on the proposal.