Just got done meeting with the four NFL officials in camp with the Lions this week and, inevitably, talk turned to Tim Donaghy and the NBA gambling scandal. For all the bettors wondering, the league takes every precaution to make sure it's officials don't get caught up in similar circumstances. Umpire Jim Quirk said background checks are updated every three years (he said his NFL check was more thorough than the one the National Security Agency performed when he was an Army police officer getting top-secret security clearance), and officials are never allowed to visit sports books of any kind. Even out-of-season trips to a casino, whether it's for gaming purposes or not, must be approved by the league ahead of time.

"It's perception but it's deeper than perception with us cause we're all pretty squeaky clean," linesman Paul Weidner said. "We are the integrity of the game and in order to add that you've got to have certain standards that we have to live up to."