Don Pierson

Coach Tony Dungy usually gives his players only 24 hours to enjoy a victory and then it's back to work. This time, quarterback Peyton Manning knows the Super Bowl celebration for the Indianapolis Colts will last a little longer, but not much. When the Colts' offseason training programs begin in March, Manning and his teammates will start lifting weights and running pass patterns.

At least the Colts' brass won't have to travel out of town to attend the annual scouting combine to test draft prospects. It starts in only Wednesday in the Indianapolis RCA Dome, with free agency scheduled to begin in March.

"That's one of the problems that the defending champs have. It's a shorter offseason," Dungy said. "We've got to give the coaches some time off. As far as really evaluating players, who we need to re-sign before free agency, starting up on the draft, those are things that catch up on you when your offseason is cut down. We'll get started on that probably in about 10 days."

Some offseason.

The year-around NFL season is one of the legacies of former commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Intended or not, free agency has created a hot stove league that leaves no month without plenty of fodder for the talk shows.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has even waited until after the Super Bowl to name his head coach, preferring to do it when the spotlight isn't too busy to accommodate America's Team.

Last year's draft and free agency period caused more commotion than expected. Why? It was the greatest rookie class ever, one that would be hard to top. And teams have so much more money under the salary cap that potential free agents aren't likely to get away.

The Colts, for example, might have been able to re-sign Edgerrin James last year rather than see him go to Arizona. But the Colts did so well with the tandem of rookie Joseph Addai and less expensive veteran Dominic Rhodes that teams shouldn't be so eager to overpay those free agents.

Unless Kansas City's Damon Huard turns into this year's version of Drew Brees, the only quarterback expected to keep the radio waves hopping this March is Philadelphia's Jeff Garcia, who may want to test the market rather than play behind Donovan McNabb, even though Garcia is a popular man in Philly these days. There are no Daunte Culpeppers expected to change teams in a trade.

The Colts put the franchise tag on pass rusher Dwight Freeney to ensure he won't get away. Other Colts who are unrestricted free agents include cornerback Nick Harper, linebacker Cato June and Rhodes.

Other free agents include Patriots' cornerback Asante Samuel, who could become the next Champ Bailey after tying Bailey for the league lead with 10 interceptions. Bills' cornerback Nate Clements also is in for a big payday, assuming Buffalo decides it can get along without him. In the Bills' Cover-2 zone scheme, top cover corners like Clements aren't as vital as they are in other defenses.

Bills' linebacker London Fletcher also is a free agent who has played well in St. Louis and Buffalo and believes he is underappreciated as well as underpaid.

Two Pro Bowl Bears who could generate interest are linebacker Lance Briggs and guard Ruben Brown. Briggs operates very efficiently in the shadow of Brian Urlacher, must as Ravens' linebacker Adalius Thomas, another free agent, is overshadowed by the more famous Ray Lewis.

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Two other offensive linemen who will draw interest are Arizona's huge Leonard Davis and San Diego's Kris Dielman.

If teams really want to keep their free agents, they should be able to do it because the salary cap has increased from $102 million to $109 million and is expected to hit $116 million in 2008.

The Cardinals, 49ers, Titans, Vikings, Bills, Rams and Packers all are some $30 million or more under the salary cap.

But the fantastic success of the rookie class of 2006 also will convince teams that young players are getting better and better and can help faster and faster.

The class of 2006 was so good at so many different positions than nearly ever team benefited immediately. The Super Bowl got off to an unprecedented start when Bears rookie Devin Hester proved his record season wasn't a fluke. The kickoff he brought back was his seventh return of a spectacular season.

Addai was on his way to an MVP game until he was spelled by Rhodes. Addai wasn't even the Colts' first choice in the draft but they grabbed him after the Patriots took Laurence Maroney. They soon found out it would have been foolish to pay James the $30 million the Cardinals gave him.

The Bears also started rookie Danieal Manning all season at safety and the Colts started Antoine Bethea at safety. Manning came from Abilene Christian, Bethea from Howard, not exactly football factories.

When Colts' right tackle Ryan Diem went down early in the Super Bowl, rookie Charlie Johnson took over and the team "didn't miss a beat," coach Tony Dungy said.

If this year's class is anything like last year's, teams will put all their money and effort in scouting between now and April, scouring the country to find the next Marques Colston, the seventh-round receiver from Hofstra.

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Except for the Cowboys, the most interesting coach watch in the league is in Chicago, where the Bears have promised to extend the contract of Lovie Smith, who was the lowest-paid coach in the league at $1.35 million this season.

The Bears refused to extend his contract after Smith was named coach of the year in 2005, and they claim they were no embarrassed to send Smith to the Super Bowl as the lowest-paid in the league.

If the Bears don't feel like making it up to Smith with a hefty raise, he could decide to coach as a lame duck this season on the final year of his contract and take his chances elsewhere. It's not likely, but until he actually signs an extension, it's a possibility.

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