Add Flynn's name to the list of possible future 'Skins quarterbacks. (US PRESSWIRE)

By Ryan Wilson

We've previously described the weeks and months between the last day of the Redskins season and the start of training camp as their offseason Super Bowl. It's become less a frenzied free-agent free-for-all under head coach Mike Shanahan and general manager Bruce Allen, but much in the same way an alcoholic is one drink away from an impending bender, Washington owner Dan Snyder seems one high-priced acquisition away from another make-believe offseason championship.

The Redskins head into the spring with dire needs at quarterback. This is the logical conclusion to turning the offense over to Rex Grossman and John Beck. The problem: while Washington was sufficiently awful, they weren't quite bad enough to position themselves for Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III -- not without giving up players or picks first.

Even before the 2011 season ended, we heard rumors that the Redskins could be in the Peyton Manning business should he become available. Two weeks later, there was speculation that, despite their newfound less impulsive approach to roster-building, Washington might trade up to the first-overall pick in April's NFL Draft. And two weeks after that, the "'Skins will try to get Robert Griffin III" rumors were born.

Given the evolution of Redskins-related speculation, it only makes sense that Packers free-agent quarterback Matt Flynn would enter the conversation.

Flynn, drafted as a seventh-round afterthought in 2008, has two career starts, including a Week 17 appearance against the Lions where he went off. By the time it was over, he had completed 70.5 percent of his passes (31 of 44) for 480 yards and six touchdowns. It was enough to make us wonder if Flynn would be this offseason's Kevin Kolb. (To be fair to Flynn, he had accomplished something before being handed $63 million. So he had that going for him.) 

Which brings us back to the Redskins. On Thursday, Chris Russell of ESPN 980 in Washington weighed in on Flynn:

Two things ... factor into the possible Redskins-Flynn equation. Unlike last year, the Redskins will have to make their decisions first on free agency and then the draft. I can't stress how uncomfortable it makes me to bank on the draft to find "THE GUY," and I am NOT a trade up kind of guy. There is no guarantee that RG III is around with the sixth pick, as a matter of fact it is highly unlikely. You may have to move all the way up to the 2nd pick -- which is an extremely high cost.

The last, and this might be most important -- the Green Bay Packers run a very similar style of the West Coast offense as the Redskins do. Every scheme has variances, but these two teams, according to one high end Redskins source -- are "almost the same." Flynn would not face a huge scheme transition like Kevin Kolb did. The source was quick to point this out, saying that Kolb going from Andy Reid and the Eagles to Ken Whisenhunt and the Cardinals (essentially the Steelers offense) was like learning Chinese fluently in a month, when your base language is English.

On Wednesday, CBS Sports NFL Insider Charley Casserly appeared on another Washington station, 106.7 The Fan, to talk about -- you guessed it -- Matt Flynn. Except he wasn't as high on Flynn-to-the-Skins as Russell.

“I think [Flynn] in this system he plays in is really good. So Cleveland, Seattle, if Joe Philbin ends up with a head job in Miami.” Casserly said. “I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same thing the Redskins want in their same system. I’m not sure if everything they’re doing right now is some of the things he’s good at,” he added.

More interesting: Casserly contradicts Russell's claim that the Packers and Redskins run similar schemes. Casserly said the Packers' offense is based on timing while the Redskins rely on deep passes. Given that scouts' generally viewed Flynn as having a weak arm coming out of college (which helps explain why he lasted until the seventh round), he probably wouldn't be a good fit for Washington's down-the-field passing philosophy.

Of course, perceptions change. Next month, quarterback-needy teams could wage a bidding war for Flynn's services, and it's reasonable to think that the 'Skins might be in the middle of it. It's also reasonable to think that they could move up the draft board for either Luck or Griffin. But that's the beauty of Dan Snyder: you never know.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Every week, our NFL experts will hand out the Eye on Football hardware to the best of the best from the NFL week that was.

Week 17 NFL Awards
Expert	Offense	Defense	STeams	Coach
Freeman	Cruz	Broncos	Akers	McCarthy
Judge	Flynn	Allen	Akers	Coughlin
Prisco	Flynn	Allen	Carpenter	Coughlin
Brinson	Flynn	Allen	Carpenter	Coughlin
Katzowitz	Flynn	Allen	Akers	Harbaugh
Wilson	Flynn	Suggs	Carpenter	Turner

The NFL's regular season is over. It seems kind of crazy, right? Somehow the lockout was just a few months ago and now we're headed for the playoffs. Whatever, that doesn't stop us from handing out our final regular season Eye on Football Awards of the year.

Matt Flynn wasn't completely a consensus pick for the Eye on Offense Award, but with his performance there's no question he's making some coin in 2012.

Jared Allen can't love his ex-teammate Brett Favre, since he'd have the NFL single-season sack record if Favre hadn't flopped for Michael Strahan. Somehow I doubt the Week 17 Eye on Defense Award will make up for that.

Usually I give tiebreakers to the guy I picked ... and I'm doing it again this week. Dan Carpenter's 58-yarder nudges him past David Akers, despite a touchdown pass, for the Eye on Special Teams Award.

And Tom Coughlin closes out the season with the Eye on Coaching Awards similar to how he closed out his real season: by winning two straight headed into the playoffs.

Leave your votes in the comments below or scream angrily at us on Twitter @EyeOnNFL.

Eye on Offense Award
Mike Freeman	Clark Judge
Victor Cruz, WR, Giants Big play after big play when the defense knows Eli Manning is going to him. He still produces. He obliterated the Cowboys as he has almost every team he's gone against within the latter part of the year. It's been incredible to watch him become the next great receiving star.	Matt Flynn, QB, Packers He's the backup for Green Bay, and he doesn't play much because ... well, because that's what happens when you sit behind Aaron Rodgers. So , when he does get his chance all he does is throw for six touchdowns and set a franchise record with 480 yards passing.
Pete Prisco	Will Brinson
Matt Flynn, QB, Packers Flynn makes his first start of 2011 and throws for 480 yards and six touchdowns in place of Aaron Rodgers, who the Packers were resting. Wow. He made himself a lot of money.	Matt Flynn, QB, Packers Credit the Packers for finding hidden talent (even if Flynn won a BCS title). Flynn's not hidden anymore -- 480 yards and six teeters Sunday against the Lions means Flynn's the head of the class in terms of free-agent QBs heading into the 2012.
Josh Katzowitz	Ryan Wilson
Matt Flynn, QB, Packers It’s unfortunate for Matthew Stafford that he came up against Flynn, who set Packers club records in passing yards (480) and touchdown passes (six). Flynn was incredible, leading Green Bay to a victory and making himself a ton of money in the process. By playing him this week, GB assured themselves that they’ll lose him in the offseason.	Matt Flynn, QB, Packers If nothing else, Flynn's performance on Sunday (480 passing yards and six touchdowns in a win against the Lions) proves that Aaron Rodgers is a system quarterback. So does that mean Flynn deserves to be in the MVP conversation, too?
Eye on Defense Award
Freeman	Judge
Denver Broncos, DST This is a team award presented to one of the best and most underrated defenses in football, saddled with a terrible quarterback. The Broncos defense held the KC Chiefs to a touchdown and still lost, 7-3. Denver's defense has actually been one of the great surprises of the season.	Jared Allen, DE, Vikings He produces 3.5 sacks to finish the season with a league-leading 22, just a half-sack short of Michael Strahan's single-season record. What I love about Allen is his motor. The Vikings won three games, but this guy never let up and never quit.
Prisco	Brinson
Jared Allen, DE, Vikings Allen had 3 1/2 sacks against the Bears, but feel one short of Mike Strahan's single-season record for sacks in a season with 21.5.	Jared Allen, DE, Vikings Allen got his Ginsu on against Chicago's line and nearly broke Michael Strahan's record for 22.5 sacks in a season. His 3.5 on Sunday left him just short but considering Brett Favre's flop and how horrible this Vikings team is, he really deserves it more.
Katzowitz	Wilson
Jared Allen, DE, Vikings He was a man possessed as he went for the NFL season sack record, and though he fell a half-sack and a Brett Favre dive short of Michael Strahan’s record, Allen put the exclamation point on the best year of his career, recording 3 ½ sacks against Bears.	Terrell Suggs, OLB, Ravens He had a sack and a forced fumble in a game that a lot of people thought the Ravens would lose. Now they're perfectly positioned for a Super Bowl run and Suggs could be the defensive MVP
Eye on Special Teams Award
Freeman	Judge
David Akers, K, 49ers Lined up for a field goal but it was a fake. Excellent throw by Akers who tossed a touchdown throw to Michael Crabtree. The most amazing thing about Crabtree's throw? He had better form than Tebow.	David Akers, K, Eagles He sets the single-season record for field goals one week, then throws a touchdown pass the next -- a touchdown that, oh, by the way, is the difference in the 49ers' game-ending victory. The more I see of Akers the more I wonder Philadelphia gave up on him.
Prisco	Brinson
Dan Carpenter, K, Dolphins Carpenter made four field goals, one from 58 yards, as the Dolphins beat the Jets to end their playoff chances. Carpenter's 58-yarder was into the wind.	Dan Carpenter, K, Dolphins If not for Carpenter, the Dolphins don't send Jason Taylor out the right way and end Rex Ryan's hopes. Carpenter converted field goals after three turnovers (4/4 on the day) including banging home a 58-yarder that was good from 73.
Katzowitz	Wilson
David Akers, K, 49ers He established the new league record for field goals byfinishing the season with 44, and he threw an awesome TD pass on a fake field goal that helped the 49ers beat the pesky Rams. For his career, Akers is now 2 for 2 passing for 25 yards and a score. With a passer rating of 158.3.	Dan Carpenter, K, Dolphins Carpenter was 4 for 4 on Sunday against the Jets, including a 58-yarder. With his perfect performance, he helped the Dolphins seal the Rex Ryan's fate and finish the season with a 6-10 record (after an 0-7 start).
Eye on Coaching Award
Freeman	Judge
Mike McCarthy, HC, Packers McCarthy lost one game all season. He beat Detroit with Matt Flynn at quarterback. He might have the best offensive system going in football right now. He's the offensive Bill Belichick.	Tom Coughlin, HC, Giants For the second straight week he pulls off a huge victory -- this time winning the NFC East with a decisive defeat of Dallas. For weeks, Coughlin was subjected to questions about his job status and the Giants' second-half collapse. Then he produced the season's two most important wins, and, just like that, the questions ended.
Prisco	Brinson
Tom Coughlin, Giants It was win or go home and he had Coughlin team ready to play against the Cowboys for the NFC East title. Coughlin is good in big games, which bodes well for the playoffs.	Tom Coughlin, HC, Giants At this point, I'm rooting for the Giants to run the table, win the Super Bowl (again!) and have Coughlin set his pants on fire at trophy ceremony, just to make the fans happy that his seat is finally hot enough. Great job getting his team ready down the stretch.
Katzowitz	Wilson
John Harbaugh, HC, Ravens His brother received so much credit this season, but look at what John pulled off Sunday. He beat the Bengals in Cincy and earned a playoff bye and homefield advantage in the second round. Given how mediocre Baltimore is on the road, that’s one heck of an accomplishment.	Norv Turner, HC, Chargers Did he really save his job? Turner and the Chargers beat a Raiders team with everything to play for -- in Oakland, no less. If Turner does return, imagine how good San Diego will be if they ever put together an entire season mistake-free football.

One way or the other, Flynn's getting paid this offseason. (US PRESSWIRE)

By Ryan Wilson

After what Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn did to the Lions Sunday -- 31 of 44 for 480 yards and a team record six touchdowns -- we joked on the Pick-6 Podcast (embedded below for your listening pleasure) that the performance would mean the Redskins would be first in line to throw a ton of dough in Flynn's general direction.


We stress "joked."

Then on Tuesday we saw this tweet from ESPN 980's Chris Russell: "Heard Matt Flynn's great performance Sunday generated a lot of buzz & positive chatter amongst the big names of the #Redskins organization."

Of course he did.

Look, Flynn had a mind-blowing afternoon against Detroit, and he also played well during a 2010 start against the Patriots. And in that sense, he's already more accomplished than Kevin Kolb was before he was anointed "the next franchise quarterback" last offseason. The Cardinals gave up a second-round pick and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and signed Kolb to a $63 million extension. In return they got nine starts, nine touchdowns, eight interceptions, a 57.7 completion percentage and a ton of questions.

The takeaway: don't devote a non-trivial portion of your salary cap to someone who plays the most important position on the field based on a handful of snaps. Somehow, that wasn't entirely clear to everyone.

The Canton Repository's Steve Doerschuk writes that the Browns could also be interested in Flynn. Doerschuk doesn't cite a source but writes that "There is no question Mike Holmgren would rush soon-to-be-free agent Matt Flynn hard. The only question is how much the Browns president likes the [Flynn]."

Is Flynn an upgrade over Colt McCoy, who Holmgren selected in the third round of the 2010 draft? Sure. Is he so much better than McCoy that the Browns should pay him starter's money to find out? Almost certainly not.

But as CBSSports.com's Will Brinson pointed out in Monday's Sorting the Sunday Pile, Flynn made himself some coin with Sunday's effort. "That's going to translate well when he becomes an unrestricted free agent and potentially becomes the most desirable quarterback on the market. There are lots of teams that need a quarterback and Flynn will be on everyone's radar just as much as Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. If someone falls in love with him, he might get Kevin Kolb money."

To paraphrase Chris Rock, we're not saying it's right … but we understand.

But if Flynn's in line for a big payday, the Packers might want to get their cut, too. Yes, Flynn's set to be an unrestricted free agent in a few months, but there's a chance Green Bay could franchise him. No, seriously.

Because there may be little time (or opportunity) to trade Flynn before the start of free agency in March, the Packers' might get the biggest return on their investment by franchising him. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Silverstein explains:

In exchange for being tagged, Flynn would receive a one-year deal worth the average of the last five franchise tag numbers at his position. Last year, the franchise number for quarterbacks was around $14 million, and it's likely to be higher this year.

So once the Packers tag Flynn, that $14 million counts against their salary cap. Flynn would automatically become the highest-paid player on the team in terms of annual salary.

NFL teams are prohibited from trading franchise players. In fact, the rules say you may not franchise a player with the intent to sign him to a contract and then trade him. However, this rule has been broken before and the NFL tends to look the other way.

Silverstein adds that the move isn't without risk for the Packers. Putting aside the illegality of a tag and trade, there's also the issue of having a $14 million backup on your roster if other teams aren't sufficiently interested in trading for him. Which means that team president Ted Thompson would have to work with Flynn's agent "behind the scenes to find a trading partner and then negotiate a deal suitable to Flynn."

Silverstein was told by a "prominent agent who has represented a franchise player" that Green Bay could be in line for a first-round pick at minimum for Flynn, and maybe a first- and third-rounder.

That sounds, well, extreme, especially since Hue Jackson already traded for Carson Palmer. Then again, Redskins owner Dan Snyder isn't afraid to mortgage the future for the possibility of success now. 

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Posted by Will Brinson


Sorting the Sunday Pile takes all of Sunday's NFL action, figures out the winners and losers and asks the big questions. Send your complaints, questions and comments to Will Brinson on Twitter. Listen to the Pick-Six Podcast Week 17 recap below and don't forget to subscribe via iTunes.

Drew Brees for MVP?

Over the next month, until the MVP is announced before the Super Bowl, there's going to be an intense debate about whether or not Drew Brees' incredible hot streak to close out the season vaulted him past Aaron Rodgers for the MVP award.

Four weeks ago, this wasn't a debate. Even with Brees having a monster year, the Packers were undefeated and Rodgers was eviscerating defenses on a weekly basis.

Their numbers were close enough to tell anyone suggesting a debate to kindly close their piehole.

Now? Well it's a lot closer than it was. The numbers (below) make that much obvious even though the actual premises behind the argument are just frustrating from the sense of measuring a season by its full extent.

Player	Comp %	Pass Yards	Pass TDs	INT	W-L
Aaron Rodgers	68.3	4,643	45	6	14-1
Drew Brees	71.2	5,476	46	14	13-3

The bigger problem for Rodgers may be a confluence of events around 4:00pm ET Sunday afternoon: as Brees was throwing his fifth touchdown pass (hey, just one more than Rodgers!), Packers backup Matt Flynn was going absolutely bananas against the Lions, slicing up Detroit's secondary for six touchdowns and 480 yards, a Packers franchise record.

Take a look at the list of the guys who've thrown for six teeters in a game since the merger. Spoiler alert: it's short, and full of awesome quarterbacks.

Flynn's on the list now and as a result, he's blatantly going to cost Rodgers a ton of "Well if the backup can do that" votes, while Brees staying in much longer than needed against the Panthers netted him a significant boost in the eyes of "What have you done for me lately?" voters.

But let's get one thing out of the way first: Aaron Rodgers is not a "system quarterback." Yeah, there's actually a debate raging as to whether he is or not. And if you believe that Rodgers is only successful because of the Packers "system" then you're as foolish as anyone who thought Tom Brady was a system quarterback when Matt Cassel had a big year filling in for the Patriots.

Every team has a "system" on offense and some -- the Packers and Patriots stand out -- are better than others. But Flynn's a good quarterback who's succeeded before (he nearly beat the Patriots in prime time last year), has a great pedigree (BCS title anyone?) and has spent multiple years working behind Rodgers. That's not going to make him worse. There's a reason the Packers, winners of 21 of 22 games since LAST Christmas, have him on the roster. And it's not because he makes a mean gumbo.

Look, less than two weeks ago, Rodgers carved up a very (very) good Bears defense on Christmas night. All season long he commanded the Packers offense like a conductor, made ridiculous throws that no one else in the NFL can make and generally let the world pencil his name in for MVP. 

His season's been so magnificent that it's somehow getting railroaded by the Packers losing to the Chiefs late (but don't forget, the Saints lost to the Rams and, uh, the Packers), sitting out Week 17 (a smart move with homefield clinched) and Sean Payton and Brees running up the score in order to break records (which is fine, but let's call it what it is).

There's no question that Drew Brees is a viable MVP candidate. He's had an all-time season in 2011. But judging the MVP race based on a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude is shortsighted, and it diminishes the incredible season Rodgers had in Green Bay.

Winners

Tom Coughlin: Coughlin won the NFC East, despite sitting on the hot seat most of the season, and the Giants suddenly have a look of a team that could absolutely be a playoff sleeper. They can rush the passer mercilessly when they get hot, Victor Cruz is turning into a salsa-dancing monster and Eli Manning's smoking hot right now. Given the success wild-card teams have had in recent years -- hello, 2007 Giants! -- it would be foolish to count them out.

Maurice Jones-Drew: "Mojo" ripped off a season-high 169 rushing yards on Sunday against Indy. That not only gave him the NFL rushing title for 2011, but also gave him the Jaguars single-season record for rushing yards, as he broke Fred Taylor's previous high of 1,572 in 2003. In a very dismal season for Jacksonville's offense, MJD's been an absolute workhorse. He's up there with Tony Boselli, Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith in terms of all-time greats for the Jaguars.

Jason Taylor: The only way Taylor's exit -- as a Dolphin, on the shoulders of his teammates after taking down the Jets -- could have been better is if the fumble he returned for a touchdown wasn't overturned. Taylor's a classy dude, a gamer, a hell of a dancer and at sixth all-time on the sack-leader list (not to mention a media favorite!), he'll find his way into Canton. Awesome career.

Matt Flynn: As noted above, Flynn had a decent day on Sunday. That's going to translate well when he becomes an unrestricted free agent and potentially becomes the most desirable quarterback on the market. There are lots of teams that need a quarterback and Flynn will be on everyone's radar just as much as Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. If someone falls in love with him, he might get Kevin Kolb money.

Cincinnati Bengals: Nothing like losing and still ending up in the winner's column, huh? The Bengals played the Ravens well on Sunday but Ray Rice was too much for them. Fortunately, KC beat Denver (or, if you prefer, San Diego beat Oakland) and the Bengals backed their way into a playoff matchup against a Texans team that will either start T.J. Yates or Jake Delhomme.

Sanchez is no lock for the Big Apple in 2012. (AP)

Losers

Mark Sanchez: The Jets never even got a shot at backdooring their way into the playoffs, as Sanchez picked apart his own offense and gave the Dolphins nine points off of three interceptions, two of which were to defensive lineman Randy Starks. It wouldn't ultimately matter, because the Titans won and eliminated Rex Ryan's crew, but anyone who justified Sanchez' performance with the old "He just wins!" argument has packed up their shanty and moved to Denver to make that argument. He didn't play like a $14 million quarterback this year -- even though he got paid like one -- and it would almost be surprising if the Jets didn't make a swap at the position.

Detroit Lions: They haven't won at Lambeau since 1991 now, dropping a mind-blowing 20 consecutive games at the Packers homefield. Of course, that's not why they're on this list, although it doesn't help. They're on this list because they just gave up 480 passing yards to the Packers backup and losing in Green Bay (coupled with Atlanta rumbling over the Bucs) means Detroit's next game will be in New Orleans. Against Drew Brees. You should go ahead and put your mortgage on the over.

Raheem Morris: I'm hesitant to include Morris because I'm pretty sure he'll have already been fired by time I hit publish. I mean, if there was ever a time not to let your opponent get out to a 42-0 lead it's definitely the final game of the season when you're riding a nine-game losing streak and barely clinging to your job.

Rob Ryan: Dallas looked absolutely flat early on Sunday night and somehow managed to storm back on the Giants, only to have the secondary shredded by Eli Manning when they cut the lead to seven points. Ryan's defense hasn't backed up his mouth all season long and even though you want your coach to make better late-game decisions and you don't want your quarterback turning the ball over late, there

John Elway: Kyle Orton didn't do anything crazy like throw for 500 yards to beat the Broncos on Sunday, but they win that game against Tyler Palko. Not that it mattered, because the Broncos made the playoffs anyway when the Chargers topped the Raiders. But Elway put himself in the position to miss the postseason by releasing Orton and even if it helped the team's chemistry they're barely hanging on right now and look like a lock for a first-round exit.

The Big Questions

The Broncos didn't exactly storm into the playoffs. (AP)

1. Is the Tim Tebow magic finally gone?
It just might be. The Broncos still made the playoffs, of course, and anything can happen once you get to the postseason. But Denver limped their way there, backing into a title at 8-8 on a three-game skid. Teams seem to have figured out that playing press-man coverage against Tebow severely limits what he can do on offense (he's much better at picking apart zones and makes fewer mistakes) and Denver proved that if they can't generate turnovers, they're in trouble. It's hard to imagine them beating the Steelers, even at home.

2. Who's the AFC favorite going forward?
The Ravens are my pick. They get homefield up to the AFC Championship and only lose it then if they have to play the Patriots. They've beaten the Bengals twice and they've beaten the Steelers twice. They've beaten New England in New England in the playoffs before, and the Pats have no defense. And the Ravens are nightmare matchups in Baltimore for Houston and Denver, neither of whom can keep pace if the Ravens start scoring.

3. How about the NFC?
Say what you want about how hot the Saints are -- and they are white hot -- but the Packers are still the favorites. They've got homefield throughout, they have two weeks to rest their starters and they can score on anyone. One bad week against the Chiefs does not a 15-1 team unseat. Their defense isn't great, but few teams do have a good defense and if they matchup against New Orleans in the NFC Championship Game, it's going down at Lambeau Field.

4. Who're the most dangerous non-playoff teams in 2012?
Eagles, Panthers and Chargers for me. The Snooze Buttons finished 8-8 and if they'd had a full offseason, they might have won the NFC East. Their dominant defense down the stretch is reason for optimism if you're an Eagles fan. Carolina needs defense, but they suffered an insane amount of injury-related attrition in 2011 and if they draft all defense and get healthy, they can contend in the NFC South. Plus: Cam Newton. And the Bolts showed this year they could be as good as playoff teams but just made stupid mistakes. A new coach could clear those problems up.

5. Any chance Jerry Jones changes his mind on Jason Garrett?
Jones has been incredibly supportive of Garrett so probably not. But someone's taking the fall for the Cowboys not making the playoffs and the best guess here is that it's Rob Ryan. He runs his mouth constantly and his defense doesn't back up all the talk -- their secondary got absolutely shredded by Eli Manning right after they got back into the game Sunday night.

6. What is Stevie Johnson thinking with his celebrations?
He's not thinking, actually. Johnson's scheduled to be a free agent in what's a really, really deep wide receiver class in 2012 and reportedly wants $7.5 million. The only problem is he's now developed a stigma for dropping really important catches and oftentimes costing his teams 15 yards with penalties like he did on Sunday. Wishing everyone "Happy New Years!" is a cool thing to do ... when it's not bad for your job and you're looking for a raise. Johnson's one of the most fun and interesting guys in the NFL but he has to be smarter than that.

7. How smart do the Steelers look for that Santonio Holmes trade now?
You don't even know the half of it. Not only did the dump a guy who's clearly a locker room distraction (Holmes) and not LaDainian Tomlinson-approved as a captain, but Pittsburgh allowed Mike Wallace to emerge as one of the best wideouts in the game and let someone else (the Jets) pick up the tab for Holmes' long-term deal. Oh, and in case you didn't know, they used the pick they got from the Jets to draft 2011 breakout wide receiver Antonio Brown

8. Should my team draft a running back early this year?
Negative, ghostrider, the pattern is full. Full of guys who weren't drafted in the first round leading the league in rushing anyway.

Player	2011 Rush Yards	2011 Rush YPG	2011 Rush TDs	2011 YPC	Year/Round/Pick
Maurice Jones-Drew	1,606	100.4	8	4.7	2006/2/60th
LeSean McCoy	1,309	87.3	17	4.8	2009/2/53rd
Arian Foster	1,224	94.2	10	4.4	2009/None/UFA
Frank Gore	1,211	75.7	8	4.3	2008/2/55
Ray Rice	1,173	78.2	10	4.4	2005/3/65

This doesn't mean teams should avoid drafting someone who's a special talent in college (see: Adrian Peterson) but there's a real sweet spot developing in the draft for undersized, pass-catching running backs (go ahead and add in Jamaal Charles too) who turn out to be a lot better than where they were drafted.

9. How's that Carson Palmer trade working out now?
Not so good. The Raiders could have arguably won the trade if they made the playoffs. All they had to do was beat a downtrodden Chargers team at home and they couldn't, so they miss the postseason and give up a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the Bengals (who made the playoffs, naturally). With Palmer, the Raiders were 6-4 and he threw 13 touchdowns and 16 picks. Whoops. Add in the fact that Hue Jackson just coached the most-penalized team in NFL history and he has some explaining to do.

10. Is Romeo Crennel the Chiefs next head coach?
Hard to imagine he's not. KC finished 6-9 on the season and two of those wins were with Crennel in charge; they also nearly beat Oakland in Week 16 too. Surely Scott Pioli thinks that with Crennel in charge this season and better injury luck the Chiefs would've won the division. He might be right, actually, and that's why Crennel will get the gig.

11. How many records did the Saints break on Sunday?
Eleventy billion or thereabouts. Brees and Sean Payton were basically rubber-stamping their signatures all over the NFL's offensive record books. They set the record for points scored in a season, most points scored at home in a season, most passing yards in a season (Brees' own record), best completion percentage in a season (again, Brees'), most completions in a season, most all-purpose yards in a single season (Darren Sproles owns it) and most receiving yards by a tight end in a season (only Rob Gronkowski broke that one a little while later). I can't confirm it, but I'm pretty sure the Saints broke the record for most broken records as well.

GIF O' THE WEEK

Bryan Braman is going to get fined for a helmet-to-helmet hit that he made ... without a helmet.

Worth 1,000 Words

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By Josh Katzowitz

Perhaps knowing that he’d make Aaron Rodgers inactive for the day, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he wanted to see backup Matt Flynn perform even better than he did last season against the Patriots. He also said he wanted Flynn to win the game.

Flynn did him better than that. By completing 31 of 44 passes, Flynn threw for a franchise-record 480 yards and a franchise-best six touchdowns to lead Green Bay to the 45-41 victory against the Lions in what was a wild game.

Considering Flynn is a free agent after this season, it seems clear that he might have created a nice little free agent market for himself.

And if Rodgers, for some reason, gets knocked out of a game or can’t play during the playoffs, Flynn has proven that he can win a game against a quality team as well.

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Follow all the Week 17 action live: Inactives | Scoreboard

1 p.m. ET games:
DET-GB | TEN-HOU | IND-JAC | NYJ-MIA | CHI-MIN | BUF-NE | CAR-NO | WAS-PHI | SF-STL

4 p.m. ET games:
TB-ATL | BAL-CIN | PIT-CLE | SEA-ARI | KC-DEN | SD-OAK

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By Josh Katzowitz

Without the possibility of an undefeated season and with a No. 1 seed already locked up for the NFC playoffs, it was thought that quarterback Aaron Rodgers, though he might play a little today, probably wouldn’t go the whole way.

Now, we know for sure he won’t play at all.

That’s because Rodgers is among the Packers inactives for today’s game vs. the Lions. Also inactive are linebacker Clay Matthews, receiver Greg Jennings, running back James Starks, tackle Bryan Bulaga and cornerback Charles Woodson.
 
That means quarterback Matt Flynn will get the second start of his career, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can repeat last year’s performance vs. the Patriots in which Flynn played well and nearly did enough to beat New England.

“I’m not really trying to go out there and prove anything to anybody or the rest of the NFL,” Flynn said earlier this week. “I’m going to go out there and try to win the game. My job as the backup is to do my best to not let there be too much of a drop-off at the position.

“Go in there, execute the offense, move the chains and put points up. That’s my job, and that’s all it should be.”

As the Packers team website points out, Rodgers has officially broken Peyton Manning's record for the highest-ever season passer rating. Rodgers will finish the season with a rating of 122.5, better than Manning's 121.4 rating in 2004.

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Follow all the Week 17 action live: Inactives | Scoreboard

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By Josh Katzowitz

With the Packers already locked into their No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs, I wouldn’t expect quarterback Aaron Rodgers to play the whole way Sunday vs. the Lions. And though it makes sense that Green Bay would want to play him some -- you don’t want the guy not to play for two-straight weeks -- it sounds like the Packers are pondering not using him at all.

“The most important thing with Aaron is he’s ready to play,” coach Mike McCarthy said, via the Packers official website. “Whether he starts, we’ll talk about that today.”

McCarthy, though, might have given a little hint when he said this, “I want to see Matt Flynn play like he did in New England, but take it a step further -- win the game."

Flynn, of course, is Rodgers’ backup quarterback who nearly beat the Patriots last season. He was ultra-impressive, completing 24 of 37 passes for 251 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and though New England pulled out the win, I blamed the Packers coaching staff for its disorganization in the final half-minute and not Flynn.

Either way, Flynn, though we still don’t know that much about him, drew some trade interest in the offseason -- enough where McCarthy said he wasn’t letting go of Flynn -- and obviously would like to show what he can do against a potentially-scary Lions defense.

If he gets the chance to play, that is. Which, sounds like, he probably will.

“I’m not really trying to go out there and prove anything to anybody or the rest of the NFL,” Flynn said. “I’m going to go out there and try to win the game. My job as the backup is to do my best to not let there be too much of a drop-off at the position.

“Go in there, execute the offense, move the chains and put points up. That’s my job, and that’s all it should be.”





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Posted by Will Brinson

The Miami Dolphins have -- already -- had an interesting offseason. The running back combo of Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown appears headed out the door (and the Fins still passed on Mark Ingram) and, as previously noted, questions about Chad Henne remain (and the Fins still passed on various quarterbacks).

Oh yes, and owner Stephen Ross publicly pursued Jim Harbaugh while Tony Sparano was still employed, failed to land the then-Stanford coach and then had to give Sparano a raise.

This friction across three key areas has created a need come free agency -- Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun-Sentinel writes that the Dolphins have a couple of very specific targets between now and whenever the season starts.

First, Kelly believes they'll add a veteran quarterback, but not a Chad Pennington-style backup-type. Kelly believes it will be someone who will be "savvy enough to push -- if not unseat -- [Henne]"; names he floats include Carson Palmer, Kevin Kolb, Matt Flynn, Vince Young, Matt Hasselbeck, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman.

That's a pretty, pretty wide spectrum of quarterbacks, but the point is salient -- the Dolphins will get another quarterback who expects to get a shot at starting.

They're also going to get a "tailback who has the ability to run stretch plays … that gets to the EDGES," Kelly writes. The biggest name associated with Miami thus far has been the Panthers' DeAngelo Williams; Carolina's repeatedly said it wants Williams back, but depending on how free agency shakes out, it seems less and less likely that re-signing him would be a prudent move.

There are other available names, though: Ahmad Bradshaw, Darren Sproles and Reggie Bush are names Kelly hears from "reliable sources."

Those guys make a lot of sense, especially if the Dolphins have interest in bringing back Ricky -- a combo of Sproles or Bush plus Williams would be a solid 1-2 punch out of the backfield.

All that's easier said than done, of course, but it's pretty clear what the Dolphins need, and there's good news for Fins fans, because it lines up nicely with what Miami wants.

And, provided free agency plays out as expected, the open market might be spot-on for those voids as well.

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