AFC Off-Season Grades Ok, so we are well into the NFL off-season and a lot has happened. Coaches are in place and many of the players have found homes. There is still a long way to go before the season starts but we're basically at the mid-semester point of the NFL off-season. How has each teams' off-season gone? Below are my thoughts. How do you feel your team (or others) have done thus far? New England Patriots – Nothing major to speak of in their off-season. A few FA additions/losses but nothing major. Belichick and Brady remain in place, which gives them an upgrade. Grade: B Miami Dolphins – Where to begin? Lost another coach that they wanted. Lost another QB they wanted. Lost yet another QB they wanted. Players/fans are now calling out Ireland and Ross as a problem. Had to bail on the Marshall experiment. We will have to see how the new coaching staff works out but you kind of just get the feeling that they are becoming the Redskins of the AFC and will struggle to have much long-term success. Grade: F Buffalo Bills – The Bills have spent a lot of money in the off-season re-signing some of their own in addition to beefing up their d-line, with big contracts to Williams and Anderson. Gotta give them credit for trying even though they overpaid. Grade: B New York Jets – I like the Sparano hiring. Anything would be an improvement over Schottenheimer though. That’s about where the positives end. This has been off-season fighting among the players and they seem to just be accumulating crappy QB’s by re-signing Sanchez, trading for Tebow, and signing Stanton. Grade: D Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers seem to be gutting some age on defense, which needed to be done, and will benefit them quicker than we think. I like the change at OC a lot. And the Steelers will turn out o.k. with whatever happens with Wallace. Good off-season as usual for this team. Grade: A Baltimore Ravens – They have lost some pieces but I’m not sure any of them are irreplaceable. Pagano is obviously a big loss but I think Pees is up to the task. Grade: B Cleveland Browns – I like the Childress hiring and the re-signing of D’Qwell. They seem to be rebuilding their O-line, which is a good plan. I think they want to end the Colt experiment, but they lost out on a couple of opportunities to replace him. Grade: C Cincinnati Bengals—The Bengals had a ton of contracts expire at the same time and they are going to lose quite a few players. Not real good planning. The loss of Coyle isn’t good but the rest of the coaching staff remains intact, which is a positive. Grade: C Houston Texans – Strange off-season for this team. Mario, Winston, and Demeco are all gone but they did lock up Foster. Salary cap issues may have played a part in this. They were ‘maybe’ in on the Peyton sweepstakes but just enough to make everyone wonder which direction they were going. The coaching staff stays intact, which is good. Grade: D Jacksonville Jaguars—They get positives for finally cutting ties with DelRio but the new coaching staff doesn’t do much for me either way. They were able to get some of their guys re-signed and bring in Ross, Henne, and Robinson, even though they had to overpay. Just like the Bills, I give them credit for trying: Grade: B Tennessee Titans – Lost out on Mario. Lost out on Peyton. Coaching staff stays intact, which may or may not be a good thing. Have been able to re-sign a few players and bring in a few FA’s. I don’t fault them for not overpaying Finnegan (of course, I don’t think any CB is worth $50 mill). Grade: C Indianapolis Colts – How do we grade this one? I actually like the fact that Irsay is (sort of) completely cleaning house and is starting over. The new coaching staff is o.k. I guess. However, he seems to be gutting all of the veterans from his previous teams without stockpiling draft picks only to bring in less-talented veterans from other teams. I’m not understanding the long-term plan. He doesn’t really seem to have one with the roster. I can’t argue with the front office moves though. Grade: D Denver Broncos – The loss of Dennis Allen hurts but if DelRio is motivated, he can be a good DC. They had some suspensions for the upcoming season handed out. They lost a few players to FA but have been able to pick up a few. Let’s see………. Is there anything else? Of course, the obvious….. They won the sweepstakes and were able to do it under a fairly team-friendly contract. Grade: B Kansas City Chiefs—The hiring of Crennel, Daboll, and deciding to leave the DC position open aren’t exactly exciting moves. It appears Cassell is still the guy when Orton left and Peyton wouldn’t talk to them. They lost a couple of players and filled a couple of voids in FA. Grade: C San Diego Chargers—The decisions to keep A.J. Smith and Norv Turner automatically gets this team an F grade from me. The new coordinators are just long-time Turner assistants promoted from within. More of the same crap. Jackson finally got his wish of a big contract elsewhere and they’ve lost some other guys in FA. They’ve actually been a little more active signing FA’s than I thought they would be but it’s not going to save this sinking ship. Grade: F Oakland Raiders—The rebuild after the death of Darth Vader has begun. The hirings of McKenzie and Allen are ok, although I don’t really care for Allen’s coordinator hirings. McKenzie is doing the right thing by getting rid of a lot of the overpaid veterans. If he is bringing the green bay philosophy with him, he will be building this thing through the draft, which will benefit the raiders in the long run, but right now it’s ugly. Grade: C
Updated Post-Draft There have been some more transactions over the past month + since each teams' mid-semester grades plus the NFL draft so each team's grades should be updated to reflect a more complete off-season grade. How has each teams' off-season gone? Below are my thoughts. How do you feel your team (or others) have done thus far? New England Patriots – Prior to 3/24: Nothing major to speak of in their off-season. A few FA additions/losses but nothing major. Belichick and Brady remain in place, which gives them an upgrade. Grade: B From 3/24-4/29: They got Koppen and Branch re-signed and brought in a few UFA's. Their draft has to be considered at least decent with 2 first-rounders but I'm not sure I'm crazy about the Jones and Wilson selections. Time will tell if they're legit. Grade: B Overall Off-season Grade: B Miami Dolphins – Prior to 3/24: Where to begin? Lost another coach that they wanted. Lost another QB they wanted. Lost yet another QB they wanted. Players/fans are now calling out Ireland and Ross as a problem. Had to bail on the Marshall experiment. We will have to see how the new coaching staff works out but you kind of just get the feeling that they are becoming the Redskins of the AFC and will struggle to have much long-term success. Grade: F From 3/24-4/29: They got a few guys re-signed and brought in some UFA's but nothing major. With 5 picks in the first 97, the phins draft appears to be pretty good, although the success or failure of Tannehill will determine it's overall grade a few years from now. Grade: B+ Overall Grade: C- Buffalo Bills – Prior to 3/24: The Bills have spent a lot of money in the off-season re-signing some of their own in addition to beefing up their d-line, with big contracts to Williams and Anderson. Gotta give them credit for trying even though they overpaid. Grade: B 3/24-4/29: they were very quiet in FA during this period. their draft seems average. Glenn fell to them in the 2nd round, but is he a legit LT, which is what they needed. Grade C- Overall Grade: C+ New York Jets – Prior to 3/24: I like the Sparano hiring. Anything would be an improvement over Schottenheimer though. That’s about where the positives end. This has been off-season fighting among the players and they seem to just be accumulating crappy QB’s by re-signing Sanchez, trading for Tebow, and signing Stanton. Grade: D 3/24-4/29: The Jets stayed very active in FA and re-signing some of their own during this period. Their draft seemed to be pretty good with Coples and Hill falling to them. Grade: B Overall Grade: C Pittsburgh Steelers – Prior to 3/24: The Steelers seem to be gutting some age on defense, which needed to be done, and will benefit them quicker than we think. I like the change at OC a lot. And the Steelers will turn out o.k. with whatever happens with Wallace. Good off-season as usual for this team. Grade: A 3/24-4/29: They re-signed many of their own guys and managed to hang onto Mike Wallace. Their draft was a monster with talent seemingly falling to them perfectly at every spot. Grade: A Overall Grade: A Baltimore Ravens – Prior to 3/24: They have lost some pieces but I’m not sure any of them are irreplaceable. Pagano is obviously a big loss but I think Pees is up to the task. Grade: B 3/24-4/29: They managed to get a lot of their guys re-signed and their draft seemed pretty solid with the Ravens pulling off some trades and getting some extra picks. Grade: B Overall Grade: B Cleveland Browns – Prior to 3/24: I like the Childress hiring and the re-signing of D’Qwell. They seem to be rebuilding their O-line, which is a good plan. I think they want to end the Colt experiment, but they lost out on a couple of opportunities to replace him. Grade: C 3/24-4/29: They were very quiet during this period until the draft, which was not good. I don't agree with trading up and giving up picks for a RB and they took Weeden too early. The rest of their picks were o.k. Grade: D- Overall Grade: D+ Cincinnati Bengals—Prior to 3/24: The Bengals had a ton of contracts expire at the same time and they are going to lose quite a few players. Not real good planning. The loss of Coyle isn’t good but the rest of the coaching staff remains intact, which is a positive. Grade: C 3/24-4/29: The Bengals were very active during this period, re-signing many of their guys and bringing in some veteran FA's. I believe the Bengals had a monster draft, getting good value with a lot of picks. Grade: A Overall Grade: B Houston Texans – Prior to 3/24: Strange off-season for this team. Mario, Winston, and Demeco are all gone but they did lock up Foster. Salary cap issues may have played a part in this. They were ‘maybe’ in on the Peyton sweepstakes but just enough to make everyone wonder which direction they were going. The coaching staff stays intact, which is good. Grade: D 3/24-4/29: The Texans weren't real busy in the signing market during this period but got a few things done. Their draft was just 'ok'. If Mercilus turns into a superstar, this would be upgraded. Grade: C- Overall Grade: D+ Jacksonville Jaguars—Prior to 3/24: They get positives for finally cutting ties with DelRio but the new coaching staff doesn’t do much for me either way. They were able to get some of their guys re-signed and bring in Ross, Henne, and Robinson, even though they had to overpay. Just like the Bills, I give them credit for trying: Grade: B 3/24-4/29: The Jags remained active in signings/re-signings during this period but their draft was just so-so. They traded up to get Blackmon and I give them credit for trying, but I feel like it's going to be a wasted 2 picks and wasting a 3rd round pick on a punter just seems horrible. Grade: D Overall Grade: C Tennessee Titans – Prior to 3/24: Lost out on Mario. Lost out on Peyton. Coaching staff stays intact, which may or may not be a good thing. Have been able to re-sign a few players and bring in a few FA’s. I don’t fault them for not overpaying Finnegan (of course, I don’t think any CB is worth $50 mill). Grade: C 3/24-4/29: They were pretty quiet and their draft was not real exciting either way. Grade: C Overall Grade: C Indianapolis Colts – Prior to 3/24: How do we grade this one? I actually like the fact that Irsay is (sort of) completely cleaning house and is starting over. The new coaching staff is o.k. I guess. However, he seems to be gutting all of the veterans from his previous teams without stockpiling draft picks only to bring in less-talented veterans from other teams. I’m not understanding the long-term plan. He doesn’t really seem to have one with the roster. I can’t argue with the front office moves though. Grade: D 3/24-4/29: Things finally quieted down for them in the period leading up to the draft. The Colts were drafting high in each round and they have received some criticism for not addressing their defense until their 5th pick, but quite honestly this team had so many holes to fill, that if the 'take the BPA' ever applied, this was a perfect situation for it. I think they did pretty well just sticking with BPA. Grade: B Overall Grade: C Denver Broncos – Prior to 3/24: The loss of Dennis Allen hurts but if DelRio is motivated, he can be a good DC. They had some suspensions for the upcoming season handed out. They lost a few players to FA but have been able to pick up a few. Let’s see………. Is there anything else? Of course, the obvious….. They won the sweepstakes and were able to do it under a fairly team-friendly contract. Grade: B 3/24-4/29: Dawkins retiring is a blow to this defense. And then in the draft, the Broncos were avoiding the 1st round like it was the plague and then they totally botched their first pick. And their 2nd pick doesn't help this team win NOW, which I thought was the whole point of bringing in Peyton. Grade: F Overall Grade: C- Kansas City Chiefs—Prior to 3/24: The hiring of Crennel, Daboll, and deciding to leave the DC position open aren’t exactly exciting moves. It appears Cassell is still the guy when Orton left and Peyton wouldn’t talk to them. They lost a couple of players and filled a couple of voids in FA. Grade: C 3/24-4/29: Things were quiet leading up to the draft. If Poe turns into a monster NT, this is a great draft for the Chiefs. They were able to beef up their O-line and get the highest rated NT in the draft. I'm just not sure he was worth the #11 overall. Grade: C Overall Grade: C San Diego Chargers—Prior to 3/24: The decisions to keep A.J. Smith and Norv Turner automatically gets this team an F grade from me. The new coordinators are just long-time Turner assistants promoted from within. More of the same crap. Jackson finally got his wish of a big contract elsewhere and they’ve lost some other guys in FA. They’ve actually been a little more active signing FA’s than I thought they would be but it’s not going to save this sinking ship. Grade: F 3/24-4/29: The Chargers remained fairly active in signing/re-signing vets. Their draft seems pretty good. They seemed to have a lot of value fall in their laps. Grade: B-. Overall Grade: D+ Oakland Raiders—Prior to 3/24: The rebuild after the death of Darth Vader has begun. The hirings of McKenzie and Allen are ok, although I don’t really care for Allen’s coordinator hirings. McKenzie is doing the right thing by getting rid of a lot of the overpaid veterans. If he is bringing the green bay philosophy with him, he will be building this thing through the draft, which will benefit the raiders in the long run, but right now it’s ugly. Grade: C 3/24-4/29: The Raiders got a few signings/re-signings done prior to the draft but their draft was a disaster, mainly because they had trade so many of them away but, even with the few picks they had, I'm not sure they got anyone that will be on their roster a few years from now. Grade: F Overall Grade: D
