Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Offense -- It's almost impossible to decide how this team will perform in 2009. I have high hopes for Trent Edwards, being that he's a Stanford man and all, and frankly, I can't shake the feeling that Terrell Owens is going to return Lee Evans to superstar mode this coming season. After all, teams have to cover Owens, even if he's getting older and could be hurt half the time; with a second-string CB manning up on Evans as he streaks down the sidelines, well, I like his chances. In terms of running the ball, you also have to think that Marshawn Lynch's three-week absence because of suspension is going to hurt the Bills ... until you realize that Fred Jackson will be highly motivated and might just come out gangbusters to start the season. Which means that Dick Jauron will probably just give the carries to Dominic Rhodes. Heat Index: 5
After looking through some Average Draft Position lists as well as my rankings, it's proven difficult to come up with a list of five underrated defenses. In my opinion, the top ten drafted defenses are the right ones to draft. Some may be a spot high or low, but there are no surefire starters out there that are underrated.
What I want to talk to you about today, class, is the ill-conceived strategy of drafting defenses in the middle rounds. In the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh rounds, you need to concentrate on adding quality value picks before turning to your defensive selection. All it takes is one injury to turn your supposedly-great draft into a mess, so use these middle-round picks to fortify your QB, RB and WR starters. Because in the end, you don't even need to draft a good defense. It's much more cost-effective to cycle through defenses playing at home against inferior offenses.
But leaving you with that would eliminate the fun, so here are a couple of defenses that you should consider adding at the end of the draft.
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.
The Buffalo Bills looked like the perfect "sleeper" team last year. They came out of the gates hot, Tom Brady went down for the season and, suddenly, they had a very good/great shot at winning the AFC East. But things went horribly wrong, they didn't make the playoffs and now they start the season with Terrell Owens and without Marshawn Lynch, who's busy acting out a Warren Zevon song, but with less money. Or something like that.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
If anyone still cared about the NHL, the Sabres might make it three whole things that people love about Buffalo. As it is, there's wings -- and then there's the Bills. Sadly, Canada seems intent on stealing the NFL away from the city in the middle of the night. Relevancy (almost achieved following a 4-0 start last season) would greatly enhance the Bills' chance of hanging around Buffalo.
There are bigger problems at play, but "nice offseason additions" would greatly benefit the franchise and head coach Dick Jauron. And there are plenty of areas that will need to be addressed over the coming months.
The draft has become one of the biggest events of the year for NFL fans. Maybe because everybody's a winner on draft day, or maybe because hope springs eternal and all that. Whatever the reason, we're fully trying to horn in on the action. Hence our first FanHouse mock draft of the '09 offseason. And we'd like to stress "mock."
It wasn't long ago that people couldn't mention Trent Edwards without pointing to his league best passer rating in the fourth quarter. But that was back when Buffalo was 4-0, 4-1, 4-2 ... you get where I'm going with this.
After Sunday's loss to the Patriots, one in which Edwards looked Losmanian, the Bills are now 5-4 and tied for last in the AFC East. Part of the current three-game losing streak can be blamed on injuries -- the team was without Aaron Schobel and Donte Whitner -- but every club is missing key personnel this time of year.
The bigger issue, I think, is that Edwards has regressed to the point that people wonder if J.P. Losman changed uniform numbers and cleaned himself up.
"I think we have a quarterback, I really like this guy," said Jauron. "To start the season he played so unlike a young quarterback that now whenever he makes an error, we think there is something wrong.
"[Sunday] was probably not his best day, clearly, in a number of ways. It's a learning experience. We're going to have to live with some things because I think he is an outstanding player."
Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Quarterback: The J.P Losman era has come to its logical conclusion. Which is to say, he probably won't be around after this season. Trent Edwards, the team's 2007 third-round pick is now the starter, and if the Bills are to have any chance to improve on last year's 7-9 record, it will lie largely with him. Heat Index: 5
Running backs:Marshawn Lynch had a relatively quiet offseason until he accidentally ran over a pedestrian and bonked out before the cops showed up. The case has been settled, and he won't miss any time, which is great news for a Bills offense that can't afford to lose one of its best players. I suspect the hit-and-run victim might feel differently, however. Fred Jackson is more than capable behind Lynch. Heat Index: 8
When the Bills have the ball: Was that the New England Patriots and Tom Brady dressed up as the Buffalo Bills last week? It sure looked like it! Trend Edwards had a career day, tossing four touchdowns, while both Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch tore it up on the ground, running for over 105 yards each. And now Buffalo's offense will look to continue their sudden hot streak this weekend against a Cleveland Browns defense that ranks dead last in the NFL.
For Cleveland, this weekend may be a struggle defensively. Then again, almost every game this season has been. They're currently giving up a league worst 27.4 points per game and an astounding 390 yards per contest. If they hope to keep their playoff dreams alive, that unit will have to step up big time this weekend.
Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.
This week I sat down with Chris Maier of The Bengal Blitz, a Most Valuable Network column that covers the Cincinnati Bengals.
Dan Benton: "What in the world is going on with Chad Johnson? We've seen him in Carson Palmer's face, we've seen him blow up on Keyshawn Johnson during an interview, and we heard last week on the NFL pregame that he's begging other coaches to get him out of Cincinnati. Is this just Chad Johnson being Chad Johnson or is this something a bit more serious?"
Chris Maier: "Rumors of Chad being combustible in the locker room are not new. People talking about it publicly is. Those people speaking out about it are hurting the team every bit as much as Chad has with his antics. Blaming Chad Johnson for the team's problems is making him a scapegoat for a bigger problem. Has he been a distraction at times? Yes. Does he play defense? No. Is he on kickoff coverage? No. Does he play offensive line? No. The Bengals aren't off to a disappointing start because of Chad Johnson, they are off to a bad start because the team is not playing well.
I give Chad credit for staying under the radar since the Keyshawn interview. His lower profile is keeping the focus on the field rather than providing a distracting sideshow. Of course a few more losses and who knows how he will react. After the season, look for the team to re-evaluate Chad's status but i expect the focus to be on adjusting the behavior with a trade remaining doubtful."
For the Bills, time is running out on Walker. While August 5th may seem like a long way away, it's going to come quickly. If they really want him to remain in Buffalo, they had better offer him a contract soon. If not, they should just let it be known and collect a sixth-round pick from the Eagles.
When it comes to Schobel, your guess is as good as mine. One day he's here, another day he isn't. Perhaps the 2006 defensive MVP is growing tired of hearing his name in trade rumors. Either way, Chris Brown from "Inside the Bills" expects him to return next Monday.
Notes: Wide receiver Scott Mayle was also missing in action today.
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
After looking through some 
It wasn't long ago that people couldn't mention 
To get you ready for week 15, 
Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.
Defensive linemen Darwin Walker and Aaron Schobel 
