NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Joe Reedy from the Cincinnati Enquirer reported today that 2009 first round pick, Andre Smith, had successful surgery to clean up residual issues from breaking his left foot in training camp.

The article can be read here.

The rehab will take 10 weeks, which will get him back on the field in time for the first OTA’s in May.

Smith missed the majority of the early season, but started to come on strong as the season ended. Reedy points out that Smith was never 100% due to the injury, so the team has yet to see the former Alabama OT at full strength.

The Giants have parted ways with linebacker Antonio Pierce, but Pierce's career is not over. He will look to sign somewhere else, and there is already question whether or not the Eagles will pursue him. We know all about Pierce as he has spent his entire career in the NFC East. The things the Eagles will question are his age and health. He did not play a full season last year in New York after his season was ended by a neck injury. Pierce has said he's not 100 percent yet but feels he is on a very good path to return at full strength next season. In New York, Pierce was a tackling machine and defensive leader.

The Eagles could use some help at the linebacker position, but I don't know if Pierce is the kind of solution they are looking for. To me, it has to at least be a consideration, and that is because of what happened with Brian Dawkins last year. We all know what happened there and then what did he do this season? He automatically turned into the leader of the Denver defense and produced yet another Pro Bowl season. I'm not saying they are the same player, but they do share some similarities, especially the situation Dawkins was in last year and the situation Pierce finds himself in this year.

Should the Eagles sign Antonio Pierce? I don't know. Should they at least think about it? Definitely. They really dropped the ball with Dawkins last year, so maybe Pierce could be some type of redemption.

The sad circumstances of Gaines Adams’ sudden death have been released, and there are more disturbing trends around it. A toxicology report shows that the defensive end had marijuana and alcohol in his system when he died. But Greenwood County Coroner Jim Coursey says nothing found in the report contributed to Adams' death.

The report showed Adams had a blood-alcohol level of 0.021 percent. That's well below the 0.08 percent at which South Carolina drivers are considered intoxicated.

The toxicology report was obtained by The Index-Journal of Greenwood through a Freedom of Information Act request and the results were published in Saturday's newspaper.

The 26-year-old former Clemson standout died January 17th in Greenwood. An autopsy showed the cause of death to be a heart attack caused by an enlarged heart. Coursey has repeatedly said nothing found in the toxicology report contributed to Adams' death.

A few transactions took place this week, as Seattle signed two long snappers (Matt Overton and Pat McDonald) a punter (Tom Malone) and a defensive end (Rick Foley).

Matt Overton is a Western Washington product that spent this past season playing in the United Football League. The former Viking is 24.

Pat McDonald, 27, comes down from the Canadian Football League. In the C.F.L., McDonald spent time as a Winnepeg Blue Bomber and a Calgary Stampeder.

Punter Tom Malone joins a Seattle roster that already has an established leg in Jon Ryan. Malone played for new head coach Pete Carroll at the University of Southern California in 2002.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Seahawks added defensive end Rick Foley. Foley leaves the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League, where he led the league last season in sacks with 12.

I think the Browns front office has a real opportunity this offseason to make huge strides with this team. It all depends on their mindset. They need specific goals and then attack accordingly. Fortunately, everyone has an opinion on how best to address the team's needs. If it were up to me, this is what I might do to address some of the glaring holes across the board:

First, I would tackle free agency. With Randy Lerner willing to help put a winner on the field, we can only assume there would be a healthy free agent budget. This year's crop of free agents is definitely strong on the defensive side of the ball. That is where I would turn my attention. If you can bring in one solid player at each level of the defense, that would be a huge start. Also, if the price is right, and Chris Mortensen is correct, we could have a real shot at a player like Julius Peppers. A player that could instantly make us better.

Second, I would decide who I need to target for my first round pick. This player needs to be the "big name guy" fans are looking for. This isn't the year to play it safe and pick a lineman, not in this spot anyway. This is where a Jimmy Clausen, Eric Berry, Brandon Graham or C.J. Spiller should be taken. A player with instant appeal and one who would inevitably provide much needed performance on the field. Someone like the guys above is a no-brainer. Any team would be lucky to snatch them up.

Finally, it is time to use your draft picks to fill in the holes. Again, I would conduct my draft like last year and bring in high quality, smart, character guys. The emphasis should be on lineman, offense and defense, but specifically offense. Get a solid right tackle and an interior guard to build a foundation for years of success. Scout hard and pick a guy with good work ethic and high potential. It isn’t a secret that the games are won in the trenches, and its in the trenches that we need the most help.

Doing these things won't turn the franchise around overnight, but they will provide us the necessary players to compete now. We are at a turning point in the development of this team and only smart decisions will get us over the hump. Mike Holmgren and Eric Mangini are the right men for this job. Let's just hope their success at other stops has followed them here.

In his daily Diner column this morning, National Football Post Columnist Michael Lombardi declared that there are four teams in the running for star linebacker Karlos Dansby ( ironically the same four teams that Dansby has said he is interested in). Out of the four teams, the Washington Redskins, New York Giants, San Diego Chargers, and your Miami Dolphins, Dansby admitted that he would prefer to go to the NY G-Men.

Lombardi goes so far though as to say that the Dolphins are a more likely landing spot than the Chargers and the Redskins.

Both the Dolphins and the Giants have similar needs at the linebacking position, but the Dolphins may hold the edge over the Giants simply because their owner, John Mara, complained last season of the lucrative contracts that were being given out to players.

Since Dansby is likely to get a hefty payday, somewhere around $10-12 million per year, I think this may eliminate the Giants from the running, although they may keep themselves in it for a couple of days, if only to give the Dolphins a little scare.

With the Dolphins having a lot of needs on defense still, they will need to go out and sign a free agent sooner or later to shore up the inside linebacker spot, so why not settle it now, and sign Dansby to a four year deal that would keep him in a Dolphins uniform until likely the end of the prime of his career.

I am all for signing Dansby, and finally settling the one weakness that killed us all season. Heck, why not release Akin Ayodele while we’re at it? The best he can do for us is be depth, and when he would come in, we all saw the past two years what he can do, which is not cover the tight ends, and not get any pressure on the quarterback.

Here is a quick stat to send you off: Dansby had 12 less tackles last year than Ayodele and Channing Crowder combined!