FanHouse EugeneWilson

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

How many years were the Arizona Cardinals picked to finally have their breakout year? It seems like they were the dark horse pick to have a playoff run every offseason. But since they went to the Super Bowl last year, they can't be that sneaky hot team any more.

Maybe the Texans take over that spot. Their franchise has never had a winning season, and the last two 8-8 seasons have only resulted in higher expectations. Houston's offense ranks about the same as the Cardinal offense, their special teams is better and their defense worse. The Texans are trying to fix that bad defense by replacing a number of coaches on that side of the ball.

Really, I don't know what to say about this game. The Texans are playing some maddening, inexplicable ball this year. Today, they ended up winning despite themselves and because of themselves. If you want to read a normal summation of the game, check out the AP report. If you want to read the relieved quote sheet from the Texans owner, coach and players, check out this.

This game is an illustration of why fans should always always always stay until the end. Here's my running commentary of select plays at the end of this game:

With 6:08 left in the game, Houston is forced to kick a 42 yard field goal to be up 23-21.

At the Miami 36 with 3:18 on the clock, Chad Pennington throws an interception picked off by safety Eugene Wilson. Instead of sitting down, Wilson runs towards the endzone but fumbles at the 27. My brain almost explodes. Fortunately, I had consumed a slight amount of alcohol that thinned my blood enough to prevent a full blown Scanners event.

The Texans defense is so horrific that they allow Miami to score a touchdown in only 5 plays and in 1:19 seconds. 28-23. Boooo!!!!! But wait, this leaves 1:45 on the clock. Keep hope alive and all that nonsense.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are close to signing free agent defensive back Eugene Wilson, formerly of the Patriots, Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times is reporting.

Wilson, who is versatile enough to play either cornerback or safety, is believed to be about to pick the Buccaneers after also considering the Tennessee Titans. There was also talk that the Bengals could be interested, but Cincinnati is apparently concerned about his health.

The determining factor for Wilson could be playing time, and it appears that he'd get more of it in Tampa Bay than he would in Tennessee. Wilson's agent, James Sims, said of the offer from the Titans, "I don't think money's an issue at this point," but the fact that the Titans way they would use Wilson as a third cornerback, nickelback or backup safety might be. Wilson was a full-time starter in his first three seasons in the NFL but has started just 10 games in the last two. His best chance to become a starter again is in Tampa Bay, and it appears that Tampa Bay is where he's headed.

So far in free agency, the Patriots have lost Asante Samuel, a top-5 NFL cornerback, and nickel back Randall Gay. The also let safety Eugene Wilson walk, and need to find a replacement for 35-year-old Rodney Harrison. So what does New England do? Well, to date, they've signed Jason Webster, Tank Williams and Lewis Sanders to help fill that gaping hole in the secondary.

I fully expect one -- or all -- of these stiffs to not be on the opening-day roster, but in the meantime they help fill out the depth chart.

More to the point, though, is the Patriots' glaring need in the defensive backfield. (Yes, there are also issues at linebacker, but having Ellis Hobbs as your shutdown corner trumps the possibility of fossils Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau returning for one more season.)

New England couldn't fix the problems in free agency since the Seahawks and Raiders franchised the two best available options, Marcus Trufant and Nnandi Asomugha, and Samuel was set to walk unless he got "Nate Clements money." (I suppose you can make a case that the Patriots actually exacerbated the problem by signing Webster, Williams and Sanders, but like I said, there's no way all three guys are around when the season starts. If they are, well, the Patriots will definitely need to average 50 points a game because their defense will be, to put it kindly, a liability.)

Usually the Steelers wait until free agency has entered the bargain hunting phase before they start shopping around. But here we are just a couple of days into free agency and the Steelers are bringing Patriots safety Eugene Wilson in for a visit.

With just a little over $2.4 million under the salary cap and a contract extension with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger expected in the next couple of days it's hard to know where the money to sign Wilson would come from, but he would help out what was a clear need for the second half of last season.

But signing Wilson would also seem to be a clear sign that Ryan Clark's recovery from a splenectomy is not going as well as hoped. Clark was a very solid free safety before his illness and if he can make it back then safety becomes a minor need for the Steelers compared to the gaping holes on the offensive line. It's not that the Steelers don't need help at safety, but with so little money to spend, I'd rather see them add a guard/center to replace Sean Mahan rather than worrying about improving on Clark, even if signing a starter away from the Patriots would be fun.

If you're a God fearing sort, after taking a look at the weather in Boston today, you'd have to think that the man upstairs didn't want Bill Belichick and Patriots fans to have the satisfaction of a blowout victory over the Jets. In fact, you might even think that ol' flowing robes didn't want them to get a win at all. Alas, human beings were blessed with free will and much like Job, Jonah and Lot's wife, the Jets couldn't stay out of their own way long enough to do anything but lose 20-10.

Both Patriots touchdowns came as a result of Jets miscues. On Kellen Clemens' first pass of the game, Richard Seymour demolished him and created an easy interception which Eugene Wilson took back for six points. Later in the first half, Ben Graham got a punt blocked and the Pats took over on the three yard line. Laurence Maroney carried in for an easy score and the Patriots led 17-7 at the half.

In the second half, things didn't get much better for the Jets. Darrelle Revis picked off Tom Brady, just the 2nd home interception of the year for Brady, but Chris Baker fumbled the ball back inside the red zone. That was the way it went for Chad Pennington. In a strong return engagement as Jets quarterback, Pennington moved the ball but his mates kept letting him down in the end.

The weather in Boston is frightful but the game got off to a delightful start for the Patriots defense. After the first Pats drive stalled, Chris Hanson's punt was downed inside the Jets five. On the second New York offensive play, Richard Seymour crushed Kellen Clemens and his wounded duck of a pass ended up in Eugene Wilson's hands for a an easy five-yard touchdown. Clemens needed some help leaving the field.

The Jets nearly answered on the ensuing drive without Clemens. He headed back to the locker room leaving Brad Smith, the college quarterback turned Kordell Stewart-lite, to run the offense. He ran a deft little option play with Leon Washington for 49 yards to get the Jets to the Pats 25. After a couple of run sent them backwards, Chad Pennington made his first appearance in weeks and found Jerricho Cotchery to give the Jets a fourth and two. Eric Mangini chose to go for it and went back to Smith who was incomplete.

Clemens has a rib injury and his return is described as probable.

(UPDATE: Despite the probable label, Pennington has been at quarterback for the Jets for the rest of the first half.)

In the summer of 2006, the Ravens locked up safety Ed Reed with a six-year, $40 million extension, pretty much assuring he ends his NFL career in Baltimore. But little things like contracts haven't slowed up Patriots head coach Bill Belichick from getting what he wants.

Last spring, New England traded a second-round pick to Miami to nab wide receiver Wes Welker, and to hear Belichick gush over Reed, you get the impression the Patriots would be willing to make a deal to acquire the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year:

"Ed Reed is an awesome football player. To me, he's one of the best football players in the league ... I think that probably Ed Reed by himself back there can control the deep part of the field better than any two guys can, because the other guy isn't as good as Ed Reed, no matter who it is. So whichever side he's on, whoever the other guy is doesn't have the same kind of skill that Ed Reed has.

To me, when he's in the deep part of the field, it's hard to throw in the deep part of the field with him being back there, and then that allows them to do whatever they want with the other 10 guys."

Here's a sobering thought for the rest of the league: the New England Patriots have the second-best defense in the NFL and they're only going to get better. You see, the Pats are currently without defensive end Richard Seymour, and have somehow managed to squeak out four victories in as many games by an average of 25 points.

Seymour is still two weeks from returning, but New England gets back its defensive enforcer Sunday. That's right, the league's dirtiest player, Rodney Harrison, returns from a four-game suspension for violating the substance-abuse policy.

Here's the thing, though: is there a place for Harrison? Eugene Wilson and James Sanders, along with rookie Brandon Meriweather, have been holding down the fort in Harrison's absence. You can never have too many good defensive backs, I suppose, but Harrison's role could be greatly reduced from past seasons.

Defensive coordinator Dean Pees is taking a wait-and-see approach to what Harrison's return will mean to the team:

"Like I said before when I was asked the question when he was going to be out, when somebody is out, it gives somebody else an opportunity. I think some of those guys have taken advantage of that opportunity and have done well.

And that's exactly what's happened. Harrison seems like the consummate team player, and if he can get another Super Bowl ring by being a gloried coach, I'm guessing he'll gladly assume his new role. Whatever, the Patriots are a better team with Harrison and Seymour, and given how the first month has unfolded, that's a scary thought.