With the first rookie camp just around the corner, and the preseason soon after, it's time to start previewing the prospects of each NFL team. We continue with the Detroit Lions, who finished the 2009 NFL season with a 2-14 record.

Offense

The Playbook: Getting past eight years of Matt Millen-induced franchise destruction isn't an easy thing, but head coach Jim Schwartz and general manager Martin Mayhew have put together two very solid drafts and made some interesting free-agent moves since Millen was sent packing. On offense, coordinator Scott Linehan likes to integrate a dynamic, consistent running game with downfield passing.

In theory, the franchise has the tools to do these things effectively, but things aren't quite built yet. Rookie quarterback Matt Stafford (pictured) performed about as you'd expect from a strong-armed 21-year-old quarterback — he mixed astonishing throws with frustrating interceptions. Stafford's heroic performance against the Cleveland Browns in Week 11

As we speculated last week, the Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with running back Chris Johnson on a one-year deal which takes escalator clauses from 2012 and turns them into a "signing bonus" for the 2010 season. The additional money is believed to be in the $2.5 million range, adding to Johnson's 2010 base salary of $550,000. Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean was the first to bring up the concept of the escalators.

Johnson had refused to take part in any offseason activities after gaining 2,006 yards rushing and 2,509 yards from scrimmage in 2009. Johnson has said that he wants a new deal that would guarantee him $30 million, which the Titans are not willing to do in the face of CBA uncertainty.

Even if they wanted to give Johnson a huge new contract, the 30 Percent Rule would prevent them from doing so. This is a proviso in the post-CBA labor landscape that precludes teams from giving players extensions larger than 30 percent over the previous year's earnings. The San

With the news that Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress has made his pilgrimage to Hattiesburg, Miss., to find out just what Brett Favre's(notes) plans are, we're about to be taken on that same month-long media ride we had last year. The smallest story will be blown out of proportion, other interesting stories will be shelved, and we'll have to start watching Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions highlights on Canadian television if we want to see football coverage without No. 4 draped all over it.

We fear it, we dread it, and yet we know that there is now no getting to the dessert of the NFL season without first digesting the journalistic Brussels sprouts that this Favre gauntlet has become.

However, lest you think that it's just the fans (and various rogue media outposts) who are beyond sick of the whole thing, Favre's agent Bus Cook recently went off to a reporter for Men's Journal magazine when he found out that Favre had told ESPN's Ed Werder that he was still having trouble with

With the first rookie training camp just around the corner, and the preseason soon after, it's time to start previewing the prospects for each NFL team. We begin with the St. Louis Rams, who finished the 2009 NFL season with a 1-15 record.

Offense

The Playbook: Last year, the Rams put out a pretty balanced pot of nothingness. They were less effective in the passing game than when they ran the ball, primarily because their three-headed quarterback monster of Marc Bulger(notes), Kyle Boller(notes), and Keith Null(notes) was absolutely horrible. Bulger was shell-shocked from too many hits and too few targets over the last few years, Null was asked to do too much in his rookie season, and Boller made Rex Grossman(notes) look like Joe Montana with some truly head-scratching interceptions. Running back Steven Jackson had an impressive year, considering that there were so few players around him for enemy defenses to focus on. Jackson also led the team in receptions with 51, which points to the

Well, here's the latest on the ongoing Albert Haynesworth(notes) vs. the Washington Redskins saga: Haynesworth personal trainer Tripp Smith says that the defensive lineman has dropped 32 pounds since he started working out with Smith in April.

"Albert, he's the type of person that doesn't want to disappoint anybody, but he's very business-minded," Smith recently told Fredicksburg.com. "I think it has motivated him quite a bit, just seeing what his teammates are saying about him and seeing what everybody in the press is saying about him."

Haynesworth's teammates have expressed concern about his conditioning and how he looked winded during games.

Dropping 32 pounds from what weight is what we don't know — maybe Haynesworth was heading to IHOP every morning during his extended holdout and he now needs to get back to his playing weight of 340-350.

However, there's another theory making the rounds: that Haynesworth is dropping pounds from that playing weight in order to force the

The Green Bay Packers franchise's recent financial disclosure was an interesting gambit in the ongoing labor wars. Ostensibly, the move was taken to prove that a.) teams are losing profits in the current economy; and b.) player costs are far too high. From NFLLabor.com:

In the team's latest financial report, a preview of which was released to the media this week, the Packers' operating profit for the 2010 fiscal year (ending March 31, 2010), was $9.8 million, down from $20.1 million the year prior. The primary reason for the decline, despite a $10.1 million increase in overall revenue, was a $22.1 million jump in player costs, which increased 15.9 percent from $138.7 million to $160.8 million. It marked the third consecutive year that operating profits declined, from $34.2 million (2007) to $21.4 million (2008) to $20.1 million (2009) to $9.8 million (2010).

But the players aren't convinced that the Packers' report is representative of the entire league. "It's 1/32nd of the

Editor's note: Yahoo! Sports will examine the biggest weakness from the 2009 season for every team and explain how the franchise can address the issue. The series continues with the New York Jets, who finished second in the AFC East (9-7).

Biggest problem in 2009: A one-dimensional offense unfit for shootouts

The strength of the Jets' rushing attack makes play-action all the more effective.
(Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

New York Jets first-year head coach Rex Ryan got his team to within 30 minutes of the Super Bowl by playing a type of football that his father, Buddy, would appreciate. Using a brutally effective running game behind a dominant offensive line and the best defense in the NFL, Ryan's Jets established a tough, swaggering identity that was very old school. The Jets led the NFL in regular-season rushing attempts (607) and ranked last in passing attempts (393). Rookie Mark Sanchez

Editor's note: Yahoo! Sports will examine the biggest weakness of the 2009 season for every team and explain how the franchise can address the issue. The series continues with the Vikings, who finished first in the NFC North (12-4).

Biggest problem in 2009: A back four that negates the NFL's best front four

Vikings DE Jared Allen(notes) had 14.5 sacks in 2009.
(AP Photo)

It's safe to say that there aren't too many holes in the Minnesota Vikings' roster. We all know that Brett Favre(notes), who may have had his best season in 2009, is coming back. Adrian Peterson is one of the NFL's most exciting and productive backs, receiver Sidney Rice(notes) had a breakout year, and an offensive line under fire in previous years played at a decent level.

On defense, the Vikings are led by the best front line in the game. End Jared Allen is as dominant a pass rusher as there is in the NFL; when he doesn't get