NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

From injuries to competitions, there’s plenty of things to chat about when it comes to the QB’s of the AFC South this offseason. Four teams and all of them have questions when it comes to the QB spot. Today we take a look at all four teams, and when it comes to QB’s, what’s the storyline surrounding all four AFC South squads.

1. Colts – Is Peyton Manning’s Neck Really a Concern?

No. That at least according to Colts GM Bill Polian, who called Peter King of SI to tell him that there’s no issues with Manning moving forward, and he’ll be ready to go whenever the 2011 season gets going. "This was just a minor procedure to relieve a little pressure on the nerve [in Manning's neck],” Polian said. “I told them [Colts officials] to call me if there were any further problems, and no one's called."

Neck surgery is never anything to shake off, but it sounds as if Manning is going to be just fine. If not, the team is putting up a major smoke-screen telling everyone he will be just fine.

Most experts are predicting Eagles backup quarterback Kevin Kolb will head to Arizona via trade once the lockout is over but according to AZRedReport.com, Cardinals coaches might be concerned about Kolb.

They note that Kolb has thrown more interceptions(14) than touchdown passes(11) in his brief career. They wonder about his decision-making. But mostly the Cardinals’ brass wonders if Kolb is the right fit for coach Ken Whisenhunt’s offense.

Kolb averaged only 6.46 per pass attempt in his five starts in 2010. Until last season, when the Cardinals were forced to play quarterback roulette and started a pair of rookies at various times, the Arizona passing game averaged over 7.0 yards per attempt under Whisenhunt. The number dropped precipitously to a paltry 5.81 yards in 2010, but, again, there were mitigating circumstances.

The Arizona passing game is designed to be more vertical than the Eagles and expects the quarterbacks to drive the ball into intermediate and deep windows with accuracy.

Mark Masters of the Nationalpost reports earlier this month, Toronto city councillor and the brother of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford suggested the Saints may be a prime target for franchise relocation. The Saints immediately refuted the claim and Ford apologized. He said he was simply repeating a rumour he heard.

A reporter asked him Monday if being so candid about wanting an NFL team may actually hurt Toronto's chances. The NFL has historically looked unkindly on politicians who speak out about the health of their franchises.

"I guess what you recommend is I don't say anything when there is a $2-billion investment coming to the city with thousands and thousands of jobs to be created," Ford shot back. "I shouldn't say a word? A Fortune 500 company comes to this city [and I] should I keep my mouth shut? No, I'm not going to."

Ford once again raised the idea the Jacksonville Jaguars may be relocated. He lumped the Jaguars in with the Saints when he talked about relocation options earlier this month.

Jacksonville finished 30th out of 32 teams in NFL attendance with 49,651 tickets sold per game in 2009. Sales rose to 63,032 per game last season, which was 24th in the league.

"We're pretty confident," Doug Ford said. "How can the NFL keep ignoring one of the largest markets in North America? You can't."

The NFL has sent the 49ers a memo asking them to not discuss their free agents during the lockout according to Eric Branch of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

In a press conference after the draft, new coach Jim Harbaugh said, on a number of occasions, that he thought QB Alex Smith would re-sign with the Niners. He also revealed that he'd given Smith a playbook.  "I think he's going to come back to the team," Harbaugh said on April 30. "He has not signed a contract."

Team spokesman Bob Lange confirmed the NFL had reached out to the team after Harbaugh balked at the mention of Smith's name during last week's interview. I asked Harbaugh if he saw similarities between his career path and that of Smith's – a topic I touched on in this blog.

"I'm not answering any questions about Alex Smith," Harbaugh said. "The league has mandated we do not talk about him … The NFL has mandated that we don't talk about players who are not under contract — who are free agents who haven't signed. We've been sent a memo saying we can't talk about it."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said he was not aware of the contact between the league and the 49ers.

It’s a day that Browns fans have long waited for -the Madden 12 cover with running back Peyton Hillis on it! The Browns running back came out of nowhere to win a competition with players around the league to win the cover in a fan vote.

The game will come out in stores in early August. As far as the famous “Madden curse” of the player on the cover being hurt the year he’s on it, Hillis said he doesn’t believe in it.

“Actually, I don’t even believe in curses,” Hillis told ESPN after the photo shoot by EA Sports. “It’s really sad how many people believe in curses. This is football; everyone gets hurt. If you run the ball 40 times a game, you’re going to get banged around and get nicks and bruises here and there, but I don’t pay too much attention to that. I’ll let it take care of itself. I believe that the Lord is going to take care of me. I know His will is the only way that can judge me or put me in my place.”

With the lockout dragging on, the back and forth between events continues. Today it’s being reported that the NFL’s rookie symposium, which was canned at first – is now back on.

Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter first reported that the event is back on thanks to the NFLPA. The NFLPA will host and finance the symposium in Washington DC in June 28-29. The original NFL-NFLPA joint event was scheduled for June 26th in Canton, Ohio.

The symposium is designed to help the rookies’ transition as they enter the NFL, teaching the players life skill such as money management. The symposium will be called “The Business of Football: Rookie Edition.”

“It was important for us to do this because it’s a critical time in the lives of players who are about to enter the league,” NFLPA spokesman George Atallah told Trotter. “Lockout issues aside, it’s important that players are prepared for this next phase in their lives and careers.”

“The symposium is a large, complex event involving many professionals and others,” league spokeman Greg Aiello said at the time. “In fairness, we could not continue to keep their commitment on hold.”

It doesn’t mean we are any closer to playing football, but it’s a good step to see the younger players in the league at least get a chance to learn some of the in’s and out’s of the league and how things work.

Panthers guard Geoff Schwartz indicated on Twitter that more than 50 players attended the Panthers players workout today according to the Associated Press.

“Great morning of team activities,” he wrote. Left tackle Jordan Gross, who organized the two weeks of practices with left guard Travelle Wharton, said reporters wouldn’t be allowed in until the last day, June 9, to prevent distractions.

“We’re just trying to prepare to win some football games,” Gross said outside the private school.

“We’re going to try to make it as close as (organized team activities) as possible,” Beason said. “Meetings, light practice, light workout, conditioning, the same thing that we would usually do.”

Players hired a police officer to shoo away reporters from the high school where they were working out on the hot, humid morning. Cones blocked another entrance to the field at Charlotte Christian.

With Jim Tressel resigning as head coach of Ohio State University, the five players suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season may consider entering the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft, Len Pasquarelli of The Sports Xchange reports.

The five players are quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Dan Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, offensive lineman Mike Adams, and defensive end Solomon Thomas.

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Kevin Kolb knows he will be traded, whether it be to the team of his choice, or a completely off the map team, both Andy Reid and the Eagles organization have made it abundantly clear that Kolb will not be wearing bleeding Eagle Green next season.

This leaves Kolb in a tough situation, as with the lockout in place, he is essentially stuck on the Eagles. There is no way that he can be traded, and he will remain a member, (or whatever locked-out players are), of Philadelphia until the lockout is lifted and teams can once again trade. But even through this lockout, Kolb has shown class that I believe, few players in the NFL possess.

Even knowing that he will be traded, Kolb still worked out with his teammates. It's clear that Kolb cares about the guys that he used to play with, and that he wants to leave on a good note. It would have been all too easy for Kolb to just throw his hands in the air, hold ridiculous press conferences, and blow off any requests or concerns that the Eagles organization might have, until he was traded.

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I'm a complete sucker for those stories of when a player decides he needs to take his game to the next level, undergoes some crazy training/workout + diet program, and comes into the next training camp in amazing shape. A good portion of that time, stories like those are accurate precursors for guys about to enjoy a big break-out or bounceback season (especially for those of us interested in terms of fantasy football purposes).

That's why it warms my heart to heart the recent quotes made by Redskins receiver Anthony Armstrong, who feels like he has to go out prove himself to the coaching staff all over again, even after a relatively successful 2010 season.

Just a few seasons after bouncing around between the Intense Football League, the Area Football League, and practice squads for a couple of NFL teams, Armstrong was set to enter the 2011 season as the #1 receiver for the Washington Redskins. Santana Moss, last year's top receiver, is currently a free agent, and the team's front office has insinuated that they're not necessarily going to jump through hoops to re-sign him. Right now, I'd give it 3 to 2 odds that Moss is back as a Redskin next year, but that's still a bit too close to "50/50? to really count on that.

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