Pat Kirwan on Bentley and Brees

[spanky1]

In a recent article over at NFL.COM, he presents the reality of these two players in FA:

On Bentley: Does NO tag him......well if they do, they will be paying a Center/Guard as though he were a premier LT....if they don't, he becomes the hottest property in FA......he adds, how the heck do they replace him given the current state of affairs in New Orleans......who is going there in FA?

This is a very true dilemma.

On Brees: If SD aren't bluffing about not using either a franchise or transistion tag on him and he indeed becomes a FA, the whole QB scenario in FA and the draft gets altered.......teams needing a QB and who might have been looking at a Jay Cutler, might sign Brees and send the whole QB draft class for a fall.

Very interesting developments on the horizon.

BTW......franchise/transition tags must be placed on a player by Thursday of this week by 4:00 pm est.

 

[Shane]

San Diego is downright dumb if they dont tag Brees. He is by every definition a franchise QB.

 

[Skkorpion]

San Diego is downright dumb if they dont tag Brees. He is by every definition a franchise QB.

Within 2 years Philip Rivers will be better than Brees.

 

[Shane]

Within 2 years Philip Rivers will be better than Brees.

Thats a pretty bold prediction Skkorp. Rivers has set on the bench now for 2 full years and couldnt even sniff the starting line-up. We shall see.

 

[Russ Smith]

San Diego is downright dumb if they dont tag Brees. He is by every definition a franchise QB.

If they tag him again they have to pay a bonus above the tag amount, to a guy who has a shoulder injury.

I just saw Michael Smith on ESPN saying that Brees has made it known repeatedly he wants to be a Charger, and even if he does hit the market, he still might wind up a Charger. The problem is now they can't come to a deal because San Diego doesn't know yet how his shoulder will heal. If they let him go FA, and the shoulder heals, Smith feels they still may very well wind up signing him. He said it's quite clear if Brees hadn't hurt his shoulder, it was his job and Rivers was the backup or trade bait, Rivers didn't want to be the backup anymore, and Brees won't want to go back there again with Rivers as the backup either, they both want that deal over.

 

[kerouac9]

San Diego is downright dumb if they dont tag Brees. He is by every definition a franchise QB.

Really? Because I thought a "franchise QB" gets you out of the first round of the playoffs and keeps you from owning the #1 overall draft pick. And doesn't lose his job to Doug Flutie because of poor performance.

But maybe out definitions of "franchise QB" differ.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

San Diego is downright dumb if they dont tag Brees. He is by every definition a franchise QB.

I like Brees but he is not by "every definition" a franchise QB....(the key is the words in quotes, im not saying there is only one franchise QB in the NFL)

he wins, is a leader and is accurate but my definition of a franchise QB is a guy who is 6'5 and has a cannon arm along with those other traits...

There is only one player in the NFL who fits that criteria.....Carson Palmer

 

[kerouac9]

I like Brees but he is not by "every definition" a franchise QB....(the key is the words in quotes, im not saying there is only one franchise QB in the NFL)

he wins, is a leader and is accurate but my definition of a franchise QB is a guy who is 6'5 and has a cannon arm along with those other traits...

There is only one player in the NFL who fits that criteria.....Carson Palmer

Can you look up Drew's W/L % as a starter for his career? He didn't look like much of a winner in 2003 (all of two years ago!) when he went 2-9 and was benched for four games mid-season.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Can you look up Drew's W/L % as a starter for his career? He didn't look like much of a winner in 2003 (all of two years ago!) when he went 2-9 and was benched for four games mid-season.

c'mon k9 players improve. to say that year's drew brees is the same as the drew brees playing today is inane. i expect better arguments from you. that's like saying that troy aikman stunk b/c his first year he went like 1-15.

 

[spanky1]

I like Brees but he is not by "every definition" a franchise QB....(the key is the words in quotes, im not saying there is only one franchise QB in the NFL)

he wins, is a leader and is accurate but my definition of a franchise QB is a guy who is 6'5 and has a cannon arm along with those other traits...

There is only one player in the NFL who fits that criteria.....Carson Palmer

Don't tell Ben Roesthlisberger that.....isn't he 6'5" with a cannon of an arm etc. etc.

 

[kerouac9]

c'mon k9 players improve. to say that year's drew brees is the same as the drew brees playing today is inane. i expect better arguments from you. that's like saying that troy aikman stunk b/c his first year he went like 1-15.

That's true, but saying that "he's a winner" because he's been supported by the best runningback in the NFL the past two seasons and a resurgent defense when two years ago he was getting benched for Doug Flutie and being replaced by a late-riser from the MAC seems equally inane.

Drew Brees is a good player, but there are 10-12 other QBs that I'd probably rather have as my starter.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

That's true, but saying that "he's a winner" because he's been supported by the best runningback in the NFL the past two seasons and a resurgent defense when two years ago he was getting benched for Doug Flutie and being replaced by a late-riser from the MAC seems equally inane.

Drew Brees is a good player, but there are 10-12 other QBs that I'd probably rather have as my starter.

Apparently you are missing the point of my post....

And Yes Rothlesberger is another good example

 

[FlagstaffDave]

Within 2 years Philip Rivers will be better than Brees.

I agree.

Drew Brees is not the only reason the Chargers have had two back to back winning seasons. Yes he was a big part of it, but people are overrating this guy just a tad, sorry.

 

[FlagstaffDave]

Drew Brees is a good player, but there are 10-12 other QBs that I'd probably rather have as my starter.

I'm glad I'm not alone in this opinion.

 

[kerouac9]

Apparently you are missing the point of my post....

And Yes Rothlesberger is another good example

No, I got what you were saying, I just thought that it was a notable mis-statement, at least historically. I'd agree with you if you'd said he doesn't lose a lot of games for you.

 

[john h]

In a recent article over at NFL.COM, he presents the reality of these two players in FA:

On Bentley: Does NO tag him......well if they do, they will be paying a Center/Guard as though he were a premier LT....if they don't, he becomes the hottest property in FA......he adds, how the heck do they replace him given the current state of affairs in New Orleans......who is going there in FA?

This is a very true dilemma.

On Brees: If SD aren't bluffing about not using either a franchise or transistion tag on him and he indeed becomes a FA, the whole QB scenario in FA and the draft gets altered.......teams needing a QB and who might have been looking at a Jay Cutler, might sign Brees and send the whole QB draft class for a fall.

Very interesting developments on the horizon.

BTW......franchise/transition tags must be placed on a player by Thursday of this week by 4:00 pm est.

Brees is coming off a serious shoulder injury. Teams will take this into account. From what I read Cullpepper is not going to be ready to play come opening day. I would like either of these guys but they will both want major dollars and will be a big gamble because of injury. If today you could have either Brees, Cullpepper, or Leinhart who would you take?

 

[AntSports Steve]

Brees is an above average QB. With the currently state of NFL QBs (what something like 12 teams do not really have a good one for sure), he's worth a lot. His injury causes problems, as now teams will be unsure exactly what he's worth.

Without the injury he's probably worth (because you can't really find a reasonable QB easily) the F-tag money from last year. But, for SD, since they F-Tagged him last year, this year he gets 120% of last years salary which is somewhere near $10+M per year. Oche.

So, the Chargers have until March 3 to resign him for a reasonable price or he hits the market. Since he's injured and they have a possible replacement in Rivers, they are not going to want to pay $8-$9M for him. His injury isn't really huge (but it is the throwing shoulder), so if he rehabs and shows reasonable arm strength before the draft near the end of April, some team will pay more than SD is willing to pay. Guess we will wait and see.

 

[vinnymac]

Brees is coming off a serious shoulder injury. Teams will take this into account. From what I read Cullpepper is not going to be ready to play come opening day. I would like either of these guys but they will both want major dollars and will be a big gamble because of injury. If today you could have either Brees, Cullpepper, or Leinhart who would you take?

this is interesting question since all three has had surgery on their throwing arm. brees might have the same problem as chad pennington with his shoulder. two shoulder surgeries in two years isn't a very good situation when you are a qb.

cullpepper showed that he wasn't a very good qb after moss went to the raidiers. he made a lot of bad decesions.

so i would go with leinhart who has shown he can lead a team and make the right decision.

 

[Krangodnzr]

cullpepper showed that he wasn't a very good qb after moss went to the raidiers. he made a lot of bad decesions.

It's not that he showed that he was a bad QB; He showed that the Vikings desperately need better receivers and a better running game.

I'm not willing to say that Culpepper isn't a good QB after ONE bad season after over half a decade of good ones. That's not fair to him.

 

[vinnymac]

It's not that he showed that he was a bad QB; He showed that the Vikings desperately need better receivers and a better running game.

I'm not willing to say that Culpepper isn't a good QB after ONE bad season after over half a decade of good ones. That's not fair to him.

i made that comment with in mind that brad johnson did pretty good with the same line up. so i stick by my comment.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

That's true, but saying that "he's a winner" because he's been supported by the best runningback in the NFL the past two seasons and a resurgent defense when two years ago he was getting benched for Doug Flutie and being replaced by a late-riser from the MAC seems equally inane.

Drew Brees is a good player, but there are 10-12 other QBs that I'd probably rather have as my starter.

If i remember right, i think Troy Aikman had a decent running back and about the best OL in the game. I'm not saying Brees is as good as Aikman but his performance has been very good the last 2 years.

 

[ARZCardinals]

San Diego is OUTTA their mind letting Brees go.

as a fan with Rivers you gotta be nervous

with Brees it's a solid SET position.


Thinking a player who hasn't seen daylight on the field is going to compete and read NFL defenses as fast as a Veteran is insane.

When the Blitz come, and they will, Rivers will fold. That's good for the Cards, because we play them.

 

[seesred]

If I had the choice of just the three mentioned.

Culpepper - Great athlete coming off real bad leg injury and surgery. Most likely not coming back till oct-nov

Brees- coming off two great years has shoulder injury on throwing arm side.He IMO will come back strong and be ready opening day. His game is not as physical as Culpeppers

Lienart- Unproven NFL pro. Must likely has to sit for awhile to learn the speed and the reads of the pro game. Could start but you really can not tell if he will be good. There are hundreds of great college QB's that were not good pros.

I would have to go with Brees..Most likey of the three to have an imdeiate impact. Having said all that IMO Young is a combo of Culpepper and Brees. Yes, needs some work to learn the pro game but has IMO a huge upside.

GBR
40

 

[kerouac9]

If i remember right, i think Troy Aikman had a decent running back and about the best OL in the game. I'm not saying Brees is as good as Aikman but his performance has been very good the last 2 years.

And I never throught Aikman was that good, either... Aikman was the least irreplaceable commodity on that offense. Emmitt, Irvin, Larry Allen... there
were probably 4 or 5 guys more valueable to that offense than Aikman.

brees might have the same problem as chad pennington with his shoulder. two shoulder surgeries in two years isn't a very good situation when you are a qb.

Actually, I think that Brees was shown not to have the rotator cuff tear that was Pennington's injury. Didn't Brees "just" have a separated shoulder, like Andrew Walter had two years ago?

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I'm not a huge Aikman fan either but it's hard to argue when he's a first ballot hall of famer. No matter if he's overrated or not, you don't get in on the 1st ballot unless you're pretty good.