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NFL Offseason 2012 – Part I: Overview

February 10, 2012 by peteydeez 3 Comments

The great thing about the NFL is that it never stops. Even after the Giants thrilling Super Bowl victory, there are still many headlines and many things to look forward to from a fans perspective.

Also, as if the NFL needed any more marketing power, for the 16th straight year 5 different teams made the playoffs. Parity is at an all-time high in the NFL and it starts all over again with free agency and the NFL draft.

It really is the best sport in the world.

Now to the NFL Offseason Headlines!

Peyton Manning:

Regardless if he gets cut or stays with the Colts, Manning will be the top headline this offseason. It looks more like Manning will be cut by the Colts. If that does happen, this will be the first time ever in my opinion, that a quarterback of his caliber will be on the open market.

The quarterback position is at a premium in the NFL, you NEED great quarterback play to win the super bowl. What makes this so intriguing is Manning’s injury. It is no secret Manning is a preparation fanatic which is what has made him so great over his hall-of-fame career.

Manning has not practiced for a year, than you add the possibility of a new team with players he does not have timing with and you get one of the biggest risk or reward free agents in NFL history.

For more on where Peyton Manning will play, check out my article exclusively talking about it.

Free Agency:

There are many free agents that can improve their team and can be the addition to make them a playoff/championship caliber team.

Besides Peyton Manning, another quarterback that will be highly pursued is Matt Flynn.

Flynn has looked good in Green Bay and has made the most of his playing-time opportunities. Flynn capped his career in Green Bay with a record-setting performance against the Detroit Lions in Week 17.

Flynn’s box score against Detroit: 31/44, 480 yards, 6 TD’s and 1 INT.

Setting the passing touchdowns record in a game is a pretty good way to go out I would assume?

Other quarterbacks that could make noise in the open market:

Kyle Orton and Alex Smith

Drew Brees is also a free agent, but I find it almost impossible seeing him leave New Orleans.

Wide Receivers:

There is an abundance of talent here and this is where I believe teams can really improve themselves. The NFL is a passing league now, so having a great receiving core is a must-have.

The Free Agent list includes:

Vincent Jackson, DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker, Marques Colston, Reggie Wayne, Dwayne Bowe, Stevie Johnson, Brandon Llyod, Pierre Garcon, Robert Meachem, Mike Wallace (Restricted), Laurent Robinson, and Mario Manningham.

Pretty solid group?

Mike Wallace can be signed if the Steelers do not match the offer given by the other team.

The defensive side includes players such as:

Mario Williams, Robert Mathis, D’Qwell Jackson, Curtis Lofton, Anthony Spencer, Stephen Tulloch, Brent Grimes, Carlos Rogers, Cortland Fineegan, LaRon Landry, Dashon Goldson, and Tyvon Branch.

There are many above average free agents in the 2012 class, which will your team sign?

The NFL Draft:

Last but not least, the NFL Draft.

This is my favorite of all the offseason activities.

The pre-combine story lines of the draft are headed by two quarterbacks.

Andrew Luck (Stanford) and Robert Griffin III (Baylor).

Both quarterbacks posses the talents to succeed at the NFL level.

As for Luck, it is set in stone where he is going which is #1 to the Colts. However, “RG3″ situation is much more complex. The Rams hold the #2 pick and are in a great spot to trade out and acquire more picks from other teams in order to draft Robert Griffin III.

The draft will have suspense and excitement early and often, look for teams to try to trade up to get Robert Griffin and look for the Patriots to be very aggressive they have two 1st and 2nd round picks, if they wish to continue their dominance they MUST hit with these picks.

This draft class has everything.

Top-tier quarterback prospects, great offensive and defensive line prospects, great receiver and cornerback prospects, this is a MUST SEE for any football fan.

Coming Soon:

My Draft Guides for your favorite team, stay tuned!

Part II: Quarterbacks

Part III: Running Backs

Filed under NFL, Sports Tagged with NFL, nfl draft 2012, NFL Free Agency 2012, NFL Offseason 2012, peyton manning

Peyton Manning is Retiring? According to Who?

January 18, 2012 by breakinbadd 1 Comment

Is Peyton Manning retiring?

After all of the talk about where he will end up in 2012, Peyton Manning is going to retire?

Who exactly said that Peyton Manning will retire?

American Actor Rob Lowe.

He recently tweeted: “Hearing my fave, #18 Peyton Manning will not return to #NFL. Wow. #Colts.”

How would Rob Lowe have this information before any RELEVANT NFL SOURCES?

The only guess is that he got this information straight from Peyton manning, or he is completely making it up. Rob Lowe has been seen on the sidelines of multiple Indianapolis Colts games because he was invited by Peyton Manning himself. They are supposedly good friends and keep in touch often. Colts owner Jim Irsay also seems to be in contact with Rob Lowe occasionally on Twitter.

American actor Rob Lowe said that Peyton Manning will retire

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Archie Manning said this is false. Mortensen’s twitter reads: “Archie Manning laughed when he heard @RobLowe said Peyton will retire, “Noooo…he ain’t retiring. I think he would’ve told me.”

So let’s forget what the source is for this breaking news and who is saying what, and let’s think logically.

Does Peyton Manning retiring actually make sense?

For a Colt fan, it doesn’t make sense at all. Peyton Manning is the savior of Indianapolis (since Reggie Miller retired) and he wouldn’t just get up and leave his loyal fans like that.

Although, for Peyton Manning, retiring might make a lot of sense. Neck injuries are very serious, especially after having multiple surgeries on it. Even more serious is nerve damage, which Manning has in his neck. I’m sure the word “Paralyzed” has crossed Peyton Manning’s mind a lot these past couple of years.

I know, Peyton Manning rarely gets sacked or hit hard because he gives himself up, but one nice hit can do it. This risk is no longer worth it for Manning considering his own life, and now his twin children.

On March 31st of last year, Peyton Manning and wife Ashley welcomed their son Marshall Williams, and daughter Mosley Thomson into the world. Now that he is a father, I am sure retiring has crossed his mind a lot. Peyton Manning wants to raise his children and also wants his children to have a strong father figure. Taking these stupid risks of potential life threatening injuries can easily leave his children without this. I’m sure one of Peyton’s dreams is to train his son to become an amazing football player (and I can’t wait to see it).

Peyton Manning and Wife Ashley Manning are parents of twins

If I had to guess, I would say the Manning family is in good shape financially and their children are set for life. At this point, it’s not about money, it is simply about how much this guy loves the game and his team.

I’m sure everyone sees how much Peyton Manning loves football, but every good thing has to come to an end at some point.

In my opinion, I don’t see him leaving the NFL at all. He has the perfect personality and talent to become a Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator or even NFL Analyst.

Now it is Eli’s time to come out from behind Peyton and show the world that he is an Elite Quarterback. If Peyton Manning retires or not, he will be remembered as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play.

So for Rob Lowe, whether he heard this news in WAYNE’S WORLD or took Austin Powers Time Machine to the future, we won’t know the truth until the words come out of Peyton Manning’s mouth.