The Miami Dolphins’ management began a discussion with potential draft pick Jake Long’s agent this past week. This discussion with Michigan’s mammoth All America Offensive Tackle has sent ripples across the NFL as everyone’s draft boards may have received what may turn out to be the first solidifying information of the year, but not so fast my friend, as one of those college football commentators likes to say. It’s time for the Raiders’ Al Davis and a couple of other NFL team owners and their upper management types to take a seat and listen for a change. Al, you might even want to take notes so you’ll be able to remember what’s being said here when you get out of bed tomorrow…

 

Early this coming week you can expect to hear that these same Dolphins have begun a conversation with Vernon Gholston, the Defensive End / Outside Linebacker that left a year of eligibility on the table with Ohio State and entered the 2008 Draft. Then later in the week you’ll most likely hear that the Phins are talking to Virginia’s Defensive End Chris Long. Got the picture yet? No?

 

     

              Vernon Gholston          Chris Long                         

Glenn Dorsey

Before April 26th, if I don’t miss the mark, we’re going to hear that the Dolphins have opened conversations with at least four of the top five 2008 draft prospects.

Why do you think they’re going to do this?

Al? Any idea?

No, it’s not to throw off the rest of the teams as to the Dolphins’ intentions with their number one pick.

You say that’s what you think Al?

You’re asking me what Al? What’s the point of that? All right, now listen carefully, Al. The Dolphins are playing it smart. They’re going to get a feel for how much each of these top prospects expect to receive in guaranteed money in order to sign before draft day is here. The Phins will be able to play games with each of these prospect’s negotiators and maybe even get a top player for less money by using this tactic, but that still is not the reason they are going through this exercise.

AL DAVIS! Get your head up off of that table in front of you and pay attention! The Dolphins are working to have their first pick of the draft signed, sealed and delivered before they ever announce who that pick actually is on the draft day. What a revelation!

What did you say Al? I see, money is not a consideration for the Pride and Poise organization. Uh-huh.

Well Al, how does having your $30 million first round pick from last year in training camp from the get go grab you?

What’s that Al? So what?

 

Well, it’s important to most NFL teams to have their top draft picks, you know, the expensive ones, in camp so they are sure to learn their team’s system as soon as possible rather than have them holding out while the rest of the team practices. Then these teams are in a better position to receive a return on their major investments sooner rather than later.

 

Yes Al, that might have given your young quarterback, Mr. Russell, a little more insight into the Raider playbook...

But thinking about it Al, since money is no object, what does it matter?

It’s interesting to follow the most active teams in the NFL’s Free Agency market. It should give us an idea of the importance certain teams place in maintaining or rebuilding their player personnel using this sometimes expensive option… Each team goes to their own drummer, some are very successful while others leave a lot to be desired. Some teams have management people who just have a knack for picking off top players, whether it is by way of this market, or through the annual draft of young talent, they just seem to have an inside track, and they are very well compensated for this ability. It’s the very rare personnel manager that can do this consistently. In my opinion, one of these highly paid personnel gurus resides in the New England Patriots’ head office. Scott Pioli is the Pat’s Vice President in charge of Player Personnel and widely accepted as one of the best in the business. Another of these rare birds is actually a tuna! Bill Parcells has taken his talent to Miami and big things are expected from him by the team’s owners, who I’m sure are laying a few bucks on the man…

Here are the most active teams so far in free agency with special emphasis on the top two:

Carolina's Head Coach John Fox and General Manager Marty Hurney

The Carolina Panthers are usually in the free agent market but this year they are very much more active. Here are the new, re-signed and designated Panthers:

The Players They’ve Kept:

Offensive Tackle (OT) Jordan Gross with 5 years in the NFL was due to become an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) but instead the 6’5” 300 pounder out of Utah was given the Franchise Tag by Carolina.

Offensive Guard (OG) Travelle Wharton with 3 years in the league was re-signed by the Panthers rather than allowing the 6’4” 312 pounder from South Carolina to become a UFA.

Fullback (FB) Brad Hoover, an 8 year veteran out of Western Carolina was also re-signed in lieu of becoming a UFA. The 6’ 245 pound blocking back has become an icon with the Panthers…

The Players They’ve Added:

Outside Linebacker (OLB) Landon Johnson, a 4 year veteran playing out of Purdue and the Cincinnati Bengals was signed as a UFA. The 6’2” 232 pounder is considered one of the better OLBs in the game.

Free Safety (FS) Erik Coleman, another 4 year veteran was signed as a UFA from the New York Jets. The 5’10” 200 pound Coleman played his college ball with Washington State.

Wide Receiver (WR) Muhsin Muhammad was brought back to the team of his glory years after playing with the Chicago Bears for the last couple of seasons. Still considered a top receiver, the 6’2” 215 lb. 13 year veteran who was cut by the Bears suffered thanks to their poor passing game and it is hoped some of Muhsin’s old magic can reappear back in Carolina.

WR Dominique Thompson has also been added to the Panther’s potential receiving corps. The 2 year veteran who played for St. Louis and for William and Mary in college, will hopefully add depth.

OG Keydrick Vincent, an 8 year NFL performer, comes to the Panthers from the Arizona Cardinals as a UFA. The 6’5” 325 pounder, who played collegiately for Mississippi, adds experience and depth to the offensive line.

Defensive End (DE) Tyler Brayton was also signed as a UFA. The 6’6” 280 pound 6 year vet comes to Carolina by way of the Oakland Raiders and the University of Colorado. He will add depth to the defensive line.

The Players They’ve Lost:

Defensive Tackle Kris Jenkins was traded to the New York Jets for 3rd and 5th round 2008 draft picks.

Quarterback (QB) David Carr, Running Back (RB) DeShaun Foster, and OG Mike Wahle were all cut.

DE Mike Rucker, WRs Keary Colbert and Drew Carter, Safeties Marquand Manuel and Deke Cooper, DT Kindal Moorehead, Inside Linebacker (ILB) Dan Morgan, and FB Billy Latsko were all released to become UFAs.

These account for 21 Carolina transactions over the past two months. The Panther’s most significant moves were made to preserve the integrity of their offensive line with the Gross and Wharton moves. Secondarily, the trade of Kris Jenkins for a 3rd and a 5th draft pick in the upcoming draft allow them to add more new blood. Finally the release of long time feature back, DeShaun Foster, OG Wahle and QB David Carr are considered a sign of the times as personnel and financial managers are forced to come to agreement in terms of the payroll and the salary cap. As a result of these moves, the Panthers current team needs now are prioritized like this: RB, QB, DE, FS, SS, OG, OT, TE, & CB.

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Miami's New Brain Trust, Head Coach Tony Sparano and Personnel Guru Bill Parcells

The other top active team to date in free agency comes as no surprise. The Miami Dolphins’ Bill Parcells is busily working his magic transforming the team into what their fans all hope will become a team that returns them to their past glory. Here are the new and re-signed Dolphins:

The Players They’ve Kept:

FS Yeremiah Bell a 4 year Dolphin who played college ball for Eastern Kentucky. The 6’ 200 pound back-up re-signed for one make or break year.

Cornerback (CB) Michael Lehan, a 5th year veteran and starter last season for the Dolphins was re-signed to a 4 year contract. Evidently the Tuna liked what he saw of this 6’ 190 lb. defensive back.

The Players They’ve Added:

 WR Ernest Wilford was signed as a UFA out of Jacksonville by way of Virginia Tech. A 6’4” 221 lb. possession receiver should be a good compliment to last year’s top draft pick, deep threat Ted Ginn, Jr.

OG Justin Smiley another UFA signing who played for Alabama and then was a 3rd round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers. Smiley is 6’3” and 311 lbs. and should assume a starting guard position next season.

QB Josh McCown came to the Dolphins via the UFA route from the Oakland Raiders where he shared time starting on the Raiders quarterback carousel… The 6’4” and 215 lbs. QB out of Sam Houston State, being a 6 year veteran, McCown becomes the most experienced QB on the team.

TE Sean Ryan was signed to add depth and, at 6’5” and 265 lbs., he’ll be counted on as a blocker in the TE corps. Ryan last was a back-up with the New York Jets and he played his college ball for Boston College.

Parcells then went to work on the defensive side of the line by signing one DT in Randy Starks, a 4th year UFA from Tennessee who played for Maryland in college. Then Parcells traded two 6th round draft picks, one in 2008 and one next year, to his last team, the Dallas Cowboys, for 12 year veteran DT Jason Ferguson. With the exception of their playing experience these two defensive linemen are virtually bookends at 6’3” and 312 pounds.

OLB Reggie Torbor also came from the UFA pool by way of the New York Giants. The 6’2” 250 lb. back-up comes from a strong defensive team and will be counted on to fill holes left by free agency. Reggie is another Southern Boy who played ball for the Auburn Tigers.

Finally, Parcells signed another free agent linebacker, Charlie Anderson, a 5 year veteran from the Houston Texans by way of Mississippi. A big backer at 6’4” and 245 lbs. Anderson will also fill out the linebackers corps.

The Players They’ve Lost:

OG Rex Hadnot was the most accomplished player lost to free agency, followed by order of Scout.com’s player rankings, OT L.J. Shelton, QB Cleo Lemon, OLB Derrick Pope, WR Marty Booker, OG Chris Liwienski, RB Jesse Chatman, SS Lance Schulters and OT Mike Rosenthal. While QB Trent Green and DT Keith Traylor were Parcells cuts.

The Parcells led Dolphins also have made 21 transactions over the past couple of months. These moves represent the opening volleys as Parcells shakes out one type of player in favor of players in the Parcells mold. To date, QB Cleo Lemon (Jacksonville) is the only former Dolphin to find a new home. Only time will tell how productive the team’s additions will become. Up front it appears that WR Wilford and OG Justin Smiley are the best players brought on board.

The Dolphins revised team needs list at this point in time: OT, OG, CB, QB, SS, C, DT & RB.

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Two teams have made a total of 18 transactions since January and what’s interesting is that they both were playoff teams in 2007.

  

New England's Player Personnel man Scott Pioli and Head Coach Bill Belichick.

Surprisingly the team that almost went undefeated last season, the New England Patriots, is one of the two. The Patriots seem to walk the line blending older, experienced players with their annual draft selections. They re-signed three key performers that were eligible for free agency, WRs Randy Moss and Jabar Gaffney, and ILB Tedy Bruschi. To counter the CB losses of Pro Bowler Asante Samuel, Randall ####, Jr., and Chad Scott, they were offset by the signings of CBs Jason Webster (Buffalo) and Lewis Sanders (Atlanta). Considering the Pats lost two other WRs to free agency, Donte Stallworth and Troy Brown, WR Sam Aiken (Buffalo) was also signed.  They lost Safety Eugene Wilson and signed a Safety of similar abilities in Tank Williams (Minnesota). Their losses in the linebacker corps of Junior Seau, Rosevelt Colvin and Larry Izzo have not as yet been countered.

New England’s revised team needs list is as follows: OLB, CB, ILB, RB, FS, OG, OT, SS & DT.

I’m sure Scott Pioli will fill the voids…

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Tampa's General Manager George Allen and Head Coach Jon Gruden

The other playoff team from last year that is racking up the transactions is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. General Manager and personnel specialist George Allen, along with Head Coach Jon Gruden made a last place turn around to first in the NFC South last season, but they’re not sitting back on their laurels as they strive to get back to the promised land. One thing that deserves mentioning about the Buc’s turnaround is that they accomplished it with the youngest offensive line in the NFL. The O-line is usually the area where teams strive to maintain continuity at all costs and yet the Tampa offensive line featured one first year performer (OG Aaron Sears out of Tennessee), three second year performers (OG Davin Joseph, Oklahoma, OT Jeremy Trueblood, Boston College, and OT Donald Penn, Utah State) and one grey beard center, 10 year veteran John Wade. So what do they do? They sign center C Jeff Faine a 6 year veteran away from division rival New Orleans. Coach Gruden’s penchant for collecting quarterbacks continues unabated  as the Buccaneers traded a conditional 2009 draft pick to the Chicago Bears for QB Brian Griese, this without losing a QB to free agency which brings their total to six QBs if you count Jake Plummer… They signed two TEs with Ben Troupe from Tennessee most likely earmarked to start and John Gilmore from Chicago being a back-up. These two offset the losses of TEs Jerramy Stevens and Anthony Becht to free agency. Other losses to free agency and outright cuts concerned back-up RB Michael Pittman and C Matt Lehr. On the defensive side CB Brian Kelly became a UFA as well as OLB Jeremiah Trotter, while two veteran DTs, Kevin Carter and Greg Spires were cut.

Tampa’s revised team need list is as follows: CB, DT, WR, OLB, FB, OT, RB, DE & TE.

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Other teams taking advantage of the free agent market in a big way include the rebuilding Atlanta Falcons with 17 transactions, another playoff team, the Jacksonville Jaguars who have made 15 transactions over the last couple of months, the San Francisco 49ers with 15 transactions, and the Oakland Raiders and  New Orleans Saints, both having made 14 transactions in this same time period.

Of the nine teams mentioned here busily working the free agency market, three were playoff teams last season, three were last place in their divisions, and one complete division is represented, the NFC South.

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There are many ways to build a winner. I think a lot of teams' personnel specialists have paid close attention to how they’re doing it in New England. They try to hold onto and accumulate draft picks while blending in experienced talent via the free agent market, all this while being very conscious of payroll. In the NFL, they adhere to the highest form of praise, they copy a winner...

I've come to the conclusion that yet another sports award is called for...

SOUR GRAPES

After listening to a certain former Miami Dolphins head coach on a couple of Sports Talk Shows discredit the fact that the New England Patriots have a shot at going undefeated for the first time since his beloved Dolphins accomplished this feat in 1972, I've come to the conclusion that Don Shula deserves this high award for such low behavior.

Keep it up Don and you'll lose the respect of all of your past fans...