Apologies for the Weekend

I am very sorry, but I was indisposed over the weekend catching up with the school I missed while I was sick. Monster news update to follow in a couple minutes/hours. Watch this space. 

So, in no particular order, big storylines from the weekend:

1. A list of overrated players from the season. Joyner makes pretty strong cases for most. Unfortunately, you can't really direct his criticism at anyone. Pro Bowl is partially fan votes, which is why it very rarely recognizes single season greatness, instead preferring players who are consistently very good, which is great in and of itself, but not the point of the Pro Bowl. 
2. On the Spygate investigation, it was revealed that the Pats have been taping since 2000, under the assumption that it was legal so long as the footage was not used in the same game. I am behind Specter on this. The NFL has a monopoly on football in America and because that is the case it is the government's job to make sure they are playing fair, just like any other corporation. 
3. Zach Thomas, MLB for the Miami Dolphins, was released. He's fairly old (35) and comes with some injuries (history of concussions), but could provide some veteran leadership to a 4-3 team. He was released by the Dolphins mostly because they are transitioning to a 3-4 scheme which requires bigger linebackers, especially if your GM is Bill Parcells. 
4. Massive Cuts in Atlanta: Looks like new Head Coach Mike Smith and GM Thomas Dimitroff are cleaning house. Recent cuts were: TE Alge Crumpler (5 Pro Bowls), DT Rod Coleman (1 Pro Bowl), QB Byron Leftwich, T Wayne Gandy, CB Lewis Sanders, WR Jamin Elliot, and LB Marcus Wilkins. These guys have very little cap space and nobody will want to play for what is assured to be a non-contender, so they can't rebuild through Free Agency. These guys have guts for just facing up to the facts and starting the process, but man it is sad to think of the season they have ahead of them. 
5. Mike Wahle, a G released by the Panthers, was signed by Seattle. The hope is that he'll be able to stabilize the line since Floyd 'Pork Chop' Womack hasn't been what they've wanted at the LG position. They have some stars on the line, LT Walter Jones, and some potential star talent, RG Rob Sims and C Chris Spencer. They also added a really great O-Line coach in Mike Solari during the off-season. There is some real potential here, but I don't know if Mike Wahle will be a star again. He's a little undersized and had to add a lot of muscle once he got to the NFL. That kind of player doesn't always have the longest career in the NFL since he doesn't add bone structure to support all that muscle. 
6. Chiefs released quite a few players: G John Welbourn, RB Gilbert Harris, DE Khreem Smith. The only player in that list who has potential is John Welbourn. He could be a very capable backup that might develop, or a marginal starter who could probably benefit if surrounded by talent. The Chiefs also signed several Free Agents, all to two year deals: K Billy Cundiff, S Erick Harris, DT T.J. Jackson, CB Chad Johnson, T Joe Lobdell, and G Rob Smith. Of them all, only Cundiff is a player you'll probably hear from next season. He's got a big leg, but has had accuracy issues in  the past. I don't know if he's the long term solution at Kicker for the Chiefs or not, but they need somebody. He'll be competing for the starting job in camp with K John Carney. 
7. The Bears released WR Muhsin Muhammad, who might retire, but who could also probably play 2nd or 3rd WR for a team for at least one or two more years. They also signed a two year deal with DE Alex Brown. Brown is an interesting rehire since he lost his starting job to Mark Anderson and Adewale Ogunleye. He's still a good situational pass rusher, so it'll be interesting to see how he fits into the Bears defensive scheme next year. More cuts included: RT Fred Miller and DT Darwin Walker. Miller was released mostly because they're trying to get younger along what is the oldest O-line in football and will probably retire. Walker, although having shown in the last two or three seasons that he is clearly too injury prone to be a starter, he could be a very good third DT in a rotation. 
8. The Chiefs also franchised DE Jared Allen. At 25, with 15.5 sacks in 14 games last season, it's obviously a good move. Signing him to a long term deal would also be a good move. If the Chiefs don't, it would clearly be time to fire GM Carl Peterson. 
9. The Cardinals franchised LOLB Karlos Dansby. Another very good move. He's been a productive defensive player and at only 25 years old he'll be a great player for years to come.
10. The Bengals franchised RG Stacy Andrews. It's a bit of a weird move. since he only busted onto the O-line this year as a LG for three games before filling in at RT after Willie Anderson went down for the last 11. His versatility certainly played into his franchising, but for single year performance it's a bit of a strange move. It will cost the Bengals at least 8 million unless they can work out a different deal. 
11. Patriots have released WR Donte Stallworth. He's a bit of a project and has more potential than skill at the moment. He's amazingly fast, just needs to work on routes and hands. I'd be interested to see who picks him up. 
12. Finally, the Ravens have franchised Terrell Suggs with the hope of getting a long term deal. He's a dangerous player, so this was a very smart move. The only difficulty is that they franchised him at the linebacker position and he claims he played more than 50% of snaps at defensive end.  The difference between the two tags is about 800,000$.