3rd and Long

Part 2 of our look at the pre Draft needs of each NFL team moves on to the AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers

2007 record10-6

1st in AFC North

Team needs

The Steelers have been very active in free agency addressing their biggest needs at WR and Offensive Line. There is a smaller need for help at CB.

2008 first round draft position - 23rd

Cleveland Browns

2007 record 10-6

2nd in AFC North

Team Needs

The Browns are in desperate need of at least one impact Defensive End for their 3-4 . The signing of Stallworth alleviates the need for a WR.Look for the Browns to focus on the Defense with this draft

2008 first round draft position- no first round pick

Cincinnati Bengals

2007 record 7-9

3rd in AFC North

Team Needs

The Bengals need to continue to address their run defense as this continues to be a concern.The continuing saga of will Chad Johnson report or will he be traded necessitates the need for some attention to the WR position in the draft. If the Bengals move to a 3-4 as rumors suggest,also look for them to sign a playmaking Nose Tackle.

2008 first round draft position - 9th pick

Baltimore Ravens

2007 record 5-11

4th in AFC North

Team Needs

The first thing that the Ravens need to be addressing is the QB position. Steve McNair is injury prone and Kyle Boller has proven to be a less than effective starter. CB is another immediate need that needs to be addressed as both starters will be over 30 when the season starts.The OT and DE positions will also need to be addressed this year.

2008 first round draft position- 8th pick 

Former number 1 overall draft pick David Carr signed a one year, one million dollar deal with the New York Giants. Carr was the first pick in the 2002 NFL Draft and was the first ever pick of the expansion Houston Texans. Carr played last year with the Carolina Panthers and was released after struggling when he took over for the injured Jake Delhomme.

Carr will compete with Anthony Wright and Jared Lorenzen to back up Manning, the No. 1 overall pick in 2004.

As the NFL Draft approaches, 3rd and Long will examine each team and analyze their needs, free agent departures and free agent signings.

We’ll start with the AFC East.

Buffalo Bills

2007 record 7-9

2nd in AFC East

Team needs

Coming of a sub .500 year, the Bills have a few major holes that need filling. The biggest need right of the top is a tall franchise WR that can stretch the field and complement the corp of speedy, but short receivers they currently have.The Bills also need a TE that can be a downfield threat. The D line struggled against the run last year and needs more muscle and also requires a speedy pass rusher

2008 first round draft position- 11th

Miami Dolphins

2007 record 1-15

4th in AFC East

Team needs

After a 1-15 season, what doesn’t need to be fixed? To date , free agency has helped shore up the pathetic Defensive Line and signing 3 Wide receivers is a step in the right direction. The Dolphins need to look to the future at the QB position and Josh McCown doesn’t seem to be it. Look for new GM Bill Parcells to continue his complete overhaul of the fish, with his trademark focus on the defensive side of the ball.

2008 first round draft position- 1st

NY Jets

2007 record 4- 12

3rd in AFC East

Team needs

The Jets have a number of needs that will need to be addressed further in free agency as well as the draft. One of the most obvious needs is at WR, where they need a speedy receiver who can stretch the field. They haven’t had a speed receiver since they traded away Santana Moss.Offensive line is another key weakness as the Jets O-line gave up 53 sacks last year. On the defensive side of the ball, look for the Jets to shore up the DE positions as well as both inside and outside Linebacker.

2008 first round draft position-6th

New England Patriots

2007 record 16-0

1st in AFC East

Team Needs

Aside from a new videotaping policy, the Pats are gong to need to find a CB to replace Samuel. While Bruschi re-signed, they may need a LB if Seau decides to retire. On a smaller scale, the Patriots are in need of a RB as future replacement for Kevin Faulk.

2008 first round draft position - 7th ( from San Francisco), 31st (forfeited as a result of illegal videotaping)

After 17 NFL seasons, Brett Favre has retired from professional football. In his press conference officially announcing his retirement  earlier today, Favre said he felt confident he could still play on Sundays but lacked the passion to practice and prepare the way he would need to week in and week out. His retirement came as a surprise to many after his outstanding play in the 2007 season leading the Packers to a 13-3 regualr season record and the NFC Championsionship game where they lost to eventual Super Bowl champions NY Giants.

Favre takes a number of records with him into retirement including 3 NFL MVP titles, 61,655 passing yards, 442 Touchdown passes, and 160 career victories.  His most dubious record is his 288 interceptions.

Ben Roethlisberger just signed an 8 year $102 million dollar contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The contract includes $36 million in guarantees, easily making the franchise QB the highest paid Steeler and one of the highest paid players in the game.

Roethlisberger now joins Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb, the suspended Michael Vick and the retired Drew Bledsoe in the $100 million quarterback club.

Roethlisberger turned 26 on Sunday.Not a bad birthday present at all

Just finished updating the free agent tracker after a busy weekend. We’ll look at the trades that took place this weekend later today.

Free Agent Tracker

Today marks the beginning of the 2008 NFL free agency and trading period.  I have put together a number of charts outlining the various players by position who are eliglible free agents. As new deals are made and announced, I’ll update the sheets.  I started with the QB’s today and will have sheets for RB.WR/TE offensive and Defensive positions as well.

Free Agent Tracker

Earlier today, the Philadelphia Eagles released DE Jevon Kearse. Kearse had been with the Eagles for four seasons, but was considered a disappointment during his oft injured tenure. he recorded only 4.5 sacks in 14 games last season after missing most of the 2006 campaign with a knee injury.Kearse has been voted into the Pro Bowl twice in his career.

On Tuesday , the New England Patriots released LB Rosevelt Colvin, who was a member of two Super Bowl winning teams but also missed significant time with injuries. Colvin signed with the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent in March 2003.

The Kansas City Chiefs released veteran wide receiver Eddie Kennison on Tuesday.

Kennison, 35, played 7 seasons for the Chiefs  and was their top wide receiver for most of that time. in 2007, he was limited by hamstring and shoulder injuries to only eight games, catching 13 passes for 101 yards.

The 6-1, 201-pound receiver played in 91 games for the Chiefs, catching 321 passes for 5,230 yards and 25 touchdowns. He had 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2004 and 2005, joining Carlos Carson as the only players in Chiefs history to accomplish that feat.

Besides the Chiefs, Kennison has played for St. Louis, New Orleans, Chicago and Denver during his 12-year career.

# — The Falcons won a coin flip with the Raiders at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 22, giving Atlanta the third pick, the Raiders the fourth pick and the Chiefs the fifth pick. Oakland picks ahead of Kansas City because the Chiefs finished ahead of the Raiders in the AFC West standings by virtue of the record-in-common-games tiebreaker. If the Raiders had won the coin flip, they would’ve gotten the No. 3 pick and the Falcons would’ve flipped with the Chiefs to decide the fourth and fifth picks.

* — Will forfeit first-round pick as punishment for illegal videotaping.

Notes: Super Bowl loser and winner are always slotted 31st and 32nd, respectively. Team in parentheses is the one on which the selection order is based, before trades came into play.

In a bit of a surprise move, Rex Grossman inked a new deal with his existing team , the Chicago Bears. Grossman has struggled the last couple of years as the Bears number 1 QB, plagued by inconsistent play, The new deal is one year in length and guarantees Grossman $1.5 million . The signing comes as a bit of a surprise as it was widely speculated the QB would end up as a backup with another team during free agency. Grossman will be competing for the starters job with Kyle Orton. Brian Griese is expected to be released in early March before he is due a $300,000 roster bonus.

Recently released from the Miami Dolphins. LB Zach Thomas has reportedly agreed to a one year deal with the Dallas Cowboys.The deal calls for a signing bonus of $1 million,base salary of $1 million and incentives worth another $1 million.His agent , Drew Rosenhaus, has indicated the deal will be signed in the next couple of days.

Thomas as released by the Dolphins as part of their massive restructuring on Feb 14 after 12 seasons with the team.Thomas is a native of Texas and played his college ball for Texas Tech. Thomas is also Miami’s all time tackling leader and played 168 games for the Dolphins.

Below is a list of players who have been given the franchise tage by their respective teams

Jared Allen DE Chiefs

Stacy Andrews G Bengals

Nmamdi Asomugha CB Raiders

Jordan Gross T Panthers

Ken Hamlin S Cowboys

Albert Haynesworth DT Titans

L.J. Smith TE Eagles

Terrell Suggs LB Ravens

Marcus Truffant CB Seahawks

Corey Williams DT Packers

Not on this list are Colts TE Dallas Clark, who was tagged then signed a long term deal and Steelers T max Starks who received a transition tag.

With a salary cap of $116 Million going into the off season, here are the most recent numbers I could dig up. Keep in mind this is a floating target as teams sign and release players….

The have’s- teams with more than $30 million of cap space

Miami - $44 Million

Jacksonville - $42 Million

Buffalo - $39.4 Million

Tennessee - $39.2 Million

New Orleans - $39.2 Million

Tampa Bay - $39.2 Million

San Francisco - $37.4 Million

Minnesota- $32.7 Million

Cleveland - $32.5 Million (prior to signing Jamal Lewis earlier today)

Chicago $30 Million

The have nots- teams over the cap

Arizona- $2.1 Million over

Indianapolis - $231,000 over ( prior to signing TE Dallas Clark today)

Washington - $103,000 over

In what can only be considered a surprise, the New England patriots have decided not to use the franchise tag on WR Randy Moss prior to todays deadline for applying the tag. This means Moss will be an unrestricted free agent beginning next Friday when the free agent signing period opens.

There is sure to be tons of discussion and speculation over why the Pats didn’t tag him as wll as discussion as to where he will end up

In our second installment  focusing on this years crop of free agents, we turn our attention to the Running Backs

Marion Barber, Restricted, Dallas Cowboys

Marion Barber established himself as a number one back this season,, despite sharing snaps with Julius Jones. He led the league in yards gained after initial contact and runs through and over defenders with a mean streak unseen in today’s crop of running backs. Dallas isn’t going to let him go anywhere and Barber will likely be the Cowboys feature back in the not too distant feature.

Julius Jones, Unrestricted, Dallas Cowboys

The more successful Marion Barber has become, the more expendable Julius Jones has become to the Cowboys. While starting out his career with decent numbers, those numbers have declined as Barber has gotten more playing time, especially when it comes to Touchdowns as Barber emerged as the Cowboys short yardage back. While Dallas has not publicly stated a direction in regards to their running back situation, it would come as no surprise top see Jones go somewhere else where he could be a number one back again.

Jamal Lewis, Unrestricted, Cleveland Browns,

Lewis was a big part of the Browns success this season as he rushed for 1,300 yards and 9 touchdowns this year .In addition to his good numbers, Lewis really helped the Brown with clock management in a couple of key situations this year , leading to wins. While it is unlikely Lewis will ever repeat the effort of his 2,000 yard season of 2003, Lewis still contributes at a high level. Expect the Browns to keep Lewis for a couple of more years.

Update: I just got word that Jamal Lewis has signed a new contract with the Clevelenad Browns. As mentioned earlier, this was an expected move - Al Davis

Michael Turner, Unrestricted, San Diego Chargers

Michael Turner is likely to be at the top of a number of teams free agent list this off season , despite being used almost exclusively as a back up back. But when you are backing up the best RB in the league in Ladainian Tomlinson, and you still manage to have a 5 yds per carry average, there should be a number of NFL teams knocking on your door, asking you to be their starter.

Other notable Free agents Running/Full Backs

T J Duckett, Unrestricted, Detroit Lions
Cedric Cobbs, Restricted, Denver Broncos
Tyson Thompson, Restricted, Dallas Cowboys
Travis Minor, Unrestricted, St. Louis Rams

The 2008 free agent signing period begins Feb 29. here is a look at the QB’s expected to be available then.

Derek Anderson, Restricted, Cleveland Browns

Anderson was one of the biggest surprises of the 2007 season , throwing for over 3,700 yds and 29 TD’s. While Cleveland didn’t make the playoffs, Anderson was one of the main reasons they were even close this year. A good group of receivers made it eaiser for him to be an above average QB this season. Whether or not the rumoured trade of first round selection Brady Quinn comes to fruition or not, Cleveleand cant afford to let Anderson go and are likely to sign him to an extension.

Rex Grossman, Unrestricted, Chicago Bears

The captain of team Inconsistency, Grossman has sparked a ton of discussion during the 2007 season. Watching him play, it didn’t take a genius to see his confidence is shot, as well as the confidence of those around him. It’s not likely that he will land a starting job this off season, but a couple of years as a backup may just be the thing this still young QB needs.

Daunte Culpepper, Unrestricted, Oakland Raiders

The Pro Bowl caliber Daunte Culpepper of old seems like a distant memory these days, and after a few decent outing last season, Daunte appears to be headed out of Oakland. Unable to spark the offense,his best week was against the team he once starred on, the Vikings. Look for Culpepper to land with a team as a backup at best.

Other notable free agent QB’s
Josh McCowan, Unrestricted, Oakland Raiders
Mark Brunell, Unrestricted, Washington Redskins
Chris Weinke, Unrestricted, San Francisco 49er’s
Jared Lorenzen, Restricted, New York Giants
Tim Rattay, Unrestricted, Arizona Cardinals

After a disappointing two year run, the Buffalo Bills released receiver Peerless Price on Thursday.

Price missed the final 12 games this past season after surgery to repair a disk in his neck. He finished with seven catches for 68 yards a year after making 49 receptions.

Price had his best season in 2002, playing in his fourth season and his first stint for the Bills. That season Price recorded career-highs in yards (1,252), receptions (94) and touchdowns (9). Price subsequently went on to play two years in Atlanta and one season in Dallas before returning to Buffalo in 2006.

The Bills also released linebacker Kevin Harrison and defensive back E.J. Underwood.

The Miami Dolphins have informed linebacker Zach Thomas that they will release him today.

The roster move, which comes as no surprise for a team that’s trying to get younger, ends the Miami career of a linebacker who made seven Pro Bowls in his 12 seasons. Thomas is one of the best players in Dolphins history, a fifth-round draft pick in 1996 who was thought by many to be too small and too slow to be an NFL linebacker but has frequently proved the doubters wrong.

But while Thomas won’t be back with the Dolphins, his NFL career is apparently not over. Jay Glazer from Fox Sports reports that Thomas said he is not ready to retire. If doctors can clear him after the serious concussion he suffered in 2007, there might be a team out there that’s willing to give him a look. But if there’s even the slightest chance that he could be doing himself permanent harm by risking another concussion, here’s hoping he hangs it up.