The NFL should re-name itself as the NLL (No Loyalty League) after 35-year old QB Peyton Manning and 36-year old WR Hines Ward were released by the only teams either of them have played for (The Colts for Manning and the Steelers for Ward).  Sure, Peyton Manning missed all of last season due to a neck surgery, but the Colts were horrible without him.  Will they be better with Andrew Luck at QB in 2012?  I don’t think so.  Manning played in 208 games (all starts) for the Colts and he completed 4,682 of 7,210 passes (67.8%) for 54,828 yards with 399 TD  passes and 198 INTs (94.9 QB Rating).  Manning also carried the ball 346 times for 722 yards (2.1 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  Manning was 141-67 (67.8%) as the Colts’ starting QB during the regular season and he got the Colts’ only Super Bowl Championship (in 2006) while playing in Indianapolis.  Manning is #3 all-time in passing yards behind only Brett Favre (71,838) and Dan Marino (61,361).  He is also #3 all-time in passing TDs in his career behind the same pair (Favre 508, Marino 420).  Despite all of those amazing numbers the Colts still decided to cut him loose.

Hines Ward was starting to slow down last year.  He played in 15 games (9 starts) for the Steelers last year and he caught 46 passes for 381 yards (8.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Ward played in 217 games (190 starts) in his career with the Steelers and he caught 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards (12.1 avg) with 85 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 57 times for 428 yards (7.5 avg) with 1 TD run for the Steelers.  Ward is #8 in NFL history with his 1,000 grabs.  He is also #18 in receiving yards (12,083) and he’s tied for 13th in TD grabs (85) with Hall of Famers Paul Warfield and Lance Alworth.  Ward said he would take a big pay cut to stay with the Steelers but they cut him anyway.

It will be hard to watch Peyton Manning and Hines Ward play in different uniforms in 2012, but it would be nice to see them rebound and stick it to their old employers.

Free agency opens in a month, so I have decided to forecast where I see this free agent crop of QBs landing in 2012.  Here we go:

Unrestricted Free Agents:

1. Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints - There is no way in hell that the Saints are letting Drew Brees go.  He is the face of the franchise right now and he is showing no signs of slowing down.

2. Matt Flynn - Washington Redskins - When Redskins’ owner Daniel Snyder locks in on a player, he usually gets his man.  Matt Flynn is probably the 2nd best QB available on the free agent market and I see the Redskins signing him up.  That way the Redskins can keep their draft picks instead of dealing up for Robert Griffin.

3. Alex Smith - San Francisco 49ers - Alex Smith was much more than a game manager for the 49ers.  They will likely re-sign him and make him the starter for a while.

4. Kyle Orton - Jacksonville Jaguars - The Jaguars need someone to show Blaine Gabbert the ropes.  Starting Orton for a year or two to show the kid the right way to play would be a good move for the Jags.

5. Chad Henne - Dallas Cowboys - Owner/G.M. Jerry Jones needs to replace Jon Kitna as Tony Romo’s caddy, so he makes a pretty big splash in nabbing Chad Henne.

6. Jason Campbell - New York Jets - Coach Ryan wants an alternative to Mark Sanchez in case he gets off to a bad start in 2012.  Jason Campbell will push him for the starting job in training camp.

7. Vince Young - Denver Broncos - The Broncos wouldn’t have to change the offense a whole bit if Tim Tebow got hurt.  So it makes sense to give Vince Young a 1-year deal.

8. David Garrard - Baltimore Ravens - The Ravens would like a more experience backup than Tyrod Taylor.  Garrard is a solid QB coming off a back problem, so the Ravens get him at a bargain rate.

9. Rex Grossman - Chicago Bears - The Bears bring back Rex Grossman to backup Jay Cutler so they don’t have a repeat of 2012 if he goes down to injury again.

10. Shaun Hill - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The Buccaneers want a backup QB that will push Josh Freeman.  Shaun Hill is one of the better backups in the NFL, so he would be a good pickup.

11. Donovan McNabb - Oakland Raiders - Donovan McNabb would give the Raiders a solid backup to Carson Palmer in 2012.

12. Dennis Dixon - St. Louis Rams - The Rams want a higher end backup to Sam Bradford and they would be getting one in the athletic Dennis Dixon.

13. Josh Johnson - San Francisco 49ers - Head Coach Jim Harbaugh has a man crush on Josh Johnson as he coached him in college at San Diego.  Johnson would be the Niners’ #3 QB in 2012.

14. Drew Stanton - Seattle Seahawks - Drew Stanton was buried in Detroit, where he was the #3 QB.  He would be a huge upgrade over Charlie Whitehurst as the backup QB.

15. Byron Leftwich - Detroit Lions - The Lions might lose Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton in free agency.  They need a backup to Matt Stafford, so signing Byron Leftwich would make some sense.

16. Charlie Whitehurst - Green Bay Packers - Charlie Whitehurst would replace Matt Flynn (who is going to sign with someone else) as Aaron Rodgers caddy.  He is a legacy as his dad (David) played 7 seasons for the Packers and he is #9 in Packers’ history in passing yards with 6,205.

17. Brady Quinn - Buffalo Bills - The Bills bring in Brady Quinn to compete with Tyler Thigpen for the #2 QB spot in training camp.

18. Chris Redman - Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons will outbid some teams to bring Redman back in 2012.

19. Caleb Hanie - Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings sign Caleb Hanie to hold the clipboard as the #3 QB in 2012.

20. David Carr - New York Giants - The Giants like David Carr as Eli Manning’s backup.

21. Dan Orlovsky - Carolina Panthers - The Panthers sign Dan Orlovsky to backup Cam Newton in 2012.

22. A.J. Feeley - Kansas City Chiefs - Feeley battles Ricky Stanzi for the #2 job in training camp.

23. Derek Anderson - Oakland Raiders - The Raiders love guys that can throw the long ball, and Anderson can certainly do that.

24. Kellen Clemens - Miami Dolphins - The Dolphins lose out on the big name QBs and settle for Clemens as the #2 QB in 2012.

25. Kyle Boller - Washington Redskins - Boller battles John Beck to see who backs up Matt Flynn in 2012.

26. Luke McCown - Cincinnati Bengals - Luke McCown battles Bruce Gradkowski in training camp to see who backs up Andy Dalton in 2012.

27. Josh McCown - Green Bay Packers - The Packers sign Josh McCown to battle Charlie Whitehurst for the backup QB job in 2012.

28. Charlie Batch - Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers can’t find an upgrade on Charle Batch, so he returns to Pittsburgh in 2012.

29. J.P. Losman -Denver Broncos - The Broncos bring in Losman as the #3 QB as he is a good runner.

30. Jake Delhomme - Indianapolis Colts - The Colts sign Delhomme to mentor Andrew Luck.

31. Mark Brunell - retirement

32. Chad Pennington - retirement

33. Jeff Garcia - retirement

Restricted Free Agents:

1. Brian Hoyer - New England Patriots - The Patriots bring back Hoyer for one more year before turning over the backup job to Tom Brady to Ryan Mallet.

2. Chase Daniel - New Orleans Saints - The Saints bring back Chase Daniel to backup Drew Brees in 2012.

34-year old running back Ricky Williams has retired from the NFL.  He played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Ravens last year in which he carried the ball 108 times for 444 yards (4.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 13 passes for 83 yards (6.4 avg) last season.  Williams played in 147 games (84 starts) in his 11 years in the NFL and he carried the ball 2,431 times for 10,009 yards (4.1 ypc) with 66 TD runs.  He also caught 342 passes for 2,606 yards (7.6 avg) with 8 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Williams finishes his NFL career #26 in league history in rushing yards (10,009) and tied for 32nd with Fred Taylor in TD runs with 66 of them.  Williams doesn’t have to worry about taking drug tests anymore, so he will likely have a nicely buzzed retirement.

The NFL has inducted six players into the Hall of Fame.  RB Curtis Martin, DT Cortez Kennedy, C Dermontti Dawson, DE Chris Doleman, OT Willie Roaf and DB Jack Butler have been elected to Pro Football’s Hall of Fame.  39-year old Curtis Martin finished his NFL career #4 in rushing yards (14,101) and tied for 12th in rushing TDs  (90) with Eric Dickerson.  Martin played in 168 games (166 starts) in his 11 years in the NFL and he carried the ball 3,518 times for 14,101 yards (4.0 ypc) with 90 TD runs.  He also caught 484 passes for 3,329 yards (6.9 avg) with 10 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Martin led the NFL in rushing one time (2004) with 1,697 yards.

43-year old DT Cortez Kennedy was a force on the inside for the Seattle Seahawks.  He played in 167 games in his 11 years with the Seahawks and he had 58 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions.  Kennedy was one of the best defensive tackles in NFL history and he’s getting his just reward now.

46-year old C Dermontti Dawson played 13 years for the Steelers appearing in 185 games.  He was the rock in the middle of the Steelers’ offensive line for a very long time.  Dawson definitely deserves this honor.

50-year old DE Chris Doleman should have been in the Hall of Fame already.  He played in 232 games in his 15 year NFL career and he had 150.5 sacks, 18 forced fumbles, 16 fumble recoveries and 8 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  Doleman is #4 in NFL history with his 150.5 sacks.

41-year old OT Willie Roaf was one of the best offensive tackles in NFL history.  He played in 189 games (all starts) in his 13 years with the New Orleans Saints.  He is one of he best players in Saints’ franchise history and he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

84-year old CB Jack Butler was put in by the veteran’s committee.  He played 9 years for the Pittsburgh Steelers appearing in 103 games in which he had 52 interceptions that he returned for 827 combined yards and 4 TDs.

The Super Bowl is one of the funnest days of the year for the bettor as he has a lot to choose from as far as prop bets go.  Here is the way I  see things going this Sunday:

New England Patriots (-3) over the New York Giants:  I like the Patriots to win a hard fought exciting game in the Super Bowl.  I like the Patriots to win this game 31-27.  So I would bet on the Patriots and take over the total (55).

Some other prop bets I would make:

Will Peyton Manning be shown on T.V. 3.5 times during the game broadcast:  I think I would side with the under on this one, as Manning isn’t playing in the game.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis over/under 47.5 yards rushing:  The Giants are not a good team as far as run defense is concerned.  With that in mind, I like the over on this bet.

MVP of the Super Bowl:  I tried to look for value on this bet.  I would make equal bets on Patriots’ WR Wes Welker at 15-1 and Patriots’ RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis at 25-1.

1st player to score a TD in the Super Bowl:  I also looked for value here.  I would make equal bets on Giants’ TE Jake Ballard at 20-1 and BenJarvus Green-Ellis at 15-2.