Drama queen Dwight Howard generated quite a bit of attention yesterday as contradictory reports surfaced as to whether he would stay in Orlando through next season. Now it looks like he’s staying, but who knows.
Dwight Howard informed Orlando Magic management late Wednesday night that he wants to stay with the team through next season and will not opt out of his contract, according to sources close to the situation.
Howard plans to sign a waiver of the early termination option in his contract Thursday morning. Until both Howard and his agent sign the waiver, the Magic will assume he is not staying and go ahead with their plans to trade him before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline, sources said.
By signing the waiver, Howard would remain under contract with the Magic through the 2012-2013 season.
Of course this means nothing until Howard signs the paperwork Anything can still happen.
The NFL announced that the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins will each be docked millions of dollars for taking advantage of the uncapped 2010 year. Both teams front-loaded contracts in 2010 because there was no salary cap, giving them a “competitive advantage” over the other teams. They played a game of high stakes poker with the league office and lost.
The Cowboys will lose $10 million and the Redskins will lose $36 million from the projected $120.6 million salary cap, announced at the start of the football year. All teams were warned not to take advantage of the uncapped scenario but it appears two teams did not take heed of that notice. The two teams are able to spread the cap reduction over the next two years, or take it all this year.
It’s believed that large contracts given to Albert Haynesworth, who no longer plays for the Redskins, and Miles Austin, who still plays for the Cowboys, triggered this penalty.
Several teams benefited from this review because both teams are in the NFC North division. The Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, who won the Super Bowl last year, are the other two teams and look to benefit from their rivals’ cap reduction.
It remains to be seen how this will affect the Redskins, who recently traded three first round draft picks and a second round draft pick with the Rams for the presumed rights to draft Robert Griffin III. It will probably be difficult for the Redskins to participate in the free agency market to attract quality players to put around RG3, but that’s what front offices are paid to do – make do with what little resources you have. As for the Cowboys, they aren’t faced with as many challenges but it’s never good to lose cap space.
The remaining teams in the league will also benefit from this reduction because the $46 million will be distributed across the remaining teams, with the exception of New Orleans and Oakland. It’s believed that New Orleans won’t get an estimated $1.6 million cap space because of the bounty program and it’s unclear why Oakland isn’t involved.
Jay Glazer is reporting on Twitter that the Miami Dolphins have traded Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears for two 3rd round draft picks. This is huge news for Jay Cutler and the Bears, and many are speculating that the Dolphins are clearing out Marshall to make room for Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne. It also impacts the Vincent Jackson sweepstakes. We’ll see . . .
In my opinion, Griffin’s speed doesn’t enhance his draft stock. It damages it.
I am not a Robert Griffin hater. I love RG3. In all likelihood, he will be my favorite NFL player next season. He could quickly become my favorite active athlete, ahead of Tiger Woods, Ray Lewis and Jeff George (has yet to file his retirement paperwork).
But I’m worried about Griffin. He’s blessed with too many tools. Oftentimes, the greatest athletes are physically limited, which strengthens their focus. Bill Russell could never match Wilt Chamberlain’s size and limitless athleticism. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson weren’t the greatest leapers or the quickest on their feet.
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are relatively immobile. They play from the pocket because they have no choice. They mastered the art of playing from the pocket because they had no other choice.
NFL games are won most consistently by quarterbacks who play from the pocket. If a quarterback leaves the pocket, he’s going to get hit. If a quarterback gets hit regularly, he’s going to get hurt. If a franchise quarterback gets injured, his team has little chance of winning the Super Bowl.
NFL teams are looking for the next Manning or Brady. Or the next Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger. A little mobility is good, especially if the quarterback moves in the pocket in an effort to throw downfield. Rodgers and Big Ben are terrific at moving to throw. Is that how Griffin will use his athleticism?
Or does Griffin have so much speed that he’ll channel Michael Vick?
Whitlock goes on to recount Vick’s early problems as he relied too much on his speed and athleticism. Athletes like Steve Young had to learn how to stay in the pocket.
Whitlock basically sums up the primary reason why Andrew Luck is rated higher than RG3, even as some think RG3 has more upside. It’s a risk/reward analysis. Luck has shown that he can win strictly as a pocket passer, using his athleticism only when needed.
Can RG3 learn to play that way? Of course he can. But just because he has the aptitude and temperament to learn doesn’t guarantee success. Luck isn’t guaranteed success either, but we’ve seen him operate consistently from the pocket, so there’s less risk.
Ever since his record-shattering game against the Lions at the end of the 2011 season, Matt Flynn has been a hot topic. He isn’t getting quite as much press as RG3 (who is, other than Jeremy Lin?), but he’s still one of the key pieces in what will be one of the wildest offseasons in NFL history.
Today we learned that the Green Bay Packers have let Flynn become an unrestricted free agent by not using the franchise tag on him as many had speculated. It was the right call. Flynn will get plenty of attention as a free agent, but as a signed player with a one-year contract in the neighborhood of $14 million, the path to obtaining Flynn would end up being much tougher for many teams.
If you watch the video above, you’ll see that some of Flynn’s eye-pooping stats from that game were created by the great Packer playmakers. One of his six touchdowns resulted from a simple screen pass that went for around 80 yards. Yet you’ll also see some great passes from Flynn as well. Is he a risk with only two pro starts under his belt? Of course he is. Is he potentially a system quarterback? Sure. But he learned that offense from the best, and he seems to have all the intangibles, so a West Coast Offense team like Cleveland could plug him in right away.
Who knows where he’ll end up, but he and Peyton Manning will have a huge impact on the future of a lot of teams, as their signings will also impact the market for Robert Griffin III, which will then impact where the rest of the college quarterbacks go in the draft. Betting NFL games will be very interesting at the beginning of next season, as we’ll have quite a few new quarterbacks, along with veterans like Manning offering up plenty of questions as you browse the lines and check on your sportsbook reviews.
It all probably starts with the Miami Dolphins. This might be the perfect fit for Matt Flynn as they now have his former offensive coordinator, Joe Philbin, as the new head coach. Yet their owner seems intent on becoming the next Daniel Snyder, so rumors are circulating about Miami going after Peyton Manning. And then of course we have the real Mr. Snyder to account for as the Redskins are rumored to be hot for RG3.
Who knows how all of this plays out, but with Flynn becoming a free agent and Manning sure to follow, it’s way too soon to guess what will happen in the draft.
