FanHouse BrianDawkins

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

Earlier this offseason Donovan McNabb said he wanted to see how the Eagles upgraded the roster before he would talk about a contract extension. After last fall, when things got so bad that Andy Reid benched McNabb for Kevin Kolb, it looked as if neither head coach nor starting quarterback would be in Philly another year, much less long term.

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

From Mike Shanahan's firing to the Jay Cutler trade, the Broncos are almost unrecognizable from the team that finished last season. After three playoff-less seasons, that may not be a bad thing.

The upheaval does make it difficult to predict where they'll look on draft day, however. A new coach and general manager running their first draft don't have a track record to use as a guide, which should make the Broncos a team to watch on April 25.

Last month, the Eagles fired Dan Leone when, via Facebook, he referred to the organization's decision to let Brian Dawkins sign with the Broncos as "retarted". Leone, a game-day stadium employee, immediately apologized for his actions, but was still dismissed.

Leone subsequently made the media rounds telling his story in the hopes of getting his job back, and during an interview with FanHouse, he hinted that Dawkins' representatives might be in touch with him for his show of loyalty, even if misguided.

Everyone is on Facebook (even FanHouse -- become a fan, holmes!) My older family members, old high-school teachers, everyone. It's just a fact of life.

Here's another fact of life: if you write something on your Facebook page, it's possible for everyone to see it. Texas lineman Buck Burnette learned this the hard way. And now, so has Dan Leone, a former employee of the Philadelphia Eagles, who was recently fired for referring to the team as "retarted" (though he presumably meant "retarded") in his Facebook status.

While the rest of the NFL is taking part in a free agent spree, the Chicago Bears have been incredibly quiet. I'm not necessarily talking about signing guys, because sometimes that stuff is out of your control. I'm talking about the Bears not being mentioned in any rumors for any free agent or possible trade target.

It's not as though the team doesn't have needs, as I outlined five in the offseason roadmap. I unintentionally omitted another need, which was astutely pointed out by the first commenter -- that they need an able-bodied backup to Matt Forte in the backfield as well. So that makes six pretty important needs.

You hear it all the time -- sports is a business. And, yeah, that is certainly true. But sports also involves human beings, and human beings are saturated in emotion. It's only natural that there's sometimes a dissonance between those two polarities.

Take Brian Dawkins, for example. Dawkins has never been the type who seemed like he was in it for the money, and in Philadelphia he found a kindred spirit in that city and its team; their mission statements -- which emphasize passion, aggressiveness, and work ethic -- mirrored his own. But the damn business side of things got in the way this offseason, and now Dawkins is a Bronco. After 13 years, it's a tough separation for him, as this exit interview with a local television station makes clear.

On the first day of free agency, the Broncos landed wideout Jabar Gaffney and long snapper Lonnie Paxton, both formerly of the Patriots. New head coach Josh McDaniels also wasted little time in shoring up one of the league's worst defenses a season ago: Denver inked safeties Renaldo Hill and Brian Dawkins.

And today, the rebuilding process continues: according to Denver's CBS4, defensive tackle Darrell Reid and linebacker Andra Davis have also been signed.

All season long Brian Dawkins said that he was hopeful that he'd work out a way to stay with the Eagles. Less than 24 hours into free agency, though, that looks like an impossibility. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Dawkins and the Broncos have agreed to terms on a contract that will be formally announced in Denver on Saturday.

Dawkins fills a huge hole for the Broncos. Their defense will be stocked with new, presumably young for the most part, faces. Dawkins gives them an experienced leader who can help the team forge a new defensive identity.

On Friday, the Oakland Raiders released safety Gibril Wilson, defensive end Kalimba Edwards and wide receiver Ronald Curry, saving the team about $6 million against the 2009 salary cap.

Think back to last offseason when owner Al Davis, in an effort to return his once proud franchise to glory, was signing blank checks with a stamp and passing them out to second-tier free agents like it was the fashionable thing to do. A year later, it's becoming obvious as to how much of a total failure the offseason was.