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With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

To say the 2008 Dallas Cowboys season was tumultuous wouldn't really be giving credit to the word. The team had suspensions, Jessica Simpsons and the incredible absence of TD-ing. Dallas missed the playoffs after being a favored team going into the season and now has gone through a total redesign.

With Terrell Owens shipped to Buffalo, the passing game will go through Roy Williams, who has never been the player to take control of an offense. Balking on Ray Lewis and sticking with Tony Romo, this crew has a long way to go to be the best in their division, which is the toughest in the NFL. Along with all their obvious holes, the offensive line is a tad thin and the safety position could be improve drastically.

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

Last year the Falcons proved what an excellent draft and a couple of free agent signings can do to a previously awful team. First-round picks Matt Ryan and Sam Baker and second-round pick Curtis Lofton all became immediate starters while free agent signee Michael Turner turned into the team's best back since Jamal Anderson was in his prime.

There's less riding on this year's draft than last year's, but Atlanta needs to add depth to what's still a pretty thin roster. There is not nearly as much need for immediate starters this year, but there are still a lot of positions where the Falcons could use a talent upgrade.

While the Terrell Owens news might have been the most talked about, a bigger issue in Dallas was how thin the Cowboys were becoming in the secondary. No worries for Jerry Jones and company, who signed former Jaguars safety Gerald Sensabaugh to a one-year deal.

Sensabaugh will be helping a depleted secondary that saw Roy Williams part ways with Dallas and Keith Davis possibly head to Kansas City. This signing gives the Cowboys a younger player that can fit in at both strong safety and free safety, who recorded 82 tackles last season and four interceptions.

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that Ray Lewis will remain with the Ravens, possibly for the rest of his career.

The Ravens and Lewis agreed to a multi-year deal that won't be formally set for a couple of weeks, but General Manager Ozzie Newsome said he's happy to see the 10-time Pro Bowler sticking with the purple and black.

[Newsome] wouldn't disclose the length of the deal but said "Ray Lewis can retire as a Raven."

I'm guessing Ray Lewis didn't expect to be five days into free agency and still without a team. Surely the Cowboys, a club in need of a locker room leader, would throw millions at Lewis to lure him to Dallas. Or even more likely: new Jets head coach -- and former Ravens' defensive coordinator -- Rex Ryan would bring the cornerstone of those suffocating Baltimore defenses north to New York, whatever the cost.

A month ago, both scenarios seemed eminently plausible. Now, after the Jets signed former Ray-Ray teammate Bart Scott to a six-year, $48 million deal, and the Cowboys opted to go with low-key Keith Brooking, Lewis' options have been reduced to ... well, the Ravens. A team he allegedly declared dead to him on Friday morning only to change his mind when it became clear that nobody else was interested in services.

If you wanted a little indication that Ray Lewis will not be joining the Dallas Cowboys next season, this might be it.

Jerry Jones and the 'Boys have agreed to a three-year deal with former Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking, who will help out a Cowboys defense that gave up 77 points in the two "must-win" games at the end of the '08 season to miss the playoffs.

Talk had been heating up that Dallas wanted Ray and Ray wanted Dallas, but this has to be a move in the direction of leaving Lewis in Baltimore.

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.

With only one of their top four linebackers expected to play under his current contract in 2009, the Falcons have a lot of work to do this offseason. Apparently they are very close to getting one of their free agent linebackers back before he ever hits free agency.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that the Falcons are near a deal with Coy Wire, the linebacker who came into the 2008 season as a backup but ended up earning a starting job by beating out Michael Boley.

Pro Football Weekly is reporting that Keith Brooking will likely be released by the Falcons before Feb. 23 when a $1 million roster bonus comes due. With Brooking due to make $8.3 million next year it makes a whole lot of sense to say good-bye, especially when Brooking has lost two or three steps and will be lucky to get $2 million on the open market.

Atlanta is actually in a lot better shape heading into the offseason than anyone could have expected before the 2008 season began. The Falcons now know they have a franchise quarterback, an outstanding running game, a good group of wide receivers and a dominating pass rusher. But getting some more help for Curtis Lofton at linebacker has to be a key concern this offseason.

Who knows if it had anything to do with the Raiders decision to release him (it's not like his awful play didn't make the decision easy enough), but according to Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking, DeAngelo Hall was working to ensure the Falcons remembered him as being absolutely crazy.

"One of our ex-players, sitting there in the tunnel, waiting on us to come through the halftime to pick a fight with one of my teammates," Brooking told Atlanta's AM 680 The Fan. "I'm just sitting there as I'm going to the locker room thinking, 'Geez, man, I mean, I'm so glad we're removed from all that mess.' You know, because of the camaraderie that we have as a team from a players standpoint, the relationships we've developed with our coaches. I mean, it's a great working relationship."