{image1} They say there's no "I" in team, but there does seem to be a "U" in NFL.

As in "The U." Or, as Stuart Scott would say (sing it with me, everybody) "daahh... U!"

Oh, you don't know? What tragically un-hip hole have you been hiding in?

The U is Miami, and it produces professional football players at roughly the rate the Hershey's plant cranks out chocolate kisses. It is possible, although not advisable, that you could assemble an entire NFL team of just Miami players. Don't believe me? OK, how does this sound?

QB: Vinny Testaverde, Ken Dorsey. RB: Clinton Portis, Edgerrin James, Willis McGahee. WR: Santana Moss, Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne. TE: Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow II, Bubba Franks. OL: Bryant McKinnie. CB: Duane Starks, Philip Buchanan. S: Ed Reed, Sean Taylor. LB: Ray Lewis, Dan Morgan, Jesse Armstead. DL: Warren Sapp, Kenard Lang, Kenny Holmes, Jerome McDougal. P: Jeff Feagles.

Okay, so we're short a few lineman and a kicker. Somebody call Carlos Huerta (1988-91) and see what he's doing these days.

Miami players have been showing an increasing sense of tribal loyalty these days around the league. For some, it seems that being a member of "The U" trumps everything else. The sense of entitlement that comes from having attended such an august institution is almost breathtaking. Being from "The U" means not having to bother with silly little rules that other "regular" NFL players must adhere to. Things like not stunt riding motorcycles in empty parking lots or returning your coach's phone calls.

When my Washington Redskins were poised last spring with the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft, they had a veritable dilemma. Do they take the pedigreed son of a Hall of Famer in Kellen Winslow II? Or do they take a Mack truck combination of size and speed in Sean Taylor? Flash or crash? Touchdowns or turnovers? Both guys showed elite level athleticism while at Miami. Winslow as a soft-handed tight end who could also play bull in a china shop. Taylor as a ball-hawking bruiser at free safety.

My Skins chose Taylor, and on the field he has not disappointed, blasting running backs and wide receivers with both frequency and ferocity. Off the field was a different story, as Taylor got pulled over for a late-night DUI, and was suspended a game because of it. He ended up beating the rap in court, but not before the police field sobriety camera showed him missing several letters of the alphabet.

So either he was drunk and got away with one, or he missed class that day at "The U." You remember the day at your college where they brushed everyone up on ABC's before moving on to advanced calculus? Riiiiigggghhhhht ... Taylor also showed acute political savvy by responding to a reporter's election eve question by saying: "I'm not sure who I'll vote for ... Bush ... Cheney ... I'm dunno ..."

But look, I'm nitpicking now. The guy is from "The U!" so just back off! He can play some mean football! Don't believe him? Just ask anybody else from "The U!" They'll tell you. Too bad though that Taylor hasn't exactly "made amends" for the off-field drama this winter. One might think that a guy in his spot would attend every off-season OTA (Organized Team Activity) and say all the right things about being focused for the upcoming season.

Um, no.

Taylor has maintained a slightly lower profile. So low, that Hall of Fame head coach Joe Gibbs has openly admitted that he can't even get a phone call returned from Taylor this off-season! Clinton Portis (Da U! Class of 2002) has taken up as spokesmouth for Taylor around Redskin Park. Portis says because Taylor has been "in the spotlight" this season, he just needs to "chill" this off-season.

Fine. Chilling I can handle. But have some manners and call your coach back. (I say if Portis has those magic Taylor cell digits in his own phone, then they should tackle him walking out to his car and start flipping through his address book. Maybe you call Taylor directly from Clinton's phone, so he won't be able to reject the caller ID of "PARK, REDSKINS" when it comes up.

Taylor: (Phone ringing)... "Yo... 36 here. Hollah, CP, what up, dog?"

Gibbs: (On Portis' phone)... "Sean ... This is your coach, Joseph. Where in the heck are you young man? We've been worried sick about you!"

Now that we've added Santana Moss to the mix (Da U! Class of 2001) here in Redskinland, it should be a very interesting year. I can already see Moss, Taylor and Portis having their own special Miami clique, with secret handshake. They'll have their own lunch table at the park, ride together to practice in the same Escalade, color coordinate their own after-market uniform accessories (socks, facemask tape, etc.) and generally act like everyone else on the team is, like you know, such a total dork for not having gone to Miami.

Of course, it's not like Miami is the only football factory that pumps raw product into the NFLPA. If you did a current survey of NFL rosters, you would find places like Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and others are well represented. But you never hear Longhorn players openly bragging about being from "The T!"

On draft day, Winslow II bragged about how he was going to make the Redskins rue the day they passed on him for teammate Sean Taylor. So far, Redskins - 1, Winslow II - 0. While Winslow might have been "a soldier, dammit!" in college, he's not exactly Evil Knievel as a Cleveland Brown. Wait a minute, he sort of is Evil Knievel with the injuries and all, just not with the spectacular jumps over the fountains at Ceasars Palace.

Sean Taylor may end up making us Redskin fans regret last year's draft anyway, but so far he's played 13 more games than Winslow has and will widen that gap this season barring a late night stunt session of his own. If the team does well, that's super. But if they don't, who cares.

After all, Taylor is from "Da U!" And isn't that all that matters?