2012 NFL Free Agency: Which Agents Will Be Most Active?

As the NFL season comes to a close, the season for NFL agents is just beginning.

This is their time to earn their money and land their client lucrative contracts.

Now that the offseason has arrived, here are the agents that will be busiest in the days and weeks leading up to the opening of free agency on March 13, 2012.

5 NFL Teams Sure to Crash and Burn Next Season

When you look back on the 2011 season, it's hard to believe the New York Giants are in the Super Bowl.

After a 23-10 Week 14 loss to the Washington Redskins, nobody mentioned the Giants in the playoff discussion. In fact, the loss fueled speculation that Tom Coughlin may be fired.

But as it stands six weeks later, New York is preparing to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

While the Giants didn't fail like many expected them to, here are five teams that are sure to crash and burn next season.

Denver Broncos
The Broncos were one of the most intriguing stories of 2011. Led by Tim Tebow and a fierce defense, Denver won the AFC West and a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Despite a successful season, the Broncos have the look of a team that could take a big step backwards in 2012.

The first order of business for the Broncos is to decide if Tebow is their long-term answer at quarterback. Tebow's success was well documented this season, but questions remain about his passing skills. If his consistency and accuracy don't improve, Tebow may find himself on the bench.

The other big issue facing the Broncos is how are they going to replace their aging stars. Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey have been great for many years, but both missed time this year with injuries. When those guys are out of the lineup, the Broncos defense was much worse.

Also, the Broncos don't have a backup plan if leading rusher Willis McGahee gets hurt. McGahee was their backup plan, but after a brilliant season in 2011, where he rushed for 1,199 yards, McGahee is Denver's best running back.

However, McGahee will turn 31 in October and has a lot of mileage on his wheels. Denver needs to have a backup plan for its backup plan.

Lastly, the Broncos 2012 schedule is brutal. Road games at New England, Baltimore, Atlanta, Cincinnati and home games against New Orleans and Houston are all tough match-ups for Denver. Plus, look for the AFC West to be better in 2012 than it was in 2011, especially the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Broncos aren't going to sneak up on anyone in 2012 and the playbook on how to stop Tebow has been written. Could be a long season in the Mile High City next year.

New York Jets
With a locker room in disarray and faith in their quarterback wavering, the Jets are headed for a long offseason.

After back-to-back AFC Championship Game appears, the Jets finished 8-8 in 2011 and missed the playoffs. As the season slipped away, the questions mounted about the direction of the team.

Mark Sanchez has been the focal point of much criticism, and rightfully so. Sanchez struggled in the final three games of the season, turning the ball over nine times in that span.

While Sanchez did have his share of struggles, the entire Jets offense was a mess. The Jets ranked 25th in the league and too often played like a team trying not to lose rather than trying to win. Ousted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer deserves much of the blame for that, with his offense that Rex Ryan called too complex.

Next year, The Jets will turn the offense over to former Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano. Sparano will likely bring a run-heavy offense to New York, which all but validates the team's lack of faith in Sanchez.

It also could signal the end of Santonio Holmes in a Jets uniform. Holmes finished 2011 with just 51 catches, not exactly worth the $9 million he made this season. The Jets will have to decide whether Holmes is worth the big money, the risk and the headache.

The Jets defense will continue keep them in games, but their offense is a liability. If the Jets carry last season's slide into 2012, look for a big shake-up in the Big Apple.

San Diego Chargers
Most in the NFL were stunned by San Diego's decision to keep Norv Turner for another season after he failed to make the playoffs.

The Chargers were expected to not only compete for the AFC West, but a Super Bowl as well.

Instead, they finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs.

Talent has never been an issue with the Chargers, it's been their inability to win meaningful games. Under Turner, San Diego is 49-31, but it hasn't won a playoff game since 2008.

The Chargers will be forced to address some important personnel discussions, including whether to re-sign Vincent Jackson and if Antonio Gates is healthy enough to still be Philip Rivers' go-to guy.

Gates has battled a foot injury that past two seasons and Jackson is a free agent.

The Chargers could look a lot different without those two guys in their lineup.

A slow start to the 2012 season could signal the end for Turner and the Chargers' hopes for a return to the playoffs.

Chicago Bears
It's hard to believe the Bears were one game from the Super Bowl a year ago. They of course lost to the Green Bay Packers in that game and failed to make the playoffs this season.

Several of the Bears' key players are getting older, especially on defense. Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers and Lance Briggs are all getting up their in age and their play is starting to tail off.

While those players are still very good, they aren't the dynamic forces they once were.

Further complicating things for the Bears this offseason is the departure of two important positions within the franchise. Chicago is currently without a general manager after the franchise fired Jerry Angelo. They also lost offensive coordinator Mike Martz to retirement.

A change in offensive philosophy will take time getting used to, especially for Jay Cutler. Cutler will be forced to learn a new offense, now led by Mike Tice. You can bet Tice's offense won't resemble Martz's system.

Bringing in new front office management isn't easy either, especially when you have the Matt Forte situation staring you in the face. Forte's contract is up this offseason and the Bears must decide what to do. There's a chance they could mess this up and Forte may start the season as a holdout.

The Bears' window of opportunity is closing; it may have already happened.

Buffalo Bills
At one point during this season, the Bills were in first place in the AFC East. It was Week 3, they had just beaten New England and looked like a legitimate playoff contender.

They then proceeded to lose 10 of their last 13 games.

The main concerns for the Bills are their defense and quarterback. Both played inconsistently this season and it led to 10 losses.

Ryan Fitzpatrick played well enough early in the season that Buffalo gave him a $59 million contract. However, a late-season slide by the Bills had many in Buffalo questioning the team's pricey investment.

Fitzpatrick is 15-23 as the Bills starter during his career and makes too many mistakes in crucial situations. He's not reliable enough for the Bills to win consistently.

Still, as bad as the Bills offense was during a seven-game losing streak last year, the defense was worse.

During that seven-game streak, the Bills were outscored 224-100 by their opponents.

They have since fired their defense coordinator and moved former Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins head coach Dave Wannstedt into that position. Wannstedt will be in charge of rebuilding a defense that is still several years away from finished product.

Buffalo had the look of a team headed in the right direction, but don't bet on it next year.

Dumbest Quotes in NFL History

It's no secret, most NFL players aren't Rhodes Scholars.

For most of them, college was a means to their professional football ends. So it's not surprising when you hear dumb things come out of their mouths.

While most sports quotes are boring and cliche, every once in a while there is a gem that stands the test of time. And not in a good way.

Here are some of the dumbest quotes in NFL history.

"It's modern-day slavery." ~Adrian Peterson

In March 2011, Minnesota Vikings running back compared the NFL to slavery when discussing the NFL lockout.

Peterson was referring to the amount of money the owners made and how much players were getting paid.

Peterson eventually apologized for his comment saying, “I regret using those words because obviously there is nothing, absolutely nothing that you can compare to slavery.”

He also claimed the quote was taken out of context.

“It was [taken] out of context and it was on me for putting it out there to make it available to be taken out of context,” Peterson said.

In September, Peterson signed a seven-year, $100 million contract extension with the Vikings.

"It's a humbling thing being humble." ~Maurice Clarett

In February 2005, Clarett turned out a disappointing performance at the NFL Combine and dropped this memorable line on the media during his post-workout news conference.

The former Ohio State running back was eventually drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the NFL draft.

Clarett would be humbled again just months after the draft when the Broncos released him.

Then in 2006, Clarett was humbled again when he was thrown in jail for robbery. He was released from prison in April 2010.

"I wanna kiss you. I couldn’t care less about the team struggling. What we know is we can improve. Chad Pennington, our quarterback, missed the first part of the season, and we struggled. We’re looking to next season. We’re looking to make a noise now, and I wanna kiss you!” ~Joe Namath

For many years, Namath was best known for making good on his guarantee that the New York Jets would upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3. That was until he met Suzy Kolber.

In December 2003, Namath was being interviewed by Kolber during the New York Jets-New England Patriots game when he made a pass at the sideline reporter.

The pro football Hall of Famer admitted that he had been drinking before the interview and apologized to Kolber for the comment.

For a younger generation that never saw Namath play, this is now what he's known for.

"I Play When I Want to Play." ~Randy Moss

Randy Moss has provided football fans with plenty of memorable performances during his career. But as good as Moss was, he earned a reputation for being lazy and disinterested.

In November 2001, Moss made the comment that made him one of professional sports' easiest players to hate. While it may have been taken out of context, he never defended his comment and the quote lived on.

Here was a pro football player, who was just months removed from signing an eight-year, $75 million contract, saying all the wrong things.

That quote stuck with Moss his entire career and still to this day reminds many of how selfish pro athletes can be.

"He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings." ~Torrin Polk

Okay, this isn't an NFL quote, but it deserves a spot on this list.

In October 1991, the University of Houston wide receiver was discussing his new head coach, John Jenkins, when he dropped this line.

While the back story of this quote is difficult to track down, it's clear what he was trying to say.

Fortunately for us, while he was trying to explain the level of mutual respect between players and coach, he gave us one of the funniest sports quotes in history.

Other Quotable Notables:

-“I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first.” ~George Rogers, running back, New Orleans Saints

-“People say I’ll be drafted in the first round, maybe even higher.” ~Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, running back, New Orleans Saints

-“Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.” ~Joe Theismann, quarterback, Washington Redskins

Adrian Peterson's Post-Surgery Twitter Pictures

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson underwent successful surgery Friday to repair the torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee.

The Vikings said the surgery was a success and Peterson was "resting comfortably."

Well, we now have the pictures to prove it.

On his Twitter account Sunday night, Peterson posted a series of pictures from his hospital bed.

The first post read:

My time bringing in the New Year was great! Thanks to family & a lil Blue Bell country ice cream

The second post read:

HAPPY NEW YEAR FANS & FAMIlY!!!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I'd say Peterson is in good spirits.

Peterson underwent surgery six days after taking a hit to his knee in Week 16 against the Washington Redskins.

The injury is expected to require 8-9 months of recovery time.