All 32 teams got into the mix and there have certainly been some that have risen to the challenge. Although playoff games are not won in the heat of mid-summer, the moves made now do play a part in saying who gets there.

MuscleSport Mag takes a look at some of the teams that did their homework and others that have acted as if the strike is still going on.

WINNERS

*PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Trading Kevin Kolb to Arizona for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a number two pick is a move that will pay off for years to come, especially when the Eagles picked up Vince Young as a back-up. Pairing him in a secondary that now includes the top free agent on the market in fellow CB Nnamdi Asomugha and also bringing in lineman Cullen Jenkins solidifies an already proven defense for Andy Reid’s bunch.

*NEW YORK JETS

If they were able to land Asomugha, the Jets would have been the top winners. But they did quite alright for themselves by bringing back Antonio Cromartie as a Plan B. GM Mike Tannenbaum shored up his receiving corps by re-signing Santonio Holmes and getting Plaxico Burress as a cheaper replacement for Brayon Edwards. Brad Smith (Bills) was a nice player that could perform many tasks, but he is replaceable.

*NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

The two big – and low cost – moves that the Pats made can either be looked at as ingenious or blow up in their face. Chad Ochocinco should have something left in the tank after a down year in Cincy and can excel in Bill Belechick’s system. On the other side of the ball, Albert Haynesworth can salvage his career or confirm that he is a bust after all.

Photo by William J. Hauser

Not to kick someone when they’re down, but Donovan McNabb did himself no favors by playing as bad as you could on the heels of outing yourself as arguably the most unintelligent quarterback in the professional ranks. His putrid number not withstanding (8 for 18, 59 yards, 2 interceptions), Mr. Chunky (Dumb as) Soup found himself on the bench at the start of the second half, a move that Andy Reid – who will find himself on the unemployment line before Dick Clark struggles to ring in the New Year – covered his wide ass by stating afterwards that he had pondered pulling his starting quarterback BEFORE the game, as if he though McNabb would somehow salvage both of their jobs in one half.

Second-year player Kevin Kolb came in and did his best McNabb impersonation (10 for 23, 73 yards, 2 interceptions) in a 36-7 romp at the hands of the medicore Baltimore Ravens and their rookie signal-caller, Joe Flacco. One of Kolb’s picks included a 108-yard return for a touchdown. Ouch!

With the loss, you can now count out the 5-5-1 Eagles from any shot at making the postseason, in case you were wondering. Not that it really matters, but Reid stated in his post game press conference that he was not sure who his starting quarterback will be for the remainder of the miserable campaign.

The Eagles have a team option on McNabb that will cost them in excess of $10 million towards their salary cap for 2009, so unless team owner Jeffrey Lurie is as stupid as his quarterback, expect both McNabb and Reid to find themselves badmouthing Philadelphia on their way out of town. Both will land on their feet, as previous success in the NFL does carry over for a little while (see Rich Kotitie), but one has to figure that they have seen their best days and are headed for a deep slide.

Wherever McNabb ends up, figure on some flash cards and a book report as part of his criteria to ‘make the grade.’ Just kidding, of course, but if you were contemplating signing a guy like that, it would be your duty to call him on the carpet and throw a few ‘quiz’ questions to him, sort of like when a general manager interview a potential head coach and gives him scenarios to see what he would do.

It only gets worse. Just when you thought that Donovan McNabb was the only NFL player dumb enough to not know that a regular season game can end in a tie, a few of his teammates have come to their quarterback’s rescue. Running back Corell Buckhalter, wide receiver DeSean Jackson and linebacker Omar Gaither all admitted on Monday that they, too, were in the dark during the overtime period of yesterday’s 13-13 tie against the Cincinnati Bengals.

That makes three Eagles who believed that the teams would keep playing until someone scored, instead of the game ending in a draw after the extra session. The blame has to go square on the shoulders of Andy Reid, and the head coach told reporters, “I’ll take the responsibility for that.” But it isn’t as simple as that. Reid – who has been under fire due to the team’s lackluster 5-4-1 record – needs to explain how anyone wearing an NFL uniform could be as uninformed as that. The coaching staff either failed to do their job or the players are just plain stupid.

Conveniently, McNabb was not available on Monday for reporters to take him to task, which would have definitely been the case. Not only did he make a complete fool of himself by not knowing the OT tie rule, but played miserably by going 28-for-58 with three interceptions and a fumble. Those numbers are bad enough if the Eagles were playing a good team, but to do that against the one-win ‘Bungles’ only exasperates the situation.