Following an exciting first round, we break down the favorite picks, most pleasant and biggest surprises, most under-appreciated pick, worst move and more.
Peyton Manning, Mario Williams, Mike Wallace and Carl Nicks headline an intriguing free agent class that can shift the balance of power this offseason.
The Eagles seemingly came out of nowhere to sign Nnamdi Asomugha as they eye a trip to the Super Bowl.
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In honor of two of the most significant leaders in American history, this edition focuses on the significant leaders of NFL franchises: the quarterbacks.
$.01 -- There's all sorts of talk about what Philadelphia is going to do with their troika of quarterbacks. Some sources insinuate the team has offered an extension to Kevin Kolb, others say coach Andy Reid is dead set on riding Donovan McNabb one more year, and nobody has any idea what is going to happen to Michael Vick.
I say what a great problem to have: too many good options at quarterback. That does make it incumbent upon Reid and new general manager Howie Roseman (and player personnel consultant Phil Savage, a former GM) to maximize the positives of the problem." The first question they have to ask is, "Does Kevin Kolb give us a better chance to win Super Bowl XLV than Donovan McNabb?" Following that, the next question is, "Is Michael Vick worth more to us as a backup or what he can bring back in any deal?"
I would answer both questions "No." I do happen to like Kevin Kolb and I think he's got a bright future, but McNabb is only 34 and knows the offense inside out. As Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner, Brett Favre, and others have recently proven, great quarterbacks can play well into their 30s. McNabb is still a great quarterback, albeit one with a lot of mileage on the tires. I would give Mc5 one more season to bring home a Super Bowl with Kolb as his backup, and I would take whatever anyone (Buffalo, Oakland, St. Louis) will give me for Vick. That's no knock on Vick either; I think with a full summer immersed in an offense and with the rust now knocked off, he has a real chance to revitalize his career as a starting NFL quarterback. It just won't happen in Philly.
$.02 -- Another team seeking quarterback resolution is Cleveland, where the team has Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson, Brett Ratliff and a new general manager in Mike Holmgren that isn't particularly fond of any of them. I talked to a long-time Browns insider recently, and he advised me to remove Anderson from the equation; the team will not pay him his impending roster bonus and will either trade him (good luck with that!) or simply release the erstwhile starter. I?d like to think Anderson has some value -- he did lead the team to a 10-6 record with a good supporting cast -- but Browns fans are dreaming if they expect more than a fifth rounder in return.
The Quinn situation fascinates me. Here's a guy who unexpectedly plummeted on draft day, got rescued via trade by his boyhood favorite team, and the Browns have still never given him a full vote of confidence or an offseason as the sole #1. Skeptics point to his unreliable arm strength and propensity for injuries, but in my opinion the biggest failure of both Phil Savage and the Kokinis/Mangini duo that has served as general manager during Quinn's tenure is their collective handling of the potential franchise quarterback. Remember, Mangini wanted to draft Mark Sanchez at #5 overall last year and would have had the Jets not offered a (perceived) great deal.
Now it appears Holmgren is heading down the same path, as Cleveland is oft-mentioned as suitors for the aforementioned Kolb and/or Vick, Jason Campbell (should Mike Shanahan decide he's not his guy), current Ravens backup and local hero Troy Smith, and even Tarvaris Jackson from Minnesota if Favre returns. The Browns sources I've talked with don't repudiate any of it, including when I asked if Quinn could be moved. Admittedly I'm higher on Quinn than most, but the way he's been treated by the myriad Browns leaders is shameful. You don't trade up for a first round quarterback and then keep pulling the chair out from under him. It's time for Eric Mangini and Mike Holmgren to either commit to Quinn or set him free, before his value is completely trashed.
$.03 -- If you're hoping that your team will improve its quarterback lot via free agency, don't hold your breath. To quote The Princess Bride, "Get used to disappointment." The top free agents are Kyle Orton and Jason Campbell, and that's only if their current teams decide not to keep them as CBA-restricted free agents. The other free agent quarterbacks potentially include Tarvaris Jackson, Matt Moore, Kellen Clemens, and Brodie Croyle, all of whom would be unrestricted under the old CBA but restricted when the deal formally expires. What do all those guys have in common? All their teams have sought out better options. Moore from Carolina is the most intriguing of the lot, but the Panthers are expected to keep him.
Then there are the buzzards, the one-time starters still circling around looking for work as a backup with the implied potential to start. That group features Rex Grossman, Daunte Culpepper, David Carr, Kyle Boller, and Patrick Ramsey. Throw in senior citizen players like Charlie Batch, Chad Pennington, and Mark Brunell, and that's the crop. There will be some quarterbacks that will be released, but one of the golden rules of football management is that no quarterback with any real value ever gets released. Derek Anderson, Kerry Collins, JP Losman and perhaps (highly doubtful) Jamarcus Russell fit that bill.
Some of those guys will find meaningful work in new places, but if any of them other than Orton or maybe Jackson change uniforms, the new team isn't likely to have found anything more than a finger in a dyke.
$.04 -- That's not to say there isn't a viable market or place for many of those players. Teams like Chicago, Detroit the New York Jets, and Miami are all on the prowl for a low-cost veteran backup/mentor for their young franchise quarterbacks. The Bears in particular are going to be active in filling that role, according to one team source I spoke with over the weekend. This person told me to keep an eye on Shaun Hill from the 49ers, who worked with new OC Mike Martz for a year in San Francisco and knows the offense. He's also noted for being a smart guy with good leadership skills, neither of which aptly describes Jay Cutler, the man whose clipboard he would be holding.
Finding someone to fill that role is tricky. For every Jon Kitna, who by all accounts did wonders for Tony Romo in Dallas last year, you get Daunte Culpepper in Detroit or Jeff Garcia, well, anywhere he's ever been since leaving the Niners. For those who realize it's a great way to extend a career and earn lots more money with little risk of further injury, it can be a great job -- ask Trent Dilfer or Mark Brunell. The risk the team runs is if that player gets thrust into duty and can no longer perform, but the Bears mitigate this by having a fairly promising young backup in Caleb Hanie. I'm not sure that Jay Cutler is the sort of person who will respond favorably to someone being installed as his sounding board and extra coaching, but I applaud the Bears if in fact they make the move. Cutler so obviously needs a voice he trusts in his head if he ever wants to taste playoff victory, and it's not like Martz's offense and its 44 protections and 2,062 situational route trees is easy to master all by himself.
Tangential Bears rumor-mongering: The above source told me that while he has no official knowledge of it, expect Packers free agent defensive man Aaron Kampman to become a Bear next season, but Julius Peppers is a pipe dream.
$.05 -- Most fans know the top quarterback names in the draft pretty well. Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, Tony Pike, maybe even Dan Lefevour and Jarrett Brown (no ordination there, don't read into that!) are likely the only quarterbacks that will be drafted in the first two rounds, but there are a couple of names that draftniks wannabe's should know.
The first is Ryan Perriloux, late of Jacksonville State but more prominently an LSU exile. Perriloux has put the immaturity issues behind him, coming clean about his personal issues that led to his ugly departure from Baton Rouge. That leaves evaluators focused on what he can do on the field, and in that regard Perriloux is real impressive. His arm strength is probably the best in this entire class, and his deep accuracy and touch is NFL-ready. He needs work on feeling the rush and with more consistent footwork, but much like Joe Flacco he has an effortless strong release with the ability to accurately sling the ball all over the field. Questions about his height (he's under 6'2") and level of competition, not to mention his past, probably limit his draft ceiling to the fourth round, and he'll need at least a year of adjustment, but he's one of athletes that oozes natural talent and could blossom into a very good NFL starter.
The other middle-round prospect with real legit future starter potential appears to be Jonathan Crompton of Tennessee. To call Crompton a late bloomer is a vast understatement; even through the first half of his senior season he was barely on any scouting radar. But it all seemed to click once the SEC season got fired up, and it coincided with Crompton adapting to a pro-style offense with a former pro head coach and QB guru in Lane Kiffin. Nobody had ever doubted his arm or his guts, but once he got comfortable with the mechanical tinkering and the pro-style offense, Crompton emerged looking a whole lot like Matt Schaub or Matt Hasselbeck. Many will be scared of his prolonged mediocrity at Tennessee, but I believe he was retarded (the literal definition, not the insult) by poor coaching and a misfit offense, and the adversity he (and Perriloux) overcame only makes him more attractive to a quarterback-needy team like the Bills or Rams as early as the third round.
