Retiring Right Away

QB Kyle Boller in a preseason game with the Oakland Raiders
against the Dallas Cowboys.

The San Diego Chargers found themselves in a little pickle once backup QB Charlie Whitehurst strained his MCL in the first day of training camp. The Chargers immediately took care of their pickle, by signing QB Kyle Boller. After one day of practicing in the Chargers’ training camp, Boller surprisingly and abruptly retired from football. He informed coach Norv Turner that he did not want to continue playing football, leaving the Chargers with two quarterbacks again.

QB Philip Rivers, the clear starter, and undrafted QB Jarrett Lee of LSU are the only remaining quarterbacks on the roster, a major concern for Turner. The Chargers will once again be looking to sign a backup quarterback. The thought of Lee being the quarterback if Rivers gets hurt definitely should scare Turner and Chargers’ fans. Lee only played for LSU once incumbent starter QB Jordan Jefferson was suspended for an off-campus incident.

Lee lost his job again when he struggled in LSU’s first matchup against Alabama. When Jefferson struggled against Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game, most people thought coach Les Miles would bring in Lee to give the team a spark. Miles never brought Lee in the game, and LSU was shutout. Rivers has been pretty durable, even playing in the 2007 AFC Championship Game a several days after having his knee operated on after tearing his ACL.

However, the Chargers are trying to get back to the level of football that had them as championship contenders for several years. They will have to compete with the Denver Broncos in the AFC West, who won the division last year. They have acquired future Hall of Famer QB Peyton Manning and are expected to be much better than what they were last season. Without a decent backup quarterback, an injury to Rivers can be disastrous for the Chargers. The Indianapolis Colts, Manning’s former team, knows this too well.

Boller was an on and off starter for the Baltimore Ravens, the team that drafted him back in 2003. He was one of the string of quarterback the Ravens had who struggled to be a consistent starter before QB Joe Flacco was drafted. Boller never panned out to be the quarterback he was expected to be as a first-round pick. Only Boller knows what he wants to do after retirement. Whatever that is, he’ll probably be better at it than he was at football.  

Training Camp Begins

New York Jets QB Tim Tebow talks with special teams
coordinator Mike Westhoff.

Pittsburgh Steelers WR Mike Wallace is a holdout of training
camp.

All 32 NFL teams have started their training camp, and as usual, there are camp holdouts and position battles that will grab the attention of NFL fans. As for holdouts, Pittsburgh Steelers WR Mike Wallace, Kansas City Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe, and Jacksonville Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew are just a few players who have decided to hold out of training camp so far. Wallace and Bowe want long-term deals instead of the franchise tender they are being offered. Jones-Drew believes he should be paid more for being the one productive piece of their offense.

Wallace just watched the Steelers give WR Antonio Brown a five-year deal worth $42 million. Apparently, this deal was being negotiated without any fanfare and no drama since not many people thought Brown was going to receive an extension now. The Steelers have been negotiating with Wallace and his agent as well. However, the Steelers have said that they have stopped negotiating with Wallace and will start negotiations again once he comes into training camp. For Wallace to come to camp, he has to sign the one-year tender, worth $2.7 million.

Position battles are also brewing, as is the case every training camp. The Miami Dolphins have a quarterback competition going with former Jaguars QB David Garrard and QB Matt Moore, who took over for QB Chad Henne when he got injured last season. The Dolphins would also love to throw in rookie QB Ryan Tannehill but he is a camp holdout as he and his agent negotiate his rookie contract. Tannehill is already looked at as a project instead of NFL ready, so his time away from camp isn’t doing him any favors. He does benefit from the fact that he has Mike Sherman as the offensive coordinator. Sherman was also his head coach at Texas A&M.

The Arizona Cardinals also have a quarterback battle between QB John Skelton and QB Kevin Kolb. Skelton came in for Kolb last season and did a good job as the Cardinals finished the season somewhat strong. Kolb struggled last season with his new team, especially after receiving a $60 million extension. Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt isn’t going to let Kolb’s contract affect his decision. If Kolb cannot outplay Skelton and win the starting job, this will be a wasted investment. The Cardinals drafted WR Michael Floyd from Notre Dame with their first round pick, so that can only help their offense. WR Larry Fitzgerald approved of the decision, citing the need for receiver help opposite him to make the offense more explosive and to relieve pressure and double teams off of him.

A fairytale quarterback battle might be the one between QB Mark Sanchez and QB Tim Tebow of the New York Jets. Tebow was excellent in the fourth quarter of games last season with the Denver Broncos, as the Broncos stunned almost everyone by winning the AFC West. However, Tebow was traded once the Broncos acquired QB Peyton Manning. Sanchez struggled with the Jets at times, but he didn’t have much competition at the position to lose his job. Tebow can now provide that competition and make Sanchez work for what he wants. However, it isn’t quite clear if the Jets ever plan on using Tebow as the backup. Offensive coordinator seems to have plans on using Tebow in certain offensive packages, and the Jets have stated in the past that Tebow will play special teams, a rarity for a quarterback.

While NFL fans get excited for training camps to start, many can’t wait for the regular season to start in September. The regular season and the postseason last year turned out to be an exciting one, and surprising on some occasions. We can only wait to see what the 2012 NFL season has in store for us.