10 burning questions for NFL off-season

by John Czarnecki

Updated: February 15, 2008, 11:43 AM EST 465 comments

1. Who's No. 1?: Bill Parcells and the Miami Dolphins own the first overall draft pick and because Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan isn't considered a franchise player at the moment, there may not be many trade offers for the top spot. There have been rumblings for months that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would make a deal for the pick in order to select Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. But why deal Marion Barber for McFadden and also two first-round picks? Heck, there are some scouts who say McFadden's running mate at Arkansas, Felix Jones, is almost as good and a top 10 pick. Unless Jones is convinced McFadden is another Emmitt Smith or Walter Payton, such a trade doesn't make sense. If Miami can't make a deal, Virginia defensive end Chris Long could be the pick. I don't see Parcells selecting offensive tackle Jake Long or Ryan.

2. Keeping Moss and Samuel: New England's season ended in imperfection and outside of Tom Brady, the Patriots' two best players, Randy Moss and cornerback Asante Samuel are free agents. Both want to remain with Brady and Bill Belichick, but the Patriots have only $11.7 million in salary-cap room. They probably will have to cut the cord with one in order to keep the other. Most believe Moss will stay while teams like the Jets will throw a lot of money at Samuel to pry him away. The free-agent shopping season begins Feb. 29 and, remember, the Pats can't place the franchise tag on Samuel.

3. Favre Decision: Although Brett Favre is coming off a masterful season in leading Green Bay to the playoffs, he will be 39 in October and he can retire, if he wants, owning all the records with a Hall of Fame spot secure. However, for the first time, coach Mike McCarthy and everyone else in Green Bay believes Aaron Rodgers is ready to be the starter. Favre and Rodgers have become buddies, consequently there is no tension regarding Favre's decision.

4. Sleepless in Seattle: Who knows how uncomfortable the coaching locker room is with the Seahawks? Instead of retiring, Mike Holmgren decided to return for a final season, knowing that owner Paul Allen sided with GM Tim Ruskell against offering him a contract extension while naming Jim Mora the head coach for the 2009 season. Last training camp, it was obvious that Mora was the head coach in waiting and no one can figure out what Holmgren wants to do with his future. He decided against promoting Jim Zorn to offensive coordinator and now Zorn is head coach of the Redskins. Holmgren is the game's highest-paid coach and maybe he wants to keep coaching. Could San Francisco be his next stop? And will Mora be looking over his shoulder all season?

5. McNabb-Reid Affair: The entire season was spent discussing where Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb will be playing in 2008. The thought process was that coach Andy Reid's relationship with his chosen quarterback had run its course, but now there seems to be sentiment to keep him despite the rumors of Chicago, Minnesota and Baltimore as potential suitors. But to keep McNabb happy, the Eagles must locate another playmaker and maybe give him some financial incentive.

6. Big CBA Decision: Ever since they agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement with the players, many owners have complained that the players are getting too much of the financial pie. Their cut is close to 60 percent now and big-market and small-market owners are saying they want to negotiate a new deal with NFLPA boss Gene Upshaw. The majority would prefer to do that instead of making the 2009 season an uncapped year, meaning teams like the Cowboys, Redskins and Patriots could spend whatever they wanted on talent and potentially build dominant teams like the Yankees and Red Sox in baseball. That wouldn't be good for the parity-pleasing NFL and it's essential that common sense wins out and the cap remains in place.

Another early exit from the playoffs for Dallas could result in major changes. (Harry How / Getty Images)

7. Happy in Dallas: The spin from the players and coaches is all on next season, but weren't the Cowboys the biggest playoff collapse of the year? The Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996 and owner Jerry Jones is building a magnificent new stadium with the same old trophies. Jones has invested a lot in Tony Romo and T.O. and now offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who is viewed at Wade Phillips' replacement if Dallas doesn't win something this season. On the outside, this is viewed as one big happy family, but you have to figure that Jones needs a big playoff run to sell all those pricey new seats. Otherwise, he could go ballistic.

8. Conclusion to Spygate: This needs to be done for the good of the game. There have been simply too many rumors out there regarding what the Patriots and Bill Belichick did when it came to videotaping opponents' sidelines. Sen. Arlen Specter met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday. Specter said he was told by Goodell that Belichick has been illegally taping opponents' defensive signals since he became the Patriots' coach in 2000. Whether something comes of Goodell's conversation with Specter remains to be seen. Still, the story about the Pats taping the Rams' final walk-through on the Saturday prior to their upset win in Super Bowl XXXVI seems far-fetched. I was in the Superdome that day and mostly the Rams ran around playing catch waiting to take their team picture while waiting on late owner Georgia Frontiere to arrive. The Rams were worried about spies at the Saints' practice facility that week, but the Superdome was very secure. Remember, it was the first Super Bowl after 9-11 and the FBI was out in force.

9. What to do with Chad Johnson: There is no doubt this selfish, but talented receiver wants out of Cincinnati because he's tired of Carson Palmer pointing out his poorly run routes and lack of effort on others. But Johnson seems to be more of a problem child than Terrell Owens ever was. Why would any coach or team believe he would change his ways if only he could leave Cincinnati? He has become the most frustrating talent in the league.

10. Can the Giants repeat?: The remarkable New York story continues with Tom Coughlin surely joining the $5 million per season coaching fraternity while wondering if Michael Strahan will retire or if the Giants will boost his salary to keep him around for an encore performance. The Giants probably won't budge much because that's generally how they do business. Starting with Eli Manning, who is now a proven winner; the Giants are loaded with young offensive talent and just imagine how good Plaxico Burress will be on a surgically repaired ankle. Counting the Super Bowl, the Giants won 11 consecutive games on the road and the NFC East suddenly is the best division in football.