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Offseason Additions: Matt Birk (C); L.J. Smith (TE); Domonique Foxworth (CB); John Beck (QB).

Offseason Losses: Bart Scott (LB); Jason Brown (C); Chris McAlister (CB); Jim Leonhard (S); Lorenzo Neal (FB).

Player to Watch: Ed Reed, S.
Some believe that Reed is one of the more overrated players in the league because he’ll take too many chances attempting to make the big play and will often get burned because of it. He’s also not the greatest in run support because he’ll drag ballcarriers down as opposed to always running full speed and laying a thundering hit. But the bottom line is that Reed is the best playmaking safety in the league and he often masks mistakes (not his, but his teammates) with his tremendous speed and playmaking ability. Reed isn’t overrated – he deserves all the accolades that he receives and he’s one of the best – period.

Team Strength: Baltimore’s successful running game starts up front. Massive left tackle Jared Gaither and mobile left guard Ben Grubbs are two rising starts along the Ravens’ offensive line, one in which that improved this offseason with the addition of veteran center Matt Birk. The former Viking Birk is one of the smartest centers in the game and his pre-snap adjustments will help promising rookie right tackle Michael Oher make a smooth transition from college to the pros. Throw in a trio of capable starting running backs in Ray Rice, Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee and the Ravens will once again be near the top of the league in rushing.

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Check out all of our 2009 NFL team previews.

Offseason Additions: Chris Canty (DE); Michael Boley (LB); C.C. Brown (S); Rocky Bernard (DT).

Offseason Losses: Plaxico Burress (WR); Derrick Ward (RB); James Butler (S); Amani Toomer (WR); Reuben Droughns (RB); R.W. McQuarters (CB).

Player to Watch: Kenny Phillips, S.
The Giants stole Phillips at the end of the first round in the 2008 draft. Following his rookie season, he added 16 pounds in hopes that the added weight will make him a more ferocious hitter and given his solid coverage ability, the Giants could use him the same way the Ravens use Ed Reed in that Phillips will move around the field at will. While expectations should be tempered considering this is only his second year, he reportedly is already making strides as a leader on the Giants’ defense and it appears that the sky is the limit in terms of his potential.

Team Strength: GM Jerry Reese has a philosophy that a team can never have enough pass rushers, so he spent this offseason bringing in free agents like Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty, both of whom can shoot the gap from their tackle positions. While Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins will remain the starters because of their run-stuffing abilities, Bernard and Canty will see plenty of action in a rotation and they add to an already excellent pass-rushing defensive line that also features ends Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka. Tuck wore down at the end of the year last season (as many Giants did) and Umenyiora didn’t play after having season-ending knee surgery in preseason. So the Giants plan on using a three-man rotation at end to keep everybody fresh. Even Dave Tollefson will see a fair amount of playing time for a Giants team that will once again get after the quarterback.

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Check out all of our 2009 NFL team previews.

Offseason Additions: Duke Preston (C); Anthony Smith (S).

Offseason Losses: Mark Tauscher (OT); Colin Cole (DT).

Player to Watch: Aaron Rodgers, QB.
In throwing for 4,038 yards and 28 touchdowns in his first year as Green Bay’s starter, Rodgers made Packer fans completely forget about the Brett Favre era. Okay, so he didn’t do that, but he did put to rest a lot of the doubt fans had about whether or not he could become a legitimate franchise quarterback. Now entering his second year, Rodgers’ challenge is to take this team to the next level and get them into the playoffs. His best attribute is that he’s fundamentally sound and most of his success (unsurprisingly) comes when he gets the ball out of his hands quickly. He has also shown good mobility outside of the pocket and isn’t afraid to take a risk in order to cash in on a big play. The problem that he sometimes gets into is when he fails to progress through all of his reads. While this can be an issue for most quarterbacks, it’s the only thing that is holding Rodgers back from being great. He can’t fall into patterns of making pre-snap reads and then not adjusting when the defense reacts to where he wants to go with the ball. If he works through his progressions more and cuts down on the mistakes, he’s going to do big things in 2009.

Team Strength: While age is a problem, the Packers strength (at least on defense) is their secondary. At 33, Charles Woodson continues to be one of the top corners in the game and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Al Harris is losing a step and didn’t have a great preseason, which is why many think that nickelback Tramon Williams will push for more playing time and eventually succeed Harris at the corner position opposite Woodson. Williams has excellent speed, as does dimeback Will Blackmon, and is an emerging starter. For as good as Woodson is, free safety Nick Collins is the star of this group. Collins is outstanding in coverage and seemingly knows where the quarterback wants to go with the ball every time he drops back to pass. He doesn’t play the run particularly well, but that job is reserved for hard-hitting strong safety Atari Bigby, so Green Bay doesn’t lose much in that area.

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