FanHouse DomoniqueFoxworth

Chad Ochocinco appears to have emerged from his funk, the one that consumed him for most of 2007 and part of last season, too. Now he's back to his affable, fun-loving ways, which should serve as a nice distraction when the Bengals begin their inevitable implosion.

That descent into mediocrity could start Sunday when Cincy faces Baltimore in a battle for first place in the AFC North. And in preparation for the get-together Mr. Ochocinco, as he's known to do, has commenced with the jibber jabber.

On a Wednesday conference call Chad told reporters what he had in store for the Ravens.

The day after his first (and, so far, only) collective bargaining negotiating session with the NFL, new players union head DeMaurice Smith was on Capitol Hill, beginning to build congressional support for the prevention a lockout by NFL owners in 2011. This was back on June 4, and it didn't get a lot of attention at the time. But it's yet another indication that the CBA negotiations between players and owners could get very ugly.

Smith and Baltimore Ravens defensive back Domonique Foxworth attended the meetings with the House Judiciary Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee. Both described the sessions as "meet-and-greets" and declined to go into detail about what was discussed. But there are a couple of ways in which the union hopes Congress can factor into its strategy going forward.

Samari Rolle has been beating this drum for a few weeks now, and it finally sounds like he'll get his wish: the Ravens will release him on Monday, according to the Baltimore Sun.

"I anticipate it happening. I'm happy," Rolle told The Sun. "Everyone got what they wanted out of this. I wish the Ravens nothing but the best of luck."

The move will create $4.1 million in cap space for the Ravens, a team with plenty of defensive holes to fill; Chris McAlister, Bart Scott, and Jim Leonhard -- all starters at various points during the 2008 season -- are gone, and the team is especially thin in the secondary.

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.

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It was one of the biggest questions on the Ravens defense heading into the offseason, and now one of the cornerback spots has been filled.

Baltimore signed Domonique Foxworth to a four-year, $28 million contract that has $16.5 in guaranteed money.

Foxworth was on the field for the Falcons last season from Week Eight on, accumulating 38 tackles and one interception. The Ravens let Chris McAlister go this offseason and have two other free agents at the same position, so securing a prospect like Foxworth, even if the money seems a tad high, is a good decision for the ever-departing Baltimore defense.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

On the heels of a nightmarish 2007 season, the Falcons were predicted to go 0-16 by some pundits. But not even the most optimistic Falcons fan would have expected a playoff spot, and even fewer would have seen Matt Ryan going from rookie to franchise quarterback before the season's halfway point.

But now here comes the hard part: The Falcons have never managed to put together back-to-back winning seasons. Whenever the Falcons have broken through with a playoff appearance, it's always been followed with a quick crash back to Earth.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

Gregg Williams hasn't informed a free agent decision for New Orleans yet, hasn't hand-picked the inevitable defensive playmaker the Saints choose with their 14th-overall selection this year, hasn't installed a single scheme in a minicamp. Yet Williams' reputation has preceded him to the Crescent City, and his hiring as defensive coordinator is already considered one of the most important moves in team history.

After almost two decades of guaranteed defensive putridity, the last three of which have revolved around Gary Gibbs' lack of talent identification and bland scheming, the idea of Williams and his history of intelligent, hard-working, active, complex defenses coming to the Superdome is music to the ears. It also might finally push the Saints over the top.

I don't think this is what Tony Grossi had in mind. After losing Daven Holly for the season with a knee injury, the Browns are right back on track for Destination: Super Bowl! after signing ... Terry Cousin? Wow.

Hmm. Not exactly the Ty Law of over-the-hill free-agent acquisitions. Then again, Cousin realizes that, at 33, he's a role player at this point in his career, a notion Law has yet to fully embrace.

Cousin gives the Browns depth in the secondary but not much else. At this point, though, filling out the depth chart is a good start.

At first glance, Cousin seems to step into the roster hole created by the release of CB Kenny Wright, another journeyman cornerback with considerable (and geographically widespread) NFL experience. Another comparison could be made to smallish CB Ray Mickens, who helped provide depth on the Browns bench several seasons ago.

Maybe the Browns can re-trade for Leigh Bodden. Or, more likely, perhaps they'll work a deal for another, less established cornerback (general manager Phil Savage has ruled out Law and Lito Sheppard; one is a fossil and both would want long-term deals). The latest name: Denver's Domonique Foxworth.

However this ends up, the perception that the Browns' season rests on the health of one mediocre cornerback should tell you all you need to know about the offseason hype machine. Namely, it's the offseason. And there's a lot of hype.

The Jets visited with Ty Law and Donald Strickland at their headquarters yesterday, a sure sign that they'd like to improve their corps of defensive backs entering 2008. The Broncos ran through about three dozen defensive tackles last season and never really settled on any long-term answers for their needs at the position. They have upgraded at linebacker and safety through free agency but haven't inked the DT they need. It makes sense, then, that the two teams are talking trade.

The Broncos have Domonique Foxworth, a restricted free agent corner who has expressed an interest in playing for the Jets, and New York has Dewayne Robertson, a defensive tackle who desperately needs a 4-3 scheme to flag his career prospects. Two birds could meet one stone in a trade that swaps these two players.

The Jets would probably prefer to have draft picks than another nickel-type cornerback but beggars can't be choosers. They need to erase Robertson from their salary cap post-haste and Foxworth would see a fair amount of action in 2008. As for the Broncos, they've never had a problem with trying to rehabilitate defensive lineman who were picked high in the draft and struggled, e.g. Gerard Warren and Courtney Brown.

In the past, however, Ted Sundquist has had a hand in the Bronco personnel decisions. The team fired their longtime G.M. yesterday, though, and it will be interesting to see if that results in a change of organizational philosophy.

It's hard to say the Lions' secondary was the weakest link on the team last year -- the offensive line might have something to say about that -- but it left quite a bit to be desired. But it appears that they're going to make a concerted effort to get it up to speed very early in free agency.

They've already signed safety/nickel Dwight Smith, who has connections with Rod Marinelli and Joe Barry from Tampa. Then there's the soon-to-be former Charger Drayton Florence. Though free agency doesn't start until, oh, about four hours from now as I write, I think we all know where Florence plans on going.

Florence said Thursday in a telephone interview he heard through the grapevine the Lions were interested in him. He knows the Lions need corners and thinks he could be a good fit.

Asked about Dwight Smith, Florence said: "Let him know I'm trying to come over there and help him out and lock it down in Detroit, man. I'm trying to get that Super Bowl ring.

That's pretty direct. If that weren't enough, the Lions could be getting a good corner in Domonique Foxworth from the Broncos, who are hot to trot for ecstatic Shaun Rogers.

These moves would appear to make the Lions' secondary much better, but with Lions seeing truly is believing. Still, give them an "A" for effort.