Redskins 2006 Schedule Preview...And Review

The second post in a several-part series examining the Redskins offseason.

I know I haven’t been updating this thing regularly. I probably won’t resume more than three or four posts a month until September. Today we’ll take a quick look at how the Redskins schedule plays out. Why even watch the season when you have me to tell you what' s going to happen? Of course, as is the case every season, there will be at least two teams that play better than expected and at least two teams that will play worse than expected. And as always, as my preview suggests, a lot also depends on injuries.

Mon., September 11th – vs. Minnesota
For whatever reason, the NFL decided to give the Redskins only two primetime games all season. And the games are on back-to-back weeks in September. I thought the league would give more exposure, especially late in the year, to the eventual NFC Champion. But I guess not. It will also be the debut of ESPN’s Monday night broadcast. That means we get to listen to Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser…which is good. We’ll also be forced to listen to the ever-widening Chris Berman…which is bad. During the pregame, Berman, with scriptwriters Pete Prisco and Peter King by his side, says the 2005 Redskins were flukes and would be lucky to win five games all season. In fact, Prisco has the Redskins rated 31st out of 32 teams in his power rankings. For the game itself, the Redskins get to ease their way into 2006 with a home game against a Vikings team that has virtually no offensive weapons, no defensive continuity and a rookie coaching staff. Unless Minnesota is getting three extra points for every hooker my boy Freddy Smoot t-bagged on the sex boat, I’d say I like the Skins chances in this one.

Sun., September 17th – at Dallas
For the second straight season, the Redskins travel to Dallas for a night game in Week 2. It will be Terrible Owens first home game in Irving, and with Al Michaels and John Madden on the call, it will be an all-out Owens media blitz. The Skins will play gamely as Dallas will be distracted, but I don’t see the Boys losing two straight at home to Washington.

Sun., September 24th – at Houston
Who made this schedule? NASA? George W. Bush? Will the Skins have to play at Permian next week? If you’re counting, at this point in the season, the Skins will have played two games in Texas compared to only one game in D.C. (technically Landover, but you get the idea). Fortunately, the Texans will seem like the Permian Mojo to the Redskins after a tough loss in Dallas. Clinton Portis runs for 150 as the Skins find and attack Mario Williams all day long. Mario, meet Jon Jansen. You’re not in Raleigh anymore.

Sun., October 1st – vs. Jacksonville
With Jimmy Smith retired, Byron Leftwich getting hurt during week 1, and Fred Taylor injuring himself while eating a sandwich in mid-July, the Jags will be completely unable to move the ball against the Skins. However, Mark Brunell will have a terrible game against his former team’s swarming defense. So it won’t be an easy home victory. Carlos Rogers will score the game’s lone touchdown on an interception return as the Skins win a slobber knocker, 13-6.

Sun., October 8th – at N.Y. Giants
Anyone else see the Giants collapsing this season? Really…just me then? Manning will regress, Tiki had his last decent season in 2005, and the Giants o-line will give up trying to block in late September. The lone bright spot in this game for the Giants will be the play of Lavar Arrington. Lavar will have 9 tackles by halftime. Midway through the third quarter, after pining the Skins inside their five, Lavar will take out Brunell in the endzone for a safety. Unfortunately, Lavar is so amped up playing against his former team, he celebrates the safety by head-butting the Giants Stadium wall, ending his season. Brunell rallies the troops late for a win. Back at ESPN studios, Chris Berman blames Gus Frerotte for Arrington’s injury and demands the entire Redskins team be suspended.

Sun., October 15th – vs. Tennessee
The Redskins tour of bad draft choices continues. After disposing of Mario Williams in week 3, the Skins get to embarrass Vince Young for their fourth straight win. Too bad the Redskins can’t make a clean sweep by leveling Vernon Davis and the 49ers. Prisco reluctantly moves the Redskins up one spot to 30th on his lastest power rankings.

Sun, October 22nd – at Indianapolis
Joe Gibbs skips this one to attend the weekend’s NASCAR race and the Redskins decide to take their bye week one week early. Peyton Manning, who will look mortal throughout the season without a consistent running game, goes off.

Sun., November 5th – vs. Dallas
Like last season, it will take the Redskins two months to get a home division game. Like last season, it will be against a team that employs Owens. And like last season, the Redskins will benefit from an Owens-[insert quarterback/coach/reporter here] blowup during the week. The Skins cruise as Owens refuses to play the second half and Chris Cooley reprises his 2005 performance with three more touchdowns against the Cowboys.

Sun., November 12th – at Philadelphia
Minus the speed of Lavar, the linebackers stand around helpless as Donovan McNabb runs for his usual 100 yards against the Redskins. The problem for Philadelphia? The rest of the team totals 15 yards of total offense. In typical Redskins fashion, Washington will try to hand the game to the Eagles anyway, only to have it returned to them as McNabb throws his fourth pick of the game in the waning minutes.

Sun., November 19th – at Tampa Bay
With the Redskins leading 20-14 late in the fourth, Chris Simms finds Cadillac Williams on a 55-yard screen pass to tie the game up. Out of habit, Jon Gruden goes for two despite only needing the extra-point to take the lead. Instead of Mike Alstott, Gruden elects to give the ball to Michael Pittman up the middle. No one is sure if Pittman scores, but the refs give Tampa the conversion anyway. Sean Taylor, fresh out of jail and making his season debut, spits in Pittman’s face. Back at the ESPN studios, Chris Berman has a heart attack.

Sun. November 26th – vs. Carolina
After playing three of their last four, and six of their last nine on the road, the schedule finally benefits the Skins. Carolina will be the first of three consecutive home games. To raise moral after the disheartening loss to Tampa, Portis dresses up as “Sheriff Playa Hater” during the week. The costume consists of a clown wig, a trademark Hogette pig-snout, a pair of aviator shades and a set of false teeth. The move backfires as Portis wears the getup to FedEx on gameday and is promptly arrested by the famously moody and unpredictable security guards and sent to a jail in Southeast. He finally finds his old friend Southeast Jerome waiting for him as Ladell Betts is forced to start in his place. Jake Delhomme has his best game of the year while Brunell has his worst. The D.C. area desends into the usual “OH MY GOD, WE’VE LOST TWO IN A ROW AND THE SKY IS FALLING” Monday Panic Mode. Prisco drops the Redskins to 35th in the power rankings, behind 30 NFL teams, the Toronto Argonauts, Berlin Thunder, New York Yankees and University of Oklahoma. Quizzically, the Redskins still rank ahead of the 49ers.

Sun., December 3rd – vs. Atlanta
The Michael Vick Experience featuring the Atlanta Falcons rolls into town without Vick, who finally mastered the West Coast offense only to break his leg when a screen pass play went horribly wrong in week 8. Matt Schaub, who everyone drooled over before the season started, played so poorly in his four starts that he was benched in favor of Virginia Tech rookie Bryan Randall. Randall does his best Vick impression – Marcus Vick that is – and steps on Andre Carter’s calf after being sacked. The resulting penalty on Randall starts a snowball effect and leads to a Redskins blowout victory. Back at ESPN studios, Chris Berman blames Andre Carter for the incident and says the Redskins should be forced to forfeit the game.

Sun., December 10th – vs. Philadelphia
Sean Taylor comes back from his two-game spitting suspension and dominates. With help from the other U alumni, Taylor and Rocky McIntosh lead the defensive charge as the Skins earn their first shutout victory in several seasons. Unfortunately, Taylor wears mismatching socks, drawing a three game suspension from the NFL.

Sun., December 17th – vs. Los Angeles Saints at San Antonio
After Hurricanes Alberto, Beryl, Chris and Debby smack into New Orleans, Saints owner Tom Benson decides he’s had enough and moves the team to Los Angeles in the middle of the season. However, when Los Angeles predictably screws up a stadium deal, the Saints are forced to play their remaining games in the Alamodome. Dan Snyder offers to play the Saints at FedEx Field, but NFL commissioner Condoleezza Rice quickly turns him down, saying that it would be completely unfair to the other three teams in the division if the fourth team were to get nine home games. And who would be stupid enough to allow that to happen? Saints rookie Reggie Bush is so confused by all the moving, he shows up at the Los Angeles Coliseum dressed in a red, #5 Trojans jersey. Without Bush, Drew Brees struggles, going 10 for 25 with two picks and a touchdown (at the time, Brees’ touchdown equals the season total of Philip Rivers). The Skins get their third straight easy victory.

Sun., December 24th – at St. Louis
The Rams seem to be potential blowout victim #4 as they limp into the Christmas holiday at 4-10. But it wouldn’t be a Redskins season if they didn’t play down to at least one opponent. Portis gets it going early and stakes the Redskins to an early lead. But the offense suddenly gets pass happy, and St. Louis crawls back into the game. It takes overtime for the Redskins as they clinch their division on a Brunell to Santana Moss 40-yard touchdown pass.

Sat., December 30th – vs. N.Y. Giants
After taking a look at the schedule, Tom Coughlin realizes that the Giants have only played eight home games so far. Expecting their traditional ninth home game on the season’s final weekend, the Giants show up to the Meadowlands on Saturday night ready to play. To their dismay, the G-men enter to an empty New Jersey stadium…save for Chris Berman and the ESPN/New York Network sports hype machine doing their pregame show. Berman is incensed that the Redskins didn’t bow and cater to New York City like his network does. Realizing there is little he can do, Berman decides to have Peter King guest host the show, and along with Michael Crackpipe Irvin, spends 30 minutes agreeing that Art Monk shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame over Irvin because Monk once refused to do an interview with King and hurt his feelings. Thanks to the forfeit, the Skins finish 12-4. That mark is good enough for a first place tie with Carolina and Seattle. The Skins earn a two seed in the NFC, and are labeled one of the favorites to win Super Bowl XLI. One day later, Pete Prisco comes out with his weekly rankings and generously has the Redskins ranked a season-high 26th. Dan Snyder has him “taken care of” soon after.

Off Season Recap: NFC

It’s officially May, so it’s time to start looking ahead to the start of the NFL in a few months. Here is a recap so far of what all the teams have done to either improve or hinder their squads in the last three months. I will not give a power ranking scale four months before the season begins. But, since most of the major free agents are off the market and the draft has concluded, it’s time to see which teams have raised expectations and which teams should start preparing for next year’s lottery. Here’s part two…the NFC.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys
Free agent grade: B+
Draft grade: C
Have they improved: Yes
Why: Because the Cowboys finally wised up and realized that in order to win close games, they need a kicker who won’t shank 30-yarders. Biggest acquisition in the offseason for the Girls was Mike Vanderjagt. What? Terrell who? Oh yeah, that guy who almost single-handedly sunk the Eagles. The jury’s still out on him. Bill Parcells has already gotten tired talking about him and is already frustrated with the media. In May. Not a good sign. Dallas lost Larry Allen on an already porous offensive line. And other than picking up the rapidly-aging Jason Fabini, Dallas did little to improve protection for their statue of a quarterback. They also lost La’Roi Glover, Dan Campbell, Keyshawn Johnson (addition by subtraction) and Torrin Tucker. Vaderjagt is a huge pickup and Akin Ayodele is a nice addition. Owens (subtraction by addition) will blow up eventually (I called it in Philly five days before it actually happened). Dallas had a boringly average draft. For Cowboys fans who actually think Anthony Fasano is the next Chris Cooley, I’d like to ask you to please step away from Michael Irvin’s hidden stash.

New York Giants
Free agent draft: A-
Draft grade: C-
Have they improved: Don’t know
Why: The Giants realized their defense stunk and signed about every able body they could. LaVar joins Will Demps, Sam Madison and Brandon Short in the new Blue defense. Madison is past his prime, and LaVar obviously carries a lot of baggage, but the additions of Short and Demps were smart and aggressive pick-ups. I love to see a team try and improve through free agency more than the draft. The defense should be much better in ‘06. However, the offense is due for a wake up call. 2005 was Tiki’s last hurrah, and Eli will fall back to Earth after passing for over 3,600 yards last season. Remember, the Giants offense sputtered the last few weeks of the season, including that delightful 23-0 home playoff loss in the first round. Most of this was due to a poor o-line and Eli being Eli. The G-men got a lot of depth on the o-line this offseason, but didn’t do anything to improve their below-average starters. And the Giants won’t be slated for 19 home games this season. This team still can’t win on the road. The draft was below average. Sinorice Moss will be good, but not right away.


You're looking at the worst coach in the NFC East. He may also be coaching the East's worst team.

Philadelphia Eagles
Free agency grade: D
Draft grade: A-
Have they improved: No
Why not: Losing T.O. may be a benefit off the field, but the usually inaccurate and now fragile Donovan McNabb has absolutely no NFL-caliber wideouts to throw to. Unless we’re counting Reggie Brown. And I’m not. The only addition worth noting for Philly was Ed Jasper, who as a defensive tackle, will do little to help the Eagles score points. With plenty of wide receivers on the market, and with plenty of room under the cap, the Eagles chose to go their typical cheap route and hope that one of the current receivers steps up. The Birds did have one of the better drafts. I don’t like the first round pick of Brodrick Bunkley, but the second round pick of Winston Justice is an absolute steal. So are the fourth round picks of Max Jean-Gillis and Jason Avant. And I like the pick of Jeremy Bloom in round five. That’s a guy that’s worth rolling the dice for. A lot of potential pros in the draft, but that won’t help Philly this season.

Washington Redskins
Free agency grade: A
Draft grade: C-
Have they improved: Yes
Why: I’ve been over this before, but here’s a quick recap. The two most glaring needs in the off-season for the Skins were receiver and a pass rushing defensive end. The Skins got Antwaan Randle-El and Brandon Lloyd to help take the pressure off Santana Moss, Clinton Portis and Mark Brunell. These guys don’t have to be all-stars even though they could be. They just have to be adequate diversions so the opposing defense can’t key on Portis and Moss. The Skins got one of the best young pass rushers in Andre Carter. And they upgraded their other safety position by dropping Ryan Clark and getting Adam Archuleta. And even though I hate saying it, by getting rid of LaVar the Skins rid themselves of a large distraction without losing that much talent (unlike the Eagles and Owens). Problems solved. No, the draft wasn’t great because of the lack of picks, but who cares? They addressed all their major needs in free agency with proven NFL players. And getting Rocky McIntosh in the second round was one of the best picks in the draft. He should be a legit starter this season for Washington. And let’s not forget that the Skins still have the best head coach and defensive coordinator in the NFL, and add Al Saunders, one of the best offensive minds in the game.

NFC North

Chicago Bears
Free agency grade: B-
Draft grade: C-
Have they improved: Slightly
Why: To anyone who watched the NFC divisional game against the Panthers, it became clear that the Bears most pressing need was corner. The good news is Chicago signed Ricky Manning Jr. The bad news is Chicago signed Ricky Manning Jr., who was charged with assault the day before the Bears announced his signing. If Manning can keep the assaulting between the lines, it’s a good move for Chicago. The Bears also made a smart move and picked up Brian Griese on the cheap as insurance for the annually injured Rex Grossman. Chicago didn’t lose anybody to free agency because…well, no one really wanted their sorry free agents. But the Bears had chances to sign Randle-El and Archuleta and allowed them both to get away. Chicago fell for the hype surrounding Abilene Christian corner Danieal Manning instead of drafting one of the other numerous corners from legit D-1 programs. But the Bears got good depth in the draft. Chicago has improved slightly, but I don’t know if they can improve on last season’s overachieving record. It certainly helps to play in the North.

Detroit Lions
Free agency grade: C+
Draft grade: D+
Have they improved: No
Why not: As usual, the Lions made some head-scratching moves in the off-season. There was a “Redskins-esque” turnover on their roster, but I’m not sure it was for the better. Detroit is trying to stockpile anywhere from five to seven quarterbacks in hope that one of them turns out decently. But switching from Jeff Garcia-Joey Harrington to Josh McCown-Jon Kitna isn’t really an improvement (By the way, what’s with all the “J’s”? Millen does know that Joe Montana isn’t returning to the NFL, right?). It’s more a sideways move. And the McCown/Kitna combination better get used to moving backward because Detroit still hasn’t improved their terrible offensive line. The Lions did sign a bunch of quality role players for low salaries, so free agency wasn’t that bad. Detroit managed to resist the temptation of drafting another receiver, but still didn’t do very well a few weekends ago. Second round pick Daniel Bullocks was a good selection, but the Lions reached for Ernie Sims and did very little with their later picks.

Green Bay Packers
Free agency grade: D+
Draft grade: C+
Have they improved: No
Why not: Brett Favre is still playing, right? That’s why not. Moving on.

Minnesota Vikings
Free agency grade: C
Draft grade: C
Have they improved: No
Why not: They gave up a quarterback who could potentially throw for 3,500 yards a season. If Daunte Culpepper never shows the form he did two years ago, then the Vikings are going to look kinda smart. I think Culpepper will be ready to go and fully healthy, if not this year then next season. And the Vikings did little to replace him. Yes, the Vikings made some nice pick ups. Tony Richardson, Chester Taylor, Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell were all very nice additions. But you don’t trade away your franchise quarterback because he is unhappy. Their draft was mediocre at best. The best thing the Vikings did all off-season was get rid of Mike Tice, who may be on of the worst coaches to ever grace the sideline. Forget all the scandals, Tice took a team with Randy Moss and Culpepper and ran it into the ground. Embarrassing.



No more of this in Minnesota.
Culpepper is taking his roll on to
South Beach.











NFC South

Atlanta Falcons
Free agency grade: B-
Draft grade: C-
Have they improved: Yes
Why: The Falcons kept the core of their team in place and made a couple of nice additions through free agency and the draft. The addition of John Abraham will make their defense a terror to face with all their current pass rushers. They also added Lawyer Milloy who still has some decent years left in him. The addition of Jimmy Williams in the draft is a nice compliment to DeAngelo Hall on the other side of the field. And the late selection of D.J. Shockley is an interesting one.

Carolina Panthers
Free agency grade: C+
Draft grade: C+
Have they improved: No
Why not: The Panthers lost two-thirds of their impressive linebacking core and half of their secondary. The losses of Brandon Short, Will Witherspoon and Ricky Manning will be hard to overcome in one season. Carolina did manage to add undersized but quick Na’il Diggs to help the recovery at linebacker. But Carolina did little to improve their secondary, and did little to get some much need depth at o-line. And Steve Smith is still basically the only wideout weapon for the Panthers. Give defensive coordinators an off-season, and they’ll find a way to stop him. So the Panthers had better come up with some decent alternatives if Smith is double-covered all game. Carolina made a brilliant pick to snatch DeAngelo Williams with the 27th selection. The rest of their draft was below average.

New Orleans Saints
Free agency grade: B+
Draft grade: A
Have they improved: Yes
Why: How often does one team get a potential franchise quarterback and running back in the same off-season? Almost never. But it happened twice in 2006, and the Saints were one of those teams. The addition of Drew Brees was as smart a move for New Orleans as it was a dumb move for San Diego to get rid of him. The additions of Scott Fujita, Mark Campbell and Michael Bennett were also first-rate. The Saints did lose LeCharles Bentley, T.J. Slaughter and Darren Howard, so it wasn’t all perfect in the world of free agency. But to have Reggie Bush fall into their lap after the complete ineptitude of Houston was unbelievable. Bush will be a star in the league. Even if he somehow fails, the Saints still have Deuce McAllister in the backfield. But you simply can’t pass on a talent like Bush. The second round selection of Roman Harper was an underrated, but quality draft pick.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Free agency grade: B
Draft grade: B
Have they improved: Yes
Why: Unlike most NFL teams, the Bucs recognized they had a problem at offensive line and fixed it by signing and drafting offensive linemen (unlike Houston, Dallas, Detroit and several other teams that try and add talent at the skill positions instead of improving the real problem with their offenses). Tampa grabbed Torrin Tucker and Toniu Fonoti off the free agent wire and drafted two NFL-caliber prospects (Davin Joseph and Jeremy Trueblood) with their first two picks. This will help Chris Simms more than signing another receiver would have. The Bucs also add Jamie Winborn in free agency to bolster their defense. It was a quiet, but productive off-season in West Florida.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals
Free agency grade: B+
Draft grade: A+
Have they improved: Yes
Why: Arizona is the other team to add a potential franchise quarterback and running back in the same off-season. Like the Saints, the Cardinals really only made one big signing in free agency. But the inking of Edgerrin James outweighs an otherwise lackluster free agency for Arizona. But the draft…oh boy the draft! Usually I don’t get worked up about a draft because it’s all still potential. But the first three selections by Arizona were amazing. How the other 31 teams allowed Arizona to get Matt Leinart, Deuce Lutui and Leonard Pope in the same draft is beyond me. Leinart will be the quarterback of the future for the next decade. Lutui should start immediately at guard for a below-average Cardinal offensive line. And Leonard Pope was the best tight end in the draft. Even their late selections of Brandon Johnson and Jonathan Lewis were steals.


Two main reasons that Arizona could challenge Seattle

St. Louis Rams
Free agency grade: B-
Draft grade: D+
Have they improved: Not really
Why not: The Rams are a real mess. All their talented players are aging and getting well past their prime. All the new selections and pick-ups haven’t worked out well in the St. Louis. Their team looks good one week, uninterested the next. The Rams did add Corey Chavous, La’Roi Glover and Will Witherspoon, while only losing Adam Archuleta through free agency. But they overpaid for all three. All of their quarterbacks of injury problems and their offensive linemen, other than Orlando Pace, are terrible. They failed to address those problems. Their draft was a stinker. Tye Hill will not amount to much in the NFL.

San Francisco 49ers
Free agency grade: D
Draft grade: D-
Have they improved: No
Why not: It’s hard to imagine that this team could be any worse than the 2005 disgrace they put on the field. But the 49ers managed to get worse. They lost Julian Peterson, Andre Carter and Brandon Lloyd through free agency, losing their last three players that anybody in their right mind would pay to see. The solution was to add Antonio Bryant, T.J. Slaughter, Larry Allen and Walt Harris through free agency. Ugh. Then the 49ers made the mistake of the draft by selecting Vernon Davis with the sixth pick. I’ve been over this, but to sum up, you don’t select a tight end with the sixth pick. Especially not when you need help at almost every other position. Not when that tight end was a non-factor on a mediocre college team. Ooooo, he jumps high in the combine. So what? Not when there are tight ends like Leonard Pope, who proved what he could do at a national powerhouse in Georgia, available in the late rounds. But the 49ers had a second chance to improve their team in the first round. They failed again by picking Manny Lawson. Lawson benefited from playing next to Mario Williams for a few seasons at NC State. Like Williams, Lawson’s success was helped by the fact that NC State’s entire defense was good. But in San Francisco, without Carter and Peterson, Lawson will be the target and will be nowhere near as effective as he was in college. Only Buffalo had a worse draft.

Seattle Seahawks
Free agency grade: C+
Draft grade: C
Have they improved: No
Why not: Good move in signing Julian Peterson. But they lost restricted free agent Steve Hutchinson to Minnesota for a rather large sum of money. And to retaliate, the Seahawks signed Minnesota restricted free agent Nate Burleson to the exact same contract. Who exactly are the Seahawks hurting here? Certainly not the Vikings. Which player is more valuable, Burleson or Hutchinson? It’s Hutchinson by a long shot. The draft was uninspiring. There isn’t much instant talent left with the 31st pick, so the Seahawks drafted for depth.

Off Season Recap: AFC

It’s officially May, so it’s time to start looking ahead to the start of the NFL in a few months. Here is a recap so far of what all the teams have done to either improve or hinder their squads in the last three months. Unlike that dope Pete Prisco, I will not give a power ranking scale four months before the season begins. But, since most of the major free agents are off the market and the draft has concluded, it’s time to see which teams have raised expectations and which teams should start preparing for next year’s lottery. We’ll start with the AFC for now.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills
Free agency grade: C-
Draft grade: F
Have they improved: No
Why not: The Bills may be having one of the worst off seasons in recent memory. In free agency and trades, they’ve lost Eric Moulds, Sam Adams, Lawyer Milloy, Trey Teague and Mike Williams (who, despite his struggles, is still very young and has shown promising signs of getting his act together). The Bills lone addition worth noting is old receiver Peerless Price, who flamed out with the Cowboys and the receiver-desperate Falcons. They did not address their pressing need on the offensive or defensive line. They have a bunch of number two and three receivers for their below average quarterbacks to throw to. And their key offensive player, Willis McGahee, is only one hit away from tearing up his knee again. And if he goes down, the Bills are really screwed. Buffalo followed up their lackluster free agency period with a horrible draft. With the eighth pick, they took Donte Whitner, who some had going in the early second round as only the fourth best safety in the draft. The Bills then followed with John McCargo, a NC State defensive lineman who only excelled because teams paid more attention to his Wolfpack teammate Mario Williams. Like Whitner, the Bills took McCargo a full round, if not two full rounds, too early. To pass on Winston Justice (twice) and both Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler shows the incompetence of their front office. If it wasn’t for the Texans continuing ineptitude, the Bills may actually be the worst team in the NFL this season.

Miami Dolphins
Free agency grade: A
Draft grade: C+
Have they improved: Yes
Why: If Daunte Culpepper is healthy, the Dolphins will win this division hands down. What an addition for Miami. How often does a team get a potential Pro Bowl quarterback for nothing more than a couple of bad draft picks? Culpepper to Chris Chambers could become the new Culpepper to Moss, only the Dolphins have a running game to compliment their new quarterback unlike his old Vikings teams. It’s addition by subtraction without Ricky Williams, as Ronnie Brown now becomes the team’s primary ball carrier. He’ll have free agent and Pro Bowler Fred Beasley blocking for him. The Fins add L.J. Shelton to a solid offensive line. And their defense is still pretty good. By filling their quarterback position, and without a position in need of improvement, the Dolphins drafted for depth and did a decent job of it. All in all, the Fins had the best off season in the East, and will make a serious playoff run this year.

New England Patriots
Free agency grade: C+
Draft grade: B-
Have they improved: No, but they haven’t gotten worse either
Why: The Patriots, as usual, refused to sign most of their high priced free agents and looked for cheaper replacements. Willie McGinest may have lost a step, but he was the heart and soul of that defense and will be impossible to replace. The Pats also lost David Givens, Tom Ashworth, Christian Fauria and Tyrone Poole. Their biggest lost (I can’t believe I’m saying this) was their place kicker. Adam Vinatieri not only leaves Boston, but goes to rival Indianapolis. I’m sure that was a swift kick in the groin to Patriots fans to see their Super Bowl hero go to the Colts. The Pats did pick up Reche Caldwell and Tebucky Jones in free agency. Nothing special there, but solid pickups. Through the draft, the Pats made a nice selection for Laurence Maroney and stole Chad Jackson in the second round. Not that I think Jackson is anything special, but he definitely warranted a second round pick. The problem for New England is not what it did or didn’t do in the off-season, it is what Miami did in the off season. The Patriots seem to be standing still and the Dolphins appear to be passing them up the standings.

New York Jets
Free agency grade: C+
Draft grade: B
Have they improved: Yes
Why: The Jets finally committed to building a winner through their offensive line. Realizing that they have two of the frailest quarterbacks in the league, the Jets drafted stud linemen D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold and signed Anthony Clement and Trey Teague. The loss of Kevin Mawae doesn’t seem so bad now. The Jets also picked up Kimo von Oelhoffen to help the defensive line. The loss of John Abraham could come back to haunt the Jets, but their linebacking core is solid and drop off on the d-line won’t be that dramatic. The loss of fullback Jerald Sowell will hurt the Jets. The drafting of Kellen Clemens is one I don’t understand. Do the Jets really need a third injury-prone quarterback? Overall, the Jets improved. But they were 4-12 last season. They certainly didn’t improve enough to sniff the playoffs.


I know, I can't believe the Jets made a smart, rational pick either.

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens
Free agency grade: D-
Draft grade: D+
Have they improved: No
Why not: The Ravens did absolutely nothing to improve their anemic offense. Absolutely nothing. In fact, their offense appears to have gotten worse. I don’t know how Reigning Genius Brian Billick managed to pull that off, but he did. The lone addition to the Ravens offense was Mike Anderson. They lost up and coming running back Chester Taylor and decided to stick with oft-injured and felon Jamal Lewis. The o-line is still terrible. The receivers are still adequate at best. And Kyle Boller is still the starting quarterback. Even worse, the Ravens lost their half-decent backup Anthony Wright to Cincinnati. And instead of moving up in the draft to address their quarterback needs, or taking Justice, or Max Jean-Gillis for their line, the Ravens drafted more defense. By bending over and catering to Ray Lewis (Who knows that he’s nothing special without two defensive tackles. Someone has been a bit overrated for all these years), the Ravens have screwed themselves for at least another two seasons. And this lineman Haloti Ngata isn’t even that good. He struggled at Oregon and the Ducks weren’t exactly a good defensive team to begin with. Plus, their defense will suffer from the loss of Anthony Weaver and Will Demps. So their efforts to improve their defense failed. In Baltimore, the inmates are running the asylum and Billick seems thrilled to go down with the ship. He may not make it through the season. But this is the year that Boller will “turn things around”…right?

Cincinnati Bengals
Free agency grade: B-
Draft grade: B-
Have they improved: Not really
Why: It was a quiet off-season by the banks of the Ohio. The biggest free agent acquisition may be Carson Palmer’s surgeon. Without Palmer, the Bengals are going to be 6-10. With a healthy Palmer, they could easily win the AFC. In terms of free agency, Cincy didn’t really pick anyone up, but they didn’t really lose anyone either. In the draft, their late round steals of Frostee Rucker and A.J. Nicholson made up for their poor first round selection of Johnathan Joseph. Overall, not much happened for the Bengals the past three months. Their entire season hinges on Palmer’s rebuilt knee.


The Bengals can't afford to see Carson
Palmer like this next season.
(AP)







Cleveland Browns
Free agency grade: A-
Draft grade: C
Have they improved: Yes
Why: The free agent additions of LeCharles Bentley, Bob Hallen, Joe Jurevicius, Willie McGinest and Ted Washington all addressed needs for Cleveland. Their only real loss was L.J. Shelton to Miami, but Bentley and Hallen make up for his defection on the offensive line. The Browns realize the best way to help young Charlie Frye is upgrade the offensive line, not his offensive weapons. And Kellen Winslow Jr., if he manages to avoid joyriding with Jason Williams, is still a great security blanket for a young quarterback. Defensively, the Browns got better up front as they adjust to defensive guru Romeo Crennel’s new system. The one thing Cleveland did not do was improve their below average secondary. But a good front seven can make a below average secondary seem better. Kamerion Wimbley was a nice addition through the draft, but Cleveland didn’t get much else with their nine other picks. The Browns appear to be on the rise with Crennel at the helm and a bunch of key additions on both sides of the ball.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Free agency grade: C+
Draft grade: B+
Have they improved: No
Why: Um, didn’t they just win the Super Bowl? It’s hard to improve on that. Even though they didn’t improve much in the off-season, the Steelers are still one of the favorites to come out of the AFC. But the loss of Jerome Bettis and Antwaan Randle-El will trickle down and affect Ben Roethlisberger and the offense. The loss of Kimo von Oelhoffen also stings a bit. The only free agent addition the Steelers signed is former Redskins safety Ryan Clark, who is a good, but not great player. What Pittsburgh didn’t do in free agency they did in the draft. Their selection of Santonio Holmes was pretty good, even though I think Sinorice Moss would have been a better fit. Both Anthony Smith and Willie Reid are solid mid-draft selections. And the Steelers are taking a chance with quarterback Omar Jacobs. Some question the pick, but look at the Steelers draft track record. It’s pretty good. I bet Jacobs becomes a productive player somewhere on the field for Pittsburgh. The Steelers are going to the playoffs again this season. The only question is whether they can duplicate last year’s run.

AFC South

Houston Texans
Free agency grade: B-
Draft grade: D-
Have they improved: No
Why not: It’s hard for a 2-14 team not to improve. But the Texans somehow managed not to do it. And it all started with these words: “With the first pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select Mario Williams…” I should have given the Texans a big fat “F” for the draft, but their later picks of DeMeco Ryans and Eric Winston saved them. It just boggles the mind how Charlie Casserly could pass on Reggie Bush. Apparently, ruining the Redskins in the mid-90’s wasn’t enough for Casserly. He’s back for seconds. Look, even if Bush is a bust, you can say to the fan base that he was the most exciting player in college football in the past two decades and we had to take him. What happens when Williams is a bust (notice how I say when, not if)? How do you go about explaining that to the people of Houston? I give Williams three years before the Texans release him. He has Courtney Brown written all over him. The Texans did a decent job in free agency. They added Eric Moulds to compliment Andre Johnson. They also added solid veterans in Mike Flanagan, Jeb Putzier and Anthony Weaver. And they didn’t lose much overall (not that anyone would want most of their players). So maybe the Texans did improve. Just not through the draft. They still need offensive line. They also need a decent running back. If only they had the chance to draft a running back…

Indianapolis Colts
Free agency grade: C
Draft grade: D
Have they improved: No
Why not: The loss of Edgerrin James was bad. The fact that Indy’s replacement for James is rookie Joseph Addai is worse. Dominic Rhodes and Addai can’t be expected to carry the load. Luckily for Indy, they still have some guy named Peyton Manning throwing the ball to some dudes named Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. Still, the running game will drop off this season. Indy did a good job in retaining other free agents like Cato June and Robert Mathis. Along with James, the Colts lost Larry Tripplett via free agency. The interesting move was the one at kicker. The Colts refused to resign last year’s playoff goat Mike Vanderjagt and instead signed Adam Vinatieri. It seems to be a good move on the field and it’s also a cheap shot directed towards New England. The Colts did nearly nothing in the draft. They didn’t have many positions to fill, and I’m sure they thought either Maroney or DeAngelo Williams would fall to them, but Addai is not the answer. They won’t be as good as last season, but this is still a very dangerous team.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Free agency grade: B+
Draft grade: C
Have they improved: Yes and no
Huh?: Yes, the Jaguars improved their player personnel. However, the Jaguars cruised to a playoff birth last year on one of the easiest second half schedules in recent seasons. Because of their record and the annual rotation of opponents, the schedule is much tougher. So were the Jaguars a good team playing an easy schedule, or were they a bad team that took advantage of an easy schedule? I guess we’ll find out in 2006 (first four games: Dallas, Pittsburgh, at Indianapolis and at Washington…good luck). The Jags resigned most of their key players and didn’t lose anyone of note. The addition of Nick Greisen kind of flew under the radar, but is a very good pickup for the Jags defense. I didn’t like their first round selection of Marcedes Lewis, but their second round pick of Lewis’ underrated college teammate Maurice Drew was a great move. Drew is already a polished runner and will most likely see a lot of playing time behind the injury-prone Fred Taylor.


Luck or talent? I guess we'll find out this season.

Tennessee Titans
Free agency grade: B-
Draft grade: C+
Have they improved: Yes
Why: The Titans picked up a group of nice role players to help rebuild their team. Kevin Mawae is an excellent signing, as is David Givens and Chris Hope. The only important player Tennessee lost was tackle Tank Williams. The big question mark for Tennessee is what will become of their 2006 draft. Could Vince Young and Lendale White become the best 1-2 draft picks in the NFL for one team? I guess they could, but I don’t think so. Still, I applaud the Titans front office for taking a smart risk here. At least on paper, this draft looks pretty good even though they have several reach picks. But they’re taking what seems to be an educated chance, unlike the Bills and Texans. It’s not like Young and White are going to be worse than Steve McNair and Kris Brown were last season. How well their draft picks turn out will determine the next five years for this franchise.

AFC West

Denver Broncos
Free agency grade: C+
Draft grade: C
Have they improved: No
Why not: The only thing Denver managed to accomplish in the off-season was create a quarterback controversy where there didn’t need to be one. Didn’t Jake Plummer just lead this team to a 13-3 record and an appearance in the AFC Championship Game? I like Jay Cutler and I think he’ll be a star, but the Broncos didn’t need to draft him. Other than that, the Broncos continue their quest to assemble the 2004 Cleveland Browns defense with free agent additions of Amon Gordon and Kenard Lang (who join Courtney Brown and Gerard Warren). Why the Broncos are going down this path I can’t tell you. But the draft day trade for Javon Walker was crucial, and saved an otherwise horrible off season. The losses of Mike Anderson, Trevor Pryce and Jeb Putzier are all big knocks against Denver. Other than Cutler, the Broncos didn’t do much with their picks. But I like Cutler, so I guess the Broncos didn’t do so poorly in the draft. Now all Mike Shanahan has to do is create the two-quarterback formation for his offense.

Kansas City Chiefs
Free agency grade: D+
Draft grade: B
Have they improved: No
Why not: As usual, the Chiefs did little through free agency to improve their terrible defense. Herm Edwards is not a miracle-worker defensively, he needs some NFL-caliber players the defensive side of the ball. The Chiefs lost corner Eric Winfield, so their defense may have actually gotten worst through free agency. They also lost fullback Tony Richardson, who was usually the key blocker for Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson last season. That is an undervalued loss for Kansas City. The Chiefs did pick up Tamba Hali, who will be a nice addition to the d-line. The third round pick of Brodie Croyle was also a good move. Trent Green is approaching his 37th birthday, and Croyle, if healthy, could be a solid replacement down the road. I also liked their sixth round pick of guard Tre’ Stallings from Ole Miss.

Oakland Raiders
Free agency grade: C-
Draft grade: A-
Have they improved: Yes
Why: With the amount of talent at the skill positions, I think it is impossible for the Raiders to only be 4-12 again. The quarterback situation is still unsolved, and the Raiders missed a golden opportunity to improve it by not drafting Leinart or Cutler. However, the Raiders did pick up Lance Johnstone and Tyrone Poole to help their defense. Despite passing on a quarterback, the Raiders actually had a decent draft for the first time in years. The Michael Huff selection wasn’t all that great, but Thomas Howard and Darnell Bing were two great picks in the mid-rounds. Plus, the Raiders best move was getting rid of pseudo-coach Norv Turner and hired Art Shell. Shell’s not that great, but he can at least bring a bit of discipline to the nuthouse in Oakland.

San Diego Chargers
Free agency grade: F
Draft grade: C
Have they improved: No
Why not: Two words: Philip Rivers. It’s one thing for a team to start a young, unproven quarterback when they’re rebuilding and they possess no one better at that position. It’s another thing to allow this fraud to start when you had a PRO-BOWL quarterback on the roster and plenty of room under the salary cap to resign him. Instead, the Chargers allow Drew Brees to get away for nothing, and now they’re forced to start this sidearm-throwing nobody on a team that could otherwise contend for a Super Bowl. Make sense to anyone else? On top of that, in case Rivers’ release point and slow release times aren’t enough, the Chargers lost two of their best offensive linemen to free agency as well. San Diego went 9-7 last season, and even with this scrub at quarterback, they could easily improve. But that is because they played so poorly last season, and squandered so many games, that it is almost impossible for them to play that badly again. But I’m sure Marty will find a way, and I’m sure Rivers will help him.