NFL Free Agency 2011 Winners and Losers: Who Helped Their Super Bowl Chances?

With the lockout ending just shortly before the 2011 NFL season got underway, this year's NFL free-agency period was a total frenzy.  Teams were frantically trying to sign players, release players and snatch players from other teams in order to fill their roster and salary needs.  

For some teams, the frenzy turned out for the better, while other teams were left standing in the dust scratching their heads.  Let's take a look at a few of 2011 NFL free agency's biggest winners and losers and see which teams increased their Super Bowl chances.

Biggest Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

The biggest winner of the 2011 free-agency period has been the Philadelphia Eagles.  Not only did the Eagles sign star cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, definitely their best acquisition, but they also signed defensive end Jason Babin, quarterback Vince Young as a backup to Michael Vick, defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins and running back Ronnie Brown.  

With these additions to the roster, the Eagles seem to have found the answer to some of their missing pieces and possibly increased their Super Bowl chances greater than any other team during this free-agency period.

Loser: Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings entered free agency lacking depth at the receiver position and came out of it worse off than when they started, losing top receiver Sidney Rice to the Seattle Seahawks.  Not only did the Vikings lose Rice, but they were forced to cut former defensive tackle Pro Bowler Bryant McKinnie, after he showed up to camp extremely out of shape.

The Vikings did sign veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb, which could prove to be a good thing for the time being, but once again means Minnesota continues to put off the rebuilding process a little longer.

Winner: Cincinnati Bengals

At first glance it may seem like the Bengals did not have the greatest free agency, possibly losing their quarterback to retirement and trading their top receiver to the Patriots, but they were in fact winners. 

With Ochocinco, a team gets a receiver that has the ability to be very productive, but also carries a lot of talking and antics, and although he may be a big threat in New England next year, it is good riddance for Cincinnati.  With stud rookie WR A.J. Green already in the mix and getting things going, the Bengals are ready to move on from Ocho.

With Carson Palmer threatening to call it quits when the Bengals refused to trade him, they will be going with a rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton to lead the team.  Dalton seems to be doing well and this gives the team a chance to get used to a young guy right off he bat.

Loser: Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens made some questionable decisions in free agency, by seemingly acting prematurely in releasing a number of impact players from last year's roster.  The Ravens cut Derrick Mason and Todd Heap who were both key parts of the Raven receiving corp and brought a bulk of the experience.

Along with Mason and Heap, the Ravens also cut RB Willis McGahee and T Kelly Gregg.  All four players have since been scooped up by other teams fairly quickly.  

Following losing Le'Ron McClain to free agency and cutting McGahee, Baltimore signed Ricky Williams as a backup to Ray Rice.

The Ravens fought hard to sign wide receiver Malcom Floyd, but lost that battle to San Diego, so they are currently in the process of fighting for Jerricho Cotchery, who could be a good get.

The Ravens are going to miss that veteran receiver game, therefore until they sign Cotchery, their Super Bowl chances have definitely dropped.

Winner: Denver Broncos

Originally looking to shop Kyle Orton to the Miami Dolphins, the Broncos come away from free agency winners simply for keeping Orton around.  Orton is not just competing for the starting quarterback position in Denver, he is currently manning the spot.  Therefore, Denver should be thankful that trade did not go through.

Along with keeping Orton, Denver managed to sign running back Willis McGahee who was a player they had their eye on.  McGahee is already seeing a ton of reps, especially when the team is near the goal line.

Denver also managed to beef up their defensive line, signing tackles Broderick Bunkley and Ty Warren. 

Overall, Denver made some solid grabs for good prices.

Loser: Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders had a rough free agency losing some major players, most notably Nnamdi Asomugha.  Asomugha is by far one of the best cornerbacks in the league and can single-handedly shut down opposing teams' biggest threats.  The loss of Asomugha is going to hurt this defense terribly.

Furthermore, Oakland lost tight end Zach Miller and attempted to replace him with Kevin Boss. Although Boss is not a terrible signing, he is nowhere near the receiver that Miller is.  The other players Oakland lost include Robert Gallery, their starting guard, Bruce Gradowski and Johnny Lee Higgins.  They did acquire Trent Edwards, which could be a good addition to the team.  

The Raiders still have a lot of gaps to fill before they start thinking Super Bowl.

Winner: St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are one team that had an excellent free agency, which definitely brought them closer to Super Bowl material.  

Defensively the team added safety Quintin Mikell, who is a great underrated safety that will fit well in the Rams defense and Ben Leber, a MLB from Minnesota.  Other notable additions on the offensive side include Harvey Dahl, a gritty, tough guard, and Mike Sims-Walker at receiver.

Loser: Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills had room to make moves entering free agency, however they just didn't quite get the job done and for a team that missed the playoffs for the 11th straight time last year, this will not cut it.

Their biggest signing was probably linebacker Nick Barnett, not only because he will help the defense immensely, but they signed him for a very low price.  The acquisition of Tyler Thigpen was not bad for a backup quarterback option, but beyond that, the Bills really didn't make any moves.  This team still has so many needs that must be addressed before they are even talking playoffs.

Winner: Colts

Even though the Colts didn't enter free agency with too many crucial needs, they are still winners at the end of day.  To begin, when Peyton Manning signed his new deal with the Colts, agreeing to take less money in order to free up cap space, he not only made room for this year, but for years to come.

Manning's goal in taking less money was to assure that the Colts had the money needed to keep players that they want and need for now and the future.  The Colts responded by re-signing running back Joseph Addai, kicker Adam Vinatieri and safety Melvin Bullitt.  The Colts also added two nice pieces to the defense with defensive end Jamaal Anderson and defensive tackle Tommie Harris.

As long as their name is the Colts and Peyton Manning is at the helm, the Super Bowl is always a realistic destination for the Colts.

Loser: Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys entered free agency looking like they had big plans.  They began the period with freeing up cap space by cutting high-profile vets such as Roy Williams, Marion Barber and Leonard Davis.  However, they ended with pretty much nothing aside from re-signing players already on the current roster.  

Being that Dallas still needs quite a bit of help at certain positions on both sides of the field, they will probably continue to look for new players to sign late for a lower price.