What the howl?

American football is easily my favorite sport. I get kind of depressed when the season is over. I mean, I guess there's March Madness to watch, and the NFL draft is coming up. NBA is pretty cool too, when they finally get to the playoffs. But during the summer, man, there's nothing! It's depressing.

Right now, I'm focusing most of my attention toward NFL free agency. We've seen some pretty high-profile players moved around. Julius Peppers, who racked up 81 sacks during his 8-year career with the Panthers, is now a Chicago Bear.

The Ravens traded a third and fourth-round draft pick for former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin. The 29-year-old player caught 84 balls last season and went over 1000 yards, with four touchdowns.

What has really caught my eye during this free agency period is the fact that franchises have released players who formerly were the face of the organization. When you think of the Eagles over the past couple of years, you think of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. Westbrook is no longer an Eagle.

When you think of the Chargers over the past couple of years, you think of Ladanian Tomlinsom. More recently, it's been Phillip Rivers stealing the show, but L.T. has been their solid rock for almost a decade.

Thomas Jones had arguably the best year of his career last season, and guess what? The Jets rewarded him by releasing him from the team.

The Kansas City Chiefs signed Jones to a two-year deal, giving them a compliment power back to the speedy Jamaal Charles. Charles had a break-out year last season, going for over 1000 yards.

But I don't want to watch Thomas Jones in a Chiefs uniform! I thought he looked pretty good sporting that Jets green. I thought he did pretty well keeping his mouth shut about a contract extension, being a team player, and helping guide the Jets to the AFC Championship game last season.

But no. The Jets decided to go with youth, and will insert Shonn Greene. Greene is 24-years-old, and he averaged five yards a carry last season, while carrying for 540 yards.

Okay, so I get it. You don't want to pay the guy. The same goes for Westbrook and L.T. They're getting older. Their production has declined. Westbrook, who was hurt for a lot of last year, was held to 61 carries for 274 yards. L.T., while splitting time with Darren Sproeles, rushed 223 times for 730 yards.

Those numbers are nothing special. But the players who produced them are. And if they would wise up, I think they would understand that they can't demand the same amount of money that they are used to making.

They should be willing to take a pay (and play) cut. And the teams should work with them to make that happen. Those guys are team leaders, and their presence is felt in the locker room.

Thomas Jones is with the Chiefs. He is 31-years-old. That will effectively end his pursuit of a super bowl ring. L.T. might end up with Vikings, so if Brett Favre comes back, he'll have a chance to win a ring with that team. Who knows where Westbrook will go.

Here's my prediction: if those guys had figured out a way to stay with their respective teams, their chances to win it all would have been much better than they will be wherever else they end up.