Free Agency! Since the Super Bowl we football fanatics have been waiting for March 2 as though it were Christmas. Where would our fantasy football heroes go? Would our home team hit the mother lode?

The Combine actually snuck by kind of quietly this year. Maybe without the Wonderlic test scores being bandied about as in the past, nobody really cares about it all that much. The last two years Frank Gore and Vince Young had their scores of only 6 talked about ad nauseam. For two people with, shall we say less than optimum (I always care so much about being politically correct—Yeah Right!) intelligence levels, they certainly proved that ability trumps intelligence in the 21st century NFL.

With quarterbacks wearing arm bands with color coded, numbered plays and having a helmet with a coach yelling in their ear at all times, it no longer takes an electrical engineering major to run a team. Running backs get the ball and run as fast as they can where the other guys aren’t.

The smart guys are the offensive linemen who actually have to know what the hell they’re doing, lest the multi million dollar investment known as a quarterback gets caught by the behemoths on the other side of the line that get paid for causing mayhem and kicking his ass.

Free agency is that time of year when someone like Tampa Bay brings in a quarterback who is almost eligible to join A.A.R.P. to save the team and then trades to bring in another guy who is so thrilled to become a Buc, he retires. Oh, and did I mention they already had two young guys who might already be qualified. It looks like some CYA by a coach who has messed things up so badly that he finally realized he might need to win today because tomorrow may not come. Jon Gruden could be job hunting in 2008.

And what in the world is going on with running backs? It’s like a big game of musical chairs. Between trades and free agent signings, the fantasy football RB rankings will have a whole new look when the August pre-season rankings come out. Some teams like the Lions seem confused. Why would they take Tatum Bell in a trade, sign T.J. Duckett and still be sniffing around other running backs. What does that tell us about the health of Kevin Jones?

Travis Henry is not only taking promising rookie Mike Bell’s job in Denver, but he’s also taking his number 20. Sheeesh! How would you like to be a Bell owner?

Reuben Droughns takes his high level of mediocrity to New York to complement Brandon Jacobs. Why would they take a sloth like Droughns to complement another big back? Who is their speed guy?

The surprise of the whole signing period though has to be wide receiver Bobby Wade with the Vikings. How can you justify five years and $15,000,000 for a guy who did nothing with the Bears and then had a very inauspicious year with the Titans? Let’s try to put this in context. The Titans with their great need for wide receivers let him go.

Not to be outdone, the Vikings also signed the legend in his own mind, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, of New York Giants fame. In four years he caught over a half pass per game. Wow!

Free agency this year can best be described as a garage sale for billionaires. Are they buying based on a per pound price, or on potential performance?

Since I write about Individual Defensive Players (IDPs) and team defenses around here, I have been watching the defensive moves closely. They have kind of mirrored the offensive moves. It’s mainly a redistribution of second rate players, with a few exceptions.

After reviewing everything, I have compiled a listing of what I consider to be the Top 10 IDP free agency moves. Like anything, there are many ways to look at this, but here is my two cents worth:

1. LB London Fletcher-Baker moved from the Bills to the Redskins. Although 32 (when I talk about age in this listing, it’s the age they will be for the majority of the 2007 season) he was the #1 fantasy scorer in 2006. Going into his 10th season, he will be hard pressed to have another 100+ tackles, five turnovers, two touchdown year. However he cannot help but be an improvement on what was the absolute worst fantasy team defense.
2. LB Adalius Thomas went from the Ravens to the Patriots. He will be 30 when the season starts and is going into his 8th season. While only ranking #26 in LB fantasy scoring last year, he was a big playmaker. He had 11 sacks, corralled two turnovers and scored a touchdown. He can make a good Patriot D even better.
3. LB Donnie Edwards became a Chief after being run out of town by a hard to figure Charger GM. Lets see, Schottenheimer-gone, Brees-gone and now Edwards-gone. With the exception of Brees, there weren’t exactly better alternatives. Although 34 and going into season #12, Edwards was the #4 scoring LB in 2006, which isn’t too shabby.
4. DL Patrick Kerney took his sack attack from Atlanta to Seattle. After missing almost half of the 2006 season, he needs to prove he can stay healthy. If he is able, he can at 30 put his nine years of experience to work for a Seahawks defense that unraveled down the stretch last year. Look for him to be a difference maker.
5. DB Nate Clements got an eight year, $80,000,000 contract from the 49’ers to leave Buffalo, but when you boil it down, he was only the #39 scoring DB in 2006. In his favor though, he is only 27 and not as grey haired as most of the free agents. It seems to me he could have been had for a lot less, even knowing that a large part of the 80 mill is inflated for bragging purposes.
6. DB Kevin Kaesviharn moved from the Bengals, loaded with punks and thugs, to the Saints. I guess I see a little wry humor in that. Whoops, I’m not being politically correct. I shouldn’t bad mouth those nice young players in Cincinnati, even tough some call them turds. I shall refrain. He will be 29 this year and was the #32 scoring DB, with four sacks and six interceptions. Not bad!
7. DL Dewayne White went from the Bucs to the Lions. He is only 27 and did well filling in for Simeon Rice last year. He was the #40 scoring DL last year with five sacks and three turnovers. He has a nice up side.
8. LB Joey Porter went from Pittsburgh to a place a lot of old folks go, Miami. The 30 year old LB was released by the Steelers and took his big play arsenal south to become a Dolphin. He had seven sacks, two turnovers and a touchdown. Yet he was only the 66th leading scorer among LBs. That tells us he makes the big plays, but lets his teammates make the routine ones.
9. DB Michael Lewis left Philadelphia to become a 49’er in this 2007 gold rush. At 27 he is at the crossroads of his career. After being phased out of his role with the Eagles, he will try to prove that he can be more than the #81 scorer as a DB.
10. DB Nick Harper left the champs in Indy to go to the Titans. At 33 and ranking only #60 in DB scoring, he squeezed out one more contract. He scored just about as many points as Pacman Jones and is more likely to be available to play than the trouble magnet.

Looking back, if those are the top group, it’s really not that impressive. No wonder Lance Briggs is screaming about being designated with a franchise tag. He would rank in a group all by himself above these guys.

LB Cato June and DB Kevin Hamlin are still available as I write this. They would both be in the Top 6 or so in the above group.

Defensive teams are changing too. Right now I would downgrade Buffalo, Atlanta and Chicago a tad. I’ll be watching this closely.

So, what do you think? Am I on target? Did I miss anyone?