2012 NFL Free Agency and Trade Round Up

What an amazing free agency and trade period this year for the NFL. There were so many big names that have moved this off season so far, more than I could ever remember. This totally changed the landscape of how and who teams are going to do in the draft. The biggest name was without a doubt future Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning.

Manning was let go by the Colts after 14 seasons when he missed the entire season following setbacks from neck surgery and the Colts finished 2-14. The Colts will probably draft Andrew Luck 1st overall in this year's draft and will rebuild. Once Manning was on the market, he was probably the biggest free agent in NFL history. There were questions and concerns as he was 36 and coming off several neck procedures over the last few years. Either teams knew he was medically cleared or just wanted to take a chance at one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history, but teams were coming out of the wood works to make a play at him. The closest teams were the Jets, Miami, Arizona, Washington, Seattle, Tennessee, San Francisco, and Denver. Manning ultimately chose to sign a 5-year deal with the Denver Broncos over a Super Bowl bound San Francisco and Tennessee, where Manning played college ball and was reportedly offered a "lifetime contract" by Titans' owner Bud Adams.

San Francisco appeared to have been the best choice because they were an overtime loss away from going to the Super Bowl with perhaps the best defense in the league, a weak division, and a red-hot first year head coach in Jim Harbaugh. It would appear however that Manning and Harbaugh would clash as Harbaugh seems to be a control freak and Manning I'm sure wants to run the offense like he has in Indy. Even though the NFC West is weak, the NFC as a whole is very strong as there quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo, Michael Vick, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Jay Cutler, and even Peyton's younger brother Eli. I'm sure Peyton did not want to play his brother unless its every four years in the AFC and/or Super Bowl. So that left Denver, who won the weak AFC West with an 8-8 record and a QB who seemingly can't throw. Denver has a very good coach in John Fox, a great offensive line, a very good young defense, and a very underrated set of wide receivers along with a good running game. I think Fox would let Manning run the offense while he focuses on the defense. With Manning, the Broncos should without a doubt win the division as there is a talented but underachieving San Diego Chargers team with Norv Turner back, a troubled Oakland team, and a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs team. The road to the Super Bowl is a lot easier in the AFC as he would only have to go through the Patriots, the Baltimore Ravens who don't have an elite QB, and an aging Pittsburgh Steelers team. The question is, will there ever be a free agent as big as Peyton Manning ever again? Can you possibly imagine Tom Brady or younger guys like Aaron Rodgers or even Eli Manning ever available in free agency? Unless the Saints don't resolve their contract issues with Drew Brees, he would not be available.

Manning's signing made Tim Tebow expendable as he was traded to the New York Jets shortly after Manning signed. The Broncos traded their QB who led them to the postseason last year and even beat the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs. But Tebow had one of the worst QB Ratings in the league and completed less than 50% of his passes. Tebow and his hype goes to the Big Apple and has to contend with vicious Jet fans, a big mouth head coach in Rex Ryan, and starting QB Mark Sanchez. Tebow chose the Jets over Jacksonville, which is closer to home and would be a huge draw for a struggling franchise, because he knows he can start down the road. Despite giving Sanchez a $20 million signing bonus, Sanchez is on the lookout and has never got the love by the fans and even the team despite taking them to the AFC Championship Game in his first two years. Wait till he throws an interception and the fans will be calling for Tebow. What a mess and I love it.

This next signing hits very close to home and is the one I'm most excited about. Perhaps the best free agent not named Peyton Manning, Houston Texans' defensive end Mario Williams, shocked the league by signing with the Buffalo Bills for nearly $100 million and $50 million guaranteed, which is the most by a defensive player in league history. Williams was the #1 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and had a very stellar six-year career so far in the NFL with 53 career sacks. Williams' signing was not only big because it fills a tremendous void for the Bills as they needed a pass rushing defensive end, but it also turns one of the worst franchises in the league's perception around the league around as it now appears that players want to play for Buffalo. Not only did he sign with Buffalo, he chose them first, spent several days there and never left to even talk to another team as he and the Bills wanted each other. This is such a huge impactful signing for the Bills faithful and still has me buzzing. This is the biggest signing for the Bills since they signed Jim Kelly from the USFL, even though he had his draft rights. But Kelly coming to town was a big deal and it led the Bills to their greatest time in franchise history. The biggest free agent name that went to a small city that I can think of was when Reggie White signed with Green Bay back in 1993 when no one wanted to go there and look, they are one of the league's best teams over the last two decades. I'm hoping Williams' impact on the Bills is just the same. Also, the Bills added Mark Anderson to the line and his 10 sacks from New England a year ago to make the Bills from one of the worst defensive lines in the league to one of the best.

There were a good amount of wide receivers available as Vincent Jackson left San Diego to go to Tampa Bay and Jackson's spot in San Diego was taken by Robert Meacham, who left New Orleans. Perhaps the biggest wide receiver signing was the 49ers signing Randy Moss, who was out of the league last year. They also added Mario Manningham. Brandon Lloyd was very vocal about playing for the Patriots and Tom Brady and made good on his promise by signing with them. Lloyd reunites with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who was Lloyd's head coach in Denver when Lloyd led the league in receiving yards two years ago and was his offensive coordinator last year in St. Louis. Lloyd should be close to or at his numbers two years ago playing with Brady, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez. The Saints re-signed Marques Coltson while the Colts re-signed Reggie Wayne. Pierre Garcon left the Colts to go to Washington. The Steelers signed speedy Mike Wallace to a first round tender on the restricted free agent, which means any team can sign him, but give up a first round pick to the Steelers for him. It appears he will remain in Pittsburgh as no one has given up a first round pick yet. Laurent Robinson and his 11 touchdown catches from a year ago move from Dallas to Jacksonville. Dwayne Bowe was another big time receiver to hit the market until he was franchised by Kansas City while the Bills locked up Stevie Johnson before he was set to hit the open market and were forced to use the franchise tag. Even though he was not going to hit the open market this season, the Lions made sure Calvin Johnson did not in the future by giving him a record $60 million guaranteed signing bonus.

Other notable free agent signings: corner back Brandon Carr from Kansas City to Dallas, guard Carl Nicks from New Orleans to Tampa Bay, corner back Cortland Finnegan from Tennessee to St. Louis to be reunited with his former head coach Jeff Fisher, offensive tackle Eric Winston from Houston to Kansas City, and the Saints added a couple of defensive players in lieu of possible suspensions in the wake of "bounty gate" in linebacker Curtis Lofton and defensive tackle Broderick Bunkley.

There were two more quarterback moves that did not involve Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow. Alex Smith, despite looking around after the 49erswere trying to lure Manning, went back to San Francisco to sign a 3-year deal. Smith guided the 49ers to a 13-3 record and a trip to the NFC Championship Game. Smith had a bounce back year after being considered a bust after being taken #1 overall by the 49ers in 2005. This past season Smith improved his game with the help of new head coach Jim Harbaugh. Despite going all the way to the NFC Championship Game, Harbaugh and the 49ers felt they needed to upgrade and no offense to Smith, they did so they went after Manning. After Manning turned them down, they went back to Smith, who was in Miami looking at a possible deal there. Smith's common sense got the better of him, despite getting hurt by the 49ers he chose to go back because it was the best option for him. They gave him more money than they would have so his trip to Miami got him more. They did not want to lose the guy who went 13-3 if they lost out on Manning. Settling in this case isn't so bad. The other major QB signing was Seattle signing Matt Flynn, who was the backup in Green Bay. Flynn, who was a 7th round pick out of LSU in 2008, started only two games in his NFL career, but both starts were very impressive. In 2010, he lost a close game to New England on the road and last year, he defeated a Detroit Lions team that still had something to play for in the last game of the season. In that game, Flynn threw for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 45-41 win. There's no doubt Flynn has some talent, but I question if he's the real deal or is the system he plays in with really good wide receivers? I'm still leaning towards the latter until I get to witness more starts. Seattle needs a QB as Tarvaris Jackson or Charlie Whitehurst are not the answers. I just wonder if it's Flynn? They might have not been able to draft one and could not sign Manning. So they had to go to Plan B. Flynn reminds me of guys such as Kevin Kolb, Derek Anderson, and Rob Johnson who started a few games and impressed people because of  a system and land full-time roles and fail. These guys are backups for a reason and I will never go after a system quarterback. Good luck Seattle, I hope it works.

This was one of the most amazing free agency periods I can ever remember. If this what the off season will be like, and we are far from done my friends, then I can't wait to see what the season and the Super Bowl holds for us!!

Why the Redskins Traded Up for RG3

Why wouldn't they is the question? The Redskins need a franchise QB so bad that this move made a heck of a lot of sense. Sure, trading three first round picks and a 2nd round pick seems like a lot, but when it comes to trading up for a franchise QB especially one with the talent and ability of Baylor's Robert Griffin III, it makes total sense. Consider the fact that teams no longer have to shell out $50 million guaranteed for a guy who never played a snap in the NFL and it's even more likely for teams to gamble and trade up. It's a no-brainer. There are very few times a team can trade up to #1 or #2 and take one of the top-2 QBs in the draft because generally teams drafting in that spot will almost always take the QB. In this instance, St. Louis traded down because they still have a young QB they took #1 two years ago in Sam Bradford. Jeff Fisher wants to see if they young QB can play after a down sophomore year as well as grab 3 firsts and a second.

If you are bothered by the Redskins trading 3 first round picks, the reality is that they are swapping this year's first (6th overall) with the Rams' first. Hopefully for the Redskins, they won't have to be drafting too high in the next couple of years and they figure they won't with the addition of Griffin. Griffin has all the tools and ability to be a starting QB in this league and be a good one. Some even think Griffin could go #1 ahead of Andrew Luck, but more likely he will go #2. Griffin is fast and can throw on the run. He has a strong arm and can make many of the throws. If you look at Griffin's number or even watch him play at Baylor, you see a QB that throws the ball down the field and is not a check down quarterback. He is also very smart as he would be going to Law School if he weren't going into the NFL. Griffin can make a huge impact much like Cam Newton did for Carolina last year. Newton only had a couple of months to learn the playbook as he missed time in OTA's and Mini Camps during the NFL Lockout and look what he did breaking many of Peyton Manning's rookie records. What would Griffin do with more time to get accustomed to the playbook and learn the offense? He seems to be the ideal candidate in Mike Shanahan's offense that has really struggled the last two years with Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman, and John Beck under center.

Speaking of Shanahan and his struggles, he needed to make this deal as he is in his 3rd and could very well be his final year as Redskins' head coach. He is 11-21 in two years despite being a success in Denver. If things don't go well this year he could be gone. He could not afford another year with Grossman or Beck at QB, he needed to make the big splash. Shanahan has not won a Super Bowl without John Elway, which has hurt his legacy of being a really good head coach and has won only one playoff game since Elway retired in 1998. He needs this for his ego. Griffin can take Shanahan and the Redskins to the promise land. Who was the last great QB for the Redskins? Was it Joe Theismann? They won Super Bowls with Doug Williams and Mark Rypien since Theismann but it was more of a system as both have been one-year wonder. The Redskins have not been relevant for two decades since the first time Joe Gibbs coached there. Even though for the past decade or so when Daniel Snyder became owner of the Redskins, they have been irrelevant despite making big splashes in free agency and in the off season each and every year. Those big splashes usually ended up in failure and the Redskins usually finish at the bottom of their division. They have only made the playoffs twice since 1999 and three times since 1992 with only one division title.

The Redskins lacked in one thing and that was getting the QB. Now they will finally have the guy. who could lead them to the playoffs for the next decade or so and hopefully the Super Bowl. Time will tell if this is the right deal and who will win this trade: Washington or St. Louis. But it was a deal Washington needed to make win or lose and I believe they will win.

Don't Feel Too Sorry For Manning and Colts Fans

I know Peyton Manning being released yesterday in Indianapolis was a sad day for Colts fans and I'm also sure Manning himself, who played there for 14 seasons. However, Colts fans saw great football in those 14 seasons as they won a Super Bowl, been to another, and were a consistent 10 plus win team year in year out. In fact, the Colts set an NFL record with nine consecutive 10 win seasons from 2002-2010. As for Manning, well he's made big time money and deservedly so. He turned Indianapolis from a loser into a winner almost instantly. Let's face it, before Manning came along, the Colts were not a hotbed in the NFL. Indianapolis was all about Indiana basketball, the Indiana Pacers, and the Indianapolis 500. Manning comes in and transforms that city into Colts town. Because of Manning, the Colts build a brand new state-of-the-art stadium that otherwise wouldn't be built and they would probably be moving to I don't know, Los Angeles. Plus they just hosted the Super Bowl in their new stadium. There's no way Indy hosts a Super Bowl without that stadium and there's no way they get that stadium without Manning.

It will be hard to move on from a man who meant so much to the city and vice versa. It's hard it's emotional I get it. But everyone needs to put things into perspective. Manning has made tons of money, including $25 million or whatever last year despite Manning not taking a single snap. They gave him that roster bonus and not put him on the IR and kept him on the active roster just to give him the bonus. Now to pay him $28 million with the chance that he might not play or play up to his Hall of Fame level. Plus he's 36 so he isn't getting any younger and he's had several neck surgeries the past few years. The Colts went 2-14 without him and are drafting 1st overall and they will probably take Andrew Luck, who many claim is the next Peyton Manning. We shall wait and see. Owner Jim Irsay cleaned house of the front office, including the man who drafted Manning back in 98, Bill Polian, and also got rid of the coach. It's clear they want to start over and Manning should want to move on and win somewhere else because Indy is not going to have a ton of talent for him to work with. If he wants to win a Super Bowl and I know he does, he won't do it in Indy. He already gave Indy a Super Bowl trophy and another appearance a couple of years ago. As for the fans, it's tough but it's life. Nothing lasts forever. But the good news is your getting Andrew Luck, who I'm sure won't replicate what Manning has done right off the bat but I bet you he will be a very good QB in his own right a few years down the road. With a chance for another 10-15 years of success, would you give up another year of possibly awful football? Especially when Luck falls right into your lap?

Look at how some teams have moved on from their franchise quarterback over the years. The San Francisco 49ers went from Joe Montana to Steve Young and even to Jeff Garcia, who had some good years in the bay area. Green Bay went from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. So as you see, you go from great QB to another, the transition is a lot easier than expected. Of course the guy coming in has to prove but once he does, you almost forget about the guy before. Of course some teams like Miami and Buffalo have lost franchise QBs and have not been the same. I still remember the Bills cutting Jim Kelly and him retiring 15 years ago. I never expected the Bills to go this long without getting some sort of good quarterback. They've missed on so many and it's no surprise that they have missed the playoffs 12 years in a row. Look what Manning has done to energize an entire city and region, don't you think an elite franchise QB could the same for Buffalo? It did in the early 90s with Kelly as the Bills were one of the best teams in the NFL and went to 4 straight Super Bowls. I heard on the Colin Cowherd show that the Bears have made something like 17 different starting quarterbacks since Peyton broke into the league in 1998. I think he said Miami has had 15 or 16. Manning had not missed a single game from 1998 to 2010, 208 consecutive starts, only behind Brett Favre's record of 297 consecutive starts. His durability especially after taking a beating in his last few years is amazing.

Being a Bills fan, I have to say I have no sympathy for Colts fans. You had 14 amazing years with Manning, winning a Super Bowl, and now you get Andrew Luck. There's a chance of you possibly having 25-30 years of awesome quarterbacking. You even got a Super Bowl in your city. You have a new stadium. Our stadium is old and dilapidated. I like it but it doesn't compete with the new stadiums around the league. Did I mention we don't have a quarterback nor having a possible franchise QB fall into our laps like you guys did after a horrible season? It's like winning the lottery, living it up for 14 years and blowing it all only to win the lottery once again. If they aren't in the position to draft Luck, I believe the Colts keep him. Luck is the no-brainer move. You might take a step backwards but let's face it, you're already backwards after Manning was out. Take a step back now so that you will take many steps forward in the not to distant future. For those of you who are mad and/or an Andrew Luck hater, how about not having any good quarterback for over a decade and being irrelevant?

Colt fans, you've known since last Sept. this was happening so don't act all surprised. This wasn't like Lebron James telling Cleveland he was leaving to Miami on a prime time television special on ESPN. As for Manning, he will continue to rack in the dough and for the first time in his career, he will choose where he wants to go and possibly win another Super Bowl. He will have the chance to energize another city much like the way he did in Indy whether it's Miami, Arizona, Washington, or wherever. Jersey sales and revenue will continue to grow. Another team that was downtrodden will be more relevant and that's good for the league. Manning's not retired he will still play.