NFL Week 1: Frankenstein's, er, Peyton's Return

Being benched for John Skelton should really do wonders for Kolb's confidence.

 

I credit Skelton for making the most of limited talent and becoming an NFL starting quarterback in a historic era for QBs.
El Paso to Fordham to the top of an NFL depth chart is an impressive course.
The Kolb trade is the worst in the league in the last 10 years.
Granted, trades are very rare these days.

 

Kevin Kolb, Matt Flynn and Matt Cassel teach us that signing someone else's backup to big money is a fool's errand, unless that backup played behind Brett Favre.

 

I also think the Kolb trade should put an end to falling in love with Eagles backups after a few games. The Eagles can't get out of their own way half the time, but the backups ALWAYS do well. I'm surprised no one tried to trade for Kafka before he got cut.

 

A.J. Feeley's disastrous tenure as Miami's hand-picked starter was reason enough to stay away from Reid's backups.

 

Wasn't the second one (in Week 15 or 16, I think) flexed into the Sunday night spot? Fox can protect some games, but they might not have protected that one for whatever reason.

 

Both were flex games in December, three weeks apart. I was just surprised the NFL let NBC take both away from Fox in the middle of a playoff race.

 

I suspect the Redskins would argue you shouldn't fall in love with the Eagles' starters, either.

 

Ha. Good point.

 

Gosh, we see that a lot. You would think teams would learn. It's one thing for a guy to look good in a short stint with a good supporting cast. Far different to throw him as "the man" on a bad team without good supporting players and expect him to turn around a losing franchise.

I wonder what the Seattle Seahawks are thinking. Tavaris Jackson? Matt Flynn? I'm no expert, but I would not have committed major money to those guys. Or Kevin Kolb.

Aaron Rodgers is a little different story. Major stud in college, first-round draft pick. He was groomed for several years to be a quality starter in a certain style of offense.

 

Rob Johnson got a mega contract and unearned reputation on the strength of one game.
At least Jeff Hostetler won a Super Bowl before he got his payday.

 

AJ Feeley's my hero. Went to my alma mater (where he was the backup QB), has been in the league for something like 13 years now doing almost nothing but holding a clipboard, and married Heather Mitts. That is a charmed life.