NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

With the recent contract of Devin Hester getting top dollar, is not paying Josh Cribbs top dollar smart? I believe so, I think Cribbs needs to get paid more money then what he is currently. Cribbs is a Return man but also did help the offense this year move the football the last part of the season.

Cribbs without a doubt is a asset to this team and could help them in the future. I ask you if the offense and defense gets more talent in the off season and can move the ball more effectively, does the value of Cribbs drop? If Josh Cribbs wouldn’t of turned out to be the player he is today, would he have given money back? Cribbs does deserve a raise and has been first class through this whole debacle until recently.

Really Josh, clean out your locker and say you have played your last down with the Cleveland Browns. With Holmgren really just starting this week cleaning up this mess you go public Wednesday. His agents also are to blame for this. The Cleveland Browns don’t have a GM yet, just this week found out that they are keeping Mangini and did make Cribbs an offer.

Cribbs agents didn’t even come back with a counter offer, they just went public trying to humiliate the organization. I am not saying Cribbs does not deserve a raise but he is acted like a team player all season just to act like a child now. Cribbs also said he isn’t going to complain to the fans because this a blue collar town and they don’t want to hear it. What about 1.4 million you call that an insult.

How many fans are making 1.4 million. I do love Cribbs and hope he is a Brown forever but he needed to act a little different then what has happened this past week.

For years the Chicago Bears have been playing musical chairs.  There has been no consistency at the Quarterback position in general.  Let's face it, 27 different quarterbacks have stood at center since Jim McMahon's last hike as a Bear back in 1988.  22 Years, 27 Quarterbacks and ZERO Super Bowl Wins.  Hey, I didn't get a chair!

Now, Bear Nation finds itself in quite a different predicament.  We have a potential franchise quarterback in Jay Cutler.  Jay did show us hints of greatness, albeit, with a rocky start here in Chicago.  Leading the league in interceptions (26) is just one type of statistic that many great quarterbacks have.  After all, 14 Hall of Fame quarterbacks have led the league in intercepts at least one season.  27 Touchdowns is pretty darn good.  Passing for 3666 yards is not too shabby either.

With the potential franchise quarterback here now, what consistency can the Bears organization provide to develop this raw talent?  Well, with the firing of Ron Turner the Bears have ensured that Cutler will be working under his 3^rd consecutive offensive coordinator in as many years.

What happens if the new offensive and defensive coordinators do not get the job done?  Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo could be out of a job and along with a new head coach we could have a 4^th consecutive offensive coordinator in as many years.  Is that going to happen?  I think not.  Regardless Smith and Angelo have pulled off a major contract victory to retain their jobs for the next two years.  Why?

1. They can always blame that failure is the result of the team having to learn a new system.
2. They can always blame the fact that they are just a few pieces shy.  A few pieces they could not afford to pick up in 2010 because of the trades made for 2009.
3. They can always hang their hats on not wanting to have musical chairs at the offensive coordinators position because it will hurt the Bears organizations investment in a franchise quarterback

So, what does this mean for Jay Cutler?  YOU GOT SCREWED!  Or, you screwed yourself in demanding a trade.  For better or for worse, Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith better pray to the football gods that Jay Cutler stays healthy or their grand plan could fall apart at the passing seams.

Tom Heckert is likely to be named the Browns’ new general manager, league sources have told NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi. An announcement is expected Monday. In addition, a role that is yet to be determined may be in place for current Seattle Seahawks director of pro personnel Will Lewis, who was interviewed by Browns team president Mike Holmgren on Friday.

The Seattle Seahawks fired coach Jim Mora on Friday, and it appears they are ready to make a big splash in the coaching ranks, as Chris Mortensen from ESPN is reporting that their target is none other than USC coach Pete Carroll.

Carroll, who has been a huge success the past 9 seasons at the college level, coached three seasons in the NFL, two in New England and one with the New York Jets. In those three seasons he actually went 33-31, but he was widely regarded as a coach that is suited for the college ranks more than the pros.

Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke that Mora he did not win enough games to save his job. The Seahawks ended the season on a four-game losing streak to finish 5-11.

“This team, more importantly this community, means so much to me that it hurts not being able to see this through,” Mora said in a team-issued statement. “I am disappointed I did not get the chance to complete my contract. This is a tough business that sometimes demands immediate gratification.”

“We’ve made a tough decision today,” Leiweke said in a statement. “It became apparent after conducting an extensive internal audit that a new direction was needed to provide an opportunity for the organization to be successful. Today’s decision, while difficult, is part of the process in building a franchise with a new vision in 2010.”

All reports are that the decision could mean Carroll back in the NFL.

The Chiefs have brought Charlie Weis back to the NFL. Barely a month after getting fired at Notre Dame, Weis signed on Friday as offensive coordinator with the Chiefs, where he'll join two old friends in trying to revive a flagging franchise that's won only 10 games in three years.

"This marriage seemed very, very simple," Weis said. "I'm very excited to be a part of a growing process that has been started here in the last year."

In an interview on Wednesday, Weis virtually confirmed that he was about to rejoin head coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli.

Pioli was a front office executive in New England when Weis was offensive coordinator for the Patriots' four Super Bowl teams, and Weis shared a small office with Haley for three years when they were assistants with the New York Jets.

"My relationship with Todd and my relationship with Scott and several other persons in the organization made Kansas City look like a fine landing spot for me," Weis said. "I couldn't be more pleased."

The collapse of the Seahawks has cost Jim Mora Jr. his spot as head coach of the Seahawks. Mora’s first year with Seattle was a complete disaster, as the team went 5-11 and was beat up all season with injures. He also had to endure the fact that the teams GM – Tim Ruskell, left during the season.

There’s no word of who may come in and take over for Mora, but Leslie Frazier would be a possible choice that is being talked about in coaching circles, and there are plenty of other worthy candidates out there that the Hawks will start looking for.

The Panthers will have tough offseason decisions to make about players on the roster, and one player that is at the top of that list is DE Julius Peppers. Last offseason Peppers came out and stated he would never play for the Cats again, and demanded a trade.

He didn’t get his wish, and finally after the team franchised him, he ended up playing another season for Carolina, which ended the season as one of the hotter teams in the NFC with wins over Minnesota, the Giants and Saints.

They have already said that coach John Fox will be back, so now it seems the next big decision will be about Peppers. Pro Football Weekly below says that it appears the team will allow Peppers to walk.

We hear the Panthers don't want DE Julius Peppers to get away, but sources in Charlotte don't expect that he and the team will agree to a long-term extension before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in March. There's a decent chance he has played his final game with the Panthers.

Peppers likely isn't going to release a statement lobbying for a chance to play elsewhere, as he did last year around this time, and he may not need to. Word is Carolina will not use the franchise tag on him again, after tagging him in 2009. Using the tag would allow the Panthers to listen to trade offers for Peppers and prevent him from departing without some compensation in return. His salary, however, would rise to $21.8 million for the 2010 season under the one-year tag, and that's a price the Panthers apparently aren't willing to pay.

They could put the tag on Peppers and try to deal him away, but that's a risky move — no team will likely be willing to empty the coffers with a package of draft picks and the lucrative deal it will take to acquire Peppers and sign him to a contract.

There also was some local news today about Peppers, as Newsobserver.com reports that Peppers and his agent are waiting for the Panthers to make a move about what is going to happen next.

His agent, Carl Carey, said Thursday that Peppers’ concerns of a year ago about staying with the team “don’t currently exist.” He said Peppers, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, isn’t ready to state his desires until the team expresses its position.

“I think it’s appropriate that we reserve our comments until after the Panthers organization has publicly stated their intentions regarding Julius’ impending free agency,” Carey said. “Julius feels good about being selected to his fifth Pro Bowl and is focusing on representing the Carolina Panthers [in the Jan. 31 game] in Miami.”

Peppers has been the defensive star for the Panthers for years, and they should do whatever they can to keep him. Not many players can change a game like Peppers, and there’s no doubt that it would be tough to get equal value for him on the NFL market.