6041

No they’re basically the worst. I’m looking forward to a GB-NE Super Bowl with a final score of 62-50 or something like that.

6042

I thought the general view was that Tebow’s failings (despite the Broncos backdoor playoff appearance) had become evident. If they manage to beat Pittsburgh it will likely be because of homefield and Steeler injuries, not because Tebow will do much. So I think that leaves the door open for the Broncos to at least demand Tebow improve in the offseason if he wants to keep the starting job.

6043

I think they will give Tebow a real off season and training camp as number one starter to see his improvement. The screwed up off season this past year because of the lockout and all that didn’t help anyone.

6044

One thing to keep in mind is that there aren’t a giant pile of QBs available to them for the taking. Their draft position is non-awesome, due to the part where they’re technically a playoff team, so it’s not like they’re considering Andrew Luck or whatever. Short of signing Matt Flynn, their options for genuinely promising young QBs are pretty limited anyway.

Getting a veteran/journeyman QB to back up Tebow and to replace him when his sucking finally is obvious to even charitable observers is probably the best thing they can do whether or not they secretly think he stinks. Maybe Rex Grossman will be available.

I hadn’t realized Green Bay and New England not only have bad defenses, but statistically they’re the two “worst” in the league. (I’m open to contrarian analysis that questions the basic numbers.) I don’t watch many games but I like following the trends in the NFL.

They’re worst by yards allowed, but by scoring allowed, they’re middle of the pack. The key thing for the Packers is that they’re a turnover and blitz-centric defense, which means that they give up tons of yards when they lose the gamble, but stop drives dead when they win. It honestly doesn’t seem to be a 100% successful strategy, but it’s not as bad as the yardage totals make it look.

6045

If the packers and patriots end up in the Super Bowl and you happen to be in Vegas, bet the over. I would not be surprised if those two defenses allowed over 80 points total for the game.

6046

It seemed to hurt defenses more than offenses, at least at the beginning of the season, although for a young-ish QB like Tebow, it may have mattered more.

I don’t really know how NFL practice works, but I’m guessing he probably didn’t get as much practice period, given that he wasn’t going to be the starter. For instance, would they work on his passing as much as a backup as they would as a starter, instead of just playing to his strengths?

Regardless, I can’t imagine them going any way other than Tebow start, veteran backup as their primary plan.

6047

Interesting, so the only difference between Cincinnati and New England is the schedule. I wonder what happens when two winning teams who can’t beat a winning team play each other. Vortex? Of course, for Cincinnati to get to New England they would have to beat a winning team, thus making their victory assured.

6048

The problem with Tebow, though, is that what he can do well right now requires a committment to an offensive approach that only other somewhat similarly skilled QBs can handle. If Tebow had gotten hurt, the Broncos would have been totally hosed throwing Brady Quinn in as a replacement. So they don’t need a veteran as much as they need someone who can handle the option.

6049

Other rookies did all right this year. I think Tebow has other weird issues that may not be fixed by training camp. It’s not just throwing motion, and I’m not sure what exactly, but my gut tells me the offseason will only make him marginally better. Without some magic guru that can rebuild him physically and mentally, I wouldn’t expect a lot of change.

6050

I have to admit, working under the idea that the Colts are going to draft Luck and trade Manning (which makes a lot of sense but I know is far from guaranteed), I can’t help but wonder what Peyton might look like in a Dolphins uniform and what it would take to get him. There’s still a lot of nebulous info about his contract, and what you might have to give up to get him, not to mention the question of his health, but after this disaster of a year, it’s something I can fantasize about. :)

6051

I wish people would stop talking about Manning as if he’s going to be traded. Its not going to happen, period. That would be cap suicide by the Colts to give the guy his $28m, kicking in the rest of this contract, and then trade him. As if any team could take him as well.

He could end up somewhere else, but it won’t be via a trade, only if he is cut.

6052

I need someone to explain how Manning’s contract works, because I’ve seen all sorts of both conflicting and unsure commentary on the subject.

6053

The important part is that he’s due a giant ass roster bonus in the Feb-March timeframe. If he’s on a team under his current contract, he gets $28mn.

6054

And to add to that, when a player is traded any bonus money paid to that player counts against the old team’s cap. So they would either have to trade him before the bonus and the new team would pay the $28 million, or the Colts would have $28 million (probably more) of dead money counting against their cap for a player no longer on the roster. Neither is very likely.

6055

The other part is that if you trade a player under contract, the team takes a massive cap hit that year because of the pro-rated portion of the giant signing and other bonuses big contracts include. Normally signing bonuses are spread out evenly for the length of the contract. So, for example, if a player gets $28m as a roster bonus, but has four years left on the contract, that bonus counts as $7m/year against the cap. If you trade a player, all those pro-rates end and everything paid to the player has to reconciled that cap year.

So if they pay Manning that $28m and then trade him, their cap is hosed.

Edit: Shadarr beat me to it.

6056

Which he signed like what, a week before getting neck surgery?

6057

Can the Colts just cut him outright? Does that leave them on the hook for any money?

And is there a scenario where its advantageous to both the Colts and Manning to restructure his deal to make him easier to trade?

6058

Yes they can (with some cap implications, of course). Manning would be placed on waivers, presumably the 28mn bonus would prevent him from being picked up on waivers. At that point he’d be a free agent.

6059

Yes, they can always threaten to cut him to get him to rework his deal. Happens all the time. Not sure whether Peyton would go for it, though. He might rather get cut and choose who he signs with.

6060

He can apparently also agree to delay the bonus payout to some degree, which would allow the team to further evaluate his health. The due date on the $28m bonus is not set in stone. Supposedly Manning agreed to the big bonus next spring as a way to give the Colts an out if his neck issues turned out to be career ending.