After three months of high-profile coaching changes, general manager switches, scouting combines, free-agent signings, cuts, waiver wire pickups, contract negotiations, franchise tags, draft stock rises, draft stock slips, trades, franchise tags, players who hate their franchise tags, and a whole lot of Brady Quinn talk -- the busiest time of the 2007 off-season is finally behind us.
While there are certainly some loose ends still waiting to be tied up (ie. Trent Green, Lance Briggs, and Keyshawn's future), it's time to rank the 2007 NFL off-seasons. 32 teams, 32 slots. Where'd your team finish up? Let's find out.
It was no surprise that the Raiders took LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft.
What was a surprise is how far another quarterback, Notre Dame's Brady Quinn, fell.
The Dolphins passed on Quinn to take Ted Ginn, Jr., which has set up a scenario that sent the former Fighting Irish passer tumbling down the first round.
Why did Quinn fall? However, was it a situation where everything worked out for the better for Quinn and the Browns?
That wasn't been the only surprise of the first round.
The Lions took their fourth wide receiver in the first round in six years. Has Detroit GM Matt Millen lost his mind, or was Calvin Johnson just too good to pass up?
Marshawn #### went to the Bills at pick No. 12. Will he be a suitable replacement for the departed Willis McGahee?
Brady Quinn continues to be the NFL Draft's great enigma.
While Peter Schrager has the Notre Dame passer going to the Browns, Derek Harper figures the Lions may just pass on all-world tackle Joe Thomas and snag Quinn with the second overall pick.
Will quarterbacks go 1-2 in April's draft?
Is Brady Quinn overrated? Does he belong further down the order?
The first full week of NFL free agency is over, and what a wild week it was.
No position saw more movement than the running back position, where the Browns signed former Raven Jamal Lewis, the Jets traded with the Bears for Thomas Jones, Ahman Green left Green Bay and signed with the Texans, the Ravens acquired Willis McGahee from the Bills and the Giants snagged Reuben Droughns from Cleveland.
The top running back in the 2007 NFL Draft is Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson. In the latest mock draft, posted before the NFL's free agency period started, Peterson was projected to go to the Browns.
Are the Browns still in the market for a running back? Or, does Lewis' signing mean Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn could slide into the No. 3 overall draft spot?
Are there any other teams that may be rethinking their draft strategy?
A week-and-a-half after the final buzzer at the NBA All-Star game, the league is still -- rightly or wrongly -- feeling the heat over a few bad apples who were in Las Vegas for the festivities.
Also voted in were running back Thurman Thomas, offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, defensive back Roger Wehrli and two nominees of the veterans' committee - tight end Charlie Sanders and guard Gene Hickerson.
Are you surprised Tagliabue did not get elected?
Why do you think he didn't get elected?
Should Art Monk, Derrick Thomas and Richard Dent be included?
Was Wehrli, a defensive back for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 70s, really worthy of a spot over those who did not get in?
A third slightly lesser luminary (Hawaii's Colt Brennan) also joined the ever-growing list of early entries.
We wanted you to weigh in on their decisions (as well as the decision of all the other early entries to date). Who's making a mistake? Who's getting out at the right time? Who's going to have the best pro career?
It was a thorough enough defeat to erase any doubt over which of the two teams was better. However, with Ohio State getting crushed in a game it was expected to win, many had to wonder ... "would one-loss Louisville or Wisconsin, or even 13-0 Boise State, would have given the Gators a better game?"
Even with a No. 1 vs. No. 2 BCS title game showdown, college football fans must have an empty feeling that a true national champion wasn't crowned. Is a playoff the only possible way to determine a true national champion? Or, are college football fans just not giving Florida its due? What do you think?
In just a short while, all the arguing and analyzing and the posturing and predicting won't matter and Ohio State and Florida will play a little game for the national championship.
Which means there's only a little bit of time left for this debate …
The school of Touchdown Jesus and Knute Rockne now has a more ignominious distinction: nine straight bowl losses, breaking a tie with South Carolina and West Virginia for the most in NCAA history. It is clear the Fighting Irish aren't among the nation's elite.
What do you think?
Should Notre Dame continue to be invited to BCS bowls, even if there are clearly better teams out there -- we're looking at you, Auburn and Wisconsin -- that would give opponents a better game?
Or, is a third lopsided loss in three BCS bowl games enough to keep Notre Dame from earning its spot in the marquee games? Are you as sick of seeing this annual debacle as many other college football fans are?
So what do you think about the move? Will Saban make the Crimson Tide nationally relevant again? Is there any way he can possibly be worth the reported $35 to $40 million Alabama will pony up? Or are you just too annoyed with Saban's slippery approach to taking the gig to really have an opinion yet?
Did the hook-and-ladder tying touchdown and the Statue-of-Liberty two-point conversion (just two of the more notable highlights) launch Boise State's 43-42 OT win into the pantheon along with Vince Young's performance in last year's Rose Bowl, Ohio State's OT win (and subsequent national title) over Miami and Tom Osborne's ill-fated decision to go for two against the Hurricanes?
2006 is about to be nothing more than a memory. And thanks to some of the athletic exploits of the last 12 months ... what a memory it will be.
There was triumph (Vince Young at the Rose Bowl and Jerome Bettis on Super Sunday) and tragedy (Barbaro breaking down). And in some cases -- like Tiger losing his father, but winning two more majors -- there was both.
And of course, there was controversy, whether it was the head butt heard round the world or the wide-ranging impact of steroids.
Ultimately, we're leaving the choice up to you. What is your top story of the year?
The football series between Florida International and Miami, marred this year by a bench-clearing brawl that led to the suspension of 31 players, will continue in 2007.
In the aftermath of the ugliest scene from this fall's college football season, Florida International suspended 18 players, kicking two off the team entirely, while Miami suspended 13 players for their role in the brawl.
What do you think? Should these two schools be allowed to play each other next season? Ever again?
Ohio State's Troy Smith, Notre Dame's Brady Quinn and Arkansas' Darren McFadden were named as the three finalists for the 2006 version of the award. Which one of them most deserves the honor? Or is someone who didn't even make the final cut more worthy?
This is a place where FOXSports.com readers can voice their opinions on our columnists and their takes on the hot-button issues in the world of sports.
