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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Off-season Transactions Pave the Way for 2007 NFL Draft Decisions

With the 2007 NFL Draft just four weeks away, teams are evaluating their rosters and scurrying to see which holes they can fill through free agency and trades prior to the draft. The tables below show the key re-signings, additions and deletions for each team.

A bit surprisingly, the New England Patriots have been among the most active teams this off-season. Not unsurprisingly, however, the Patriots have once again done a great job in evaluating and filling their needs. The team was just two Reche Caldwell drops from a trip to the last Super Bowl, one in the end-zone and the other while he was completely uncovered out in the flat in the big playoff loss to the Colts. Bill Belichick and the rest of the Patriots' organization was not about to let the team's weakness at wide receiver hold them back again. Since the off-season began, the team has obtained wide receivers Donte' Stallworth from the Eagles, Kelley Washington from the Bengals and Wes Welker from the Dolphins in addition to resigning Brandon Childress. They also signed Kyle Brady from the Jaguars to take over the role of the blocking tight end that was vacated when Dan Graham signed with the Broncos. The Patriots also shored up their linebacking corps by pirating Adalius Thomas away from the Ravens. Running back Sammy Morris was also obtained from the Dolphins to aid the running game.

The San Francisco 49ers also attacked a key weakness, their defensive backfield, in a big way by signing cornerback Nate Clements from the Bills and safety Michael Lewis from the Eagles as soon as the free agent signing period opened. They also signed the mercurial Ashley Lelie to replace the even more mercurial, but also possibly more talented, Antonio Bryant at wide receiver.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed linebacker Takeo Spikes from the Bills and wide receiver Kevin Curtis from the Rams to replace Shawn Barber and Donte' Stallworth. They also obtained a decent backup quarterback in Kelly Holcomb from the Bills and avoided the potential of a quarterback controversy with Donovan McNabb by letting Jeff Garcia go to Tampa Bay.

The Chicago Bears' decision to trade running back Thomas Jones to the Jets is a bit of a mystery and it will be interesting to see the ultimate impact on each of those teams.

The Detroit Lions seemed determined to make significant changes to their roster in hopes that the Millen-Marinelli run organization can finally pull itself out of its tailspin before it's too late, but the outcome of the trade of cornerback Dre' Bly for running back Tatum Bell and other considerations will have to be watched closely.

The Seattle Seahawks are determined to improve the play of their safeties and have added Brian Russell from Cleveland and Deon Grant from Jacksonville while letting Ken Hamlin move on to the Cowboys.

Who knows what's going through the mind of Jon Gruden in Tampa Bay. Gruden signed the aging Jeff Garcia, who while having played effectively last season in Philadelphia can be considered no more than a short term band aid for the Buccaneers' quarterback ills. And by short term, I don't mean seasons, I mean games. He also traded for Jake Plummer who wants to play in Tampa Bay so much that he promptly retired despite the fact that he may owe the team millions if he is forced to return a portion of the signing bonus attached to the contract he had previously signed with the Broncos.

Despite the presence of Joe Gibbs and some seemingly top-notch and reportedly well-paid assistants, the Washington Redskins seem to be a team that is adrift. I really want to say they are clueless, but Gibbs has shown so much skill in building champions in the past that I don't want to go there just yet. But if Fletcher London and Fred Smoot are the big additions on defense, don't expect to see much improvement next season.

The Baltimore Ravens lost linebacker Adalius Thomas, but Willis McGahee could turn out to be an improvement over Jamal Lewis at running back.

The Cincinnati Bengals lost some seemingly decent players when guard Eric Steinbach (Browns), linebacker Brian Simmons (Saints), wide receiver Kelley Washington (Patriots) and safety Kevin Kaesviharn (Saints) moved on. It will be interesting to see whether the Bengals can break out from being the 8-8 team they've been in three out of the four seasons under coach Marvin Lewis. And if they break out, it will be even more interesting to see if it's in an upward or downward direction.

The Cleveland Browns picked up former rivals/tormentors running back Jamal Lewis and guard Eric Steinbach, but they might be asking too much from each of them, since Lewis is likely to be the featured back and they may end up asking Steinbach to play out of position at the demanding left tackle spot where he would be quick, but undersized. The Brown's first pick in the draft will probably answer a lot of questions here. They also lost several starters from the past, but only Brian Russell at safety was much above average, and the Browns have some other young studs at that position. Reuben Droughns, Dennis Northcutt and Terrelle Smith are unlikely to be missed. Alvin McKinley may be, but only because the Browns' front line is so weak.

The Denver Broncos have made a lot of moves including trading running back Tatum Bell for cornerback Dre' Bly which appears to be a good move, especially since they needed to replace former starting cornerback Darrent Williams who was murdered on New Year's Day. The Broncos also signed running back Travis Henry from the Titans, wide receiver Brandon Stokley from the Redskins, defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson from the Dolphins, backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey from the Jets, fullback Paul Smith from the Rams, guard Montrae Holland from the Saints and tight end Daniel Graham from the Patriots. In addition, Denver signed yet another defensive lineman from Cleveland, Alvin McKinley. Will they never learn, or will at least one of the five former ex-Browns finally put together more than just an adequate season in Denver.

The Houston Texans changed the face of their franchise by dismissing their first draft pick ever, quarterback David Carr, and trading to Atlanta for quarterback Matt Schaub. They also added running back Ahman Green from Green Bay and linebacker Shawn Barber from Philadelphia. But much much more will be needed to get this franchise off the ground. And the team that signs Carr might be pleasantly surprised somewhere down the road if it can give him any support. Even with the horrible support he received in Houston, Carr always had a pretty good completion record. If he can recover from being gun shy, he could someday rebound in the manner Jim Plunkett did when he moved to Oakland and Vinnie Testaverde did when he got to the Browns.

The Indianapolis Colts may miss cornerback Nick Harper, defensive tackle Montae Reagor, running back Dominic Rhodes and wide receiver Brandon Stokley, but they were probably all more expensive than the team needed to pay for the roles that they filled.

The Kansas City Chiefs are a team that missed their opportunity the past several seasons. Now they have an unenviable position at quarterback and need to rebuild their linebacking corps. They've focused thus far on the linebackers by signing Napoleon Harris from the Vikings and Donnie Edwards from the Chargers.

The Miami Dolphins hope that newly signed linebacker Joey Porter has a stay-out-of-jail card. They are also closely investigating the available veteran quarterbacks.

How many flyers do the Oakland Raiders plan to take on back up running backs from other teams. Add Dominick Rhodes to a seemingly long list. The team has done nothing yet to show that it is serious about turning its situation around.

The Tennessee Titans hope that signing Nick Harper improves their defense and hurts the Colts'. Time will tell.

Football News

USA Today

• NFL power rankings: Aaron Rodgers, Packers cool at No. 1
• ESPN: Ben Roethlisberger will ask Roger Goodell to reduce suspension to 3 games
• NFL: Attendance likely to fall for third straight season in 2010, to lowest level since 1998
• Stigma of depression diagnosis hard to overcome for Andrews
• Roethlisberger to meet with Goodell on Friday
• Healthy again, Antwan Odom looks for a big rebound in 2010
• Now in UFL, Maurice Clarett is confident but won't discuss past
• AP: Union questioning motives of NFL rookie trades
• HD TV and technology pit NFL stadiums vs. fans' living rooms
• Cowboys' Marion Barber prefers to let his running do all the talking

ESPN

• Sources: Ben Roethlisberger to ask NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to reduce suspension
• Teams in discussions about trading for Matt Leinart, sources say
• 49ers coach Mike Singletary separates Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree
• Arizona Cardinals sign defensive tackle Darnell Dockett to contract extension
• NFL makes adjustments with umpire positioning
• Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant wants to play in preseason finale, but won't
• Maurice Clarett sidesteps past, focused on future in UFL
• Ochocinco talks up new touchdown celebration against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium
• Sources: Two trades being monitored by NFLPA
• Cleveland Browns DT Shaun Rogers fined for gun charge

Sports Illustrated

• NFLPA looks into legality of recent rookie trades
• NFL makes adjustments to positioning of umpires
• Cardinals sign DT Dockett to four-year extension
• Raiders deny reported interest in a Leinart trade
• NFC SOUTH
• NFC SOUTH
• Merriman cautious in return from Achilles' injury
• 'Hawks ship Wilson to Ravens
• Colts' Saturday hopes to play in season opener
• Patriots place starting cornerback Bodden on IR