Busy day here at Dropback HQ. Free agency begins!

Derek Anderson re-signs with Cleveland, hours after the Browns traded their second-rounder to Green Bay for Corey Williams.

I wrote before Anderson re-signed that Browns GM Phil Savage handled it perfectly. Then, I asked for forgiveness.

Fox Sports guy says Anderson is the perfect fit for Cleveland.

New Orleans gets Jonathan Vilma from New York ...

... and New York gets Carolina's Kris Jenkins.

The Packers now have picks 30, 56 and 60. Can they move up?

Ten NFL truths from Jason Whitlock.

The Raiders shouldn't be paying anyone $50 million.

Should JoePa go?

Not good for the nerves of Packers fans: team web site posts Favre will retire.

Never thought I'd type this: Sage Freaking Rosenfels and Todd Freaking Collins are in demand.

June Jones is a bad dude.

Be sure to tune in Friday morning for a very special edition of the Pigskin Podcast. I can barely contain my excitement! In the meantime, more links:

Predictably, the Browns, unable to get quarterback Derek Anderson signed to a long-term deal, have given him a high tender.

And Plain Dealer Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi thinks that's a good thing.

A satirical take on the scouting combine from ESPN.com Page 2 funnyman D.J. Gallo. My favorite:

29. De'Cody Fagg, WR, Florida State: Fagg suffered a serious knee injury at the combine while running a "tap-tap" drill that requires receivers to get both feet inbounds on sideline catches. Onlookers say Fagg may have been distracted by Brady Quinn taunting him from the stands.

I was completely and totally wrong about David Carr, and I'm not too big a man to admit it.

Free agency starts Friday -- I was also wrong about not having enough to blog about in this space! -- and here are the four who could move that day.

"Young veterans" are also in demand.

Packers president "guesses" Brett Favre will be back. Y'know, the usual offseason song and dance.

Yesterday's linked mock draft had Glenn Dorsey going ninth. SI.com's Don Banks, in his post-combine mock, has Dorsey going fifth. (Yesterday's mock also had Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie going 30th to Green Bay; this one has him 18th. That's a large difference.)

Not good news for the Bears: They stand to lose a ton in free agency.

College spring practice is nearing, and BG's outlook looks ominous: "The buzz: The Falcons would be better off if they can decide on a feature back. Coaches also need to find three new starters on the offensive line. The Falcons figure to spend a lot of time in the spring shoring up their weak run defense."

I hope the Dropback is helping you all as much as it's helping me stay current on the news and notes in the NFL and college football.

Obviously, when the seasons get closer and training camps open, I'll have a lot more news to sift through, but until then, this is a good primer.

PROS
Quick-hit recap of the combine.

Got a young quarterback? Be patient.

This Scouts mock draft has Glenn Dorsey falling to No. 9, where Nick's boys will grab him. Wow.

The NFL's rookie salary structure is ass backward.

Kevin Faulk, weedhead.

Will the Redskins get Ocho Cinco or Randy Moss?

THE COLLEGE RANKS
My boy Randy Edsall at UConn cashes in on two TERRIBLE calls for a raise. Ugh.

Andy Barch's boy, Nick Saban, runs a real tight ship.

Parent offers recruiting advice, via a blog, to other parents.

While I'm digging out of the snow, I figured I'd do a little dropping back.

The first item here, I think, is a view shared by many in the Windy City.

One man's plea for Rex Grossman to be put out of his misery.

Michael Strahan is getting to be more unbearable than Brett Favre with the incessant retirement talk.

Running backs, including Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall, are hot at the combine.

Rumors have it that Randy Moss is interested in joining T.O. and Mr. Jessica Simpson.

Buzz about the league's top free agents.

Is Terrelle Pryor leaning toward Ohio State?

Maybe Jim Zorn won't be so bad, eh?

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that only ends sometimes.

We've got another week full of NFL and college ball headlines for you, in advance of the first installment of The Piggy Awards, set for Friday morning. Stay tuned for that!

Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback: The combine is boring. (And other stuff.)

This Glenn Dorsey injury thing is sort of intriguing, no?

Vikings OT Bryant McKinnie: An all-around good guy, sounds like.

A new Fox mock draft: Matt Ryan No. 1!

Darren McFadden's A Man.

And apparently, a potent man.

The combine's movers and shakers.

A quick Dropback today, because I'm pressed for time. (I know: Excuses are like kitchens. ...)

As always, if you see news you want to share with fellow listeners/readers, pass it along!

Uh oh: Did San Francisco tamper with the Bears' Lance Briggs?

Jason Campbell is Jim Zorn's starter in D.C. What? No Todd Collins?

Keep tabs on the Combine with ESPN's well-done Hashmarks blog.

Inside the minds of players with franchise tags dangling from their necks.

Andy Barch's boy Phil Fulmer lashes out at criticism stemming from the Vols' latest disciplinary issue.

Oklahoma won eight games today. No, seriously.
  
Who's Joe Flacco? He's the former Delaware quarterback creating a buzz.

And a college mailbag to take you into the weekend. Enjoy!

The Browns re-sign productive runner Jamal Lewis. 

Follow-up to yesterday's note on LSU incumbent quarterback Ryan Perriloux: He's had quite a journey.
  
I was hoping this Matt-Walsh-Roger-Goodell lovefest was going to go away, but it looks like it's here to stay. Ugh.
  
Delusion from the head of the NFLPA: HGH not common.
  
A cautionary tale from the combine.
  
A recent Rivals mock draft.

We expect The Daily Dropback will be full of NFL Draft minutiae until that fateful Saturday in April, and today's no different.

Enjoy, and be sure to listen in to this week's Pigskin Podcast, where Nick and Erik take on Ohio State University radio network play-by-by man Paul Keels.

And, as always, if you see news you'd like to share with our readers, please don't hesitate to e-mail us.
 
The top five talent evaluators in the NFL:
  
Trouble for West Virginia, even after Rich Rodriguez's departure? Noel Devine was (allegedly) in a skirmish.
  
Add LSU quarterback Ryan Perilloux to the "he'll never learn" group.
  
Colt Brennan is falling.
  
Twenty to watch at the combine
  
Cream of the college assistant crop.
  
A former college coach's plan for spring football. If I remember correctly, it didn't work too tell for him.

It's another edition of the Daily Dropback, where the guys take you through the day's goings-on in the world of the oblong ball. (Some of this is a day late, as the flu bug bit me (get it?!) over the weekend and rendered me virtually useless.)
 
Let's kick it off with some college rule changes. Anyone got thoughts on a 40-second play clock, and no more 15-yard facemasks? I despite the latter. ...

So much for teams looking for defensive line help (Cleveland?) aiming for the Chiefs' Jared Allen: They'll franchise him.
  
Is Zach Thomas done? Not according to Bill Belichick, who has a pretty darn good track record of turning aging players into contributors.
  
A real shocker: the Packers project as the 2008 NFC North front-runner. Who knew?
  
(And here's an archive to the above writer's projections in each of the other seven divisions. A quick recap: Seahawks, Saints, Giants/Cowboys, Chargers, Steelers, Jags/Colts, Pats.)
  
Monday Morning Quarterback: Virginia's Chris Long is a man. Sounds like a pretty fascinating guy. (He's also got a nugget on how tough the Steelers' schedule looks early on.)
  
Great: Keyshawn Johnson wants a job.

We're off to a rocking start here at the PP (get it?!), but we're always looking to make it better.

So far we've brought you a couple standout guests, with Ohio State play-by-play man Paul Keels slated for next week's show. (Listen in, Buckeye fans!)

Starting today, we'll also be providing you a list of newsworthy, quirky or otherwise relevant links from the day in football, called the Daily Dropback. It could be injuries, draft news, contract statuses to anything else pertaining to football.
 
Highlights from the latest mock draft from SI.com's Don Banks: Darren McFadden to the Jets; USC's Sedrick Ellis to Cincinnati; Brian Brohm to the Bears; and some guy named Gosder Cherilus to Andy and I's Packers.

Surprising move from Atlanta: The Falcons release reliable tight end Alge Crumpler.
 
More bad news from the Colts: nagging injuries to terrific trio Harrison, Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney.
  
Shan Shariff railed against Daniel Snyder and his minions here Friday morning, but at least they're TRYING to do the right things: Super-cool tight end Chris Cooley (who has a hot wife) restructures his deal, saving some cap space.
  
Yahoo! Sports asks the question: If the NFL could have a Roger Clemens, who would you like it to be? Answer's obvious, to me: Vick. (He's not listed.)

Attention, running-back hungry teams: The Panthers have a deal for you!