Adam Schefter reported via twitter that the Steelers will be releasing long-time defensive end Aaron Smith.

Smith, who many people expected to retire following the 2011 season, has been with the Steelers since 1999. From 2000 to 2008, Smith was extremely durable, missing just five games in that stretch all of which came in the 2007 season.

His durability has become a serious issue in the past three seasons, however. Since 2009, Smith has played in a total of 15 games, and it became apparent that his time in the NFL was drawing to a close.

In his time with the Steelers, Smith accumulated 44 sacks and 453 tackles, but that's not where his greatest value was. As the defensive end in a 3-4 system, Smith was in charge of setting the Steelers' edge and maintaining his gap assignments while allowing the linebackers to shoot into the backfield and make big plays. It's a role that Smith did extremely effectively in the Steelers' system.

While the move does have a certain shock value to it, the Steelers really aren't losing much by cutting ties with Smith. He hasn't been on the field very often over the past three seasons, and he was set to make $2.1 million in 2012. Really, the move was a no-brainer for the cap-burdened Steelers.

I really don't expect Smith to sign with another team. He was a great defensive end, but he's 35 years old, and coming off of multiple injury laden seasons. Expect him to formally announce his retirement in the somewhat near future.

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Tarvaris Jackson knows nothing about job security. But he played well enough in 2011, leading the team to all seven of their wins, to put his team in a very dicey position when it comes to finding his replacement. With USC's Matt Barkley and Oklahoma's Landry Jones dropping out of this year's draft class, Seattle finds themselves too far away from the elite picks, and perhaps underwhelmed by the remaining alternatives. 

Coach Pete Carroll has to be praised for his ability to build a pair of seven win seasons (with a division title and a shocking playoff win for good measure) despite having a jumble of moving parts across his roster. But sooner or later, a coach seeking longevity wants to pair his fate with a franchise quarterback. Fifteen wins in two years keeps his seat relatively cool, but it also raises the stakes for the team. 

What now, coach? asks the fan base. What now, coach? asks his quarterback. What now, coach? asks Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers, ready to tag-and-trade Matt Flynn. What now, indeed? 

The Saint Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints went in two different directions last season - one to the gutter, the other a few seconds (and a Vernon Davis catch) away from the NFC Championship game. In response, the Rams poached Gregg Williams from the Saints to improve their defense ... to which the Saints said "thank you very much," and plucked Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo to rebuild theirs. 

The ugly truth in New Orleans is that if Williams hadn't been hired away, he may have been run out of town. Such was the state of discontent with his high-risk, low-reward approach to defense this season. What kind of identity will the more conservative Spagnuolo impose on the Saints, and what kind of talent does he need to make it work? 

Spagnuolo will bring a 4-3 defense to New Orleans, which is what the Saints already have. However, he will also bring a new system that involves a lot of coverage and less blitzing. Spagnuolo expects his four down linemen to get pressure and that frees up the secondary to just play in coverage.

Spagnuolo is known for his days as an assistant with the Eagles and for being a great defensive coordinator with the Giants.

The Saints' new defensive coordinator is known for getting the most out of his defensive line and that is exactly what the Saints need. If Spagnuolo can make the Saints' line play great football, then the other units will benefit directly from that.

Spagnuolo should be able to affect change without too much turnover. Here we take a look at what Spagnulo can do with what ingredients he already has in his kitchen.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will soon part ways with long time wide receiver Hines Ward according to the team's website.

Steelers president Art Rooney II told Steelers.com,

"We had a conversation today with Hines Ward and informed him that we plan to release him of his contract prior to the start of the 2012 NFL calendar year. Hines has been an integral part of our success since we drafted him in 1998 and we will forever be grateful for what he has helped us achieve. He has meant so much to this organization, both on and off the field, and we appreciate his efforts over the past 14 years. Hines’ accomplishments are numerous, and he will always be thought of as one of the all-time great Steelers. We wish him nothing but the best."

Ward, who had has exactly 1,000 career receptions, had been featured much less over the past two seasons in the Steelers' offense, having just 59 and 46 receptions respectively in those seasons. To say that Steelers fans will miss Ward smiling after laying a big block on a defensive player is a massive understatement.

It appears that Ward may try to find a team in free agency, but he won't command much money. He would make a lot of sense for a team looking to add a veteran with good hands and a knack for blocking down field, but he's not likely to make a big splash.

Although Ward is now parting with the Steelers, it seems likely that he'll eventually sign a one day contract, ending his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers as he should.

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One never expects a parent to call their baby ugly. So it come as no surprise that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks the quarterback he has is better than the quarterbacks he has no shot at getting.

Some Dallas area reporter asked Jones the silly question if he would trade quarterback Tony Romo for Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III.  Jones thinks Romo is better than the incoming rookies are.

Stephen Jones, Jerry's son and Cowboys vice president added, "There are not many better than him out there. I hear it -- he hasn't gotten it done yet. I hear it, all of that. But you are not going to find much better than Tony Romo. Every year he improves. As he gets better, our (playoff) chances get better."

Cowboys, love then or hate them. The haters love to deride Romo for the team's lack of playoff success. So media coverage blows up when Jones states the obvious — that Romo is a top-tier quarterback playing well above his draft status who keeps the Cowboys in contention when they ought not be.

Romo has a 47-30 record since starting for the Cowboys in 2006. He has thrown 149 touchdown passes against 72 interceptions. His career passer rating is 96.9. His 102.5 rating was fourth best for the 2011 season. At least 25 teams would grab him in a heartbeat if he were available.

The season captured the frustration about Romo and the Cowboys. Too often, Dallas needed Romo to win games he had already "'won" by leading the team to safe fourth-quarter leads. Even Cowboys fans questioned the comeback win against San Francisco before we know how good the 49ers would become.  The home loss to the Giants fell on Romo after he threw four TD passes to put the Cowboys comfortably ahead with five minutes to go.

The defense squandered the lead, but Romo was criticized for not bringing the team back. Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw said on the NFL Network that the Cowboys would not win a Super Bowl with Romo at quarterback.

"I don't see it happening," Bradshaw said this month. "I don't think they believe it and they are America's Team. If America don't believe it...."

Bradshaw may have been unduly influenced former Cowboys and NFL-N cheerleaders Michael Irvin, who expressed the same thought, and Deion Sanders who crooned "I belieeve in Eli (Manning)."

What's an owner to do?  Jones is not wrong for pointing out that neither Luck nor Griffin have yet to do in the NFL what Romo has accomplished. We only think they will do as well. We do not know if they will lead their team to the Promised Land. Romo, however, will not silence his critics until he leads Dallas to a Super bowl.

The story is not newsworthy, but it's slow in Dallas, where the Cowboys do not figure in trade rumors. Jones' comment is the perfect foil for the media to troll for hits by dropping the names Luck and Griffin.

Lesson learned.

The Baltimore Ravens are heading into a defining season in 2012. The tension in Baltimore will likely be tangible when the season kicks off this fall. It's no secret that they have an aging defense and an elite running back that's about to be given the team's franchise tag. We all know that, but that's not the biggest question for the Ravens in 2012.

That question involves the curious case of Joe Flacco. Flacco's current contract ends following the 2012 season. He'll be making $8.86 million in 2012 according to Rotoworld, and he'll likely be asking for top tier money when the time to begin contract negotiations begins.

The Ravens have some large decisions coming up with their key offensive players, but none looms larger than the statement the team could make by committing - or not - to their quarterback long term in this offseason.

In many ways, 2011 was by far the best season in the ten-year history of the Houston Texans. They won the AFC South and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, then beat the Bengals at home in the playoffs before falling to the Ravens on the road.

Despite such success, Texans fans were left to wonder what might have been. When Albert Haynesworth fell on Matt Schaub's right foot in a Week 10 win over the Buccaneers, the Texans were 7-3 and well-positioned to earn at least a first-round bye and possibly home field advantage through the playoffs. Rookie T.J. Yates played reasonably after backup Matt Leinart went down with his own season-ending injury, but the Texans still went 3-3 and slipped to the third seed.

Schaub is entering into the last year of his contract in 2012, so what does the future hold for him and the Texans at the quarterback position?

Mike Shanahan isn't going anywhere... most likely. There's a notion that this is a do or die year for the Washington Redskins' head coach — "Shanahan must finish the 2012 season with a winning record or Dan Snyder will fire him," the running theme goes.

With the exception of Joe Gibbs, Snyder has never tolerated a head coach of his Washington Redskins for more than two seasons. Thus, Shanahan must already be on thin ice, right?

The notion is wrong. Short-attention-span fans and the media that caters to them put this forth. High turnover has been the bane of the Redskins and Snyder might possibly could perhaps maybe recognize that. (Since we are speaking of Snyder, no one is sure.)

But, Shanahan is far from safe. Eleven wins in two seasons is the worst record of any Snyder-era coach. Here are six scenarios that could lead to Shanahan's dismissal at the end of the season.

1. No effort to acquire Robert Griffin III. Quarterback is the most important position in 21st-century football, but it is not the only position that matters. The Redskins have holes in offensive skill positions, defensive secondary and they need quality depth everywhere. They are not the only team vying for Griffin v3.0. We get it. But, a sub-.500 record without trying to move up for RG3 would lead to riots at FedEx Field. Astute fans understand the obstacles to the effort (Looking at you, Mike Holmgren), but will only accept alternatives to Griffin as Plan B.

2. Peyton Manning flops in Washington. After Donovan McNabb, Mark Brunell and Jeff George, Redskins fans have no stomach for another one-shot, one-year fix at quarterback, even for one of the stature of Manning. The elder Manning threw 33 touchdown passes in 2010, twice as many as Rex Grossman threw in 2011. The 2010 Colts won 10 games with Manning and only 2 games without him a year later. So, it's odd that signing Peyton causes such consternation in Washington.

Skeptical fans want to see Manning make those throws first. Even then, no one believes that he would bring immediate success with the lack of weapons on the roster. If that's the case, they would rather the 'Skins use a placeholder like Kyle Orton and try for Matt Barkley or Denard Robinson in the 2013 NFL Draft. Peyton Manning is the widely admired player whose time has passed.

The Oakland Raiders have been known as the model of dysfunction throughout the league for the better part of the last decade. Al Davis, despite the great work he did in the league, descended into a late-life spiral that saw him evaluating players solely on their foot speed. A revolving door of coaches made their way through the teams facilities, with little in the way of consistency on or off the field.

So now what? Reggie McKenzie was brought in to help right the ship, but it seems as if he is just continuing to rock it. Hue Jackson was sent packing despite a successful season, and player turnover will be aplenty as per the norm with the organization. They brought in Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to be the third head coach in three years, but what is the identity of the team?

The reminders of Al's model are still all over the field, with a who's-who of record 40 times littering the roster. Carson Palmer was brought in mid-season last year, but he had marginal success against the rest of the league who didn't take the last season off. They brought in the Texans quarterback coach Greg Knapp to be their new offensive coordinator, and the master of the running game will have some exciting toys to play with in Oakland.

Do the Raiders have anything resembling a team identity? At this point it is impossible to say. There are so many new faces running the ship that the players are probably confused about who to report to. And this team is handicapped in both the draft and in free agency, with a number of high-dollar players pushing the cap. This offseason will say a lot about whether the Raiders intend to go with "business as usual," or if big changes are in the autumn wind.  

Subtitled: Vontaze Burfict's Bad, Bad, Very Bad, No-Good Day. 

Every year there are players whose draft stock tumbles at the NFL Combine. It's the nature of the business when you take a player out of a team sport and evaluate him head to head against his peers. The one who looks great makes the others look worse by comparison. 

But not every year do you have a player torpedo his own stock so thoroughly that conversation moves him from a fringe first rounder to a fringe bet to go undrafted. Not every year do you have to look for historical comparables for "worst NFL combine ever." For Vontaze Burfict, this is that awkward moment. 

For the record, Burfict is able to hit people very, very hard. That's how he made his name as a player in a very good 2010 season. But 2011 wasn't kind to him on the field, and scouts had already started picking holes in Burfict's game before the Combine started. "I don't see first round at all," pronounced Mike Mayock. "I wouldn't touch him," remarked an unnamed NFL personnel man to CBS's Bruce Feldman. "I could have played better. The coaches messed me up," said Burfict himself, not helping himself in interviews.

So the stage was set for a fall, and Burfict's indifference about the physical drills he was being asked to run made it into an epic one. He lumbered to a 5-second 40, failed to shine in any of the other positional drills, and seemed more interested in twiddling with his iPod than with firing himself up for this harshly lit stage. 

In its awfulness, his performance far outshines that of fellow linebackers Brandon Spikes, who interviewed well but ran slow, and Rey Maualuga, who ran well but rubbed many the wrong way. Other highly-touted defenders have fallen at the Combine, only to rise again in the draft, like Joe Haden (indifferent), Terrell Suggs (slow), and Aaron Maybin (both). None of these makes a perfect comparable. 

To find someone who made so thoroughly bad an impression, who so thoroughly sunk his own stock, we're left with this: Burfict may be the new Maurice Clarett.