As usual, the signing of TO got the biggest amount of media attention. He's a superstar athlete - gifted beyond compare. He's also been the death knell for 2 franchises, but Dallas thinks they can at least keep him mollified long enough to get them into the Super Bowl? That'll be right hard to do in a quickly improving NFC. Two teams so far have really done extremely well in the free agency signings thus far. In the AFC, the leader far and away is Cleveland. They've nabbed a solid #2 receiver, an impact linebacker, and a new center. On paper, Cleveland's made a substantial jump in talent and veteran poise. McGinest will bring fire and ferocity to the D, while the offensive signings means that Cleveland has a nice core of really strong skill players. Their offense - assuming that Charlie Frye is the answer at QB - ought to be a pretty tough one to stop. They'll have talent over the middle with Winslow Jr, two good wide outs, a solid running game and a pretty good line on top of that. I'd say that the Brownies are the clear winners thus far. The other winner is the NFC's Washington Redskins. Their offense went into a slump late last year because they had no backup weapons at all to complement Santana Moss and Clinton Portis. Adding two WRs to their roster takes the pressure off of Moss, and Randel El in particular has been a strong #2-type receiver in his short career. The Skins have lost some defensive players, but Arrington probably won't hurt them much - he never really fit in well up there - and they can surely replace their FS without too much trouble. Some teams that have fared poorly include San Diego, Chicago and Carolina. San Diego's loss of QB Drew Brees was a surprise to me. While it clears the way for Philip Rivers to take control of the team, Brees had shown the ability over the past two season that he was an able and effective QB. Taking a player without any extensive full-time experience in the game's most critical position is not one to make fans or coaching staffs sleep easily at night. Regardless, San Diego has a quality football team and despite his shortcomings, a quality coach in Marty Schottenheimer. If anyone can guide a run-heavy team, it will be Schottenheimer. Chicago has done virtually nothing on the free agent front except lose out to Washington for Randel El's services. But they didn't lose anyone, either. Yet, Chicago was rather one-dimensional on offense to the point of being bad at times. They needed to find another offensive weapon to lighten the load on their existing players. If they don't make any moves at all, they will have lost in comparison to the other teams that have made some good signings. Carolina's loss of Will Witherspoon was a blow to their defense. He was as fast and sure a tackler as they had, and although they've worked to shore up their lines and secondary, the bottom line is that losing an impact player is hard to overcome. Plus, if the playoffs showed anything at all its that the Panthers need a complementary wide receiver to play with Steve Smith. Like Chicago, they've done very little, which could be a potential problem come opening day. What do you think of Detroit's moves to switch at the QB position? Their other signings have been good to moderate impact, but the QB change signals a big-time switch in the D. Either Josh McCown or Jon Kitna will lead this team in 2006. Certainly, their QB play cannot really get worse, can it? But will it improve that much with either player? Kitna is fiery and a good leader, but he showed in the playoffs that he can get rattled, and his passing can be off sometimes. McCown has played his career on bad teams, but has shown flashes of real ability despite playing for Arizona and coming into the league greatly unheralded. Now that free agency is moving along nicely, let's take a quick capsule look at the teams... AFC East Patriots - lost some players, lost some more when free agents didn't sign. Still, having Brady ensures top quality play at QB, and they still have Corey Dillon despite the fact he's aging. Losing McGinest could really hurt in the long run - he was a pure impact player. Dolphins - look out - there could be a new big boy in the AFC East, and the Duante Culpepper-led 'Fins are in position to wreak some serious havoc. They didn't lose any real impact players, and adding Culpepper could prove to be a steal of a trade if he regains his health and his ability. But with a solid running game and good receivers, Miami has perhaps left the doldrums of the past 4 seasons. New York Jets - ouch. They don't seem to have any strategy in this off-season. Whether that's because of a new staff or new GM or just plain cluelessness, its hard to say. But a weak team losing O-linemen, probably losing their disgrunted defensive star and having major QB issues does not signify any kind of resurgence in 2006. Buffalo - Adding Larry Tripplett from Indy and Andre' Davis could help. But they've given up on draft bust Mike Williams, and they are still in a state of flux after the unexpected departure of Mularkey. The bottom line here is that Buffalo does not look like they've improved. AFC North - say what you will about Baltimore, but this division suddenly looks like the best in football - barring none. Of course, that's on paper, but... Pittsburgh - losing Randel El and Hope will hurt, but they've made some signings to cover those losses. Here's the key - they're returning 9 of 11 starters on defense and at least 9 of 11 starters on offense. And that on the Super Bowl defending champions. They're not hurting. Baltimore - now they have 2 quality backs, but no line to block for them. Their QB play has been subpar, and they are still relying on a tough but aging defense. Its no guarantee, but Baltimore's outlook is not rosy. Cincinnati - no losses or gains to speak of. They are obviously targeting the draft to improve. Bet your bottom dollar they'll look to get a solid pass-catching tight end. Yet another weapon for Carson Palmer... Cleveland - doormats of the AFC North no longer, they made seriously impressive moves to get into contention on paper. But will it be enough? A young QB always make predicting success far more dicey a proposition... AFC South Indy - OUCH! They lost 1,500 yards in Edgerrin James (plus his blitz pick-up ability) and two impact players on defense without adding anyone. Maybe they think standing pat is okay, but Indy was dismantled by Pittsburgh in the playoffs, yet did nothing to shore up the weak points in this team. Peyton can win regular season games for them, but in the long run, the only thing that matters is winning titles. And they took a decided step away from that goal... Tennessee - They lost a C and gained one back. They picked up defensive standouts David Thorton and Chris Hope, but WR David Givens. And they have the #3 pick in the draft. Maybe not this year, but Tennessee is rebuilding that team swiftly. Jacksonville - Quietly and without fanfare (typical of the franchise) they've maintained the status quo and added a couple of nice players here and there. But they had some questions last year on offense, and were dismantled by NE in the playoffs. Their draft is going to be important. Houston - sigh. On a bad team, they lost some of their impact players and haven't done much to improve a woeful offensive line. The #1 pick in the draft isn't going to help much if they can't find anyone to block for expected pick Reggie Bush. AFC West Denver - Losing Mike Anderson might not matter much - so far, losing top backs hasn't hurt Denver. They continue to act like Cleveland West, adding yet another Cleveland player to their roster. Still, aging vets in key places like WR will make it difficult to repeat 2005's success. Kansas City - Resigning Will Shields keeps the best O-Line in football intact. With LJ running full steam ahead, KC's offense looks to be another juggernaut. Can their defense finally start playing quality football? San Diego - As mentioned, losing Drew Brees might be a huge hit. Or not - it'll depend on Philip Rivers. He was drafted #4 overall in 2003, and then traded, so the man has to have some skills. I guess this is the year that we'll see... Oakland - No signing. Only lost Ted Washington (bigger name). Yet at 5-11, and a new coaching staff, and several refusals...? Oakland is treading water...but with a losing record, what's the point? NFC East Philly - Discarding TO was a no-brainer. Adding Jabar Gaffney was a nice little pick up. Now, all eyes are on the draft, and some think that a heavy hitter like LenDale White is just what the Dr ordered for the Eagles... Washington - completely remade their roster. Again. Will it matter? So far, in the past, it hasn't done much. But a third year for Joe Gibbs, and better complements of weapons, with a still-solid defense, puts Washington ahead of the pack in the NFC East. Dallas - added TO. Lost Keyshawn. Traded in one jerk for a bigger one. Losing La'Roi Glover and Dan Campbell might hurt more in the long run though. Dallas will compete...at least until TO explodes. In which case, he'll drag the franchise down with him like he did SF and Philly... New York Giants - they've quietly replaced most of their losses through free agency. A good o-line, strong QB and good receiving corps means the Giants will again have a solid offense. But age is one day going to catch up to that defense, and adding old veterans to replace lost old veterans isn't any way to get younger. NFC North Chicago - didn't add much. Didn't lose much. Still, a bad offense didn't improve just because they've been together for a year... Minnesota - Chester Taylor might help, but Brad Johnson has some weak points that teams can exploit. Not too sure what direction the Vikes are going, but Brad Childress is competent, and ought to have them team playing at least hard all season. Green Bay - all things rest on Brett Favre's decision. Some small moves, but Green Bay's still iffy in talent, and no amount of free agent signings or draft picks will improve that overnight. Detroit - probably got better by removing Harrington from the picture. But its hard to say - and in a weak division like the NFC North, even incremental improvements could really affect the race. NFC South Atlanta - Lawyer Malloy will help. So will a potential import of John Abraham. A solid team on paper regardless of free agency moves. Will it matter, though? Atlanta's up and down so this year they'll make the playoffs... Tampa Bay - Not bad - keeping things in place for the most part. Aging defense though, has to be a concern...and not much done to patch it up. Carolina - losing Witherspoon will hurt a ton, and not adding offense to help Steve Smith doesn't help things. New Orleans - lots of moves - especially Drew Brees - means the #2 position in the draft offers a ton of possibilities. Ferguson to the Saints? It wouldn't surprise anyone, and could really help improve this team in a big hurry. NFC West Arizona - nice skill players on offense, but no line to block. Need some help there. Young, fast defense is tough, but cannot overcome a weak offense most of the time. San Francisco - some decent imports. Still, a bad team last year needed to make a bigger splash, and they didn't. The draft is key, but a big fat question mark at QB haunts this team. Seattle - resigning Alexander was huge. Signing Hutichson is bigger. If they do that, then the NFC rep in SBXL ought to be the NFC Rep in XLI. St. Louis - strong signings to shore up a weak defense, plus resigning key contributors on offense. St. Louis should be heavily in the mix in the NFC West, assuming they can ever beat Seattle. A dark, stalking horse, team in the NFC by the looks of things... All in all, most teams are obviously looking to rely on the draft to shore up key weak points on their teams. But with so many holes appearing on even quality teams, assuming that draft picks will alter the team's ability is doubtful. While some rookies have immediate impacts, others take a year or two to bloom. There are some big questions going into next months' draft, and you'd be blind not to shake you head at some of (non) moves made thus far.