By Vinnie Iyer - Sporting News

With more than half of Sporting News' top 100 free agents signed,
last week I gave my take on the five teams that have made the best
free-agent moves to date.

Before I take a look at the five teams doing the least impressive
moving and shaking, many of you wrote that I should have included
Buffalo among the five best.

I've grouped the Bills in limbo -- with 22 other teams that are
neither the best nor worst -- because although they boosted their
defense with the acquisitions of Takeo Spikes, Jeff Posey, Sam Adams
and Izell Reese, there are now new questions about their offense, as
Josh Reed and Bobby Shaw must make up for what Peerless Price, Jay
Riemersma and Larry Centers contributed to the passing game.


The Bills certainly are closer to the top five and are far away from
the following teams in the bottom five:

1. Cardinals. OK, they decided to start over at two key positions by
letting QB Jake Plummer, WRs David Boston and MarTay Jenkins go, but
where's the youth movement? Jeff Blake and Emmitt Smith would be nice
additions for a veteran club, but at 32 and 33 respectively, they
don't fit the long-term mix.

Following former Ravens cornerback Duane Starks' lead, Super Bowl MVP
safety Dexter Jackson went for desert bucks with the ring already in
hand. Jackson is only 25, and should be a solid contributor, but
considering the Cards had holes in many places, spreading their
spending would have made more sense.

2. Lions. They spent far too much on cornerback Dre' Bly, like they
did last year in locking up another former Ram, Az-Zahir Hakim. They
also have a void at middle linebacker with Chris Claiborne leaving
for division rival Minnesota. They will likely need a great draft
(Charles Rogers?) if they are to show marked improvement in Steve
Mariucci's first season.

3. Eagles. Adding fullback Jon Ritchie gives their offense
versatility, but losing Hugh Douglas, Shawn Barber and Barry Gardner
and choosing not to retain Levon Kirkland leaves their defense
hurting. To boot, veteran special teamer Brian Mitchell signed with
the archrival Giants.

4. Bengals. No "worst" list can be made without this team. Yes, they
put better bodies on Marvin Lewis' defense in Carl Powell, John
Thornton, Kevin Hardy and Tory James, but none of them are big-impact
players. Losing Spikes and young starting safety Cory Hall hurt the
turnover.

Letting Gus Frerotte go was fine, because Jon Kitna played well
enough to win games down the stretch last season. That's why it's
puzzling they are locked into Carson Palmer with their first overall
draft pick. Even though Palmer might be the best prospect on the
board, Terrell Suggs would provide the immediate impact on Lewis'
revamped unit.

5. Dolphins. Put an asterisk by them. They have done nothing of note
so far, but look for them to make some huge splashes after the June 1
cut date. It's still shocking they didn't make the playoffs last
year, so obviously a dominant running back wasn't their final
championship piece. Another fired-up veteran defensive leader and a
more established quarterback would be ideal -- and they could arrive
in the form of Junior Seau and Brian Griese.