Now that the lockout is over, the free agency craziness has calmed down and camps have entered their second week, it is time to put all of the transactions into perspective and see how they will impact their teams, conferences and the National Football League.
There is no doubt that the big winners throughout this process would have to be the Philadelphia Eagles, who are coming off of a playoff run and the outstanding return of Mike Vick.
The Eagles looked to have made all the moves needed to make a championship run. Anytime you can add talent to your defense like, Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin, you are putting yourself in a good spot.
Those three guys where ranked in Sports Illustrated’s Peter King’s the top-four defensive free agents in this years pool.
The also added another defensive standout in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in a trade that sent Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals.
With all this defensive help I’m sure former Eagle defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is celebrating from up above and also wondering why they were not making these types of moves when he was with the organization.
Asomugha who is thought to be the best cornerback in the NFL is now an Eagle.
Donavan McNabb and his crybaby antics have publicly wondered the same thing.
On the offensive side of the ball Philadelphia has added some talent as well by adding Vince Young and Ronnie Brown, both of which have had great moments in their careers but have never been consistent.
I wouldn’t be looking at either of these guys to be starting at all barring any injuries.
Another big winner in the sweepstakes were the New England Patriots.
While there most impactful additions to the team were done through trades, there is no doubt that Bill Belichick has to be excited to see Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth in New England.
Ochocinco, who sometimes can be known for his outlandish lifestyle and Twitter wars, still has what it takes to be a top-notch receiver in the league. He also is coming to the Patriots at a point in his career that is similar to the situation that Randy Moss was in, and we already see what happened there.
Haynesworth on the other hand, is coming off of a season that you have thought that he was a possible scrub player due to his work ethic and the back-and-forth war of words with Redskins coach Mike Shanahan. But putting Haynesworth next to a player like Vince Wilfork on the defensive line could be a very dangerous thing for players on the opposite side of the ball, if Haynesworth can return to the level he played at while he was with the Titans.
New England also made other key moves by resigning key players that have made contributions in the past like Kevin Faulk, BenJarvis Green-Ellis and especially offensive linemen Logan Mankins and Matt Light.
The New York Jets also had a successful off-season and it is mostly due to maintaining most of the impactful players it could have lost due to the free agent market and adding Plaxico Burress, who could end up being like Vick and have an outstanding comeback after being released from prison.
Rex Ryan was hoping to snag Asomugha but once he signed with the Eagles the Jets were quick to resign Cromartie, so they still have an outstanding pair of cornerbacks with Derrelle Revis and Cromartie.
The resigning of Santonio Holmes was a huge move especially with the signing of Burress because they once again have two receivers who have been known to make big plays in the Super Bowl, so if they are able to get there this season neither of these guys should fold under the pressure.
The Houston Texans made a very smart move by backing out of the Asomugha chase early and signing two cornerbacks in Danieal Manning and Johnathan Joseph, a cornerback who may be too under rated in the NFL and could help push the Texans deep playoff run and improve on their 30th-ranked defense from last season.
On the losing side of things there are a few teams that have to be shaking there head and thinking what just happened.
The Miami Dolphins has to be one of those teams.
There was a lot of chatter that Kyle Orton was headed there from Denver, but at this point it looks as if he is staying in Mile High, so Miami is stuck with Chad Henne and Matt Moore to dual for the starting spot.
Let’s be realistic here neither of those quarterback are starters and on some teams could struggle to even make the number two spot.
They did add Reggie Bush to help the running attack, but he is far from being the type of back that will help the Dolphins compete in the AFC East. He has already proven that he can’t handle being the starting tailback in the NFL.
Reggie Bush will look to fit in and fill the gap in the running game for the Dolphins that was lost in Ronnie Brown signing with the Eagles.
The Panthers are another team that could have made some questionable decisions with this year’s free agency period by shelling out a ton of cash for two players, who arguably are not worth it, in DeAngelo Williams and Charles Johnson.
Carolina could have let Williams go and still have a quality back in Jonathan Stewart and a six-year $72 million contract for Johnson seems a little over the top, but now only time will tell if it was the right choice.
Now there were some other notable player moves throughout this crazy shortened free agency period.
McNabb being moved to Minnesota for a late-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft once again proves that the Redskins owner Daniel Snyder needs to get someone in the front office with some brains and not bring in guys – just to get rid of them the next year for virtually nothing – like Haynesworth as well.
Seattle made the change from Matt Hasselback to Tavaris Jackson. It’s not really hard to think who won this. The Titans now have Hasselback to replace Kerry Collins and Young, and the Seahawks are stuck with Jackson, who has already proven he is not a great starter in the NFL. Even with adding his former teammate from the Vikings, Sidney Rice, he may struggle to get the Seahawks a NFC West title.
The preseason is just six days away and the regular season is not too far away either, so it will be an exciting season to watch and see if what was possibly the most exciting off-season ever due to the short times for transactions will be matched with the product on the field.
Alan K. Fox can be reached at alanfoxjr@gmail.com and on Twitter @alankfox
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