08/04 — They're falling into place now. The first-round contracts, I mean.

WR Calvin Johnson signed with the Lions and tackle Levi Brown with the Cardinals on Thursday. As of tonight, that leaves two quarterbacks (Oakland's JaMarcus Russell, Cleveland's Brady Quinn) and two picks in the 20s (Kansas City's Dwayne Bowe, Carolina's Jon Beason) unsigned.

And of course Darrelle Revis and the Jets.

Fans and reporters have been lining up on either side in this battle and debating what the reasons must be for this stalemate between general manager Mike Tannenbaum and Neil Schwartz, Revis' agent.

From my vantage point, one thing that's NOT at work here is stubbornness — on either side. In my previous life, I was a Jets beatwriter for 13 seasons. I've seen how owner Woody Johnson's Jets operate on the contract front. Beginning with "The Four Aces" in 2000, Mike Tannenbaum had brought 10 consecutive first-round selections into training camp, including two last year in his first year as GM.

And one of the joys for me in leaving the newspaper business was not having to deal with player agents. But it's not a joy to leave behind the good agents such as Schwartz. He's a decent man who cares about his clients and works hard on their behalf.

And the Jets clearly respect him. Tannenbaum and Schwartz previously struck deals for linebacker James Darling in 2001 and, in a very competitive environment in the summer of 2004, for guard Pete Kendall after his release by Arizona.

"I've known Neil Schwartz a long time," Tannenbaum told Rich Cimini in today's Daily News. "I have a good relationship with Neil."

And in a story by Andrew Gross in today's Journal News, the GM said: "The lines of communication are open, and we're working hard for something that works best for both sides. We have a couple of issues. Based on Neil's track record and our track record, hopefully we'll find a resolution that works for both sides."

The number of years, five vs. six, has been reported to be the main sticking point in negotiations. So call the talks a hand of high-stakes Texas Hold 'Em or two business interests fighting hard for their interests. But don't call it being stubborn.

There's too much at stake for both sides for this to be boiled down to a quick, inaccurate headline word.

The first 16 selections in this year's NFL Draft can be signed to a maximum of six-year contracts. Here is a chart from espn.com of the first-round draft choices and the lengths of their contracts as of Friday afternoon.