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Winner and losers Breaking down the five best, worst offseasons
Updated: Monday May 28, 2001 12:03 AM
With the NFL Draft nearly upon us, let's look back at the first month of free agency and try to decipher the winners from the losers in the annual offseason personnel swap meet.
Winners1. Tampa Bay If the Bucs were a solid, consistent quarterback away from the Super Bowl last season, what are they now? The signing of Brad Johnson helps this team on so many fronts. Johnson's maturity and professional approach to the game means head coach Tony Dungy has been relieved of his No. 1 headache for the past two years: namely getting his quarterback through a game. Yes, the Ryan Leaf signing has some potential downside, but maybe he'll learn something from Johnson and Dungy and pay at least one key dividend before moving on in 2002. 2. San Diego We know what you're thinking: If you can't improve a 1-15 club, you're really not trying. True, but don't accuse the Chargers and new general manager John Butler of any lack of effort. San Diego made the earliest and biggest push in free agency, putting together big deals with a solid cover cornerback in Ryan McNeil, a young and potentially dominant defensive end in Marcellus Wiley, and a savvy and winning quarterback in Doug Flutie. Former Saints cornerback Alex Molden also was added for depth, giving the Chargers a chance to greatly upgrade one of their weakest positions. The Chargers can't expect to make a worst-to-first move thanks to their new faces, but they should be able to move back toward the middle of the NFL pack. Don't forget, playing virtually without a rushing attack, San Diego lost six games by three points or fewer last season and wasn't light years away from respectability. 3. Philadelphia The Eagles didn't make any big splashes. But don't make the mistake of overlooking where they did plunge into the market. In defensive end N.D. Kalu and receiver James Thrash -- both former Redskins -- Philadelphia picked up two solid contributors who will help out without eating up much cap room. Both were the kind of quiet acquisitions of second-tier players that help take a young playoff team to the next level. The Eagles also re-signed valuable restricted free agent Brandon Whiting, a young defensive lineman who exceeded expectations last season. With Hugh Douglas, Corey Simon, Kalu and Whiting all in the mix, the Eagles' defensive line is one of the most promising in the NFL. Philadelphia's only two significant losses weren't all that meaningful: Reserve linebacker James Darling, who backed up Pro Bowl pick Jeremiah Trotter in the middle, signed with the Jets, and starting receiver Torrance Small was released in a cap move. 4. Baltimore Wisely or unwisely depending upon one's perspective, the defending Super Bowl champions haven't had your typical stand-pat-following-a-title-run offseason. The Ravens took the unique step of getting rid of their top two quarterbacks -- Trent Dilfer and Tony Banks -- and then signed former Chief Elvis Grbac after they finished second in the Brad Johnson derby. The Grbac-Dilfer comparison will be ripe for debate all season, but credit Baltimore for having some guts. Losing center Jeff Mitchell to Carolina could hurt, but adding offensive tackle Leon Searcy, who'll replace Harry Swayne on the right side, was a boon. On the defensive half of the ball, the Ravens are thrilled to have batted .500 with their two key free agents, re-signing outside linebacker Jamie Sharper and losing strong safety Kim Herring. That was the team's preference all along. 5. Denver A part of me wanted to cite the New York Giants, Seattle, or Cleveland for the free-agent moves they've made. But to do so would have been bypassing the Broncos, who have been nothing if not active on the free-agent front. Had Denver landed former Pro Bowl offensive tackle Todd Steussie last week, which it nearly did, it wouldn't even be a bubble pick. The Broncos did a great job of keeping their own, which is a large part of free agency these days. Linebacker John Mobley, guard Dan Neil, quarterback Gus Frerotte and offensive tackle Matt Lepsis all stuck around. Quarterback Brian Griese is as good as re-signed. Then Denver got proactive and landed solid players like cornerback Denard Walker, defensive tackles Leon Lett and Chester McGlockton and reserve tight end Patrick Hape in the open market. The end result is Denver improved on both the offensive and defensive fronts, where real success in this league begins.
Losers1. Minnesota Bury the Vikings at your own risk. It always looks bleak about this time of year, and then when the season rolls around head coach Dennis Green has stapled and scotch-taped things back together for another playoff run. Green loves the underdog role and is temperamentally suited to the role of fighting his way out of a corner. It's the favorite's mantle that he really has no feel for. No worries there. To consider the Vikings favorites to defend their division title you have to look past the retirement of running back Robert Smith, and the loss of John Randle, Todd Steussie and Dwayne Rudd. Tony Williams, Matthew Hatchette, David Palmer, John Burrough and backup quarterback Bubby Brister are gone, too, and starting guard Corbin Lacina looks like he might not return. That's a lot of talent lost, with only mid-level names like tight end Byron Chamberlain, wide receiver Jake Reed and defensive end Lance Johnstone added. 2. Cincinnati The poor Bengals. They were involved in more negotiations than former President Jimmy Carter making a trek through the third world, but still wound up being used for leverage in almost every case. Yes, the Bengals landed quarterback Jon Kitna and defensive tackle Tony Williams. Whoopee. They didn't get Elvis Grbac, Brad Johnson, Gus Frerotte, Trent Dilfer, Todd Steussie, Ross Verba, James McKnight, Ted Washington, Dana Stubblefield, Simeon Rice or Kenny Holmes. All told, more than 20 players visited. Everyone who toured Cincy's new team complex and stadium, and met with the Bengals' coaching staff had good things to say. Then they signed elsewhere. Sometimes for less money. It's not that Bengals suffered big free-agent losses. But when you've got nothing, you've got nothing left to lose, right? 3. Dallas It's not like the Cowboys didn't know this day of reckoning was on the way. But with $23 million of dead money under their 2001 salary cap, it's as if Dallas was forced to throw away more than one-third of its resources this season. The release of quarterback Troy Aikman, with his mandatory $10 million cap hit, got all the headlines. But Dallas also saw its talent thinned in other places it couldn't afford to be thinned. Offensive tackle Erik Williams, cornerback Ryan McNeil and defensive tackles Chad Hennings and Leon Lett are now ex-Cowboys. The re-signing of linebacker Dexter Coakley and fullback Robert Thomas were signs that owner Jerry Jones still wants to win, but inducing inconsistent quarterback Tony Banks into accepting a one-year, bargain-basement contract isn't going to sell too many season tickets. Lone Star State? That would be Emmitt Smith and little else. 4. Buffalo Things started out well enough. The Bills struck a very important deal with potential free-agent receiver Eric Moulds even before March 2 rolled around. But there hasn't been much to celebrate in the past month, unless you happen to be a huge Alex Van Pelt fan. Rob Johnson won the quarterback coin flip, which meant Doug Flutie was escorted to the city limits. Also headed to San Diego was Wiley, who the Bills hoped to be able to compete for but never really did. Linebacker Sam Rogers, defensive tackle Washington, guard Joe Panos and punter Chris Mohr were also lost due to cap concerns. Head coach Gregg Williams and general manager Tom Donahoe have a plan and will probably rebound quickly. But this offseason will be remembered as the year the Bills' bills came due. 5. Washington Jacksonville and Tennessee both suffered some significant losses, but for sheer across-the-board roster gutting, it's hard to match the Redskins' exodus. Had the Jaguars had to bite the bullet and wave farewell to Mark Brunell, they would have qualified. Washington lost its starting quarterback, Brad Johnson . Like Dallas, the Redskins have no one to blame but themselves for being backed into a financial corner. The world's most costly 8-8 season resulted in the departures of Dana Stubblefield, Tre Johnson, Andy Heck, Keith Sims, Albert Connell, James Thrash, Mike Sellers, Kalu and two guys named Derek Smith. As for key offseason additions, the Redskins hired their 17th public relations director in owner Daniel Snyder's two-plus years on the job. That's the state of the union on the team head coach Marty Schottenheimer is charged with bringing back to life. Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.
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