MATT FLYNN
Former team: Green Bay Packers
Current team: Seattle Seahawks
Terms: $26 million/3 years; $10 million guaranteed
Impact on former team: The Packers have, arguably, the best quarterback in the NFL, certainly top five, in Aaron Rodgers. Matt Flynn has filled in almost seamlessly during the limited opportunities he has had. The Packers need to groom another highly reliable backup.
Impact on current team: The sample size of Flynn’s NFL work is very limited, but what little exists is extremely impressive. Flynn set a Packers team record with 480 passing yards and 6 touchdown passes in Week 17 of the 2011 NFL season on January 1, 2012.
The Seahawks allowed their long time starter, Matt Hasselbeck, who led the Seahawks to Super Bowl XL, to leave the team in free agency in 2011. Hasselbeck was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson (3,091 pass yds., 14 TD, 13 INT, 60% comp.), who as “okay” in leading the team to a 7-9 record. Flynn offers upside and the Seahawks are counting on that upside.
| Get ready to trade that winter gear for rain boots, Matt. 3 |
ALEX SMITH
Former team: San Francisco 49ers
Current team: San Francisco 49ers
Terms: $24 million/3 years; $9 million guaranteed
Impact on former team: The former team and current team are the same, but flirtations with Peyton Manning by the 49ers threatened to end the relationship between Smith and the 49ers. Smith was reportedly negotiating with the Miami Dolphins while the 49ers were attempting to woo Manning.
Impact on current team: There may be some hurt feelings on the part of Smith due to the team’s exploration into replacing Smith with Peyton Manning. Smith knows that he needs to brush this off quickly and get down to business. Smith has a breakthrough year in 2011 under the tutelage of Head Coach and former standout NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh. He became more efficient, and made far fewer mistakes.
The result was that the 49ers were one score away from reaching the Super Bowl last year. Smith needs to come in, continue grinding, and continue to focus on improving in order to give the 49ers a chance to take the next step in 2012.
| Smith can now pick up where he left off last year. 2 |
PEYTON MANNING
Former team: Indianapolis Colts
Current team: Denver Broncos
Terms: $96 million/5 years; $18 million - $58 million in guarantees
Impact on former team: Manning is the modern Colts franchise. He is the face, spirit, heart and soul of the team and has been since 1998. Fans, understandably, reacted to his release like it was a death.
The reason Manning was released is because he has no more than five years left of his career (probably three at a high level) and he is coming off of four neck surgeries. His 2012 salary would have blown the Colts’ salary cap to bits. The Colts have the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft with Stanford’s Andrew Luck available for less than half of the annual cost of Manning. Luck is a player whose long-term potential, as evaluated by nearly every NFL college scout, is comparable that of Manning’s career accomplishments.
The short term impact of this move will depend entirely upon Luck’s initial success in Indianapolis.
Impact on current team: The Denver Broncos won their division and advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team expected by many to be in the AFC Championship game and possibly the Super Bowl, with Tim Tebow at quarterback. Tebow was the least accurate passer in the NFL last year. What do you think will happen with a future Hall of Famer whose absence transformed a 10-6 division title winning colts team into a 2-14 train wreck with the worst record in the NFL?
1 |
Former team: Denver Broncos
Current team: New York Jets
Terms: Tebow and a 7th round pick traded to the Jets in exchange for a 4th and a 6th round pick.
Impact on former team: The day that the news of the Petyon Manning decision broke, the Hat Trick ran a piece describing how the jettisoned quarterback, Tim Tebow (not Manning) was the hotter trend on Twitter. That tend did not cool off much in the coming days. Speculation was rampant over where Tebow would play next year. The Tebow Mania is gone from Denver and is now the Jets blessing/curse to manage. Strictly from a football standpoint, the Broncos got much better and more stable at quarterback.
Impact on current team: Head Coach Rex Ryan’s New York Jets were already the greatest circus since the Ringling Brothers. Tebow’s arrival has enabled Ryan’s Jets to pass Ringling.
This is either going to be really good or really bad. Tebow is a great football player and athlete who can run well and be inserted into a number of diverse game situations. The problem is that current Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has endured his share of close public scrutiny during his three years with the Jets, now has to contend with a fan base that may start screaming for Tebow as soon as the Jets hit some hard times in the 2012 season.
On the other hand, Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sporano like to run the Wildcat formation, which fits Tebow’s skill set well. In addition, Tebow has proven he can help win games in the NFL and is an upgrade to the Jets’ backup QB position. Time will tell. I hope Tebow can handle it. New York is a L..O..N..G way from Gainesville, Florida, where he played his college ball.
| Sanchez: You don't have a PRAYER of taking my job! Tebow: Ehhh...I think I do. 4 |
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1) Image from http://sports.yahoo.com
2) Image from www.allbayareasports.com
3) Image from www.startribune.com
4) Image from www.boston.com
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