It's too early for '09 season previews, and too late for '08 season reviews. What's an NFL blog to do in the never-ending quest to overcover the bejeezus out of the NFL? Offseason progress reports. Let's go in alphabetical order. Today, the Minnesota Vikings.

Free agents gained: FB Nehemiah Broughton(notes), WR Glenn Holt(notes), LB Kenny Onatolu, CB Karl Paymah(notes)

Free agents lost: C Matt Birk(notes), LB Vinny Ciurciu(notes), QB Gus Frerotte(notes), RB Maurice Hicks(notes), LB Adam Seward(notes), S Darren Sharper(notes)

Acquired via trade: QB Sage Rosenfels(notes)

Drafted: WR Percy Harvin(notes), OL Phil Loadholt, CB Asher Allen(notes), ILB Jasper Brinkley(notes), FS Jamarca Sanford(notes)

A lot of things look peachy for the Vikings, and there's every reason to believe that they'll contend for a Super Bowl in 2009. There are two stretches of the Vikings season, however, about which I'm concerned.

To start with, the first four games of the season in which Pat Williams(notes) and

Every Wednesday (or Thursday) Shutdown Corner will take a moment to reflect on a recent or not-so-recent football-related book or movie. This week, it's Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday."

I remember the excitement when the news first broke that Oliver Stone intended to make a movie about the NFL. In the last ten years, Stone had made "JFK," "Nixon," and "The People vs. Larry Flynt," and before that, "Platoon." All of those movies, in one way or another, mattered. People thought -- or at least I thought -- that we were about to have a professional football movie that mattered. Something beyond your classic "Yay, the underdog wins!" tale. I thought Stone had some insightful observations to make about football, sports, society and how they all come together.

He really didn't, though. Any scathing indictments of the NFL he wanted to make were already fairly common knowledge among people who liked the NFL. Team doctors act unethically to benefit the team and further their own careers? No

• They're calling the surgery "minor," but when you're a 30-year-old running back, and a doctor's sticking a knife in you, there's nothing minor about it. Brian Westbrook's having some bone spurs cleaned out of his right ankle, and could be out until deep into training camp.

• The good news, though, is that according to Pro Football Weekly, LeSean "Shady" McCoy, is picking up the offense well and could probably handle a big role early.

• Also on the Eagles tip, The 700 Level introduces the McNabb-O-Meter 2010, a handy way to keep tabs on the likelihood that McNabb will stay with the Eagles after this season, or is on his way out of town.

• Despite whatever problems he had with the knee yesterday, Ben Roethlisberger(notes) was back at practice today at 100%. Next week, we'll have a special investigative report about a Ben Roethlisberger hangnail.

• In other Roethlisberger news, he'll be playing Bethpage Black, the site of the upcoming U.S. Open, for an NBC special. Roethlisberger's a

It's too early for '09 season previews, and too late for '08 season reviews. What's an NFL blog to do in the never-ending quest to overcover the bejeezus out of the NFL? Offseason progress reports. Let's go in alphabetical order. Today, the Miami Dolphins.

Free agents gained: G Joe Berger(notes), CB Eric Green(notes), C Jake Grove(notes), DE Jason Taylor(notes), S Gibril Wilson(notes)

Free agents lost: QB John Beck(notes), CB Andre Goodman, OT Daren Heerspink(notes), S Renaldo Hill(notes), DE Vonnie Holliday(notes), OL Al Johnson(notes), G Matt McChesney(notes), LB Kelvin Smith(notes)

Acquired via trade: DT Tony McDaniel(notes)

Lost via trade: C Samson Satele(notes)

Drafted: CB Vontae Davis(notes), QB Pat White(notes), CB Sean Smith(notes), WR Patrick Turner(notes), WR Brian Hartline(notes), TE John Nalbone(notes), FS Chris Clemons, OT Andrew Gardner(notes), OLB J.D. Folsom(notes)

The biggest addition the Dolphins have made in the '09 offseason is a sense of confidence that the

• The NFL Network's Fran Charles caught up with Chad Ochocinco working out at Freddie Roach's Wildcard Gym in Hollywood. It's an interesting interview, and Chad appears to be working extremely hard, even though he hasn't been to minicamp. He actually makes sense most of the time he speaks, too, except when he's asked about why he hasn't told Marvin Lewis of his whereabouts, and that he might eventually start a boxing career.

• Elsewhere in the AFC North, Ben Roethlisberger was limping around at practice today. The injury doesn't appear to be serious, but when Benjamin limps, people take notice.

• The Eagles won't say whether or not they're considering re-working Donovan McNabb's contract, as was reported last night on Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia.

• Jack Del Rio blasted defensive tackle John Henderson(notes) for sitting out a practice with a shoulder injury. Said Del Rio (via Jacksonville.com):

"I would think that [Vince] Lombardi's probably rolling over [in his grave] right

Rodney Harrison(notes) was once my favorite player in the National Football League. Even when the Chargers were at their worst, through the era of Ryan Leaf, Craig Whelihan, and Kevin Gilbride, Harrison wasn't only a bright spot on the team, he was something that was still fun to watch.

Even if the Chargers were on their way to 1-15 and everyone else on the team looked like they wanted to go home and cry, Harrison still showed up and still brought the pain.

His passion for the game was always evident in his play. He played through the whistle -- every whistle, whether it was in the first quarter of a playoff game, or in the final seconds of a 42-10 loss.

That was a big, big thing for me. Try to imagine being a fan of a 1-15 team, and still watching every minute of every game. The entire franchise is miserable from top to bottom. Not only is your young "star" quarterback terrible, but the front office hates him and the feeling is mutual. The whole thing is poisonous and soul-crushing.

It's too early for '09 season previews, and too late for '08 season reviews. What's an NFL blog to do in the never-ending quest to overcover the bejeezus out of the NFL? Offseason progress reports. Let's go in alphabetical order. Today, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Free agents gained: LB Monty Beisel(notes), WR Terrance Copper(notes), TE Tony Curtis(notes), CB Travis Daniels(notes), WR Bobby Engram(notes), C Eric Ghiaciuc(notes), G Mike Goff(notes), WR C.J. Jones(notes), LB Corey Mays(notes), LS Tanner Purdum, LB Darrell Robertson(notes), TE Sean Ryan(notes), LB Zach Thomas(notes), WR Rodney Wright(notes)

Free agents lost: OT Andre Carnahan, C Jean-Philippe Darche(notes), LB Donnie Edwards(notes), WR Will Franklin(notes), LB Curtis Gatewood(notes), QB Quinn Gray(notes), CB Jason Horton(notes), QB Damon Huard(notes), DE Brian Johnston(notes), G Adrian Jones(notes), CB David Macklin(notes), TE Michael Merritt(notes), WR Kevin Robinson(notes), CB Patrick Surtain(notes), LB Pat Thomas(notes)

• Tom Brady's knee doctor is floored by the magical healing power of No. 12. Said the doc, "With regard to his recovery of strength, I've never seen anything quite like it. With an average person, it would have taken probably twice as long to get range of motion and strength back." There you have it; Tom Brady(notes) is superhuman.

• An early look at your fantasy football rookie rankings.

• Former Eagles stud lineman Jon Runyan is hoping to get his knee back to healthy and get a shot somewhere in the NFL. Also, his pig was treated with Benadryl and she's doing just fine. That's right, his pig.

• The Redskins have been the Offseason Champions for something like the last 19 straight years, but are the Bears making a run at that title in 2009?

• As planned, the Cowboys have officially released Greg Ellis. Prediction: Greg Ellis(notes) is unemployed for less than 48 hours.

• Rodney Harrison's(notes) scheduled to participate in a conference call tomorrow, and speculation says that he'll be