Jay Cutler signs with Dolphins

Jay Cutler has been lured out of his short retirement by the Miami Dolphins and a one year contract that could pay him $13 million with incentives. Cutler gets $10 million guaranteed to play for his former offensive coordinator Adam Gase under whom he had one of his best seasons.

I give the Dolphins credit for getting the best quarterback available when it became clear that Tannehill would miss most or all of the season with a knee injury. Kaepernick was no real option in Miami due to his pro Castro stance, and Castro is hated by the Cuban population of South Florida.

The problem with Cutler is that he has always shown lots of potential but then never lives up to it. Cutler reminds me of Jeff George, in showing lots of talent at times but never doing anything with it. Cutler has the reputation of not caring much about football but still was the best option for the Dolphins.

Cutler has a good offensive line and running game with the Dolphins and a good running game. The division other than the Patriots won't cause the Dolphins much concern. Cutler is accurate but makes bad decisions sometimes which leads to turnovers. Still he is head and shoulders better than Dolphins backup Matt Moore who really struggled with the pressure on being a stater while with the Panthers.

Jay Cutler photo   By John Martinez Pavliga - originally posted to Flickr as IMG_7873, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8453206

Dave Gettleman fired by Carolina Panthers

General Manager Dave Gettleman has been fired by the Carolina Panthers in a rather shocking move. Marty Hurney who was replaced by Gettleman was fired in season but Gettleman getting fired right before the season is a pure shock.

From NFL.com

"After much thought and a long evaluation of our football operations, I have decided to relieve Dave Gettleman of his duties as general manager," Panthers owner Jerry Richardson said. "I want to thank Dave for the role he played in our success over the past four seasons. While the timing of this decision is not ideal, a change is needed."

Dave Gettleman did a good job at fixing the salary cap mess left by Richardson and Hurney and the Panthers went to a Super Bowl under Gettleman. That being said he was abrasive with some of the players including Steve Smith and Jordan Gross, two fan favorites. Thomas Davis and Greg Olsen have gone public wanting new contracts under Gettleman's watch.

I was never a fan of Dave Gettleman and didn't like many of his draft picks. I am still mad over the Shaq Thompson pick and was mad about it when it happened. I think that Jerry Richardson wants a Super Bowl win and does not want a GM that the players do not like while he is close to winning one.  

Can Shaq Thompson push Thomas Davis off the Panthers Roster?

The Carolina Panthers have an important question to answer this season. Can Shaq Thompson push Thomas Davis off the Panthers roster? Thompson was a first round pick in the 2015 draft and was clearly picked to replace Thomas Davis.

Thompson like Davis was a tweener coming out of college who could have possibly played safety or linebacker. The problem is that Shaq Thompson has not played like a first round pick in his limited chances to play.

The Carolina Panthers on paper run a 4-3 defense but it's really a 4-2 most of the time because they run a lot of nickel defense. Thompson often is the odd man out with Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly being on the field.

Shaq Thompson has started 22 and played in 28 NFL games in his two seasons. Thompson has shown occasional flashes but not much more. Thompson has 69 solo and 33 assisted tackles, one interception, and one sack in this years.

I don't think Shaq Thompson will ever be as good as Thomas Davis, but father time is undefeated. Davis has gone on WFNZ at least twice this off season and mentioned that he wanted a new contract. Right now Thomas Davis will be hitting free agency after this season.

Davis is the only player in NFL history to come back from 3 ACL injuries to the same knee. I think missing major chuncks of 3 seasons has extended the career of Thomas Davis. He didn't take the wear and tear that he would have in those years.Davis is still at the top of his game but the Panthers want Shaq Thompson to replace him and I think Thomas Davis is playing his last season with the Carolina Panthers.  

Thomas Davis photo By original: U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Sgt. Leticia Samuels, North Carolina National Guard Public Affairs/Released North Carolina National Guardderivative: Diddykong1130 - 131118-Z-ZK506-041, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39491986

Is Tony Romo a Hall of Fame player?

There was some talk when Tony Romo retired, that he is a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback. Well to me that is crazy talk. Tony Romo was a good NFL quarterback but he is not worthy of being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

While I was a Cowboys fan as a kid I stopped pulling for them when Tom Landry was fired. I neither pull for or against the Cowboys so I can look at Tony Romo without bias. Tony Romo put up some fine stats with the Dallas Cowboys.

Romo completed 2,829 of 4,335 passes with a 65.3 career completion rate, 34,183 passing yards and 248 touchdowns. Romo only threw 117 NFL interceptions. Tony Romo had good NFL stats but he was seldom if ever considered an elite NFL quarterback at the top level of his position.

I don't think the lack of a Super Bowl appearance for Tony Romo is the only reason he should not be in the Hall. Though if Tony Romo had a ring it would be easier to say, yes vote him in there. Tony Romo photo By Summertx of flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/summertx/954976489/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2595682

Kelvin Benjamin is not a number 1 receiver but that's ok

Kelvin Benjamin is not a true number 1 NFL wide receiver in my opinion. Benjamin is not a burner, does not have the best hands and is lazy in his route running. That does not mean that the Carolina Panthers can't get some use out of Benjamin.

Kelvin Benjamin can be a good move the chains possession receiver using his size to box out defenders, especially in the red zone. If all the negative attention Kelvin Benjamin is getting for being overweight motivates him then all the better.

Some Panthers fans will defend Kelvin Benjamin to the death or even longer! Yes Benjamin had a bad knee injury and yes his states look ok to the naked eye. I just don't think KB is a legit number one wide receiver and I also don't think it matters very much.

Cam Newton had the best season of his career and won the NFL MVP without Kelvin Benjamin and a true number one wide receiver. Greg Olsen is the key target in the passing game and now with the rookie additions the Panthers

The Panthers want to try to incorporate some of the Patriots offense into their own playbook. The Patriots offense really looks like a West Coast offense to me with lots of short, quick throws. This helps a quarterback prevent being hit so often and negates to a degree a bad offensive line.

The big question is how Cam Newton will adapt to that style of offense, after missing a lot of off season time recovering from a late shoulder surgery. Cam also is not the most accurate short passer and may break some fingers with his fastball on short throws. I think Cam is better suited to a Norv Turner offense with deep drops and long, deep throws.

That being said I have seen Cam play some of his best football when the Panthers speed him up in the hurry up offense. If they do some of that with the short throws, then Cam could do well in this offense despite not having a true number one wide receiver.

Photo By Keith Allison - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35800679

Texans show some heart in loss to Patriots

I was impressed a little by the Houston Texans a little in their loss to the New England Patriots. The Texans played hard and made a game of it longer than I thought they would. I think the Texans are a quarterback away from being a Super Bowl contender.

The Texans overpaid for Osweiler and I saw it coming. If the Broncos though Osweiler was a franchise quarterback they would have tagged him. Osweiler got his feelings hurt in Denver and didn't want to play there anymore. The fact that the Broncos let him walk told me all I need to know about him.

Rumors of the Texans coaching staff being in trouble should be just crazy talk. Yes Houston won a weak division and beat an Oakland team in the playoffs who didn't have a quarterback. But I think the Texans coaches have done a good job with what they have to work with.

Can rookie Dak Prescott take the Cowboys to the Super Bowl

Can Dak Prescott take the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl? That is the question and the answer is yes he can. But will he? Prescott has only had a few rookie moments after replacing the then injured Tony Romo.



The Cowboys defense is playing better than expected and that will help the Cowboys rookie quarterback to try to take Dallas to the promised land. The big help of course if that great Cowboys offensive line.




Oh yeah in addition to the Cowboys offensive line they also have another rookie player. Ezekiel Elliot will be a huge factor in the Cowboys Super Bowl hunt if he don't hit a rookie wall. Elliott has played well and a dynamic running back can take a lot of pressure off of Dak Prescott and the rest of the Cowboys offense.

Photo   By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA - Jason Garrett, Dak Prescott, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51527647