Dipping a foote into free agency

-- Free agency news to begin with. Well I say news, what I really mean is a mild ripple in the grand pond that is free agency. Larry Foote, formerly of the Lions, has now signed with the Steelers. It's hardly an earth shattering move for Pittsburgh, but as far as the Lions are concerned, I actually think it's a blow to a defense that needs all the help it can get. -- Caught some of NFL Total Access and Jamie Dukes' comments about Seattle Seahawks Head Coach/GM Pete Carroll (a.k.a the worlds greatest Bill Walsh look-a-like). Basically the gist of what Dukes was saying is that if Carroll fails in his role with the Seahawks, especially given that they have two first round picks this year, then that should serve as a warning to the rest of the league to never hire a Head Coach from College football ever again. It has to be said, sometimes Jamie Dukes can be clever, insightful, and forthright in his views. And in some cases, like this one, he can be a complete dumba$$. Are you really telling me that if Pete Carroll fails then that should put a black mark against all those other good coaches out there? And who will fill the Head Coach roles in the NFL instead? Guys like Eric Mangini, a.k.a 'The Man Genius', a.k.a the most over rated coach in the NFL today? Or Josh "I used to work for Belichick.... and that's my resume" McDaniels. The same coach whose first actions upon entering his new job where to ship out the franchise QB and then badly mishandle the teams best receiver, followed by the recent firing of Defensive Co-ordinator Mike Nolan who turned around the Broncos defense from bottom 10 to top 10 in one season? Honestly, if those two are indicative of the caliber of future Head Coaches that will be drawn from inside the NFL, then really the league needs all the College coaches it can get its hands on!! Ten teams in particular that need help are the ten teams picking in the top ten of the draft. Not so much in coaching terms as.... everything terms. But which team will see the quickest and/or most lasting turnaround? That's a good question, so let's have a quick look: - St. Louis Rams; Pick first this year and are basically in good shape no matter where they go with this one. It's either going to be Sam Bradford who the team will look to make their franchise QB, or it'll be Ndamukong Suh, who will make a big difference on a dodgy defense. The Rams still have a ways to go yet though. In HC Steve Spagnuolo they have a solid coach with experience of being on a Superbowl winning team. The trouble is they are almost devoid of playmaking talent on both sides of the ball. Lots of work to do means the Rams will probably be picking in the top ten again next year. The best thing in their favour is the fact they play in the weak NFC West. - Detroit Lions; Like the Rams, the Lions have a HC experienced in defensive football and with a track record of being on successful teams (for the most part). They're guaranteed to get either Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy with their second pick overall this year, and have made moves in free agency to strengthen their team defensively, picking up DE Kyle Vanden Bosch for example. They have their franchise QB in Matthew Stafford, a great WR in Calvin Johnson and a promising TE in Brandon Pettigrew. Even an average draft this year could see the Lions plucked from the depths of mediocrity and on the road to sustained competitiveness. It's unfortunate that the Vikings and Packers are just starting to find another gear at the same time, though I'm sure they'll be pleased to know that I think the Bears are just about to hit the self destruct button. - Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Is Josh Freeman the future of the franchise? I'm not convinced yet. At least Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez both showed a lot of upside in terms of their mentality last season. Is Freeman really that kind of locker room leader? And their team, is not exactly built to go on a sustained run of victories right now. Chances are they might get one of either Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy with their third overall selection, depending on how the Rams draft, but they need way more help than that. Coupled with their young coach Raheem Morris, who hardly has a glittering resume behind him, I predict bad things for the Bucs'. Very bad things. Could take them another three seasons to get fixed. - Washington Redskins; There are two ways of looking at HC Mike Shanahan. Number one is a genius of offense, who took Bill Walshs' Offensive scheme and crafted the definitive 90's version of it in, winning a Superbowl as an offensive coordinator and two more as the Broncos Head Coach. Or you can look at him as the guy that inherited Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Brent Jones, William Floyd and Ricky Watters, among others, while in San Francisco before going on to inherit John Elway at the Broncos, whose retirement signalled the start of an eight year playoff victory drought for Shanahan. Either way, he needs a QB, as the situation with Jason Campbell has got to the stage of biblical proportions of awkwardness, with Campbell clearly not wanted in Washington (despite not really doing a whole lot wrong). The Redskins do have the benefit of a strong defense that ranks highly in all categories. But their offense is appallingly bad, and it'll take more than Larry Johnson to fix that. I think the Redskins may actually get worse before they get any better. - Kansas City Chiefs; HC Todd Haley recently had command of a Superbowl quality offense and used it to good (though not quite good enough) effect. He has a reputation as being a no-nonsense type of guy who leads, shall we say, vigorously. With GM Scott Pioli on board as well, the Chiefs are strong at the top. And this off season they've already made themselves stronger, bringing in Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator to take some of the pressure off Todd Haley as a signal caller and Romeo Crennel to run the defense. Add Thomas Jones, probably the best back available in Free Agency, and things are starting to shape up nicely for them. It's still a little up in the air as to where the Chiefs will go with their first round pick and they have a few needs, but overall the Chiefs should be looking to make a strong challenge for the division title in the next two seasons. Watch this space. - Seattle Seahawks; Their QB is getting suspect of late, they lack a standout playmaker on offense, and they have no defense to speak of. They've got the luxury of two first round picks in this years draft and they need them. I feel sorry for HC Pete Carroll. He's basically just taken over a franchise on the brink of a serious nosedive. It's going to take something special just to set the ship on the right course, let alone getting back into contention for the division title. I certainly don't share Jamie Dukes' belief that the Seahawks can just bounce back in one or two seasons. Three maybe? It depends how their draft goes this year. - Cleveland Browns; While the decision to go with Jake Delhomme this season does smack of pure stupidity, there may be a reason behind all this offseason QB shuffling. I get the feeling Holmgren has his eye on Eric Manginis' job and is paving the way to build his future offense. Dumping Anderson and Quinn while bringing in two veteran QBs who understand his system makes me think that Holmgren is going to dip into the draft for a QB, maybe in the first round but possibly in the second. Delhomme and Wallace will carry the offense for now while Holmgren spends the season grooming his QB of the future, whomever that may be, possibly Tim Tebow. The other thing to consider is that the Browns have a young receiving corps, a great playmaker in Josh Cribbs, and by my count they now have 12 draft picks this year, including three in the third round and four in the fifth round. All that adds up to a potentially very bright future for the Browns. Maybe not this year but probably in the next they will be pushing the other teams in their division for the title and may even make it to their first ever Superbowl in the next three seasons. - Oakland Raiders; Years of mis-management and over priced contracts have basically hamstrung the Raiders for the foreseeable future. Their tendency to take players in the draft based on their combine measurables and athletic performance doesn't help either. Without a major change, I wouldn't be surprised if the Raiders are still picking in the top 10 for the next ten years. - Buffalo Bills; The only redeeming feature of the Bills compared to the Raiders is their lower wage bill. The last few years have been spent ditching basically every good asset they have. Safety Jarius Byrd offers the Bills a small glimmer of hope, but it's looking pretty dim in the skies over Buffalo. It's tough being a small market team, but it is possible to survive. What's needed however, desperately, is some success. Can new HC Chan Gailey provide that? There are some serious question marks. The Bills are offensively just a joke and their division has been getting progressively tougher over the last 12 months. Expect them to struggle mightily this season and I fear this franchise may move or even collapse before they ever fix their many woes. - Jacksonville Jaguars; It's been long enough now for the Jaguars to realise that the immediate future of their franchise lies with number 32, Maurice Jones-Drew. One of my biggest gripes last season was their under-utilization of this valuable asset (as well as not using capable back up Rashad Jennings enough). The Jaguars are an odd team in that they could really swing one of two ways. If they draft well and free agent acquisition DE Aaron Kampman can stay healthy, then they good finally make a run for a wildcard spot at the very least. But if Kampman struggles to stay fit, they don't upgrade that D and they fail to give Jones-Drew the carries he needs, the Jaguars could slump even further next season and end up picking in the top five. Their sagging revenue from a beleaguered fan base doesn't help either. And that, as they say, is that. For now at least. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow and don't forget, if you enjoy the blog, be sure to spread the word around. Have a nice day.