Free Agency Frenzy

With the lockout finally over it has already been a busy week in the NFL. Deals are still going off left, right and centre as the race to be ready for the upcoming season reaches fever pitch.

One of the hottest topics at the moment is which quarterback will end up where. At the start of the week we had at least 10 quarterbacks with an uncertain future, now with the latest deal it looks like only Vince Young, Marc Bulger and Kyle Orton are still missing a new home.

The week started with a bang when Seattle Seahawks snapped up Tarvaris Jackson, and that marked the end of Matt Hasselbeck’s long career with the Seahawks, as he moved to pastures new in Tennessee. Palmer looks like he is set to retire, and that has prompted the Bengals to bring in long time Oakland Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. Despite this move it still looks like the Bengals have a very long and unrewarding season ahead of them. This was amplified with the departure of top receiver Chad Ochocinco.

Donovan McNabb was the next to hit the headlines when he sealed a move to the Minnesota Vikings. The long-time Eagles QB had made it abundantly clear he was unhappy in Washington and now looks set to play a pivotal role in the mentoring of Christian Ponder.

Amongst all this mayhem, Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart joined the Houston Texans in what will surely be a back-up role to Matt Schaub. Look out for Schaub this season as it looks like the Texans might just make a significant push to knock the colts off their high horse.

Lastly, one of the most speculated moves during the lockout was finalised when the Eagles dealt Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals, in exchange for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second round pick. Personally I can’t help but think that the Philadelphia Eagles got a great deal out of the Kolb trade, the only issue is that it leaves them thin in the quarterback department. That brings me to my next topic.

The Titans have recently released Vince Young, making him the hottest quarterback available at the moment, with Kyle Orton looking like he will join Reggie Bush in Miami.

So who would be most suited to Young? Well, he has recently been linked as the ideal candidate to back-up Michael Vick in Philly. Both players have a similar playing style – with a strong arm, and the ability to scramble when needed. Alternatively, I could see Young being added to the Washington Redskins’ roster to beef up the competition under center.

It seems obvious at the moment that the Redskins are in a state of emergency. They’ve just lost DT Albert Haynesworth to the Patriots and since McNabb’s departure they have been left with two far from proven quarterbacks on their roster. Looking at their stats from previous seasons makes worrying reading. Both John Beck and Rex Grossman have thrown far too many interceptions during their limited playing time – a massive cause for concern that needs addressing ahead of pre-season.

That leaves Marc Bulger. Bulger has had a far from illustrious past three seasons and currently looks most likely to drop out of the league after 10 seasons. He could, however, still find himself a back-up role, but it seems unlikely having missed most of the quarterback rush so far.

It will be interesting to see which of these quarterback moves contributes to the most success come the regular season on September 8.

An Interesting Fact

With the upcoming Champions League final just a day away I started looking at facts about the matches. This then prompted me to look further into stats within the NFL, especially the Super Bowl. One of the facts that interested me the most was that so far if a team returns an interception for a touchdown at the Super Bowl, they have been the winning side proving that a sturdy defence can also win championships.

With further researching I stumbled across a fact that stated certain footballers have won the Champions League with different clubs. Clarence Seedorf was the first player to win the trophy with 3 different clubs, AC Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax.

I wondered whether this had then ever happened in the NFL. Most interestingly enough I discovered that no Quarterback has ever won a Super Bowl ring twice, with different teams and as a starter. It has however been done as a starter and backup quarterback. Kurt Warner was the closest in 2009 with the Cardinals. He had previously won a Super Bowl with the Rams narrowly when the Titans fell short on the one yard line in the dying seconds of the Bowl in 2000.

It seems that unlike football, most Quarterbacks stay very loyal with their teams. I wonder if this record will ever be achieved and if it is, by whom?