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NFL

John Lynch: 49ers will look at 'every scenario' to find QB solutions

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On Wednesday, we took a closer look at some of the possibilities the San Francisco 49ers will have to consider as they seek both short- and long-term solutions at quarterback.

What’s missing from that discussion (and still is, really) is what exactly new coach Kyle Shanahan wants in his franchise signal-caller. Shanahan will turn his attention to evaluating quarterbacks, especially the college kind, here soon enough. But in the meantime, new general manager John Lynch joined KNBR radio this week and offered some insight into how the process will work.

Lynch made it clear he knows how important getting the right quarterback is for the team’s rebuilding efforts.

49ers GM John Lynch said that he’s looking for a quarterback with the ability to absorb coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme, which comes with lengthy verbiage. Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire

“That’s a big question,” Lynch said. “When I played, I had to play against those guys, and so I don’t know if I ever, in my mind I think I knew but I couldn’t really admit it to myself because it would only be surrender. Because when you go against a great one, you’re helpless. So I’ll tell you, that changed when I went up in the broadcast booth and you start just seeing the effect these guys have on football teams.

“I think there was a stat that I saw recently, where on the AFC side, 14 of the last 16 Super Bowls have been [Tom] Brady, [Peyton] Manning, then Ben Roethlisberger had a couple in there. And so that just speaks to how important that position is.”

The importance of quarterback productivity isn’t lost on the 49ers or their fans. Over the past three seasons, Niners quarterbacks have combined to rank 31st in the NFL in passing yards per game, 24th in completion percentage and passer rating, 26th in yards per attempt (6.45) and 23rd in QBR. The presence of Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert has offset that to some degree because of their running ability, but the fact remains that the Niners have consistently had one of the least dynamic passing attacks in the league.

In hiring Shanahan, the Niners undoubtedly hope that is about to change. Shanahan has spent nine years as an NFL offensive coordinator, with stops in Houston, Cleveland, Washington and Atlanta. In six of those nine seasons, Shanahan has called plays for an offense that finished in the top nine in the league in yards per game.

Shanahan’s finest work came this season when Atlanta led the league in points scored (540) and yards per play (6.7) and was second in yards per game (415.8). That performance earned Shanahan the Assistant Coach of the Year award, and quarterback Matt Ryan claimed MVP honors.

Ryan isn’t the only quarterback Shanahan has had success with, either. He’s helped journeymen like Brian Hoyer as well as high draft picks like Robert Griffin III have their best NFL seasons.

The key now is for Shanahan and Lynch to get on the same page so the personnel department knows what the coach is looking for when evaluating the position.

“The answer for us is that Kyle and I are going to get together, and we’ve already discussed it, but we’re going to get together and find out exactly what he’s looking for in a quarterback,” Lynch told KNBR. “And then we’re going to evaluate the guys we have, we’re going to evaluate the draft, and we’re going to look hard at free agency, trades, whatever we need to do to get a guy. And it may not be this year. It may be that we draft and develop. We’re looking at every scenario, but we’re both big believers, and I don’t think this is anything revolutionary. Everyone knows how important that position is, but we certainly place a huge emphasis on it and we’re going to work hard to get that right.”

Of utmost importance is a quarterback with the mental acumen to handle Shanahan’s offense. It’s a complicated scheme that could easily overwhelm a quarterback without the wherewithal to comprehend it.

“You get in Kyle Shanahan’s system and you’ve got 15-word plays,” Lynch said. “And the coach is in your ear but you still have to replicate that with confidence and authority. And so it’s a big challenge for this entire league. I think it extends deeper than just the quarterback position, but at that position in particular, that’s a challenge.”

Which is why it’s very likely that even if the 49ers select a quarterback early in the NFL draft, they’ll bring in a veteran who can help him along and even provide a buffer before he’d have to play. Lynch even floated the idea that the Niners’ search for a franchise quarterback could last beyond this offseason.

“It’s just the reality — these [college] guys are playing a different style of football,” Lynch said. “I don’t think it’s great for the game, but it’s the reality, because it’s all over college and high school football. So that’s going to be a challenge moving forward.”

NFL

How the Cowboys could have kept Tony Romo and Dak Prescott

FRISCO, Texas — Before Super Bowl LI, ESPN Insider Adam Schefter reported that Tony Romo wants to play in 2017, pushing off retirement and potential lucrative offers from television networks.

While we can mention a host of potential suitors for Romo, let’s first eliminate the Dallas Cowboys. It’s not happening. The Cowboys made it clear they were rolling with Dak Prescott and the rookie responded with a 13-3 record, 23 touchdown passes and the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Last week, owner and general manager Jerry Jones was asked by NFL Nation reporter Paul Kuharsky, who covers the Tennessee Titans and co-hosts a radio show in Nashville, how he could convince Romo to stay in Dallas.

“That’s a tough one,” Jones said. “But one thing’s for sure, going into that playoff game, I really thought that we had the best quarterback personnel even with all the due respect to [Aaron] Rodgers. We had two quarterbacks that were capable, in my mind, of playing at a level that could get us to the Super Bowl in case you had an injury or just your depth at that position. And I felt that we had from about the sixth game on last year, seventh game, thought we had a superior position at quarterback because if Dak got nicked up. We knew he had a hot hand; we knew the team was really motivated around him and he played to the strengths of our team, but we also knew we had Romo and, boy, was he executing well at practice. He could just do about anything he wanted to against our defense.

The Cowboys are unlikely willing to pay the $14 million owed to Tony Romo so that he can be a backup. Tom Pennington/Getty Images

“So we knew we were in good shape with Dak or with Tony, and so I can still remember the comfort in that position and there’s something to trying to stay there.”

The salary cap says otherwise. Romo is set to count $24.7 million against the cap. Romo’s desire to continue to play is another reason it won’t work. There can’t be an open competition for the starting quarterback job. That wouldn’t be fair to Prescott or Romo. And you don’t pay a $14 million base salary to a backup quarterback. Oh, and Romo won’t take a pay cut. Remember, he wants to play.

The best solution is a clean break with a release or a trade.

But there was a way the Cowboys could have kept both players in 2017 and it goes back to Prescott’s hot hand in an 11-game winning streak.

Had the Cowboys gone back to Romo once he was healthy from the compression fracture in his back and Romo performed the way the Cowboys thought he would entering 2016, then they would have been set for the present and the future.

We can’t extrapolate Romo’s seven snaps against the Philadelphia Eagles that ended with a touchdown pass and say he would have been dominant, but let’s say he performed the way he did in 2014 when the Cowboys went 12-4. Let’s say the Cowboys continued to win, clinched the NFC East and maybe even home-field advantage and made the playoffs. Let’s say the Cowboys won a playoff game or two.

Had all of that happened, the Cowboys gladly would have continued with Romo’s $24.7 million cap figure and $14 million base salary, all the while knowing Prescott would be ready if Romo was hurt in 2017.

Heck, if Romo was hurt upon his return in 2016, they knew they had Prescott in reserve. And if Romo hadn’t performed at a high level, then a decision on his future wouldn’t be so difficult.

But now Jones is facing a tough personal decision, because of his fondness for Romo.

He had his chance to have Romo for the present and Prescott for the future.

Now he will have to see Romo in another uniform and remember what Jones said on 105.3 The Fan after the Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round:

“I really believe that Tony Romo will play in a Super Bowl,” Jones said. “Now try that one on. I know that if he’s healthy enough, he’ll be in a Super Bowl. I strongly believe that.”

It just won’t be for the Cowboys.

NFL

CFL's Roughriders deny working out Manziel

4:28 PM ET

  • Kevin SeifertNFL Nation

    Close

    • ESPN.com national NFL writer
    • ESPN.com NFC North reporter, 2008-2013
    • Covered Vikings for Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1999-2008

A Canadian Football League team has denied a report that it worked out former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, who is attempting a comeback after sitting out the 2016 NFL season.

Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager and coach Chris Jones told TSN that “no one from our club” worked out Manziel.

In a separate statement to ESPN, the CFL said: “We are investigating. The Riders tell us that they did not work out Manziel. So at this point, it appears the report is false. Should other evidence come to light, we will deal with it accordingly.”

Johnny Manziel is working to get back into football, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders deny a report that they’ve worked out the quarterback. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Denise Michaels, Manziel’s spokesperson, said Manziel has not worked out for a CFL team.

The Roughriders would be in violation of CFL tampering rules if the workout did occur, because Manziel’s CFL rights are owned by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Jones told TSN that he is “considering legal action.”

The Canadian blog 3DownNation reported Thursday morning that Manziel worked out for Saskatchewan officials in Florida prior to the Senior Bowl. Practices for the Senior Bowl began Jan. 24 in Mobile, Alabama, and the event concluded with a game on Jan. 27.

Manziel, 24, was not immediately available for comment.

In a Jan. 12 post on Instagram, he said he had been sober for 18 days and was pursuing a comeback. In a subsequent message sent to ESPN’s Ed Werder, Manziel said: “I love sports, I love football and when you take something away from yourself you realize it the hard way. The happiness from doing it sober has been ASTRONOMICAL. Beyond my wildest imagination and once that continued other good things started happening in my life and it just clicked.”

Manziel, a first-round pick in 2014, spent 10 weeks in rehab after his rookie season. He was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

He made a rare public appearance last week for an autograph session in Katy, Texas. He did not take questions from reporters.

The CFL season begins in June.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler contributed to this report.

NFL

Sarkisian: 'Alcoholism doesn't define me'

Newly hired Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said he remains in treatment to battle alcoholism, and he expressed gratitude toward the organization for giving him an opportunity.

“Everybody has issues that they have to deal with — some physical, some mental,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “This happens to be an issue of mine that I work on daily. That is important to me so I can be the best person I can be, the best father I can be, the best coach I can be. And I’m diligent in that.

“To be in an organization that recognizes the work that I’ve put in and that I’ll continue to put in and support that, it’s one that I’m very grateful for and thankful for, just as I was at Alabama with Coach [Nick] Saban.”

Sarkisian, most recently the offensive coordinator at Alabama, landed the Falcons job Tuesday, replacing new San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.

Sarkisian’s bout with alcoholism has been well-documented. He was fired as the coach at USC in October 2015. Then-athletic director Pat Haden said Sarkisian showed up to school in no condition to lead practice. That followed an embarrassing moment at a pep rally, where he appeared to be intoxicated while speaking.

Sarkisian later sought treatment for his alcoholism and sued USC, alleging the school breached his contract and discriminated against him based on his disability.

“This isn’t something that is necessarily in my past,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “It is something that I have to work on every single day, that I do work on every single day because it is important to me. It’s important to who I am as a person.”

  • Matt Ryan has earned the right to make more play calls and more adjustments, and new Falcons OC Steve Sarkisian won’t be making an overhaul.

“The disease of alcoholism is a piece of me. It doesn’t define me,” he continued. “I’ve got a lot more to offer than that. And hopefully over time, everybody here in Atlanta can get a feel for that, just who I am as a person and get to know me and really develop the quality relationships that are necessary to be part of a championship organization.”

Sarkisian didn’t go into details about what his treatment involves.

“It’s being active in the process,” he said. “It’s not being negligent in the things that you need to do. Some of the things that I work on are personal to my recovery. … But I will say that’s a positive. That’s not a negative. That’s a positive that I am diligent in it.

“The program that I’m in is such that you stay connected. You continue to work on it. In the end, that makes me a better person. I’m thankful that I was connected with the right people when I got involved in the program, and I continue to stay connected to [them].”

Coach Dan Quinn said the Falcons vetted Sarkisian and said there were “zero hesitations, zero limitations” in making the hire.

“We went through the process to check and make sure everything would align with our organization in terms of cultures and values,” Quinn said Tuesday. “Honestly, he’s done a fantastic job.”

Sarkisian appreciates Quinn’s support.

“I think it speaks volumes to the type of person Dan is,” Sarkisian said. “He’s a very quality individual, and somebody who genuinely cares for the people in this organization and the people he’s connected to. And I felt that from Dan this summer when I was out there during training camp for a few days. I just felt it from him.

“When he called the day after the Super Bowl here about this opportunity, [alcoholism] was one of the first things we discussed. And it was very compassionate. It was very heartfelt. He said he was going to be here to support me any way he can. The way I took it, he wasn’t just trying to recruit me to come. It was truly how he felt.

“That was comforting to me, when you’re making the type of decision to leave a really successful place for another successful place, you want to know who you’re working for.”

Sarkisian also spoke about the decision to leave the Crimson Tide.

“I couldn’t be more grateful to Coach Saban and everyone at the University of Alabama,” Sarkisian said. “It’s a tremendous organization. He’s not only a fantastic coach, he’s a great man. I’m fortunate that I was able to work with him for the past six months. I’m fortunate to call him a friend. I really appreciate all that he did for me.

“I was really excited and looking forward to this upcoming season. They’ve got a heck of a football team; some really young, talented players. But the decision to leave — when you get this type of opportunity to come to a team that just competed in the Super Bowl, that’s a win away from winning the Super Bowl, and the talent they have offensively and to work with Dan, It was something I just couldn’t pass up.

“It was really hard. … In this industry, you have to make those tough decisions.”

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“If you think about it, I've never held a job in my life. I went from being an NFL player to a coach to a broadcaster. I haven't worked a day in my life.”
-John Madden


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