March 1 Casualties

With March 1 cutdown day looming around the corner some teams have already begun to release high profile veterans in an attempt to free up salary cap space .The followwing have been given their walking papers:
Brad Johnson...Minnesota Vikings
Jamal Lewis...Baltimore Ravens
Eric Moulds...Houston Texans

Chiefs Re-Sign QB

The Chiefs have re-signed QB Damon Huard to a 3 year contract.

Graham Drawing More Interest

It appears as though Patriots TE Daniel Graham is a hot prospect in free agency, with the Vikings and Bronco, along with the Bengals.

NFL Europe Draft

Here is the entire draft for NFL Europe, courtesy of Fox Sports.com. CLICK HERE

Jags WR Wants

The Jaguars, in the market for a slot WR, will look at WRs Kevin Curtis and Dennis Northcutt to fill that void.

Lelie, Graham Drawing Interest

As the free agent season is about to begin, the Vikings are reported to be interested in WR Ashlie and the Bengals are looking hard at TE Daniel Graham.

Jets Release RB

The Jets have released Rb Kevan Barlow.

Raiders Decline Option On QB

The Raiders have declined to pick up the option on QB Aaron Brooks, making him a free agent and opening the door for QB JaMarcus Russell to be the Raiders #1 pick in the April NFL Draft.

NFL Franchise Players

The following player have been listed a franchise players by their teams:

Dwight Freeney, Colts, DE
Lance Briggs, Bears, LB
Josh Brown, Seahawks, K
Charles Grant, DE, Saints
Corey Redding, Lions, DT
Asante Samuel, Patriots, CB
Justin Smith, Bengals, DE

The Much Anticipated Coin Flip

The Cleveland Browns won the coin flip against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will pick 3rd in the NFL Draft in April. The Bucs will of course pick 4th in the draft.

Top 3 Rookie Kickers?

If more than three rookie kickers are drafted it would be a bit of a surprise, but the top three kickers are rumored to be Martin Crosby (Colorado), Justin Medlock (UCLA) and Nick Folk (Arizona).

Jets Name Starting QB

Jets HC Eric Mangini has named QB Chad Pennington as their starting QB for 2007.

Patriots Re-Sign FB

The Patriots have re-signed versatile FB Heath Evans to a two year contract, which is good news for fantasy owners of Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney.

NFL Europa Beefs Up

Here is where some NFL players will be playing in NFL Europa, courtesy of NFL Europe.com. CLICK HERE

Combine Winners And Losers

With money made oin the field at the NFL Combine, here are a few that either made some cash with good performances or lost some dough with sub-par performances. This artice is brought courtesy of SI.com. CLICK HERE

Eagles Re-Sign QB

The Eagles Re-Signed QB AJ Feeley to a three year contract, which means the end of the Jeff Garcia era in Philadelphia. Garcia is expected to be courted by many teams, including Oakland, Minnesota, Denver and Tampa Bay.

Free Agent Targets For Each Team

Here is a good article from the Sporting News.com, detailing each teams needs and targets in the Free Agent Market, slated to begin on March 1. CLICK HERE

Dolphins To Release QB?

The Dolphins are expected to release QB Joey Harrington by Friday.

Ravens Extend Billick

The Baltimore Ravens have signed HC Brian Billick to a 4 year extension.

Chargers Name Coach

Coming as a surprise to noone the San Diego Chargers have named Norv Turner as their Head Coach

Drills To Be Performed At NFL Combine

Here is a list of drills to be performed at the NFL Combine this year, as well as last year's top performer in each category, courtesy of the Florida Sun Sentinel and the AP. CLICK HERE

Mock First Round NFL Draft

Here is a mock draft of the first round of the NFL Draft, courtesy of Peter Schrager and Fox Sports.com. CLICK HERE

Top Of The List In The Garcia Pool

The Bucs seem to be the front runner at this point to sign soon to be free agent QB Jeff Garcia, although the prospect of him re-signing with the Eagles is also a possibility.

Dillon Might Not Stick

Patriots RB Corey Dillon is due a 4.4 million dollar cap hit for 2007, and the Patriots will probably not pay that for Dillon's services. Therefore, Dillon might be cut and be allowed to become a free agent.

Days Numbered For Lewis?

RB Jamal Lewis' career appears to be over for the Ravens, who are expected to cut the former All-Pro running back.

2007 Pre-Combine Draft Rankings

Here is a pretty comprehensive list of players, courtesy of Scout.com. CLICK HERE

Top Free Agents

Here is a list of top Free Agents by position as reported by Pete Dougherty of Packers News.com. CLICK HERE

Top Of The List For Chargers?

The Chargers have USC HC Pete Carroll as their #1 choice for their new Head Coach, replacing the fired Marty Schottenheimer. Whether Carroll will leave USC remains a mystery, and traditional thinking is that Carroll will stay at USC and the Chargers will have to look elsewhere.

Barber First, Faulk Next?

After Tiki Barber announced his retirement, rumors began to swirl that RB Marshall Faulk would follow suit and also retire from the NFL.

Barber Retires

Furute Hall of Famer and Fantasy Stud RB Tiki Barber of the Giants has filed his retirement papaers with the league and his illustrius career with the Giants has come to an end. There are many in the fantasy world, myself included, that will miss his production on the field, but we here at EFF wish him the best as he enters a new chapter of life.

Marty Fired After All

Charger HC Marty Schottenheimer was fired by the team after all. The team did sign Marty to a 1 year extension in the days following their loss to the Patriots but to say he and GM Alex Smith did not see eye to eye is an understatement. As of now the Chargers have lost their Offensive Co-ordinator(CamCameron)...their Defensive Co-Ordinator(Wade Phillips) and now Marty from a team that did go 14-2.Speculation on a new HC has already begun with Pete Carroll,Ron Rivera and Mike Singletary heading the list. Whomever the team does decide upon it needs to act in a timely matter for FA, the Combines and the Draft are coming up quickly.

Another Suitor For Garcia?

In addiaiton to the Vikings, the Bucs are also reported to be in the running for soon to be Free Agent QB Jeff Garcia.

2006 Free Agents - Boom or Bust?

Here is a look at the 2006 Free Agents and whether they did well or lousy for their teams in the 2006 season. This article is courtesy of Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe. CLICK HERE

Finally Dallas To Name HC

Charger Co-Ordinator Wade Phillips will be named the new HC of the Dallas Cowboys. Until recently it was believed that Norv Turner would accept the post but a major stumbling block in Turner mind was the recent hiring of Jason Garrett as Offensive Co-Ordinator by the Cowboys. Owner Jerry Jones thinks that Garrett is the future HC of the Cowboys and that he would be groomed for that position by Turner over the nest couple of seasons. Turner it seems was very blount in his assesment of Garrett and does not believe he is HC material now or any time in the near future and therefore pulled his name from consideration and in turn led to the hiring of Phillips.

A New QB In Houston?

With the emergence of rookie QB Jay Cutler it is obvious that Jake Plummers' days in Mile High are numbered. If and when the Broncos do release Plummer a very possible suitor for his services would be the Houston Texans where he would be once again re-united with his former QB coach Gary Kubiak. The Texans have become more and more discontent with the progress of David Carr so this move makes sense on all angles,

Vikings Setting Sights On QB?

The Vikings are repoetedly planning on throwing a boatload of money at QB Jeff Garcia.

Bengals Re-Sign QB

The Bengals have re-signed QB Doug Johnson to a one year QB to remain as QB Carson Palmer's backup.

Lions New FB

It appears as though RB Shawn Bryson will move to FB for the Lions in 2007.

2007 NFL Regular Season Opponents

Here is a list of the opponents for each NFL team, courtesy of ESPN.com. CLICK HERE

2007 NFL Off Season Calendar

Here is the calendar for the NFL's off season, courtesy of Scout .com. CLICK HERE

Free Agency 101

Here is a good Q&A on NFL Free Agency, courtesy of Bob Lurtesma and Scout.com. CLICK HERE

EFF's Super Bowl Prediction

The Commish closes out a successful year with his Super Bowl XLI selection.

Super Bowl XLI Prediction

Ex-Fantasy Studs Elected Into Hall Of Fame

Two fantasy studs of yesteryear were elected into the Hall of Fame today, WR Michael Irvin and RB Thurman Thomas.

Moss Done In Oakland?

It appears as though WR Randy Moss is heading out of Oakland, and the Raiders will probably honor his request and trade him. The frontrunner for his services currently is the Packers, but stories like this change frequently so stay tuned to EFF for the latest.

Who's Hot and Who's Not; Sleeper Picks

Who's Hot:

1. The Indianapolis Colts running back duo of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai have rushed 98 times for 410 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns.

2. Chicago's running back Thomas Jones has averaged 4.7 yards per carry (189 yards on just 40 carries), and has found the endzone four times.

3. Tight End Dallas Clark (17 catches) and wide receiver Reggie Wayne (15) are numbers two and 5 in postseason receptions.

4. Indy kicker Adam Vinatieri is 11 for 11 in field goals this postseason.

5. The Indianapolis Colts defense has turned things around in the postseason, allowing a playoff low 230 yards per game.

Who's Not:

1. Despite Peyton Mannings' second half numbers against New England in the AFC Championship game, he is still a very pedestrian 72 of 115 with only 2 touchdowns and six interceptions. His passer rating is also 9th out of the 12 postseason quarterbacks with a 66.8 rating.

2. Indianapolis wide receiver Marvin Harrison has only 10 receptions in 3 games this postseason.

3. Bears' quarterback Rex Grossman is 32 of 64 for a 50% completion percentage.

4. Chicago running back Cedric Benson is averaging only 2.9 yards per carry (105 yards on 36 carries)

Sleepers:

1. Chicago kicker Robbie Gould is five for five this postseason after leading the league in scoring during the regular season.

2. It's a stretch, but Indy tight end Ben Utecht could have a couple of huge receptions that make the difference for the Colts.

Franchise Tag Numbers

Here are the NFL Franchise Tag Numbers for 2007, as reported by Buffalo Bills.com. CLICK HERE

Transition Tag Numbers

Here are the transition Tag Numbers, for positions, as provided by Buffalo Bills.com. CLICK HERE

Bucs Sign WR

The Buccaneers have signed WR David Boston to a contract, believed to be one year, but terms were not disclosed.

Will Favre Be Back?

Packers GM Ted Thompson said today that QB Brett Favre will return to the team for his 17th season in the NFL. With even moderate success, Favre should become the NFL's leader in Touchdown passes, passing Hall of Famer Dan Marino.

NFL Combine Invite List

Here is a list of the players invited to the NFL Combine, courtesy of NFL Combine.net. CLICK HERE

A New Rumor For The Panthers First Pick

There are some in the football world that think that the Panthers will select Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn with the #14 pick, but most of us here at EFF think that Quinn will be off the board well before pick #14.

NFL Super Bowl Injury Report

Here is the NFL injury report for the Super Bowl, courtesy of ESPN. CLICK HERE