FanHouse AsanteSamuel

Putting together a successful NFL team is as much about finding quality starters as it is about filling out the roster with competent backups. The Patriots, Steelers, Giants and Colts have won Super Bowls because they had second- and third-teamers step into the starting lineup with no discernible drop-off in productivity.

Roster spots 23-53 are almost more important than the 22 guys who are listed first on the depth chart. And it's also what separates the perennial playoff teams from those struggling to win more than they lose.

The Texans have made progress since hiring Gary Kubiak in 2006, going from two wins the year before he arrived to back-to-back eight-win seasons in '07 and '08. Not surprisingly, lack of depth -- particularly on defense -- has been one of this team's biggest weaknesses.

Ben Roethlisberger is 27 years old, has two Super Bowl rings, and is the starting quarterback for the league's most popular team. There are worse ways to go through life. Of course, with fame comes the hassles of dealing with crackpots.

There used to be a time when stalkers had to do some legwork, literally. John Hinckley Jr. and Margaret Mary Ray come to mind. Now, thanks to the series of tubes that has made it easier for all of us -- save Ted Stevens, perhaps -- to communicate, those people with nothing better to do than harass the rich and famous, can do so from home.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

No team enjoys wheeling and dealing on draft weekend quite like the New England Patriots. The 2009 draft was no exception, as they made a series of moves resulting in 12 picks, and the stockpiling of even more selections in 2010.

As a result, the moves left the Patriots with no first-round selection for the first time since 2000, which is also the same year they selected some guy named Tom Brady.

Along with the 256 college players drafted last weekend, cornerback Ellis Hobbs also got a new home: the Patriots sent him to the Eagles for a pair of fifth-rounders. It was a surprising move, even for the trade-for-picks-happy Pats. Not only because cornerback was a liability last season in New England, but also because Hobbs is one of the best kick returners in the league.

The Patriots signed Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden this spring, and '08 second-rounder Terrence Wheatley will compete for playing time with his '09 counterpart, Darius Butler. Which made it easier to jettison Hobbs, despite the fact that he started every game the last two seasons.

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

In 2008, the New England Patriots became the first team in over 20 years to win 11 regular season games and fail to qualify for the postseason. Considering they lost their franchise player -- Tom Brady -- just about five minutes into the season, forcing them to turn to a quarterback who hadn't started a game in eight years -- Matt Cassel -- an 11-5 campaign isn't all that disappointing.

With Brady back under center in 2009, the Patriots look to be a strong bet to return to the playoffs, especially if they address the one or two holes that remain on the roster.

Missing the playoffs for the first time in five years seems to have sparked a burning desire in the New England front office to bring in every available player this offseason. After already signing Fred Taylor, Joey Galloway, Shawn Springs, Greg Lewis and Leigh Bodden, NFL.com's Vic Carucci passes along the information that the Patriots may be ready to take a run at Carolina Panthers franchise player Julius Peppers.

That sound you're hearing is the opposing AFC East quarterbacks gently sobbing into their pillows.

After watching Deltha O'Neal struggle to replace Asante Samuel in 2008, the New England Patriots have signed 12-year veteran Shawn Springs to a three-year contract in an effort to strengthen their secondary.

It was reported over the weekend that a deal was close, and it's now official as ESPN's John Clayton reports Springs will make $10 million over the next three seasons.

---

---

Franchise tags and salary-cap concerns play a very important role in real-world wheelings and dealings, but what if the biggest-named free agents were matched with the teams that gave them the best chance to make a Super Bowl run? What would that list look like? Glad you asked.

Yes, this is a strictly fictional account, one that requires you to suspend reality for the next few minutes. But, hey, it's the NFL offseason, which means that there won't be any meaningful football for another seven months. What else do you have to do?

The two biggest underdogs of the postseason will square off in Arizona this weekend, with one of them emerging from the desert as NFC Champion. They've taken drastically different paths in order to arrive at the same point in this 2008 season, but they meet at the same place.

The Cardinals -- beneficiaries of the NFC's weakling division -- had the playoff spot wrapped up for weeks, while the Eagles had to fight tooth and nail -- in addition to needing Bears and Bucs losses in Week 17 -- just to make the dance. The Cards scuffled down the stretch and were nothing but an afterthought as the playoffs began.

It's been rough going for both Donovan McNabb and Eli Manning on a windy day at the Meadowlands, as the New York Giants trail the Philadelphia Eagles 10-8 at halftime of a defensive divisional playoff game.

Manning has completed eight of 16 passes for just 87 yards, and he threw an interception that Asante Samuel returned to the 2-yard line, setting up the game's only touchdown.

McNabb was even worse for most of the first half. He threw an interception and was also called for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving the Giants two points on a safety. But on the final drive before halftime, McNabb calmly drove the Eagles down the field to set up a short field goal on the half's final play. McNabb is 9-of-18 for 68 yards, with 50 of those coming on the final drive.

If the McNabb we saw at the end of the half is the one we'll see for all of the second, the Eagles are poised to pull the upset. But if the first half is any indication, this game is going to be determined by the defense, and not by Manning or McNabb.