Ladies and Gentlemen Tony Dungy Has Left The Building

Tony Dungy, one of the classiest and most respected head coaches in the NFL has decided to call it quits in order to spend more time with his family, and who could blame him? After resurrecting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the garbage heap of the NFL and laying the foundation for their Super Bowl victory and winning a Super Bowl in Indianapolis there was nothing else to achieve.

This move is one that has been expected for a few years now which is why the Colts had named quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell head coach in waiting. As far as the offense goes, nothing will change much. Peyton Manning will throw touchdown passes and the Colts will win games. Larry Coyer, previously the defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has been brought in to replace Ron Meeks as defensive coordinator. Not much will change here either as he will continue to run the Tampa 2 that Tony Dungy has been running.

Bedlam in the Bay

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers caught everyone off guard when they fired Jon Gruden this off season. Apparently his Super Bowl victory in 2003 wasn't enough to save his job. The Bucs stayed in house when they promoted defensive backs coach Raheem Morris as head coach. At the age of 32 he becomes the youngest head coach in NFL history.

Jim Bates will be taking over as defensive coordinator. The word is that Bates and Morris will abandon the Tampa 2 defense which gained national prominence under Jon Gruden and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Jeff Jagodzinski, former Boston College Head Coach has been hand picked to take over offensive coordinator duties. He has said he plans to keep the zone blocking running scheme which bodes well for Earnest Graham, Warrick Dunn, or any back that they happen to draft.

2009 NFL Draft

The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and the days are longer. It can only mean one thing....The 2009 NFL Draft is upon us. With the bitter rivalry between Todd McShay and Mel Kiper playing out daily on ESPN, I have been inspired to compose a mock draft of my own. Here goes the first round

1. Detroit Lions - Matthew Stafford QB



2. St. Louis Rams - Jason Smith OT



3. Kansas City Chiefs - Aaron Curry LB



4. Seattle Seahawks - Michael Crabtree WR



5. Cleveland Browns - Brian Orakpo DE



6. Cincinnati Bengals - Eugene Monroe OT



7. Oakland Raiders - Jeremy Maclin WR



8. Jacksonville Jaguars - B.J. Raji DT



9. Green Bay Packers - Chris Wells RB



10. San Francisco 49ers - Mark Sanchez QB



11. Buffalo Bills - Aaron Maybin DE



12. Denver Broncos - Brian Cushing ILB



13. Washington Redskins - Robert Ayers LB



14. New Orleans Saints - Malcolm Jenkins CB



15. Houston Texans - Clay Matthews LB



16. San Diego Chargers - Knowshon Moreno RB



17. New York Jets - Josh Freeman QB



18. Denver Broncos - Ray Maualuga LB



19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Peria Jerry DT



20. Detroit Lions - Vontae Davis CB



21. Philadelphia Eagles - Brian Pettigrew TE



22. Minnesota Vikings - Darius Heyward Bay WR



23. New England Patriots - James Laurinaitis LB



24. Atlanta Falcons - Darius Butler CB



25. Miami Dolphins - Larry English DE



26. Baltimore Ravens - Percy Harvin WR



27. Indianapolis Colts - Evander Hood DT



28. Philadelphia Eagles - Donald Brown RB



29. New York Giants -Hakeem Nicks WR



30. Tennessee Titans - Jarron Gilbert DT



31. Arizona Cardinals - Alex Mack C



32. Pittsburgh Steelers - Max Unger OT

Free Agency Update

Since the free agent market has begun to cool down some it provides a perfect opportunity to recap what has happened thus far. Instead of restructuring his deal and taking less money with the Colts, Marvin Harrison asked for and was granted his release. He has yet to be signed. The same goes for another veteran WR Torry Holt.

Bart Scot, unrestricted free agent linebacker from the Ravens, will be reunited with his defensive coordinator as he has signed with the Jets while Scot's teammate Ray Lewis has chosen to stay in Baltimore and will likely end his career as a Raven. TJ Houshmandzadeh, former Bengals WR, will now be wearing a Seahawks jersey and catching passes from Matt Hasselbeck.

Derrick Ward, the giants running back who gained over 1,000 yards last year backing up Brandon Jacobs, will now be carrying the rock for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Chris Canty former DE of the Dallas Cowboys will be staying in the NFC East as he has signed with the New York Giants.

Matt Cassel, who filled in admirably for injured Tom Brady last season, was franchised by the Patriots but then traded to Kansas City for a second round draft pick this year. Brian Dawkins, 14 year veteran safety for the Eagles, has signed with Denver. The big winner of this years free agency has to be Albert Haynesworth though. He signed a seven-year $100 million dollar contract with the Washington Redskins.

Gateway to the West

After the Rams started last season with four consecutive, lopsided loses, it was no surprise when they fired head coach Scott Linehan. Although the Rams were more competitive under interim coach Jim Haslett, their effort didn't translate into the win column, and they finished the season with a putrid 2-14 record. The upside is that they have the no. 2 pick in the draft which they will likely use on Jason Smith, offensive tackle from Baylor, after they released seven time Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Pace.

Steve Spagnuolo the former defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, and mastermind of their Super Bowl win two years ago in which they foiled New England's bid for a perfect season, takes over as the Rams Head Coach. He brings with him former Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to take over the same position with the Rams. This move suggests that the Rams will switch to a west coast offense which Marc Bulger has never ran before. The Rams are also likely to trade or release veteran wider reciever Tory Holt. Add all this together, and it means a slow start for the Rams. As it looks now runing back Stephen Jackson is the only viable fantasy option for the Rams next season. Consider him a top 15 back.

Former Carolina Panthers linebackers coach Ken Flajole will be the Rams new defensive coordinator, however the defense will likely be run by Spagnuolo. With Spag running the show their defensive should stay a 4-3 but will have more blitzes as Spag's defenses like to put pressure on the quarterback. Don't show up on draft day expecting the Rams to be your D/ST unit, but they could be a decent sleeper somewhere down the road next season.

Rocky Mountain High

That, admittedly, did not go as plan. I got a bit carried away, and still have eight coaching changes to analyze. These will be shorter. I hope.

-Denver-

This off-season Denver did the unthinkable when they fired Mike Shanahan, who had led the Bronocos to two Super Bowl wins during his tenure with the team. The fact is Denver went 7-9 and 8-8 the last two seasons, and missed the playoffs each year. Mike Shanahan the General Manager didn't do Mike Shanahan the coach any favors in neglecting the defensive side of the ball, which was, ultimately, the source of their downfall.

The Broncos plucked an apple off the Bill Belichick coaching tree when they snagged Josh McDaniels, the patriots offensive coordinator from 2006-2008. This bodes well for Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Eddie Royal. In 2007, under McDaniels, the Patriots' offense set records, scoring 589 points on 75 touchdowns (67 offensive, 50 passing and 17 rushing). If his offense can smoothly translate to Denver, it means big things are in store for Cutler, Marshall, and Royal in 2009. Think of Cutler as a top 5 QB, and Marshall as a top 10 WR. Eddie Royal showed that he is a play-maker gaining 980 yards and 5 touchdowns as a rookie last year. Consider him a top 20 WR, and a strong no. 2 for your fantasy team.

Former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan was hired as the teams defensive coordinator. He will change the Broncos defense into a 3-4, moving DJ Williams into the inside linebacker position. Seeing as how bad the Broncos defense has been these past two years, from a fantasy standpoint, it is best not to rely on this D/st unit.

The Wheel in the Sky Keeps On Turnin'

It's hard to believe that there were nine head coaching changes after the season had ended. And that doesn't include San Francisco and Oakland who fired their coaches mid-season. They, however, decided to avoid the head coaching market and retained intern coaches, Mike Singletary and Tom Cable.

Because there were nine teams to analyze, I have decided to split it up into two installments so ladies and gentleman without further ado, part I.


-Seattle-


This was the last git-go for Mike Holmgren as he had decided this would be his final year before the season began. With this expected news Seattle wasted no time in promoting Jim Mora Jr to coach in waiting. This offseason Mora brought in Greg Knapp who had spent the previous two seasons as offensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders. Mora and Knapp are well acquainted as the two spent three seasons together, 2004-2006, as head coach and offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons.

Knapp's forte is the west coast offense so look for Seattle to focus on the running game and throw short quick passes. This bodes well for rbs Julius Jones and TJ Duckett. They are coming off disappointing seasons, and you never know who Seattle will bring in through the draft or free agency so consider these guys sleepers at best. QB Matt Hasselbeck is coming off a disappointing season also. This coupled with the fact that the focus is going to be on the ground game limit his potential for next season. He's a solid backup QB but don't rely on him as your starter.

The wide receiving core is riddled with question marks, and injuries. Deion Branch when healthy is a quality no. 2 borderline no.1 receiver, however, he spent much of last season on the sidelines due to injury. Bobby Engram is entering his 14th year, and has had injury problems of his own. This is why many draft experts have Seattle drafting Michael Crabtree, the young phenom from Texas Tech. At 6-3 214 Crabtree has excellent hands and playmaking ability after the catch. He also won the Biletnikoff Award in his only two seasons at Texas Tech. He clearly has the talent to be an outstanding player in the league. In a one year league use a middle to late round pick on him as rookie wide receivers tend to struggle adjusting to the NFL game. In a keeper league he should be drafted near the middle of the first round after the top-tier running backs have been taken.

Gus Bradley, who was previously Tampa Bay's linebacker's coach looks to bring the Tampa 2 defense with him to Seattle. The Tampa 2 is known for its solid defenses in fantasy play and this unit should be no exception as Seattle has talent on the defensive side of the ball with linebacker L. Tatupu and cornerback M. Trufant. The talent of the teams in their conference doesn't hurt matters either.