Franken-QB

Throughout the years, the NFL has seen quite a few top notch quarterbacks. As each one has gone through his career, at some point or another he was called “one of the best in the game” or “one of the best to have ever played the game”. My question is what parts of which QB’s would you take to assemble the greatest QB to ever play?

There are many factors that make a great QB. For this discussion I narrowed it down to five. These traits are throwing accuracy, throwing power, feet, heart, staying power, and leadership. Because I believe staying power is important; for a QB to be thought about in this he must either be in the Hall of Fame or a guaranteed lock to make it when he is eligible.

Throwing Accuracy:
After narrowing this down to five, I came to the options of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Jim Kelly, Joe Montana, and Kurt Warner. While some might say that Kurt Warner isn’t a sure-fire Hall of Famer, I believe he is. Final choice: Kurt Warner. He wasn’t at his best every Sunday, but that man could hit any target. His 65.5% accuracy is also best of the bunch.

Throwing Power:
This category is a little harder to gauge. There aren’t many stats that actually keep track of this. I was able to quickly narrow this down however due the fact that there is only one man’s arm I wanted from the beginning. Brett Favre’s arm takes the prize.

Feet:
Looking through the QB’s I deemed best ever, this list came to Steve Young and Warren Moon. While I would be happy with either set of feet, I could not pass up Steve Young’s ability to “slip away” from a pass rusher.

Heart:
The heart of a QB shows on the field every Sunday. Will he sacrifice his body to make that one throw? Will he run for that last inch? John Elway, Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas, Jim Kelly, and Dan Fouts did. While Elway wasn’t known as the best man in the locker room, his helicopter twirl into the end zone to win his second Super Bowl earns him this spot.

Staying Power:
This one is easy; don’t miss a lot of games and play for a good number of years at a high level. A lot of the older players showed true grit in the game, and for that they make this list; Sammy Baugh, George Blanda, Len Dawson, Fran Tarkenton, and Bret Favre. While Bret Favre holds the record for consecutive games started, and he is a man’s man on the field, George Blanda played for 26 years in a time when the QB wasn’t nearly as protected as he is now.

Leadership:
A QB is supposed to be the leader on the field, after all, this is the only position that touches the football every down (except for the center, but there isn’t much decision-making there). Time after time, the team looks to the QB to make the right decisions so they can walk away victorious. To me, this spot must go to the best QB in NFL history: Joe Montana. There is no other QB who remained as calm and collected (“Cool Joe”), and time and again led his team to victory despite the odds.

If you feel that there are better QB’s for our “Franken-QB”, please let me know who, as well as why. The list of QB’s that I felt was worth choosing from is Troy Aikman, Sammy Baugh, George Blanda, Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady, Len Dawson, John Elway, Bret Favre, Dan Fouts, Otto Graham, Bob Griese, Paul Hornung, Sonny Jurgensen, Jim Kelly, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Warren Moon, Joe Namath, Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, Fran Tarkenton, Y.A Tittle, Johnny Unitas, Kurt Warner, and Steve Young.

The great escape - The odyssey of a star

When Mike Shanahan, then head coach of the Denver, Broncos' was fired and rookie Josh McDaniel's was hired to lead the Denver Bronco's back to the days of glory, many never thought that he would also bring turmoil to the once stable organization. Granted, there were past issues and drama. One stands up glaringly during the Reeves / Elway gate era. No team goes without and some might say as the league grows in popularity, the drama will grow in conjunction.

First was the absolute bungling of the Jay Cutler episode which was a true black eye on the newly found McDaniel's regime. All seemed lost with Bronco fans, losing their super star quarter back in a retaliatory move when McDaniel's went shopping around for another quarter back. Almost like shopping with your wife for a size 2 lingerie when your wife is a size 4. The only resolution for the fans, was the static ill performance of Jay Cutler in his new home. The pain quickly subsided when Cutler reverted to his Denver Broncos days and you could expect at minimum, 1 interception per game.

Now enters Brandon Marshall. Marshall, a talent unseen among NFL wide receivers also wanted out. But, no, no, no. McDaniel's new he couldn't lose his star receiver.... yet. Brandon Marshall continued throughout the season to bring more and more drama to the franchise. With sparks of nearly inhuman catches that were shortly erased by antics of a 5 year old, Brandon appears he might be getting his wish, finally.

With "voluntary" off season conditioning under way and restricted free agent tags being placed on players, Marshall appears to be making yet another statement for his dislike for his current head coach. Missing the off season conditioning and making a trip to Seattle, it now appears Marshall will be wearing the Pacific blue and neon green of the Seattle Seahawks.

Before, they were merely rumors but Seahawk GM John Schneider has talked with the Broncos and Marshall's agent Kennard McGuire and looks like there are steady contract negotiations as you read this opinion piece.

If, and probably more correct, when Marshall becomes a Seahawk, what effects will it have on both the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks? My personal opinion, this is a stellar move for at least the Denver Broncos. I'm not referring to losing an all star receiver, but merely the minutia Marshal brought to the locker room along with run in(s) with law enforcement. The Broncos will also be getting Seattle's first round draft pick, hopefully not used for a replacement receiver but more to fill the wholes of the defense which last year had much of a glimmer of a top 5 caliber defense.

For Marshall, I only see this working out well if Pete Caroll can find a good, no I mean great quarter back to feed this animal of a receiver. Many will say "Orton was able to get him the ball", but Denver at least was able to protect the marginal quarter back which allowed him to get the ball down the field.

I short, the Broncos need to NOT burn their draft pick and Seattle, well, they need to hope Marshall and grow up and they can maintain a good pass protection.

Pie, who doesn't want a piece!

Spring time is here. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and I really don’t care! What I do care about is the fact that football is back. No, they are not playing games yet, but they are working to build their team. Without the processes going on right now, the NFL would not have teams that go from bottom of the barrel to division winners in a year or two. This is a crucial part of the year.

So why doesn’t it feel like it should? Because we don’t know if we will have our beloved football next year, and that’s a feeling no fan should have to have.

Instead of enjoying all the FA signings, I have spent this offseason wondering what provisions are in their contracts to protect the parties involved if a lockout does occur.

Normally I would be looking at the draft and trying to figure out who I should draft myself on the cheap now to keep my team competitive in the future. This year’s draft is more about if it will be the last “big payday” for rookies before they finally implement a rookie wage scale.

To alleviate this I propose the following:

Give the owners the $12.5 million in operating expenses and then split the remainder based on revenue percentage. The owners take on a lot of risk and debt when they buy a team. A lot of the NFL franchises are valued over a billion dollars now. That’s a lot of money to pay off and they deserve to make a profit. That being said, I think 47.5% is fair.

The remainder of the income should go to the players, but not just the active ones. The league we all love was built by men’s men. The kind of guy you would be proud to represent your team, your country, your kind of friend. Let’s show them the respect they deserve and hold 10% of the funds for retired players that need it. This not only benefits those who have played in the past, but those who play now because they will not play forever. The stat that the NFLPA likes to say is that the average NFL career is four years. Why not plan for retirement now?

That leaves 42.5 for active players. This may seem like a huge reduction from the nearly 60% they receive now, but just hear me out. They are already preparing for retirement, and if they agree to a rookie wage scale then the money normally wasted on failed first rounder’s can instead go to established players. It’s an odd concept I know, but I say make them earn the money. Prove you are worth it and you will be paid. Decide to make bad choices and/or fail to physically and mentally prepare how an NFL player should and you will find yourself out of a job. Just like the rest of America.

How Sweed it is!

To be a star in today's NFL, you have to have speed, height and great hands. Two of Three of which Lima Lee Sweed, a 6'4" 220 pound out of Texas, drafted by the Pittsburg Steelers with their 22nd pick in the 2nd round has. But where Sweed lacks is where the money's made in the NFL. There receivers who are short, who are light but their advantage is their ability to catch the ball in the NFL.

Sweed's career as a Texas Longhorn made NFL scouts drool with the anticipation of what potential this kid could offer to their prospective teams. Sweed's junior year recorded 46 receptions for 801 years and 12 touchdowns. He also caught a a touchdown in 7 consecutive games, breaking former Longhorn Roy Williams' record for consecutive games with a touchdown reception.

Sweed's ability t take the ball away and out jump his defenders made him an ideal receiver for the NFL, however, things have gone as rosy as either Sweed or the Steelers had hoped.

Sweed started his rookie career on a high note against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first 2008 pre-season match up. Sweed led the team in receptions and yardage (3 for 23 yards) but quickly fell silent shortly after.

Is first regular season action came in week 7 at the expense of Dallas Baker who was injured allowing Sweed an opportunity. In that game, he went 1 for 11 yards. He finished the 2008 season with 6 catches for 64 yards with no touchdowns and 2 fumbles. Not very humbling, needless to say.

The start of Limas Sweed decline happened in the 2008 AFC championship game. An easy pass thrown his way which would have resulted in a touchdown, was dropped. Closer examination showed that Sweed eye's were looking at the score board, rather than the ball.

The 2009 training camp didn't offer any more promise, losing the 3rd wide out slot to Mike Wallas. Sweed entered the season as the 4th receiver, rarely playing in the first 3 games. Once he finally received playing time in week 3, he again dropped a pass that more than likely would have resulted in a Steelers touchdown.

Receiving little playing time , Sweed was placed on the teams injured reserve on December 21st with more speculation of what the true nature of the injury was. Some have speculated that Sweed is struggling with sever depression, however, this is only speculation.

I think, in order for Sweed to become the caliber receiver that he was as a Longhorn, he needs to be traded. Pittsburg spent allot to get this kid so they either want their money back or would rather have his talent waist on the sidelines.

I think there was to much pressure for the kid to be the next Terrell Owens or Andre Johnson and he could not handle the initial stigma that he wasn't at the caliber..... YET.

Patients and mentoring is the key here. This kid has amazing talent that is currently bottle away in a catacomb of mixed feelings. Given a fresh start, I could see a slow, but promising recovery for a career that had more than a shattered start.

Tim Tebow Redux - Will he be an impact player?

Tim Tebow had a fairly good showing at this year’s Pro Day held at the University of Florida with mixed reviews on his new throwing style in preparation for his new life as an NFL super star. At least that's how some may speculate while others refer to Tebow merely as a novelty.

One of Tebow's personal coaches predicts the NFL scouts will be very impressed.

"I think it's going to change some opinions," said Arizona State offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, one of many who have been working with Tebow to refine his throwing ability.

Tim Tebow's throwing motion looked a bit different during Wednesday's workout. Some described that his throw looked more fluid and that he throws the ball closer to his shoulder. His accuracy also looked solid.

Reporter Michael C. Wright tweeted about Tim Tebow's Pro Day performance and he wasn't overly impressed:"Looks like Tebow worked out one kink and developed another. There's still a small loop & now a bit of a pause in motion. Mechanical looking."

One of Tebow’s biggest flaws during his College career was that he overanalyzed his throwing motion and made repetitive changes, sometimes at the expense of his performance. Making such a drastic change for the Pro Day event gives some credence to speculators that this flaw will continue into his professional career.

Even with the mixed reviews, Tebow is getting allot of attention from potential future boss’s

In recent days, there has been some speculation that Shanahan, coach of the Washington Redskins is looking for a new gun in town. The Redskins are 1 of 5 teams that have scheduled a work out day with Tebow, the 6' 2", 234 pound quarterback to understand his abilities and to see his new throwing style and what impact he might be in the NFL.

This, on the heels of signing former Chicago backup quarterback Rex Grossman and the recent tendering of starting quarter back Jason Cambell.

Of course one of the issues Cambell had in Washington wasn’t solely a lack of talent, but lack of support in the run game or in his offensive line. Placing a Tebow in this same type of situation could be detrimental to a young quarter back (reference Mathew Stafford).

Tebow could be the perfect fit, however, in a Mike Shanahan style offense. He possesses great mobility and speed (2010 Combine results = 40 yard dash (4.72), Vertical Jump (38.5), Broad Jump (9′07″)) and the ability to break tackles when the pocket breaks down. Tebow also could provide the offensive leadership that the Redskins have lacked since the days of Gus Frerotte or even maybe further back of the days of Mark Rypien.

While many mock drafts have Tebow going in the early second round and Washington either picking up Bradford or even Jimmy Clausen, I just feel Mike Shanahan (the drafting guru that he is) will pick Tebow in the 4th for two specific reasons. 1st, Tebow fits Shanahan’s model the best and 2nd, Tebow will offer the Redskins more mobility in the pocket.

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