Falling



Bryant McKinnie, Minnesota left tackle. Julius Peppers‘ arrival in the NFC North is another hit in a tough offseason for McKinnie. In a nationally televised matchup last December, Peppers dominated McKinnie so thoroughly that the Vikings eventually benched him. In that game, Peppers notched one sack, had three quarterback hits and also batted down a pass. As Chicago’s top free-agent pickup, Peppers will now face the Vikings — and potentially McKinnie — twice a season. Peppers has played on both the right and left side of the defensive line in his career, but the Bears are sure to be tempted to match him up on McKinnie when the teams play in 2010.



Rising



Gunther Cunningham, Detroit defensive coordinator. Good players make for good coaches. So you can expect Cunningham to be a better coordinator in 2010 after an overhaul of the defensive line that might not be done yet. The Lions already are better at two positions, with Kyle Vanden Bosch taking over for defensive end Dewayne White and Corey Williams succeeding nose tackle Grady Jackson. If the Lions draft a defensive tackle No. 2 overall, they will have pulled together a more-than-competitive defensive front that will create more havoc in the backfield and get more heat on the quarterback. The first place to address any woebegone defense is up front, and Cunningham will be the beneficiary in 2010.

A new Tuesday feature on the ESPN.com NFL blog network.



Can the Falcons play some real defense?



In Mike Smith’s two years as coach, the Falcons have put together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. But the amazing thing is that Smith, a coach with a defensive background, has done it without a very good defense, which is something any team needs to compete with New Orleans in the NFC South.



The Falcons are well aware of this and they’re doing something about it. They went out and made their big splash in free agency by signing cornerback Dunta Robinson and re-signing cornerback Brian Williams. They also dumped Chris Houston, whom they never felt was very aggressive, in a trade with Detroit.



On paper, Robinson and Williams should be the starters. But the Falcons are also high on young corners Chris Owens, Brent Grimes and Chevis Jackson, and they’ll all be in the mix. Pretty amazing how proactive the Falcons have been at cornerback, especially when you consider Atlanta officials got a little sensitive when media members criticized the team’s cornerback play last season.



Those officials repeatedly said the main reason the cornerbacks were struggling was because the pass rush wasn’t producing like they had hoped. Take that as a very strong sign the Falcons aren’t done touching up their defense.



They’ll tell you that defensive tackle Peria Jerry, who is coming back from an injury that kept him out most of his rookie season, will be back. Jerry can create a push in the middle and that’s going to help John Abraham and Kroy Biermann be more productive on the outside. But, if the Falcons were this aggressive at addressing cornerback, you have to think they’re not done at defensive end.



They’ve got the draft and what’s left of free agency, and their focus is going to be on building up the pass rush. It’s all they’re really lacking right now. They’re solid at cornerback, linebacker and in the middle of the defensive line.



Give them a pass-rusher and Smith might finally be able to really play the kind of defense he wants; the kind of defense that could make the Falcons a legitimate challenger to the Saints.

We’ve detailed Detroit’s effort to revamp its defensive line. Monday, they ramped up their efforts to rebuild their cornerback position.



In addition to signing free agent Jonathan Wade, the Lions acquired Chris Houston from Atlanta in a trade we touched on Sunday evening. The Lions gave up a sixth-round pick for Houston and will swap fifth-round picks with the Falcons as well.



At this early date, I would consider Houston a likely starter while Spencer would be in the mix for the nickel and dime positions. That still leaves at least one starting position left to fill after the release of Philip Buchanon last week. Two other cornerbacks from last season, Will James and Anthony Henry, are free agents.



Houston ultimately was expendable because the Falcons signed Dunta Robinson to replace him. FOB (Friend of the Blog) Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders, who tracks the career arcs of NFL players, suggested Monday night that the Lions got a steal:



Let’s see… Detroit’s secondary has been Edsel-riffic for two years now. Chris Houston was a second-round pick just three years ago. Highly-drafted cornerbacks often take three or even four years to develop. Rashean Mathis and Corey Webster broke out in season four; Nnamdi Asomugha never intercepted a pass until season four. And to take a gamble on Houston’s talent finally emerging, all the Lions have to do is give up a sixth-round pick and switch places with Atlanta in the fifth round? Uh, yeah, that works.

D. Orlando Ledbetter reports the much-anticipated trade of Atlanta cornerback Chris Houston to Detroit has finally happened.



The Falcons get a sixth-round pick in return. The deal also includes the two teams swapping picks in the fifth round. Atlanta now has the second pick in the fifth round and Detroit will take the 18th pick in the fifth round.



Houston became expendable after the Falcons signed Dunta Robinson and re-signed Brian Williams. They also have Christopher Owens, Brent Grimes and Chevis Jackson at cornerback.

It didn’t take long for @EricStangel, Twitter’s resident sports funnyman, to start poking at Chicago’s free-agent spending spree. A sampling:

• “Julius Peppers signs w/ Bears. Was looking for team w/ QB who throws lots of INTs just like in CAR. That way he plays more!”
• “NFL Free Agency Update – The Bears are getting carried away. They just signed the groundskeeper to 6yr/$72 million deal”
• “The Chicago Bears just signed Quinton Aaron who played Michael Oher in The Blind Side to 5 yr/$50mil deal”

Yes, it was downright hysterical to see the Bears dole out $121 million in free-agent contracts Friday, let alone the $42 million in guarantees they gave Peppers. And by “hysterical,” I mean it has generated a new round of Bears hysteria in the NFC North. I visited with ESPN 1000 listeners Sunday morning, and already the question is being asked: Have the Bears done enough to win the division in 2010?



My colleague Gene Wojciechowski addressed that question earlier Monday. (His answer: Not yet.) For the purposes of this post, I’d like to look at why the Bears stepped out of their previous financial constraints to lure Peppers. It’s the same reason Detroit coach Jim Schwartz was on Kyle Vanden Bosch’s doorstep the moment the market opened, and it illustrates once again the seismic change the NFC North has witnessed over the past 12 months.



The influx of elite quarterback play transformed the Black and Blue into a pass-dominated division, a trend that helped direct Chicago and Detroit to the bottom of the division standings. Although every NFL team covets a strong pass rush, you could argue it will be a necessity to compete in the NFC North moving forward.

(Read full post)

On the same day the Atlanta Falcons are going to introduce a new cornerback, it looks like they might be saying farewell to an old cornerback.



There are numerous reports out there that the Falcons are working on trading Chris Houston to Detroit. The reports are all over the board in terms of compensation, but look for the Falcons to come out of this one holding anything from a fourth-round pick to a sixth-round pick.



Whatever they can get for Houston will be fine. He’s a guy who has always had some ability, but is not a very aggressive player, which has prevented Houston from endearing himself to the coaching staff. He became expendable after the Falcons agreed to a contract with Dunta Robinson, who will be introduced officially at a news conference Monday afternoon.



Robinson instantly becomes Atlanta’s No. 1 cornerback, and the recent re-signing of Brian Williams probably makes him the other starter. But the Falcons also will let Brent Grimes, Christopher Owens and Chevis Jackson challenge for that job in training camp.



That gives them plenty of depth at cornerback, and getting a draft pick — any draft pick — for Houston makes sense for a team that probably is just about done in free agency and will now focus on the draft.

The euphoria of Detroit’s early-market success in free agency masked one glaring shortcoming: Cornerback. None of the Lions’ top three cornerbacks from 2009 are under contract after the release of Phillip Buchanon, and it wasn’t clear how the team was expecting to replace him or free agents Will James and Anthony Henry.



Those plans began to take shape Sunday night. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Lions are on the verge of acquiring cornerback Chris Houston from Atlanta, while multiple reports indicate free agent Jonathan Wade will visit the Lions on Monday. Wade played three seasons in St. Louis but was not tendered a contract.



We know the Lions had discussions about acquiring Antonio Cromartie from San Diego, and Schefter reports they also expressed interest in free agent Dunta Robinson, who eventually signed in Atlanta. I would expect the position to be a continuous focal point throughout the season.

Wow. Figures are beginning to emerge for Aaron Kampman’s new contract in Jacksonville. It appears they mirror the numbers Detroit gave to free agent defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. Kampman got four years, $26 million with $11 million in guarantees, according to Michael C. Wright of the Florida Times-Union.



Kampman and Vanden Bosch are both 30-something multiple Pro Bowlers with impeccable character and proven edge pass rushing skills. One major difference: Kampman is five months removed from tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.



Conventional wisdom would suggest a team tread carefully around any player recovering from that injury. It wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility to wait before committing a 10-figure contract. But pass rushing in at such a premium that Kampman apparently extracted a contract fitting a fully healthy player.



To me, this is final confirmation a torn ACL no longer has to be a career-slowing injury. At those numbers, the Jaguars are expecting instant participation from Kampman — not to mention production. I doubt they would have been so quick to sign him if their doctors felt he might not be ready to start the season.

We noted Friday that Detroit coach Jim Schwartz showed up on the doorstep of free agent defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch moments after the free agent market opened. As it turned out, Schwartz wasn’t the only Lions coach who made a recruiting trip.



On a last-minute whim, Schwartz sent offensive coordinator Scott Linehan to Seattle to meet and have dinner with free agent receiver Nate Burleson. Linehan had coached Burleson in Minnesota for two years, but Burleson said the visit “spoke volumes” and accelerated his decision to sign with the Lions.



“He didn’t need to sell me,” Burleson said. “It was more the effort of him coming to Seattle and showing that he really wanted to make a personal connection, even though I know Scott, it spoke volumes. For that reason, I was very appreciative.”



(Many thanks to Lions public relations for connecting me with the Lions’ media availability Saturday.)



According to Schwartz, Linehan had often used Burleson to illustrate the type of receiver he wanted to add to the Lions offense.



“He would come into my office and he would say, ‘You know, we need a guy like Nate Burleson,’” Schwartz said. “So many times, he would say, ‘We’re going to need a guy like Nate Burleson. You know, Nate Burleson had this. This is the way I used Nate Burleson.’ … I didn’t have a whole lot of experience with him, but when we were getting ready to play Seattle last year, all of a sudden I knew what Scott was talking about.”



Burleson’s instincts and natural ability to get open make him a strong complement to No. 1 receiver Calvin Johnson, much in the way Burleson once was with Randy Moss. Those skills shot Burleson’s name to the top of the Lions’ free agency wish list. Thursday morning, Schwartz watched every catch of Burleson’s 2009 season one more time before calling Linehan into his office.



“I told him I was planning to go to Nashville to [recruit Vanden Bosch],” Schwartz said. “So I said, ‘Why don’t we get you on a plane to go make a pitch to Nate?’ I think that personal touch made a big difference.”



General manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand signed off on the idea, which mirrored that of New York Jets coach Rex Ryan; last year, Ryan visited free agent Bart Scott — whom he once coached in Baltimore – immediately after the market opened.



Only time will tell how improved Detroit will be with Burleson and Vanden Bosch on the roster. But as the first week of March draws to a close, we can say with confidence that the Lions left nothing to chance after identifying their primary targets.

We have been tracking guaranteed money on this blog ever since Detroit committed quarterback Matthew Stafford to an NFL-record $41.7 million on the eve of the 2009 draft. Finally, it’s time for Stafford’s deal to take a back seat.



But as it turns out, the record remains in the NFC North family. (Would you have expected anything else?) Chicago guaranteed defensive end Julius Peppers $42 million on Friday, putting Peppers at the top of our list:



Chicago defensive end Julius Peppers: $42 million

Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford: $41.7 million

Washington defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth: $41 million

San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers: $38 million

Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick: $37 million*

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger: $36 million

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning: $35 million

Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan: $34.8 million

Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning: $34.5 million

Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell: $31.5 million

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo: $30 million

*Vick’s deal has since been terminated.



It will be interesting to see how long Peppers’ record stands. If a quarterback is drafted No. 1 overall next month, you would think his guaranteed money would overtake Stafford. With only a $300,000 difference between Stafford and Peppers, there is a chance the record could soon fall. Other candidates include Manning and New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, both of whom are expected to receive contract extensions this offseason.