mlb789 : I am a Ravens fan, so hearing that we signed Joe Flacco is great new... but for this much... you have got to be kidding me! I mean, I could see $80.5 Million for 5 years, but $120.6 for 6 years... that is just ridiculous, and I am a die hard Ravens fan... I even got a tattoo on my left shoulder of the Ravens head with the number 52 in it instead of the B for crying out loud.

NeonQ :  
mrfe :  
Shaymin :  
read above for my reaction to the Joe Flacco contract.

patar4097 : I mean, there is so much going on, but dang, a lot of this does not make sense, you know? The Ravens have lost Krugar and Boldin, all because of Flacco's big *** pocket. I think when the free agent business is done, I will post a link to current rosters at that point. Well, at least a link.

Well Tony is coming back. This gives the falcons a chance after cutting so many people. This Free Agents period is going well.

Barathemos : Sure, the Falcons can keep their big names, but can the Ravens? NOOOOO.... *mumble mumble grumble mumble*

The Falcons are going to try to get a better D by getting up farther in the draft, they are trying to get a top ten pick, but I don't know how they will do it though. Who do you think the Chiefs will pick? 

Barathemos : Knowing the Chiefs, and the rumors that have been circulating lately, they are probably going to try to get Leon Sandcastle. XD

I am just interested in who the Ravens get, you know?

The Falcon's got a new Runner Back.

Liking what my Raiders have done this offseason, getting rid of expensive contracts and signing cheap contracts such as Woodson and Porter.  DJ Hayden and Menelik Watson were risky picks but they might pan out to be superstars.  In 2-4 years the Raiders will finally be relevant again.

dkmec20 : Ah, so the Raiders did sign Woodson on Tuesday?

thing1 : Yep, 1 year contract worth up to 4.3$ Million, he'll be able to teach Hayden a thing or two.

thing1 : I've got a couple of predictions...

1. AFC West- Denver Broncos
2. AFC South- Houston Texans
3. AFC East- New England Patriots
4. AFC North- Cincy Bengals
5. Wildcard 1- Baltimore Ravens
6. Wildcard 2- Miami Dolphins
AFC Playoff Bubble Teams- Colts, Steelers, Browns, Chargers, Chiefs

1. NFC South- Atlanta Falcons
2. NFC West- Seattle Seahawks
3. NFC East- Washington Redskins
4. NFC North- Chicago Bears
5. Wildcard 1- San Francisco 49ers
6. Wildcard 2- St Louis Rams
NFC Playoff Bubble Teams- Packers, Buccs, Vikings, Saints, Cowboys.

Teams that should keep an eye on...

1. Tampa Bay Buccs. With the addition of Revis to the secondary, the Buccs now have a solid secondary with Revis, Goldson from the 49ers, and Mark Barron. If Josh Freeman can turn his game around then I believe the Buccs could win the wildcard spot maybe even the NFC South from the Falcons.

2. Minny Vikings. Vikings have a great draft that should give them a solid chance to win back to back wildcard spots. They have Jennings from the Packers, Patterson at the number 2, and Jarvis who should be a solid slot receiver. Not to mention they upgraded the Defense. Question will be can they win enough games in the tough NFC North to get a wildcard spot.

3. Cincy Bengals- I think the Bengals are flying under the radar with the issues with Baltimore. They have a solid WR in Green, drafted a solid TE with Eifert, and the defense should be good again this year. With Baltimore being a question mark, the Steelers doing an average job this offseason, and the Browns while improving, are not a playoff team yet; I think the Bengals might win the AFC North this year.

4. Miami Dolphins- Miami had a good offseason and I think they have a good shot at winning a wildcard spot this year. Question to me is can the OLine be good enough to protect Tannenhill with the loss of Jake Long to the Rams. Going to be interesting to watch.

5. St Louis Rams- With all the hype with the 49ers and Seahawks, the Rams are flying under the radar. They have a good young TE in Cook Jr; a solid secondary, and an improved OLine with Jake Long. I don't think the Rams will win the NFC West, but I do like their chances at taking away a wildcard spot from an NFC North team.

dkmec20 : Well by that time Woodson would have been out of the league, so the key will be Porter and Hayden at the CB. Watson I think be a decent OLine for you. Just have to see who your QB will be (I don't buy Matt Flynn) and hope McFadden stays healthy.

Oldschool41 : Hard to say who got the better end of the deal with the Miami-Oakland trade. Usually takes 2-3 years before you can say what team got the better end of the stick. Frankly though, if I had to pick a side, I'd agree that Oakland got the better end of the deal but for different reasons. First off, they traded down 9 spots and still had the DT Floyd from Florida on the board that they were slated to take in mock drafts. Not to mention a CB(DJ. Hayden) that was rated higher on some people's draft boards than the one the Jets took at 9 still available(even IF he was a risk). Add to that they got a 2nd round Draft pick that they lost in the Carson Palmer trade(which was foolishly done in the first place) and you can conclude that as of right now, Oakland got the better end of the deal.

As for other draft notes, I thought the Niners drafting Marcus Lattimore or the SC RB was a shrewd move. They have no room for him right now but Lattimore will need a significant amount of time to rehab from his knee injury. Combine that with the fact that they only used a 4th RD pick(hence very little risk). Not to mention the wear and tear on RB's is just brutal so having a full stable is a good idea for a team that prefers to RUN now rather than throw. Oh and many project Lattimore to replace Frank Gore in a few years.

As for 2013 predictions, I predict the following:

NFC West: Seattle I think the Niners will only go 9-7 this year based on the schedule and the fact they don't match up well to division foes
NFC North: Green Bay Minnesota is the only team that I can see that will challenge them but I got to give the edge to the best QB in Division
NFC South: Tampa Bay Vastly improved defense and the fact no divisional winner since re-alignment has won division following year
NFC East: Washington Uncertainty in Philly, lack of identity in NY and Starheads are all fluff, no walk(1 playoff game in last 3 years)

AFC West: Denver San Diego and Oakland will both suck so only challenge will be from KC that had several Pro Bowlers on Defense.
AFC North: Cincinnati Baltimore is rebuilding, Pittsburgh is old/still rebuilding and QB issues in Cle, hence Cin by default
AFC South: Houston Who else in that division is a challenge to Houston aside from Indy? 2nd most lopsided/sure pick in entire NFL
AFC East New England Entire Division SUCKS. NE by default

DH110985 : I agree with most of your statements. I don't want to give the Packers the edge for a couple of reasons...

1. I'm a Bears fan.
2. I don't trust the O-Line now that they have realigned their starting players.
3. The Defense is still an issue
4. Don't know how the RBs will be since most NFC North Teams have tough Run defenses.
5. With the lose of Jennings and Driver, the Packers WR is downgraded a bit (thou its still arguably the best in the league)
6. Jermichal Finley and what year he will have.

That being said I think it will come down to the Bears, Packers, or Vikings winning the NFC North (Vikings are underrated imo).

Kansas City has been underachieving a bit, so I would want to see how they do early on to give them 2nd in the AFC West.

Colts are not that good imo, and will most likely regress once Wayne retires.

I wouldn't discount Miami as sucking. They might get a wildcard spot. All depends on how the OLine will do.

Oldschool41 : All those things you said about the Packers, I can flip back at you about the Bears(O-Line issues, Defense(particularly with Leadership and Defensive Adjustments due to Urlacher retiring) and WR corp(which is quite unproven except for Brandon Marshall). Also, who cares if the NFC North is good at stopping the run if they can't stop the PASS? The year the Packers won the Superbowl, they were one of the worst teams in the NFL running the football. As for the Vikings, I said that the only team that will challenge the Packers was Minnesota. It all depends on the play of the QB and their Defense, since you have a pretty good idea of what your going to get out of AP, just not a 2k yard season and if he repeats with another 2k yard season... I might have to re-assess my top RB of all-time list.

As for Miami, losing Long is going to hurt. LT's like him are RARE and if there is any setback in the OLine performance, that will affect their running game big time and frankly their passing game is below average with a young QB and substandard receiving corp. Indy may have overachieved a bit last year but do you really see the Titans or better yet Jacksonville being a challenge to Houston... just not happening.

DH110985 : I agree with your statement on the AFC South statement. However if we both agree that the Texans will win the division, then its safe to assume that the Colts will be competing for a wildcard. That being said in my below post, I would rank most if not all of the AFC North teams a head of the Colts due to fact that most of them have a much stronger defense (the Ravens might be an exception will their loses, but I'll wait to see how the D does). Not to mention the AFC North teams have a better run game then the Colts. I want to see how Luck does in his 2nd year and the year after when Wayne retires (if he does), before I jump on the Colts ban wagon.

Now to Miami, I would rank them ahead since like the Colts, they play in a weak division (Buffalo is raising, but still subpar; the Jets are terrible). Now while Tannenhill isn't as talented as Luck, he looks like a solid QB. But as I said with Luck, I want to see how well he does next season with the addition of Wallace at WR. Not to mention I would rank Miami's Defense as being slightly better then the Colts with some of the additions they have brought in. But as you said and so have I, the O-Line is going to be important if the Dolphins want a wildcard this year.

Oldschoo41l: you sure are talking about football a lot and keeping my thread alive. Thanks. Do you play fantasy football? PM me so you don't get in trouble for sandwich posting so much.