Washington Redskins re-sign C Will Montgomery

Washington Redskins Re-sign C Will Montgomery

Free agency is in full swing.  Teams are actively trying to re-sign key pieces to their teams before they hit open market on March 13th.  

Washington has locked up center Will Montgomery for four years.  The deal is worth $12 million.  He has a reported 2012 cap number of $3.5 million.

Ahmad Brooks Re-signs With San Francisco

Ahmad Brooks Re-signs With San Francisco

It's a good day to be Ahmad Brooks.  He's probably sitting back enjoying his day, counting his money.  It might take a while.  Brooks just landed a six year, 44.5 million dollar deal.  17.5 million is "guaranteed". We'll probably see later in the week if it's guaranteed or if it's some kind of roster bonus.  Either way, Brooks' return will keep the best linebacker corps intact.

Our Stanford Routt Post

Stanford Routt Agrees to Terms with Kansas City

Stanford Routt has switched teams within the AFC West division.  Routt was released by the Oakland Raiders in order to avoid $5 million of his expected $10 million salary became guaranteed.  He has found a new suitor in the Chiefs.

They've agreed to a 3-year, $20 million contract.  My math says that comes out to seven million annually.  $6.5 million is guaranteed.  With him scheduled to make $11 million in his first year, Routt will presumably assume a starting role in Kansas City.

Is Mario Williams A Goner?

Is Mario Williams A Goner?

The Houston Texans drafted Mario Williams with the number one overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.  He was selected ahead of favorites Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young.  The move, which was second guessed by many, was obviously the right decision.  Williams has become one of the premier edge rushers in football.  His size and speed combo is as impressive as anyone outside of Julius Peppers. 

The F-INN NFL Draft Top 5 By Position

The F-INN NFL Draft Top 5 By Position

QB

1. Robert Griffin III (Baylor)

2. Andrew Luck (Stanford)

3. Brock Osweiler (Arizona St.)

4. Kellen Moore (Boise St)

5. Russell Wilson (Wisconsin)

RB

1. Trent Richardson (Alabama)

2. David Wilson (Virginia Tech)

3. Doug Martin (Boise St)

4. Lamar Miller (Miami)

5. Bobby Rainey (Western Kentucky)

WR

1. Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma St.)

2. Alshon Jeffery (South Carolina)

3. Michael Floyd (Notre Dame)

4. Reuben Randle (LSU)

5. Kendall Wright (Baylor)

TE

1. Coby Fleener (Stanford)

2. Dwayne Allen (Clemson)

3. Orson Charles (Georgia)

4. Ladarius Green (Louisiana)

5. Deangelo Peterson (LSU)

OT

1. Matt Kalil (USC)

2. Jonathan Martin (Stanford)

3. Riley Reiff (Iowa)

4. Mike Adams (Ohio St.)

5. Nate Potter (Boise St.)

C/OG

1. David DeCastro (OG, Stanford)

2. Peter Konz (C, Wisconsin)

3. Cordy Glenn (OG, Georgia)

4. Kevin Seitler (OG, Wisconsin)

5. Michael Brewster (C, Ohio St.)

DT

1. Michael Brockers (LSU)

2. Fletcher Cox (Mississippi St.)

3. Devon Still (Penn St.)

4. Dontari Poe (Memphis)

5. Jerel Worthy (Michigan St.)

DE

1. Melvin Ingram (South Carolina)

2. Quinton Coples (North Carolina)

3. Courtney Upshaw (Rush LB, Alabama)

4. Nick Perry (USC)

5. Donte Paige-Moss (North Carolina)

LB

1. Vontaze Burfict (Arizona St.)

2. Dont'a Hightower (Alabama)

3. Luke Kuechly (Boston College)

4. Travis Lewis (Oklahoma)

5. Zach Brown (North Carolina)

CB

1. Morris Claiborne (LSU)

2. Dre Kirkpatrick (Alabama)

3. Alonzo Dennard (Nebraska)

4. Janoris Jenkins (North Alabama)

5. Stephon Gilmore (South Carolina)

S

1. Mark Barron (Alabama)

2. Antonio Allen (South Carolina)

3. Janzen Jackson (Tennessee)

4. George Iloka (Boise St.)

5. Markelle Martin (Oklahoma St.)

Offseason Preview: Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders' Offseason "To Do" List

"Out with the old and in with the new."  This looks to be the new mantra for the Oakland Raiders.  After Al Davis passed away during the season, Oakland has looked to head in a direction drastically different than it was going.  Al Davis' son, Mark Davis, is the new owner.  He has hired Reggie McKenzie to handle all things football in the organization.

Raiders Release CB Stanford Routt

Raiders Cut CB Stanford Routt

Reggie McKenzie means business.  His first roster move is a big one.  He has released starting cornerback Stanford Routt. Even though the veteran was flagged for the more than any other defensive back this year, this move is a bit surprising considering the other options for cap relief.  

Routt signed a 5 year, 54.5 million dollar deal just last offseason.  It wasn't a cap-friendly contract, but neither is Richard Seymour's 2 year, 30 million dollar deal (one year left).  They could've also chosen to release veteran cornerback Chris Johnson which would've saved 5.6 million.  His play was considerably worse.

The Eli Elite Debate

The Eli Elite Debate

Out from the shadows of big brother Peyton Manning comes Eli.  He just capped off the best regular season of his career with his second Super Bowl win.  Like last time, he faced Tom Brady and won.  He also was MVP again.  But this one felt different from the jump.

Eli fell just 67 yards shy of joining Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Matt Stafford as quarterbacks who threw for over 5,000 yards this season.  A feat only Dan Marino and Drew Brees had accomplished prior to the 2011 season.  Eli threw for almost half his season total in the fourth quarter of games which broke a record.  He also was credited with seven fourth quarter comebacks this season.  This was without a doubt an all-time impressive year (including both regular season and playoffs).  So let the debate begin.

The first thing to do when beginning the debate is to define "Elite".  The word is defined as "A group of people considered to be the best in a particular society or category."

So we're asking if Eli, plain and simple, is one of the best.  The next step would be to decide the criteria for being the best.  Is it Super Bowl rings?  Clutch moments?  Statistical achievements?  All those must factor a role into the equation.  Often people lump longevity into the discussion.  That's a mistake unless you're talking about all-time greats.  We want to know if Eli is one of the absolute best right now.  Aaron Rodgers has one dominating post season to go with one amazing regular season and he is definitely considered elite.  

So who is in this elite group other Aaron Rodgers?  Drew Brees has records for passing yards in a season and highest completion percentage in a season.  He also has a Super Bowl to his credit.  I'd say he's elite.  Tom Brady has five Super Bowl appearance, earning three victories.  He was also named Super Bowl MVP twice.  Brady has the single season record for passing touchdowns and is a two-time regular season MVP.  He has to go down in the elite category.  The other player on the bubble is Eli's brother, Peyton.  If Peyton is healthy, he's definitely amongst the elite.  Ben Roethlisberger is a guy with two Super Bowl wins (one MVP) in three appearances.  However, he has been putting nice regular season stats together lately.  He has been injured and was not the instrumental force in his first Super Bowl win.  From there, you get into a list of what I call "Stat Warriors."  

They're guys that have put up nice numbers with nothing to show for it.  The list includes Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford.  They do not belong in the elite discussion because they have little or no playoff success.

It's easy to say Eli Manning out-played Tom Brady twice on the game's biggest stage.  The truth is Brady was facing a much better defense than Eli faced.  Brees, Rodgers and Brady are the backbone of their respective teams.  Eli has proven to be more than reliable but the pass rush of the Giants is their biggest weapon.  I do not want to knock Eli for playing on a team with a good defense, but that is part of the reason Big Ben is not in the same category as the others. Eli Manning is an excellent quarterback who looks to be in the Hall of Fame upon retirement.  Being labeled "elite" should be an exclusive thing.  When team's become more concerned with Manning than their defensive line he will be in the elite class. Right now, Eli (joined by Roethlisberger) is one notch below.  

Offseason Preview: NY Jets

New York Jets' Offseason "To Do" List

After two consecutive visits to the AFC Championship game, Rex Ryan's New York Jets failed to make the playoffs in 2011.  This is a team loaded with talent on paper.  Too bad they play the game on a real football field.  The running game we've become accustomed to seeing from the Jets was missing.  The run defense was also a shell of it's former self.

Could the Raiders Be Switching to the 3-4?

Could the Raiders Be Switching to the 3-4?

The Oakland Raiders' defense is full of massive defensive linemen and hybrid linebackers.  After years of assembling a mixed bag of talent, Oakland could actually be finally switching to a 3-4.  At least it looks that way.  It all started when the Raiders hired Reggie McKenzie as their General Manager.  He was brought over from Green Bay where he scouted purely 3-4 talent.  It seemed as if he would bring in a coach with knowledge of the 3-4 system.

Offseason Preview: Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles' Offseason "To Do" List

This is the scene Philadelphia thought they'd see tomorrow, Super Bowl Sunday.  Instead, they were left with a bunch of "How come?" and "What if?" questions.  I think too many media members took the "Dream Team" quote and ran with it.  But we're looking at a team With Mike Vick coming off the best season of his career, the additions of Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Desean Jackson emerging as a premier receiver and Lesean McCoy primed to become one of the best backs in the league. At least Shady delivered.

Offseason Preview: Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys' Offseason "To Do" List

We all know that the Dallas Cowboys is a star-studded franchise.  We see them shell out top-dollar to their players, create the most expensive stadium known as "Jerry World" and put that big blue start on their helmet.  That's how it's supposed to be.  After all, this is "America's Team."  But something is wrong.

Offseason Preview: Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals' Offseason "To Do" List

The 2011 edition Arizona Cardinals was really a tale of two seasons.  There was the 'Kevin Kolb' side of the season.  And there was the 'John Skelton' part.  The odd part was the Skelton-led Cardinals faired much better than when Kolb was in the game.  Either way, Arizona missed the playoffs once again.  This will, however, bring about one interesting offseason.