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| For the first time since 2004 when he played for the Cambridge Animals, Peyton Manning will be throwing passes for someone other than the Fidalgo Island Sea Hogs. |
By R.E. Porter
Associated Web Press
A somber mood hangs over the Fidalgo Island team headquarters as the organization deals with the end of an era in Sea Hogs history. For the first time in nine years, the Hogs will take the field without Peyton Manning under center.
No other team in league history has had the continuity at quarterback the Sea Hogs have enjoyed with Manning. From 2005 to 2013, he led the Hogs to a 79-47 regular-season record, five Linardo division titles and two NFFA championships.
Because of league rules, the Sea Hogs will not be able to protect their franchise quarterback as a keeper in 2014, so Manning will be donning the uniform of another team this season, leaving a 51-point-per-game hole in the Sea Hogs' offense.
"[Team owner Tirik] Obobber has been beside himself," a Sea Hogs official speaking on condition of anonymity said. "I was outside his office the other day when I heard him sigh heavily several times, then he began to sob uncontrollably. In between sobs, I could hear him saying, 'Oh, Peytie, oh Peytie, oh Peytie, Peytie, Peytie. What am I going to do without you?' Then I thought I heard him add in a whisper, 'Life isn't worth living without you.'
"So I went into his office and tried to console him, but he ordered me out of the room, shrieking, 'Get away from me. There's nothing you can do, there's nothing anyone can do.'"
Since that day, Obobber is rumored to have undergone treatment for depression and to be taking mega doses of the antidepressant Lexapro.
While no other team is losing a nine-year veteran like Manning, Fidalgo Island is not the only franchise that will lose a high-scoring signal caller; both The Village Green (Aaron Rodgers) and East Nashville Black Dogs (Matthew Stafford) lose Top 5 quarterbacks, too. Plus, the defending champion Atlanta Smack Daddies will lose Matt Ryan.
The Smack Daddies are the hardest hit, losing running back Arian Foster, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, linebacker Navarro Bowman and defensive back Patrick Peterson, in addition to Ryan. The Black Dogs are losing two key players other than Stafford: running back Darren Sproles and linebacker Patrick Willis. The Village Green are also facing turnover at key positions. In addition to losing quarterback Rodgers, The Green lose running back LeSean McCoy. The Downtown Corsairs are in the best situation of all the teams, losing no one this year.
Like Obobber, Black Dogs coach Jim McMahon hates the thought of losing his quarterback."We won three straight division titles, made two trips to the NFFA championship game and won the franchise's third crown with Matthew [Stafford] behind center," McMahon said. "I'm gonna miss that kid, he's a winner."
In the past, the NFFA has allowed trades during a small window of time leading up to the draft, but it is unclear whether the league will permit teams to trade players who will become free agents and be available in the 2014 draft. This is the first time the NFFA has faced such a situation since the current keeper rule went into effect prior to the 2011 season.
Speaking off-the-record, one league owner said if teams are allowed to trade their pending free agents, it will defeat the intent of the change in the keeper rule, which was to ensure players like Manning went back into the draft pool. "Bobber's gotten enough out of Peyton — I'll be damned if he's going to get another top tier quarterback through a trade for him."
Assuming Manning is in the 2014 draft pool, the 12th Avenue Bakers have the first pick in the draft and no team needs an offensive boost more the Bakes, who finished dead last in points scored in 2013, averaging nearly 12 points less per game than the second lowest-scoring team. Conventional thinking would have 12th Avenue using that first pick on Manning. But then, conventional thinking has rarely played a role in the draft strategy of the Bakers, the only team to ever use a second-round pick on a defensive player.
The following is the complete list of former keeper players who will become free agents. (Players in parenthesis are not currently on the team's roster.)
12th Avenue Bakers: WR Larry Fitzgerald, (LB Chad Greenway).
Atlanta Smack Daddies: QB Matt Ryan, RB Arian Foster, WR Calvin Johnson, LB Navarro Bowman, DB Patrick Peterson.
Cambridge Animals: TE Rob Gronkowski, LB Derrick Johnson, (DL Will Wilfork).
Downtown Corsairs: none.
East Nashville Black Dogs: QB Matthew Stafford, RB Darren Sproles, LB Patrick Willis, (DL Jason Pierre-Paul, DB Charles Tillman).
Fidalgo Island Sea Hogs: QB Peyton Manning, RB Ray Rice, (LB James Laurinaitis).
The Village Green: QB Aaron Rodgers, RB LeSean McCoy, (DB Antonio Cromartie).
West Nashville Beelzebubbas: WR Julio Jones, DL Calais Campbell, (LB London Fletcher).
Looking ahead, the following are the projected 2014 keepers for each team with the pending free agents factored out.
12th Avenue Bakers: QB Colin Kaepernick, RB Chris Johnson, WR Jacoby Jones, DL J.J. Watt, LB Daryl Smith, DB Alteruan Verner.
Atlanta Smack Daddies: QB Nick Foles, RB Eddie Lacy, WR Brandon Marshall, DL Robert Quinn, LB Lavonte David, DB Eric Berry.
Cambridge Animals: QB Tom Brady, RB Jamaal Charles, WR Alshon Jeffery, DL Chris Long, LB DeAndre Levy, DB Eric Weddle.
Downtown Corsairs: QB Andrew Luck or QB Russell Wilson, RB Adrian Peterson, WR Demaryius Thomas, DL Chandler Jones, LB Paul Posluszny, DB Morgan Burnett.
East Nashville Black Dogs: QB Tony Romo, RB Matt Forte, WR Antonio Brown, DL Lamar Houston, LB Karlos Dansby, DB Barry Church.
Fidalgo Island Sea Hogs: QB Andy Dalton, RB Danny Woodhead, WR Josh Gordon, DL Vontaze Burfict, DB Quinton Demps.
The Village Green: QB Philip Rivers, RB Marshawn Lynch, WR Dez Bryant, DL Justin Tuck, LB Robert Mathis, DB Deangelo Hall.
West Nashville Beelzebubbas: QB Drew Brees, RB Doug Martin, WR Cordarrelle Patterson, DL Carlos Dunlap, LB Sean Lee, DB Richard Sherman.
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