• Kansas City – Cut WR Amani Toomer; Cut WR Ashley Lelie; Placed WR Devard Darling on IR

Dwayne Bowe is a lock to start despite Coach Haley relegating him to third team during training camp, and Bobby Engram will operate from the slot.  That still leaves another starting wide receiver position available and the moves of the past week indicate that Mark Bradley has won that position.  Darling had started the first three games of preseason before tearing his ACL and veterans Toomer and Lelie just didn’t fit into Haley’s long-term or short-term plans.  Seeing how the Chiefs’ other two options are a sixth-round rookie (Quinten Lawrence) and a player who had zero receptions in seven games last year (Terrance Copper), it appears Bradley has this job locked up.  There’s a good chance that the Chiefs will not be ahead in many games this season so they will be throwing the ball to catch up to opposing teams.  Thus, Bradley makes for a viable late round draft pick or a free-agent pickup.

• Arizona – Cut TE Leonard Pope

Pope wasn’t cut because of lack of ability or skill, but rather because he’s not a Ken Whisenhunt type of player.  He’s a better receiver than blocker and while that kept him in favor for former OC, Todd Haley, Whisenhunt needs more than a one-dimensional tight end.  Pope’s loss is the gain of two players, Dominique Byrd and Ben Patrick, as the Cardinals will run more of the two-tight end sets that Whisenhunt ran as OC of the Steelers.  One of these tight ends will emerge as more of a pass catching threat, likely Byrd, but when that happens he is nothing more than a bye-week replacement.

• Buffalo – Cut RB Dominic Rhodes

Rhodes was expected to serve as the team’s number three running back and also the backup to Fred Jackson while starter Marshawn Lynch serves a three game suspension.  His release means Xavier Omon will serve as the backup to Jackson during those three games.  Omon is not worth a pickup as of right now but if Jackson gets hurt during his time as starter then you definitely want to grab Omon.  No matter how unproven Omon is, he would still be a starting running back and you can never have enough of those.

• Indianapolis – Cut WR Josh Matthews

Matthews was second among Colts receivers in receptions during preseason and had been in a battle with Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie to be the #3 receiver.  Neither player has done much to separate himself from the other but everyone knows how important the slot receiver is to the Colts offense.  This is a wait-and-see scenario as after the first game we will have a clearer picture as to whom will get the most playing time.  Don’t expect the production of past slot guys like Brandon Stokley or Anthony Gonzalez, but with as much as the Colts throw the ball, this player would be worth a pickup in deeper leagues.

• St. Louis – Cut RB Antonio Pittman; Cut RB Chris Ogbonnaya

The role as Steven Jackson’s backup has officially been won by Samkon Gado.  Pittman had been Jackson’s primary backup last season and Ogbonnaya had received the most carries during preseason.  If you have Jackson on your team then you may want to handcuff Gado as Jackson has missed four games in each of the past two seasons.  Don’t forget what Gado did with the Packers once Ahman Green was injured-he put up over 600 total yards and seven touchdowns in just eight games of play in 2005.

As I type this article, the league’s MVP, coach of the year, and rookie of the year are tuned in to watch CBS’s presentation of the AFC Championship. Meanwhile, Kurt Warner and Ken Whisenhunt are celebrating an NFC Championhship victory while Joe Flacco fights for his record third postseason win and a Super Bowl berth.

Is there a problem with this picture?

Under the current NFL tradition, league awards are presented at the end of the regular season. Unfortunately, that leaves the most important part of the season out: the playoffs. I have the utmost respect for Peyton Manning and his turnaround this season, just as I respect Mike Smith’s coaching the Falcons to the postseason and Matt Ryan’s great rookie season in Atlanta. But is it so outrageous to suggest they weren’t the best in the NFL from start to finish this year?

Peyton Manning began the season with a 70-odd quarterback rating through the first seven games of the season. He and the Colts then went on an eight game tear to clinch a playoff seed. His passer rating in eight of his final nine games was above 90 and he threw 17 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions.

Two weeks ago he and the Colts lost in the Wild Card round to San Diego. Manning completed under 60 percent of his passes and made a few bad decisions late in the game, such as taking a sack at his own one yard line.

Today, Kurt Warner won his third playoff game of the season with the Arizona Cardinals. He passed for three first half touchdowns and finished 21-of-28 for 279 yards and 4 touchdowns - he threw 8 altogether this postseason. Counting the regular season, Warner passed for 5,308 yards, 38 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions in the 2008-2009 season.

But he’s not the MVP?

Mike Smith coached the Atlanta Falcons to an 11-5 record and the fifth seed in the NFC, an impressive feat considering the franchise had a 4-12 record a year before his arrival and was in apparent turmoil. A great offseason and solid coaching during the regular season got Atlanta into the playoffs as one of the league’s biggest surprises.

Two week ago his Falcons lost in the playoffs to the Arizona Cardinals, coached by Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt is celebrating his latest victory, today’s win against the Eagles, and will begin preparing for the Super Bowl tomorrow or perhaps as early as tonight. He coached the Arizona Cardinals to a Super Bowl, the first in franchise history. This team hadn’t even been to the playoffs since 1998, nor had it won its division since 1975.

But he’s not coach of the year?

Matt Ryan had a great season as a rookie quarterback in Atlanta. As part of the new and improved Falcons, he passed for 3,440 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, pretty good numbers for a rookie. More importantly, he led the Falcons to the playoffs in a competitive division.

Wait a minute, though; so did Joe Flacco. Maybe his regular season numbers weren’t up to par with Ryan’s but they weren’t much worse: 2,971 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. And if you count his numbers in the postseason prior to tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, which is still in progress, he had an additional 296 passing yards and one more touchdown pass. He also has two more wins in the postseason, a record for rookie quarterbacks.

But he’s not rookie of the year?

League awards shouldn’t be designated for the regular season; it’s deceiving. The players and coach awarded certainly had great years, but they weren’t necessarily the best when you figure in the postseason. The league’s most valuable player shouldn’t just lift his team to the postseason; he should keep it alive when it gets there. The coach of the year shouldn’t just turn a losing franchise around; he should win after it makes the playoffs. And if the rookie of the year is going to be a quarterback, why not wait to see which rookie wins in the playoffs? The other candidates I mentioned were already in the running during the regular season and weren’t far behind the winners in terms of popularity or qualification, so why not wait?

The goal in professional football is to win when it counts. The players and coaches awarded the league’s three most prestigious awards weren’t able to win for one reason or another, so it’s disappointing to see others who were very close to winning during the regular season snubbed, only to find a lot of success when the most important games rolled around. I think it may be time to change the way he award the league’s best; let’s wait until the most important games of the season are finished and then give it to the most qualified candidate.

Poor Matt Leinart; the guy can’t catch a break with new head coach Ken Whisenhunt. In a new development in Arizona, the Cardinals are rumored to have reached a new decision at quarterback: Kurt Warner is going to start this season.

Ouch.

Well, at least the decision came before the season. Last year I cringed whenever I saw that Leinart had been pulled from a game. To pull your young starter from one game when he’s struggling? Not the worst idea, but it’s sometimes a better idea to let him finish the game. Still, it’s a judgment call for the coach and I can respect the decision. But to pull your inexperienced quarterback from consecutive starts? What the heck? Honestly, I had never heard of a coach doing that prior to last season.
I’m not a psychology major, so I’m not certain how it affects a young player when his new head coach pulls him from half the games he starts because he’s struggling, but I’m going to go ahead and venture a guess that it takes a toll on his level of confidence. In fact, who knows how long this would have gone on last season if Leinart’s season hadn’t ended in week five when he suffered a season-ending injury?

Alright, with that off my chest, I’m going to reiterate that I’m happy the decision was reached now. And I can understand it; Leinart struggled mightily week three of this preseason, going 4-for-12 and throwing three interceptions. To be fair, he was statastically pretty good during the first two weeks of preseason, completing 14-of-19 for 153 yards and touchdown. Warner, meanwhile, has completed 62 percent of his passes for 94 yards (no touchdowns-interceptions) in two preseason games and has looked pretty solid in his limited time.

Obviously, this decision goes deeper than preseason, and I must admit that it’s a little surprising to me. I understand it, but I didn’t expect it. Whisenhunt has taken every opportunity to back up Leinart, his work ethic, and his offseason progress this year, only to make this move after three exhibition games, of which only one Leinart played poorly.

Is this the right decision? I believe that Warner gives Arizona the best opportunity to win. How it affects the future of this franchise, I don’t know. After all, Warner - who turned 37 earlier this summer - proved he can play last season, but for how long?

Also, I think quarterback should be on the back burner until this team can find a way to appease its wide receivers. Both Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin have asked to be traded at different points this offseason, and it seems likely that Boldin will be moved very soon. His thoughts on Whisenhunt: he has no relationship with the coach. The absence of Boldin, the team’s possession receiver and one of the toughest wide receivers to bring down, will adversely affect whoever is throwing the football.

From a fantasy football perspective, I think this does improve the stock of Fitzgerald. Warner is a more experienced quarterback than Leinart and someone who can put up bigger numbers. At the same time, I don’t think Warner is capable of putting up last season’s numbers without Boldin and Bryant Johnson.

It’s unknown how the team as a whole views its head coach and how its players will react to him in year two. I wonder how many players feel as disconnected to him as Boldin? In any case, this looks like a team poised to struggle in 2008.