Tuning up: teams have made myriad offseason adjustments in an effort to improve their performances in the 2005 race. But when the green flag drops, some will zoom ahead and others will stall

Dolphins The worst team in the AFC is in line for plenty of change, but you have to wonder what the impact will be. Rookie running back Ronnie Brown is sure to provide some spark, but quarterbacks A.J. Feeley and Gus Frerotte look a lot like Jay Fiedler. And Miami might have regressed in the secondary, with cornerback Reggie Howard and strong safety Tebucky Jones replacing Patrick Surtain and Sammy Knight. Grade: C-

Eagles Warning: This team might suffer significant loss of viscosity if Reggie Brown has to start in place of Terrell Owens at wide receiver. Grade: C-

Jets The Jets got younger and smaller--and maybe worse--at nose tackle (Lance Legree in, Jason Ferguson out) and right tackle (Adrian Jones for Kareem McKenzie). Grade: C-

Ravens The Ravens worked hard to find a new model for each machine that drove off the lot, but they might have come up short. Yes, Derrick Mason is more productive than Travis Taylor or Kevin Johnson at receiver, but Keydrick Vincent is a notch below Bennie Anderson at right guard, and Samari Rolle is a bigger gamble at cornerback than Gary Baxter. Grade: C-

In reverse

Bills Two of the Bills' best linemen, Jonas Jennings and Pat Williams, departed, and unproven J.P. Losman is the new quarterback. Grade: D+

Colts Is this any way to catch the Patriots? It's hard to see improvement at any position, unless rookie corner Marlin Jackson turns out to be a fast learner. The team might still re-sign middle linebacker Rob Morris, but offensive tackle Rick DeMulling, tight end Marcus Pollard and free safety Idrees Bashir are gone. Grade: D+

Packers Brett Favre decided to limp back for another 3,000 yards, and Ahman Green still is there. But starting guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle were allowed to escape, and the players expected to compete for their spots (Adrian Klemm, Grey Ruegamer and Matt O'Dwyer) are unheralded. Safety Earl Little should compensate for the loss of Darren Sharper. Grade: D+

Steelers Pitsburgh brought in only one free agent, wideout Cedrick Wilson--and he can't imitate Plaxico Burress. Max Starks is no substitute for Oliver Ross at right tackle. Grade: D

Titans You hate to kick a Titan when he's down, but the salary cap finally flattened these guys. Several of the players who made Tennessee a contender from 1999 to 2003 were dismissed to create cap room. And though coach Jeff Fisher typically breeds overachievers, wide receiver Tyrone Calico is no Derrick Mason, offensive tackle Jacob Bell is no Fred Miller and cornerback Andre Woolfolk is no Andre Dyson. Grade: F

RELATED ARTICLE: Redealing on defense.

If the Vikings and Chiefs were two of those pale poker players who seem to dominate the cable TV spectrum these days, they'd be showering the table with cards. Tired of hoping for that one ace to complete a winning hand, they are restocking their defenses with massive redeals.

"Excuses aside, we weren't good enough on defense," says coach Dick Vermeil, who had 13 defensive starters miss a combined 76 games with injuries in 2004. "We needed better players."