FanHouse GibrilWilson

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.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, 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: Who would have thought a year ago that the perception of Eli Manning would have changed so drastically? That's what happens when you win a Super Bowl. But can you really expect Manning to be as precise as he was during that improbable championship run? Either the light finally went on for Manning, or he simply found a zone. Or a combination of the two. Last year was a step forward, for sure, but I expect Eli Manning v.2008 to resemble something in between the lows and highs of the two Eli Mannings circa 2007. Still, that's good enough to win games. What isn't good enough to win games is David Carr, the team's new backup, so Manning better stay upright for all 16. Heat Index: 7

Running back: The Giants found out exactly how critical depth at running back is, and they also found out that they luckily have it. Great contributions came from Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Derrick Ward, and Reuben Droughns. Danny Ware will likely take Droughns' place this year, but the team is still set in the backfield. Jacobs' combination of speed and power is pretty unstoppable, and while punishing backs don't typically have long shelf lives, Jacobs is in his prime now if he stays healthy this year. Heat Index: 8

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.

After a couple of days about of rumor-mongering regarding a potential trade that would have Jeremy Shockey landing in New Orleans, things are starting to crystallize more and more.

Yesterday we mentioned a report from Giants beat writer Mike Garafolo that the Saints offered their second-round pick (#40) and third-year strong safety Roman Harper for Shockey and that the Giants turned that down. That set off some alarms for me -- I was shocked the Saints would offer that much. Turns out I was right.

In response to our blurb regarding a report in the Newark Star-Ledger that the New Orleans Saints offered a second-round pick and safety Roman Harper for Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey, a source with knowledge of the discussions tells us that the Giants wanted a two and Harper, and that the Saints refused.

This makes much more sense. The Giants should have interest in Harper after losing Gibril Wilson to the Raiders, and if the Saints were to actually agree to that deal I think Czar Goodell would choose to investigate for collusion.

I stand by my earlier belief that closer to the draft the Saints might go as high as that second-rounder alone (which I still think is too much to pay), and that if the Giants don't accept it the Saints will have no problem walking away from the table for good.

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.