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1. Washington Redskins
2. Chicago Bears
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Carolina Panthers
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Redskins are definitely taking a "The future is now" approach. Getting a
player like DE Bruce Smith, even if he isn’t quite as dominant as he once was, is a
huge addition. He will improve the pass rush, will make DTs Dana Stubblefield and Dan
Wilkinson better and will provide the type of leadership that a team needs to take a big
step up in class. S Mark Carrier will also help improve the defense.
With the Bears’ offense having shown so much juice last season, the team needed to
improve its defense. CB Thomas Smith and DE Phillip Daniels are major improvements over
what they had. By also signing S Shawn Wooden, the Bears have gone from a team with
considerable holes to fill to a club that can really go in a ton of directions on Draft
Day and take the best player available. I might have put the Bears at No. 1, but I think a
really tough schedule might keep them from making a huge leap forward this season. That
said, I still think they can be a wild-card contender.
The Saints may have improved their talent more than anyone else since it was so poor to
begin with. Yet I didn’t rank them higher than No. 3 because I think that while a lot
of their additions can take them from Point A to Point B, I have my doubts whether they
can take them to Point C. Players like Jake Reed, Charlie Clemons, Andrew Glover, Jeff
Blake, etc., will improve them this year, but I don’t know if they will make them win
really big further down the road. Norman Hand, if he stays in shape, will be a big-time
addition.
Carolina was a much-improved team last year, and I think the Panthers have definitely
improved their defense this offseason, the most exciting addition being DE Chuck Smith.
Tampa Bay took a small step back on defense by losing LB Hardy Nickerson, but it has so
much defensive talent that it should be able to absorb the loss. Conversely, I love the
way the Buccaneers have improved their offensive line for the upcoming season with the
addition of OG Randall McDaniel and C Jeff Christy. Because the Buccaneers are ready to
challenge for the brass ring right now, I don’t mind at all that McDaniel and Christy
are up in years.
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1. Washington Redskins
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Chicago Bears
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Tennessee Titans
Washington, a playoff team last season, appears to be getting stronger. If all of its
moves work out — and it hasn’t even used the Nos. 2 and 3 overall picks in the
draft yet — this team could be a monster. The Redskins added a future Hall of
Fame defensive end in Bruce Smith. While he is on the downside of his career, Smith can
still be a fearsome situational pass rusher. They also re-signed DE Marco Coleman, who had
been flirting with the Cardinals as a free agent. Also added to the defense is a new
starting safety in Mark Carrier. And don’t forget about the addition of defensive
coordinator Ray Rhodes. He may have failed as a head coach, but he now returns to the
sideline as a coordinator, a job for which he is better-suited. The team also re-signed
key cogs on the offensive line, including starters Cory Raymer and Keith Sims. Andy Heck
was re-signed to back up and tutor eventual first-round pick Chris Samuels.
As for New Orleans, I’m not sure how all of its transactions will pan out. But it
still deserves an "A" for effort. Jeff Blake was signed on the first day of free
agency to take over at quarterback. Clearly, the Saints had to identify a new quarterback
for this season, and they did. A pair of receivers were added in Jake Reed and Joe Horn,
both of whom should contribute. TE Andrew Glover is also a new face. New on defense is DT
Norman Hand, who is coming off a breakout season with the Chargers. He will be joining a
defensive line that was without the services of DE Joe Johnson for all of last season. All
of a sudden, that unit is looking pretty good. LB Charlie Clemons, signed as a restricted
free agent away from the Rams, also should help the pass rush.
Chicago had several positions that needed to be upgraded. The Bears needed a pass
rusher, cornerback and safety. They gave big-money contracts to DE Phillip Daniels and CB
Thomas Smith, and then signed S Shawn Wooden. With those areas of need taken care of, the
Bears have a little freedom to take the best player available in the draft, rather than
having to force something to fill a specific need.
Philadelphia has been searching for a solid offensive line for years. The signing of
stud ORT Jon Runyan should go a long way toward solidifying that unit. LB Carlos Emmons
comes in as William Thomas leaves. Emmons has a lot more upside at this point in his
career than Thomas, who was released. Stanley Pritchett is a good backup to Duce Staley,
and he can also be used at fullback in the same backfield as Staley. Another reason to
believe the Eagles have improved as a team in the offseason is all of the work that
Donovan McNabb has put in. Word is that he really got in sync with WR Charles Johnson
while the two worked out together in Arizona. That can only help.
Finally, Tennessee has improved itself. Yes, it lost Runyan to the Eagles. But the
Titans then signed Fred Miller to play the ORT position. And they added OLB Randall
Godfrey, whom they coveted. The way the Titans feel, they got two impact players (Miller
and Godfrey) while losing only one (Runyan). And don’t forget about the
re-signing of QB Neil O’Donnell and S Marcus Robertson, both of whom played key roles
in the Titans’ march to the Super Bowl last season.
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1. New Orleans Saints
2. Washington Redskins
3. Carolina Panthers
4. Tennessee Titans
5. Baltimore Ravens
Lacking as much draft ammo as their NFL counterparts (thanks to Mike Ditka’s
ridiculous deal to obtain Ricky Williams last year), the Saints’ aggressive new
regime added as many as eight new starters via free agency and pumped new life into what
had become one of the league’s sorriest franchises. While none of the additions are
what you could call world-beaters, the sum of its new parts makes New Orleans instantly
competitive.
New Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, meanwhile, appears determined to get his team to the
Big One as fast as possible, as attested by his addition of defensive oldie-but-goodie
Bruce Smith among others. The Panthers also really appear to have upgraded themselves on
the defensive end with the signings of DE Chuck Smith, CB Jimmy Hitchcock and LB Lee
Woodall.
The defending AFC champion Titans in effect traded OT Jon Runyan (a free agent who
signed with the Eagles) for ex-Ram OT Fred Miller and ex-Cowboy LB Randall Godfrey. And,
in my opinion, they came out way ahead, mainly because of Godfrey, who could end up being
one of the best free-agent pickups this offseason — unless that honor ends up going
to ex-Buc QB Trent Dilfer, an absolutely great addition by Brian Billick and the Ravens.
Don’t be surprised if Dilfer ends up doing for the Ravens what Randall Cunningham did
for the Vikings and Billick the year Cunningham replaced the injured Brad Johnson in the
lineup.
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1. New Orleans Saints
2. Washington Redskins
3. Chicago Bears
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Carolina Panthers
When you’re as bad as the Saints have been, it’s hard not to improve.
Thanks to a flurry of free-agent signings, New Orleans has gotten a lot better in a lot of
areas. The Saints’ biggest offseason need was quarterback, and they struck quickly by
making Jeff Blake the first signee of the free-agent signing period. Blake may not be one
of the 10 best quarterbacks in the league, but he’s a significant upgrade over the
cast of misfits and rejects the Saints have trotted out the last few years. If nothing
else, Blake brings stability to the position. The Saints added a big-time run stopper in
Norman Hand, a receiver with upside in Joe Horn, a receiver with experience and size in
Jake Reed and a sleeper linebacker in Charlie Clemons, who won a ring last season with the
Rams. Also, don’t underestimate the value of replacing Mike Ditka & Co. with a
brand-new coaching staff, led by Jim Haslett. Ditka is a living legend, but during his
tenure in New Orleans it appeared as though the game had passed him by.
The Redskins made a huge move by signing Bruce Smith, and Mark Carrier is a nice
addition as well. However, the Skins won’t rank atop my offseason list until Draft
Day, when they add the final pieces to their championship puzzle. Signing Jeff George to
back up Brad Johnson also might push the Redskins to the top of the charts.
The Bears did a very good job of figuring out their needs, identifying the best players
available at those positions and going after them aggressively. CB Thomas Smith and DE
Phillip Daniels aren’t household names — yet. Don’t be surprised if at
least one of the two goes to next season’s Pro Bowl.
The Ravens’ biggest offseason pickup was TE Shannon Sharpe, but the move I really
liked was their signing of QB Trent Dilfer. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dilfer beats
out Tony Banks and becomes Baltimore’s starting quarterback at some point this
season. If that happens, he was a huge steal at $1 million.
The Panthers’ defense was their Achilles’ heel last season, and they took
steps to make sure the offense doesn’t have to carry the whole load in 2000.
I’ve always been a fan of feisty DE Chuck Smith, Jay Williams has upside at the other
DE spot and Jimmy Hitchcock adds much-needed depth to the secondary.
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1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. Chicago Bears
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Seattle Seahawks
The Eagles had the biggest score of free agency, signing beefy ORT Jon Runyan away from
the Titans. He should provide stability to a young but talented offensive line, thereby
making things easier on emerging QB Donovan McNabb. FB Stanley Pritchett is a nice piece
to add, and his receiving skills will be important with current starter Kevin
Turner’s career in jeopardy. Carlos Emmons replaces William Thomas at linebacker,
bringing more youth to a very talented unit. Couple those additions with no devastating
losses, and you have the recipe for a big step forward.
The Bears lost WR Curtis Conway, but injuries had made him a non-factor down the
stretch last season. Adding DE Phillip Daniels and CB Thomas Smith upgrades the defense
significantly at perhaps the two most important positions.
Tampa Bay’s offense needed help, and adding C Jeff Christy and OG Randall McDaniel
to the offensive line helps. Losing Hardy Nickerson is a blow, but it does help the
defense get younger.
Baltimore needed offensive playmakers, and it got one in TE Shannon Sharpe. He’s a
great piece to the puzzle. QB Trent Dilfer is better than most pundits would argue, and
head coach/QB savant Brian Billick could get him back to the Pro Bowl. The loss of CB
DeRon Jenkins means that ’98 first-rounder Duane Starks must step up, but Starks will
be aided by a strong pass rush.
It may be odd to some that I put Seattle on the list after it lost Daniels and WR Joey
Galloway and cut ’99 starters C Kevin Glover, OLG Brian Habib, S Darryl Williams and
LB Darrin Smith. But Seattle’s two big signees — C-OG Robbie Tobeck and S Reggie
Tongue — are good players. Tobeck should solidify the right side of the offensive
line (unless he plays center, in which case Chris Gray is an adequate right guard). And
Tongue is a stud-in-waiting at safety. Galloway wasn’t as good in Mike
Holmgren’s offense as he would be in other schemes, and ’99 first-rounder Lamar
King should be ready to fill in for Daniels. For a capped-out team, the Seahawks have done
very well.
Honorable mentions go to my sixth- and seventh-place teams, Carolina and Kansas City.
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