NFL Free Agency

As the Lockout nears the end this could be a very frantic week in free agency. Amid all the chaos we take a look at the top Free Agents in this years' market and where they will likely be playing come September.

Asomugha is the top free agent in 2011

Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Raiders: The Pro Bowl corner would love to be on a winning team for the upcoming season and hopefully that will happen. The shutdown corner should be leaving Oakland and the top franchises vying for him are the Texans and the Ravens. He may also remain in the bay area this season while playing for the 49ers. All three of these teams have a chance to make the playoffs and all three of these teams would love to have Asomugha. Asomugha is one of the top three cornerbacks in the league and any team in the NFL would want this guy on their team come September.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers: Williams has had a great career in Carolina and many expect him to stay there for the next few seasons with the Panthers, likely to pick up his contract once again. If not in Carolina he may head down south to Miami where an aging Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown lead the running game.

Ray Edwards, DE, Vikings: The young Defensive End has played in the shadow of Jared Allen the last few seasons but has still racked up 8 and 8 1/2 sacks in the last two seasons. Edwards,26, has potential to get double digit sacks every season and that is why he is wanted by many teams. The top team looking to pick him up will be the Seattle Seahawks, who need major improvements on their line, but Edwards may be headed down south to the Georgia Dome and the Falcons.

Rice will be a franchise receiver for anytime

Sidney Rice, WR, Vikings: Rice was a big time player in 2009 but missed most of last season with a hip injury. Many teams hope that he gets back to that 2009 form when he had over 1,300 receiving yards for the Vikings. Rice, only 24, may stay in Minnesota but other teams like Washington or St. Louis would love a young and talented receiver on their roster. There are some teams that could put more money on the table and he could be headed out of Viking country.

Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards, WR, Jets: The top two receivers for the Jets are probably going to stay in New York but they maybe headed out for the right price. They both like their coach Rex Ryan, like where the franchise headed and especially like New York City, Braylon Edwards' DWI proves that. I think that teams like Washington and St. Louis would have to pay significantly more money to pry one or both of them away from NYC.

Jonathon Joesph, CB, Bengals: With the new cap room negotiation in the CBA and not having Carson Palmer or Ochocinco on the roster the Bengals will have almost 50 million dollars in their cap space and cant afford to lose this gem. Joesph and Leon Hall make one of, if not the best, cornerback tandem in the NFL. If the Bengals want to get back to winning they will need to keep Joesph in a Bengals uniform.

Paul Posluszny, LB, Bills: Posluszny was the leader on defense for a pitiful Bills team last season. This may not say much but he ranked in the Top 5 in the NFL for tackles last season, 151, and this makes him a rising defensive star. The former Nittany Lion is the best linebacker in free agency and many teams are interested. Despite many teams being interested in Posluszny I see him staying up in Buffalo and the Bills likely signing him to a long term contract.

Carolina hopes to keep their star DE

Charles Johnson, DE, Panthers: Johnson emerged as a star for the Panthers last season after Julius Peppers left for Chicago. He had a breakout season that included a career high 11.5 sacks to lead the team. Many people think that this may have been a fluke season but he has the potential to get double digit sacks year in and year out. The Panthers would love the young Defensive End to stay in Charlotte, especially after losing Peppers last season, but he may be headed else where... Atlanta or Cleveland.


Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, Giants: The 200 pound work horse for the Giants last season racked up over 1200 rushing yards and raised some eyebrows. He had some trouble throughout the season with fumbling but he improved at the end of last season. Reports say that it is between the Giants and the Dolphins right now but many expect he will continue playing at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sundays this season.

Lockout Over? Nope. But the Bengals thought it was...

Bengals get more embarrassing news: The franchise jumped the gun and thought that the new CBA bill would be passed by now so they sent out an email last night alerting fans that the lockout had been lifted and that they could now purchase single game tickets. Take a look at the email:

You Ready for Some Football?

Dear XXXXX,

We are excited to let you know that the NFL has reached a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows the entire NFL season to be played this year.

The NFL is the most popular sport in America. Our games are intense, unifying and meaningful to fans in the stadium and to those watching at home. We are thrilled to have a labor deal in place that will provide fans with a decade of certainty and that will allow us to focus all our energies where they ought to be — on the playing field. The upcoming 2011 season will surely be exciting, and football work will begin shortly. Our coaches will begin meeting with players, and the Club will welcome back talented veterans along with exciting rookies from the April NFL Draft, like top picks A.J. Green(notes)and Andy Dalton(notes). Whether all of that will take place in Cincinnati or Georgetown, Kentucky, will be decided shortly once we receive the NFL's operating schedule.

Bengals Linebacker Rey Maualuga 

Two years ago, our football team swept the AFC North—one of the toughest divisions in football—and many key components of that team remain, including defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and a defense that ranked in the top half of the NFL for three straight seasons. The area of the team that will change the most will be the offense with a new direction under offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and new faces at quarterback and wide receiver. The mix of veterans and rookies should return our offense to the top level we need, and we are excited by the challenge.

This year—like others before it—we will focus our energies on returning to the Super Bowl again. That's what we want and that's what our fans want, and our franchise has been blessed with great support from fans for decades. Last season we reached a record-setting 57th straight sellout—a string we hope to restart soon—and our games have been the most-watched television program in the local market for the last applicable 96 ratings weeks. This is great football country, and incredibly: 95% of the Cincinnati population watched an NFL game during the 2009 season (third highest ranking among NFL markets).

We are very grateful to our fans, we thank you for your patience during the labor stoppage, and now we look forward to a great season together. Who Dey!

Sincerely,

Katie Blackburn

Marvin Lewis

Looks like the NFL's worst franchise has something else to add to their loss column. 

Is A Deal Close?

Reports stated that on Thursday the NFL and the NFLPA came to an agreement on rookie salaries, which was said to be the hardest part of the negotiations. Does the settling of this huge obstacle give us hope that the lockout will be lifted soon?

The NFL and the players have been struggling since the beginning of this lockout. Peyton Manning needs medical attention that the Colts wont pay for, many players have been getting in trouble (Kenny Britt, Pacman Jones, Hines Ward) and some have been blatantly calling out the commissioner and teammates (James Harrison.) These players need football, and our country needs their to be NFL Football come August. Business wise: this is a multi-billion dollar business and in a struggling economy the players and the country need this economic boost from the NFL. Social wise: people meet in bars, family gatherings, at the stadium, and in garages listening or watching the game every week and it helps us grow together. Some of our best friends are our "football buds."

Several owners, even Jerry Jones, have been spending late nights up trying to resolve this embarrassing situation. Roger Goodell has been working non stop on is $1 salary to reach an agreement, I mean if I was on a $1 dollar salary I probably wouldn't be working every day.

We as fans need to stop hearing "close" "soon" "almost" and hear "done" and "finished" so we can start up the 2011-2012 NFL season.

NFL All Pro team

As we are just a few day away from the Super Bowl and the end of the 2010-2011 NFL football season I give you my All Pro team...

Offense
QB: Tom Brady (Patriots)
RB: Arian Foster (Texans)
RB: Jamal Charles (Chiefs)
FB: Vonta Leach (Texans)
WR: Roddy White (Falcons)
WR: Brandon Llyod (Chargers)
TE: Jason Witten (Cowboys)
OT: Jake Long (Dolphins)
OT: Joe Thomas (Browns)
OG: Kris Dielman (Chargers)
OG: Logan Mankins (Patriots)
C: Nick Mangold (Jets)



Defense
DE: Julius Peppers (Bears)
DT: Haloti Ngata (Ravens)
DT: Ndamukong Sug (Lions)
DE: John Abraham (Falcons)
OLB: DeMarcus Ware (Cowboys)
ILB: Jared Mayo (Patriots)
ILB: Patrick Willis (49ers)
OLB: Clay Matthews (Packers)
CB: Darrelle Revis (Jets)
CB: Nnamdi Asomuha (Raiders)
S: Ed Reed (Ravens)
S: Troy Polamalu (Steelers)



Special
KR/PR: Devin Hester (Bears)
K: Sebastian Janikowski (Raiders)
P: Shane Lechler (Raiders)