Pneumonic

Sheppard is a dud. Joselio Hanson passed Lito on the Eagles' depth chart last year for crying out loud!

Joselio Hanson passed Lito Sheppard on the Eagles' depth chart last year for crying out loud! Anything any team pays (in picks or in money) Lito is too much!

Because of the Pioli connection, KC is the most logical landing spot for Cassel so who knows.

Letting players leave is part of the biz. You have no choice when you are capped as the league is. The key is being able to replace those players by coaching up the youngsters. The best franchises have coaching staffs in place that can do this and don't suffer from losing top players who are allowed to leave. Take the Pats for example. They have allowed Bledsoe, Milloy, Law, Samuel, McGinest, Branch, and Vinatieri to all leave yet they continued on in stride because they had superior people in place to coach up the replacements.

The Pats actually had a closer pass:rush ratio last year than the Panther did. Panthers: Pass attempts: 504 Rush attempts: 414 Patriots: Pass attempts: 534 Rush attempts: 513

Not so sure Delhomme was working with lessor talent as you suggest. Smith, Muhammad, Williams, Stewart, Gross are no slouch players and, outside of Moss and Welker, who are the top players that Cassel had to work with? Sammy Morris? Ben Watson? Jabbar Gaffney? When Cassel played against the Cards in December he passed for 350 yards and 3 TD's and no picks. Delhomme's stats against the Cards 3 weeks later ...... 200 yards, and 5 picks.

The Panthers are in suspect cap shape. Should they re-sign Gross as expected, it's believed they'll have to cut players in order to fit Peppers in under the cap should they tag him. Obviously the Panthers aren't in great shape to carry a franchised DE at all never mind one that doesn't want to be there. Peppers and his agent know this which is why they have stated that they will not sign a long term deal unless it's with a specific few teams! The Panthers are backed into a corner right now and don't have many options. Delhomme hasn't been anything special since the 04 season. His meltdown in the recent playoffs simply cemented this fact. I mean, in just his first season on the job - and just 16 starts completed since high school - Cassel put up better numbers than Delhomme did in all but one of his NFL seasons (that '04 tilt). I never said they should cut Delhomme *. They overpaid him and now have to face those consequences. But, at this stage of his career, Jake is nothing more than a viable backup or average starter. The Panthers are facing the very likely possibility of losing their best player in Peppers for nothing more than a compensation pick next year. If they can end up with Cassel for Peppers I think the Panthers would jump for joy. The Pats might just wait for Peppers to become available with no compensation attached to him however! * though Adam Schefter reports that releasing Delhomme will create $6.325 million in cap room for the Panthers

Peppers has made it abundantly clear that if he's tagged he no longer wishes to play for the Panthers. Not sure it makes sense to keep a disgruntled DE around who is eating up $10M worth of cap dollars! Delhomme's putrid, 5 INT performance in the playoffs is all that Panthers management sees right now where their QB is concerned. I can't imagine they like what they see.

Perhaps but if he takes them to 11-5 as Cassel did then I imagine they'd be happy.

Given Peppers' particular team demands the Panthers might not have much choice in the matter. Not sure about Brohm but I think Cassel is a much better option than Delhomme at this stage for them.

I'm sure they already have Cassel's replacement prepped and ready to go if need be.

According to an ex teammate of Peppers the AFC team is the Patriots. Radio talk in Carolina has the Pats and Panthers swapping Cassel for Peppers.

There is no such thing as best QB because there are too many variable's involved. I think it's easier to split things up into categories that detail those variables and add em up afterward to declare victor. I'd include categories such as as leadership, arm strength, clutch play, game management, release, pocket presence, ability to avoid a sack, etc. My guess is most people would have different QB's excelling in each of these categories.

Of course it is a team game but those who disregard the importance of a top QB in this league must not watch the same football games that I do. This is indeed a QB driven league and teams without a top QB will go years, decades even, without even sniffing a shot at winning anything of significance. Sure there are exceptions but in today's NFL it's all about the QB position .... and defense.

It's maximizing ones return on their investment. Yes, it could be from an insurance (in case Brady can't go to start the next season) perspective but, more than likely, it's being done to maximize their value out of their investment in Cassel. Something the Patriots are as good as any team in the league at doing.

That's not what history (at least recent) shows. For most every unsuccessful team in the sal ca era the common denominator is poor QB play. And the reasons are obvious. Your QB touches the ball on every single play on offense so therefore has the greatest impact on success (or failure) on that side of the ball. Further, getting a top QB is the single toughest chore facing a NFL franchise. Getting a stud OL isn't going to make a lousy QB suddenly good. If it were so then all of those crappy franchises over the years that suffered with lousy QB play would simply have drafted and/or signed top OL and be finished with the losing. Now, don't get me wrong, a top OL can improve upon a QB's performance but it won't polish a QB turd (or orange cone) into a jewel.

Curious, do you see any team drafting a QB in the top 5 this April and then paying him franchise money without having taken even a snap in the NFL? If you do (and most experts have QB Stafford going first or at least top 3 in this draft) then that same team would be a viable candidate to trade for Cassel and pay him huge money.

Sure Cassel comes with risks (some people have spoken about previously) but, in the context of being compared to Sanchez and Stafford, I would be shocked if any GM in the league didn't prefer Cassel to any of them rookies. Seeing as how one of either QB is being projected to go 1st overall, it should surprise no one that that team might rather give up that pick for Cassel instead of taking one of these rookie QB's with the pick.

The union only has a beef with the team doing the tagging, that they are in compliance with the terms of the CBA that specifies that they act in good faith to employ tagged player at the franchise tender amount. IOW, this sets the bar for a long term extension given to a tagged player by the team that has tagged him. If the Pats wish to retain Cassel and give him a long terms deal than they have to act in good faith by offering him a deal that pays him the franchise amount over that deal. Once traded, the union can't do jack as it's the market, and not the players union, which sets player contract value. Cassel will get whatever some team is willing to pay him.

I'm simply contesting your opinion that the Patriots offense is chalk full of stars such that they are so much better than Atlanta's. Outside of Moss and Welker ......... Regardless of how you wish to analyze things, no rookie QB available in this years draft is as sure a thing as Cassel is. Not sure why you can't see this as so. Not sure why you are bringing up the NFLPA and underpaying Cassel. I believe the team that acquires Cassel will pay him very handsomely. Certainly enough that the NFLPA won't be concerned. Not that they could do anything about it anyhow.

But the greatest offense in history last year was the greatest offense in history because it was lead by perhaps the greatest QB in history. Inject Cassel in place of Brady and you have exactly two stud players - Moss and Welker - on that Patriots offense. Heck, Sammie Morris laid claim to being their top RB for crying out loud! Isn't showing you can "beat average to bad defenses" better than not showing you can beat any NFL defense? I mean Cassel put up very good numbers and showed continued improvement throughout the year in doing so. He has at least as much skill, talent and upside as any QB in this years draft does but he comes already experienced and proven to be a high quality NFL starter. If placed back in this years draft Cassel would surely be rated as the top QB available. Now teams draft such QB's very early in round 1 each year in the NFL draft. And they do knowing full well that it will cost them franchise type $ to sign the guy. And they do so knowing full well that said QB is totally unproven and probably will require multiple years to pay dividends. Yet, teams froth at the mouth for a chance to sign a young, franchise caliber QB. Well, teams have a chance to perhaps acquire a young, franchise caliber QB by the name Matt Cassel. Only thing is this young, franchise QB comes with a ready resume of proven ability to perform at the NFL level on Sunday's. Some desperate and QB needy team will have no problems shelling out franchise $ for a young, proven capable QB who is just hitting his prime so I don't see why the NFLPA is going to be upset.

Atlanta was able to provide Ryan with not only one of the best rushing attacks in the league but also with an OL that barely let the opposition lay their hands on him. I wouldn't exactly say that Ryan was without competant supporting players on offense. You have it backwards. The second Cassel signs his tender he's under contract to the Pats and they can do whatever they wish with him. It's when Cassel isn't under contract to them (ie when he hasn't signed the tag tender) that they can't trade him. They can, however, choose not to match an offer some team might give to Cassel, and receive two 1st rounds picks as compensation. By all accounts the Pats have more than enough money to absorb the tag amount into their salary cap structure so that's not a problem for them.

Here are the stat lines of two young and impressive first time NFL starters last year. Stats Comp Att Pct Att/G Yds Avg Yds/G TD Int 1st 1st% Lng 20+ 40+ Sck Rate QB1 265 434 61.1 27.1 3,440 7.9 215.0 16 11 157 36.2 70T 45 9 17 87.7 QB2 327 516 63.4 32.2 3,693 7.2 230.8 21 11 182 35.3 76T 37 6 47 89.4 The QB1 line belongs to the NFL's rookie of the year. A QB that every QB needy team in the NFL would thankfully give up their next 2 or 3 first round picks for if given the opportunity. The QB2 line belongs to the QB who, until he was thrust into action in game 1 of last year, had not taken a starting snap in a football game since he was in high school. Answer this for me if you would. Would you call QB1 - Matt Ryan - an average QB? Think about your answer with the knowledge that QB2 - Matt Cassel - had better/comparable stats than Ryan did last year. And then asked yourself how hot a commodity do you think a Matt Ryan type player would be if he were available this offseason! Further, on the subject of value. Cassel's value exists at the intersection of the two most horrifying financial realities of the NFL game. One is that your entire annual investment in a team and a coaching staff is useless without a good quarterback. The other is that the easiest way to cripple a franchise for five or six years is to make a massive investment in a young quarterback who can't play and doesn't pan out. Look no further than this franchise since Jimbo retired and the countless scores of other NFL franchises that have toiled in mediocrity because they haven't been able to find even a competent starting QB. A good young quarterback just entering his prime is the most valuable commodity there is in this sport. Even going beyond the on-the-field value, a guy like Cassel who has proven that he can be a leader in the locker room and handle the enormous public relations responsibilities inherent in the job is an invaluable commodity. Now tell me if you are team desperate for such a player what QB are you going to pin your franchises hopes on? One of the old, recycled QB's that will become available, a college junior who's being compared to Matt Hasselbeck and who's staring at being the 1st overall pick come April, or the guy who posted better QB stats than the leagues rookie of the year did ?

Not sure how nor why you consider Cassel average at best? A seasoned and qualified GM such as Reese doesn't see it this way and nor do Cassel's stats this past season show him as average. As for a team not wanting to pay Cassel franchise money ...... desperate QB needy teams draft QB's at the top of round one almost every draft and have no problems paying that QB mega dollars. And that's for a totally untested QB who is as likely to bust out than thrive. At least with Cassel you have a known commodity who has demonstrated that he can lead his team and produce at the NFL level.

With so many teams in need of a QB all it's gonna take is for a couple of them to start a bidding frenzy. I would guess that whichever teams are seriously considering Stafford and Sanchez would be the likely candidates to start the frenzy. I can't imagine any team preferring either Stafford or Sanchez over Cassel. Pioli has never been a GM before so it's kinda unfair to Pioli to compare him to a GM who is as accomplished as Reese is.