FanHouse Gibril Wilson

In terms of real football, Thursday night's game against the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers is a sneaky good one. Sure, it's easy to look at the matching 4-5 records and scoff at the notion, but both teams have been playing well since a disappointing start (both started 0-3). They are attempting to climb back into the playoffs for the second straight year.

In terms of fantasy football, however, we have the running game and not much else. They are two of the most heavy run-oriented teams in football and shouldn't have trouble running on each other. The bonus is the game should be pretty short with the clock always moving.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

In 2007, the Miami Dolphins were one overtime loss against the Baltimore Ravens away from a winless season. Needless to say, expectations couldn't have been much lower heading into 2008. A new head coach, a new quarterback and 10 additional wins later, and the Miami Dolphins were one of the most unexpected playoff teams in recent memory. Can they do it again?

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Team who invented the Wildcat formation! Cue all sorts of zeal from the dramatic broadcasters. Of course, the formation has actually been around for decades, we just hadn't seen a ton of usage in the NFL until the Dolphins seemed to perfect it -- peaking with Ronnie Brown's ridiculous game against the Patriots.

The Dolphins have a careful quarterback, two solid runners, a good, young receiving corps, and have added a great all-around athlete via draft. It might be tough to predict who is going to consistency amass yardage, but we know one thing: They are going to be fun to watch.

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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.

Well, that didn't take long. Just about a week after being released by the Oakland Raiders, it appears Gibril Wilson has already sewn up a new job. The safety signed a five-year contract with the Dolphins Thursday. After a one-year hiatus from the NFL, he's back in the league. Wilson had spent the first four years of his career with the Giants, garnering a Super Bowl ring in the process, but was exiled to Oakland last season.

The Raiders needed to slash payroll, and Wilson was one of the slashees -- despite racking up solid tackle totals and a couple picks along the way.

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

The 2008 season might go down as one of the most bizarre campaigns in the history of the Oakland Raiders. Lane Kiffin and Al Davis clearly didn't get along, while Kiffin pulled off the impossible task of making Davis look like a sane, rational person.

A team spokesperson nearly decked a beat writer; the punter was, reportedly, punched out by a defensive lineman; and the team on the field finished with a losing season, failing to win more than five games for the sixth consecutive year. Just a disastrous season in every way imaginable.

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.

Say this for Raiders owner Al Davis: His team's losing isn't due to a lack of effort on his part. Sure, he may not know how to win in today's NFL, but he can sign blank checks with the best of them, as demonstrated by the salary data released by USA Today.

According to the data, Oakland currently sits atop the NFL with a payroll of $152 million, $6 million more than the No. 2 team on the list, the Dallas Cowboys. Oakland and Dallas are the only teams spending over $140 million, while only the Saints, Vikings and Browns join them in the $130 million club. The Kansas City Chiefs currently have the lowest payroll at $83 million, and have only one fewer win than the Raiders.

The Raiders are currently on pace to win four games this season, and should they reach that mark Davis will have spent, roughly, $38 million per win. Should they hold steady at two wins, well, that would be $76 million per win.

So, how did the Raiders get to the top of the NFL's pay scale? By overpaying a lot of bad players, it would appear.

It's official: Al Davis is senile. According to Yahoo.com's Jason Cole, the Raiders owner is apparently questioning his ability to make personnel decisions (thanks, Javon!). He might even consider relinquishing his de facto general manager's role ... okay, he's not that senile.

Oakland public relations director Mike Taylor reacted strongly to the notion that Davis would lack confidence in his decisions and declined to ask Davis for a reaction.

"You obviously don't know Al Davis. Self-doubt is not part of the equation with Al Davis," Taylor said. "I'm not going to justify this tripe, this drivel by even asking (Davis) for his response. It's ludicrous, it's insane, it's rumor-mongering and it's irresponsible journalism.

I kind of agree with Taylor; if Davis was going to doubt himself it would've been before this offseason. I mean, DeAngelo Hall, Darren McFadden, and to a lesser extent, Gibril Wilson, are all solid acquisitions that should, in theory, make the Raiders a little more competitive than they've been since they last made a Super Bowl run in 2002.

I was never particularly jazzed about the Javon Walker deal, but I can't imagine that would be enough to send Davis over the cliff.

This isn't to say Davis isn't thinking about turning over some of his day-to-day responsibilities -- he's 78, after all -- but that, if history is any guide, it'll take more than a few crappy offseason signings to make him reconsider his place in the universe.

Shortly after Gibril Wilson bolted town to join the Oakland Raiders, the New York Giants filled that void by signing veteran safety Sammy Knight to a three-year, $5.15 million contract. Unfortunately, the move did not seem please many fans. At 32-years of age and known for being notoriously slow, the move appeared to be a bit of a downgrade. However, upon further investigation, it became blatantly obvious why the Giants chose Knight over some of the other free agents -- his leadership and ferocity.

"Sammy Knight is a durable, physical player with 42 career interceptions," said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. "He comes to the line of scrimmage extremely well. He's a smart player who gets everybody lined up. He played in Kansas City for (Defensive Backs/Cornerbacks Coach) Peter Giunta, so we know all about the quality of the man. We feel like with his love of the game and his attitude about the idea of team that he'll be a real nice fit for us."

Make no mistake about it, his knowledge of the game will be very valuable for the Giants, but it's his physicality that caught their eye.



If you're a fan of the New York football Giants, you are already counting down the days until you see Terrell Owens or Santana Moss take that kind of hit.