FanHouse ChrisRedman

Depending on your perspective, today has been really, really good or, well, pretty craptastic. NFL rosters have to be trimmed to 53 and there are already plenty of examples of big names getting the boot.

There's plenty of room on the FAIL list, and next up is former Lions third-overall pick, quarterback Joey Harrington who, by all accounts, is a swell guy, but has had a mesmerizingly dreadful six-year NFL career. Part of that has to do with the circumstance -- it's hard to have much success in Detroit, Miami or Atlanta -- and I'm guessing Harrington was a delightfully deplorable person in a previous life and is being paid back accordingly in this one.

Whatever, he, along with scores of other guys, is looking for work right about now.

As for the Falcons, they'll go into the season with another third-overall selection, rookie Matt Ryan, under center. Chris Redman, who was out of football for a few years before Bobby Petrino summoned him from the real world, will serve as Ryan's backup, and D.J. Shockley, a project in the works, will be the third-teamer.

All is not lost, however; Mittens has beaten the odds and somehow made an NFL roster. Keep your head up, Joey. Your NFL fortunes can change is a split second.

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 position has been an issue in Baltimore since, well, the club moved from Cleveland. Brian Billick turned out not to be such a smart guy, after all, which explains Tony Banks, Elvis Grbac, Chris Redman, and Kyle Boller. Second-year player Troy Smith showed promise during a brief stints last season, but Joe Flacco is the team's newest franchise quarterback. Now it's just a matter of getting him up to speed on running the offense. Heat Index: 4

Running backs: Letting Jamal Lewis walk after the 2006 season was a no-brainer, even if he had a resurgence of sorts with the Browns. Willis McGahee is more than capable when healthy, and rookie second-rounder Ray Rice should see plenty of action. Heat Index: 7

Great news for Falcons fourth-string quarterback D.J. Shockley: head coach Mike Smith says the starting job is wide open. Of course, that's what every coach currently without a bona fide starter is saying, and realistically, Shockley has about as good a shot at the gig as Joey Harrington has of being traded to the Lions and taking them to the Super Bowl. Which, at about a million to one means there's still a chance.

"We'll have a rotation so that all of our quarterbacks have an opportunity to work early," Smith said. "That's something that we want to do, to give every guy an opportunity to compete for the starting job."

Matt Ryan, the team's first-round pick and next franchise quarterback, offers his thoughts on the process:

"I think there's no right or wrong way to do it. If it were an exact science, then everybody would follow the same protocol. As a competitor and a player, I think that you want to be out on the field and you want to have the ball in your hands."

As JJ Cooper pointed out yesterday, this is basically a two-horse race: Ryan vs. Chris Redman. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Harrington and Shockley are each "in a battle for his NFL life", which sounds about right. However this shakes out over the next month, come December, there's a good possibility Ryan's under center for the duration. I don't like to make predictions, but I'm guessing his career ends up a little less gruesome than his predecessor's.

Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.

As you would expect with a team that is coming off a season that could best be described as a train wreck combined with a earthquake topped off by a nice little forest fire just to make things tidy, the Falcons have a lot of wide-open starting jobs as training camp begins.

They'll be looking to see if second-round pick Curtis Lofton is ready to take over at middle linebacker, which would allow Keith Brooking to move back outside. They'll be watching disappointing Michael Jenkins to see if he can outplay the unhappy carcass that once was Pro Bowler Joe Horn. And we'll have to see if rookie Sam Baker is ready to step in and start at offensive tackle.

But the battle that will define the Falcons 2008 season will be the quarterback competition. If Chris Redman starts more than eight games this year, it either means that the Falcons are playing much better than expected, or that the offensive line is such a disaster that 0-16 seems possible.

This is probably a good idea: after the whole Michael Vick fiasco, the Atlanta Falcons have decided not to feature Matt Ryan as the "face of the franchise."

There were some segments of the internets that considered the Ryan selection a publicity stunt, but, well, that's just silly; the recently deposed face of the franchise is currently incarcerated for first-degree (puppy) murder, and Joey Harrington and Chris Redman aren't exactly guys you can build a team around. That the Ravens were trying to trade up and grab Ryan further suggests that NFL teams in the market for a quarterback considered him worth a top-5 pick (and everybody knows that Baltimore has a keen eye for identifying quarterback talent).

In any case, the Falcons front office will have a new marketing strategy for 2008:

Newly drafted quarterback Matt Ryan will not be a prime player in an advertising campaign planned by the Atlanta Falcons to try to rebuild the team's sagging season-ticket base. ...

"I don't think we're going to sit there and try to harp on one player," said Falcons president Rich McKay, who oversees the team's business operations. "It doesn't mean [Ryan] won't have some appearances or that you won't see him in the community, but I don't think he'll be the focus of our campaign."

For some idea of how bad things were last season, the Falcons saw a steep decline in season-ticket renewals, even though they cut prices. Four wins and myriad off-the-field nuttiness has that effect, Personally, I'm hoping the team builds a marketing strategy around Sam Baker. That guy looks like he can move some season tickets.

That the Ravens could be in the business for a quarterback is hardly news; in fact, it would be more of a story if they finally settled on someone who could hold down the job for more than a year.

The position becomes more of an immediate need now that Steve McNair has retired, although Kyle Boller was just as (in)competent filling in for McNair for parts of last season.

Baltimore used a second-day pick on Troy Smith a year ago, but no one would be surprised if the team drafted Matt Ryan with the eighth-overall pick should he still be hanging around the Aaron Rodgers Memorial Green Room.

But ESPN's John Clayton writes that should Ryan be off the board, the Ravens will probably trade down and try to grab Chad Henne later on Day 1. Sounds about right until you read this:

Most draft experts believe Henne should go in the bottom of the first or the top of the second round, but it's not out of the question for the Ravens to consider him as high as the 10th pick.

Number 10. Hmm. Two things: first the Ravens have a pretty spotless track record when it comes to evaluating talent, and it's hard to criticize their personnel decisions; second, their evaluative powers are rendered useless when it comes to drafting quarterbacks.

I can't imagine this actually happens, but if it does, look for Baltimore to re-draft Kyle Boller in the second round and then make a trade for Chris Redman. It would be only slightly less ludicrous than taking Henne tenth overall, I think.

Well, this is encouraging ... for Chris Redman. The former Louisville Cardinal star who was out of football for a spell before getting a second chance last season in Atlanta (thanks, Bobby Petrino!), is the key to the Falcons' draft.

Probably not something you want to hear as a Falcons fan, but at this point, they all may very well be numb to anything that even resembles bad news.

With the draft 12 days away, the Falcons will use the team's three-day minicamp, starting today, to determine if Redman is good enough to be the starter in 2008. Atlanta has an entirely new coaching staff, and new head guy Mike Smith wants to get a feel what what he has to work with heading into next season. Makes sense. More importantly, though, it'll help the team map out its draft strategy:

How Redman - and backup Joey Harrington - perform could determine whether Atlanta uses the No. 3 overall pick on a quarterback, like Boston College's Matt Ryan. Instead, they could address their offensive (Jake Long) or defensive (Glenn Dorsey) lines. The workouts won't be the sole criteria for player evaluation, especially for linemen who can't exhibit their physicality. However, they will matter.

While looking at film from The Debacle That Was the 2007Season is also an option, at some point it become worthless. I mean, Petrino quit on the team after 13 weeks, and it's probably unfair to make judgments about a player's performance under such conditions. The good news -- if you can call it that -- is that the Falcons have plenty of needs, so matter who they take third-overall, he's sure to help out next season.

I can't imagine even the most optimistic Falcons fan is expecting much from the team in 2008. As long as no one is detained at the airport for carrying a pot-concealing water bottle or is sent to prison for murdering puppies, it'll be a successful season.

And that's probably the best attitude to take. That way, if the team somehow manages to win five or six games, it'll be a pleasant surprise as the front office prepares to make another top-5 pick in a year's time.

I mention all this because even though it might seem prudent to draft Matt Ryan if he's available when the Falcons make the third-overall pick, there's a chance Atlanta won't pull the trigger. That's because they might try to trade out of the selection all together.

... [D]on't be shocked if Atlanta trades down from the No. 3 spot in the April 26-27 draft to accumulate more selections later in the process. The Falcons have to bolster the offensive and defensive lines, middle linebacker and depth at nearly every position except for tailback. In adding at least one more relatively high draft pick and either a player or additional draft pick by coming off the No. 3 selection, Atlanta could get more talent at solid value.

Duly noted, I will not be shocked. Thanks for the warning. Basically, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Steve Wyche could've written: "The Falcons need help, well, at every position. They can't go wrong by throwing a dart at the top 15 players and just taking one."

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

The Baltimore Ravens have already taken their first step toward 2008. John Harbaugh is the new coach and brings with him the expectation of a more disciplined team that takes better advantage of its resources. Some have argued that this team is close to playoff position but, truthfully, change is needed to restore this team to the level of a contender. As it has for years, the major obstacle for the Ravens to overcome is at football's marquee position.

1. Quarterback – Elvis Grbac. Randall Cunningham. Jeff Blake. Chris Redman. Kyle Boller. Anthony Wright. Steve McNair. Those are the men who have started at quarterback for the Ravens since Trent Dilfer won Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. Other than McNair in 2006, not a one of them has done anything to earn a second season on the job, and McNair went down in flames in year two. Boller didn't embarrass himself at the end of this season but he didn't do anything to warm the cockles of your heart either.

Billick was Boller's biggest champion and we don't know who will be running the offense in 2008, so it's anybody's guess as to who will be under center.

Chris Redman may end up being the one good thing Bobby Petrino ever did for the Falcons.

Seriously, who would have ever imagined halfway through the season that there will be a good chance Redman is the team's starting quarterback heading into training camp this July?

Redman was getting ready to sign a deal with an arena league team when Bobby Petrino offered him a contract. At the time he only got that offer because of his ties to Petrino at Louisville. But the one-time Ravens quarterback prospect turned out to be one of the few bright spots in a brutal season. He was just named the NFC offensive player of the week after throwing for three touchdowns on Sunday, and he may end up being the only one of the three quarterbacks on the Falcons active roster to be brought back next season.