When the free agency season was delayed, it obviously gave a lot of teams more time to think things through and plan things out. When the agreement was finally reached, adding about 10 million to the cap figure for 2006, the teams opened the checkbooks and have started the dealing. Team-based moves: 4 TD moves Arizona - Edgerrin James. They get a high-quality back, with still-capable legs, a great outlet back and a solid blitz blocker. He should relieve some of the pressure on the passing game by his presence alone. It should also validate Arizona's running game from the start, which should benefit the entire offense as a whole. Cleveland - LeCharles Bentley. Cleveland's running game - although solid with Reuben Droughns - could use some help by upgrading the offensive line. A perfect match here - a solid (best of the free agent class) center that will anchor their line for some time to come. It should take some of the pressure off of Charlie Frye having a better O-Line, which ought to help the Brownies overall. Additional signings of Joe Jurevicius and Orpheus Roye, plus the conversations with Willie McGinest, could put Cleveland atop the class for free agent signings. Best of all, they were able to add players that can help their team immediately. With the core of talent they have at key skill positions, Cleveland has done a solid job of immediately improving their team on paper. 3TD moves Washington. They added WR Antwaan Randel El, SS Adam Archuleta and traded for SF WR Brandon Lloyd. A team that suddenly was thin as WR has added some real complementary weapons. Randel El is another quick, speedy type, and should fit nicely as a complement to Santana Moss. Archuleta will add strength and instincts to the safety position. They filled out some roster needs rather done, and by most standards, probably aren't done yet. St. Louis. Adding speedy and capable LB Will Witherspoon will pay immediate dividends to a defense that has been weak. It will be interesting to see how the new coaching staff handles the high-powered offense they've inherited. It will be more interesting to see if they can shore up a weak D, and Witherspoon adds a presence. QB movement What do you think of New Orleans and Miami signing Drew Brees and obtaining Duante Culpepper? For New Orleans, it was a move towards stability, and few franchises are lucky to obtain a QB in his prime. While Brees has been steady to good for the past 2 years, his start in the league was less than stellar. In a tough environment, he will be much harder pressed to repeat his two-year run of moderate success. Like San Diego, though, he can rely on a power back in Deuce McAllister to keep some of the pressure off of him. Culpepper's move to Miami fills a dramatic need for the 'Fins, and they only gave up a 2007 second-round choice to get him. Culpepper has proven in the past he's capable of leading a team, but what was last year's play from? If it was indicative of what he does without Randy Moss, then Miami hasn't done much except bring on trouble. But if things behind the scenes were worse than we all knew, and Culpepper resurrects his career, the 'Fins are suddenly contenders in the AFC East. Non-moves? Many teams have been quiet on the free agent front, except in a few cases to sign backups or allow players to leave. Some teams have lost out of the players they wanted - like Chicago losing Randel El to Washington. Until all of the dust is settled, we won't have a full read on the free agency season. Bad moves I have to wonder about what Edgerrin James was thinking when he signed with Arizona. I mean, here's a guy that went from one of the best offenses in the game to a team that has been among the worst. Even worse, Indy's line wasn't all that great to start, and now he's on a team that has a worse one. How he fares will prove to be an interesting story. Of course, if he manages to light it up, then Indy will regret allowing him to get away. If he falls apart - injuries or just underperforming - we'll wonder at James' thought process. San Diego allowing Drew Brees to go is a big question mark. While it looks like the 3rd horsemen of the 2004 QB draft will finally get some playing time, you have to wonder how Philip Rivers will operate the San Diego offense under Marty Schottenheimer. While his offenses are designed to take the pressure off of quarterbacks using a powerful running game, a big reason why San Diego was effective was that Brees finally grew into the role of QB, and was able to hit his targets. They might feel they have the QB of the future in Rivers, but you have to think that SD took a step backwards by not retaining Brees. Win some, lose some Seattle won big when they retained the services of Shaun Alexander. But they might lose big if they lose all-world guard Steve Hutchison. When was the last time a Super Bowl featured perhaps the two best guards in the game, as Super Bowl XL featured Hutchison and Alan Faneca. When Minnesota signed Hutchison to that monster offer sheet, it put Seattle in a bind. If they lose Hutchison, having Alexander back might not end up being quite as productive. If they manage to resign him, its going to put a serious crimp on their ability to sign anyone else. Steelers Losing Antwaan Randel El is a pretty big hit for the Steelers. Although he only caught 34 passes last year, he was their best deep threat, and his quickness spread the field for Pittsburgh. His versatility was even more important for the team, as he was a key component in all of their trick plays. They don't have anyone behind him that can immediately step in and handle his job. Most observers expect Pittsburgh to also lose FS Chris Hope and CB Deshea Townsend. Hope in particular would be a substantial loss as his solid tackling and solid coverage skills allowed Pittsburgh a lot of versatility in their secondary. They lack depth here, and there may not be anyone Pittsburgh can get to easily replace him. Some thing that letting Townsend go is a mistake, but Pittsburgh does have additional young corners to back him up. Pittsburgh has resigned Clint Kriewaldt and Charlies Batch. Both are solid contributors, especially Batch as a backup QB to Ben Roethlisberger. He showed last year what he could do coming off of the bench, so this solidifies the backup QB position. Analysis: Pittsburgh will have to look to free agency and the draft to try and secure more depth, and possibly a starter in the secondary. They have decent cap room. But their 32nd slot in the draft precludes them from getting an instant starter anywhere, and the big names that might be available won't be when its finally their turn on the board. The Steelers need to get more secondary depth and probably a FS starter. They need to get another linebacker for depth. The lines are always places to find more depth, and they suddenly look rather thin at RB and WR. But, all things considered, the core elements are in place on this team to keep them very competitive. They'll return all 5 starters on the offensive line, their QB, RB, #1 WR and TE. On defense, their LBs will remain the same. D-Line and secondary figures might change, but the LBs are the heart of this defense, and SS Troy Polamalu isn't going anywhere either. So...you still have to keep the Steelers are a very tough team for 2006.