Since the National Football League opened its free agency period March 11, there have been plenty of winners and losers.
Daniel Snyder has been doing his best George Steinbrenner impression and has brought in the likes of Antwaan Randle El, Brandon Lloyd, Andre Carter and Adam Archuleta for the Washington Redskins.
On the contrary, teams like the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have suffered heavy losses, with the Patriots losing Willie McGinest, David Givens, Adam Viniateri and, potentially, Tom Ashworth, while the Colts lost star running back Edgerrin James.
Perhaps the biggest story of the free agent period, though, has been the quarterback carousel. Drew Brees left the San Diego Chargers and signed with the New Orleans Saints. This move may potentially open up the second overall pick to the highest bidder looking to land Matt Leinart. Also, the New York Jets traded for Patrick Ramsey and the Miami Dolphins gave a second round pick for Pro Bowl quarterback Daunte Culpepper.
With all this movement, starting jobs have opened up across the league. The Chargers are set to start Phillip Rivers while the Redskins still have Mark Brunell and last year's first round pick Jason Campbell. However, there are several teams in need of quality quarterbacks. The Oakland Raiders recently signed former Wahoo Aaron Brooks, but his role with the team is to be determined. The Minnesota Vikings are also in need of a quarterback for the present and future.
One person that makes a lot of sense and has been rumored in several trades is former ACC player of the year and Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub. Unfortunately, it appears the Atlanta Falcons have all but ruled out giving Schaub a shot at starting.
Before trading for Culpepper and Ramsey, the Dolphins and Jets both expressed interest in Schaub. The Dolphins reportedly offered the same second round pick they sent to the Vikings in order to acquire Schaub. The Jets tried to work a deal to bring Schaub to New York for Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham, but the Falcons did not budge. The Jets eventually traded Abraham to the Falcons for a first round pick.
The Falcons do not seem very interested in letting Schaub go. This indicates that the Falcons either have less faith in the talents of super-star Michael Vick than they would like the public to know, or they do not trust him to stay healthy. Either way, the Falcons are keeping Matt Schaub shackled to the bench and holding him back from beginning what could potentially be a very successful career.
Schaub has shown flashes of brilliance in his limited playing time. This past season, he received significant playing time in four games and started one. Over this span, Schaub threw for 495 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions en route to a 98.1 passer rating. These numbers rank him with the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.
In his lone start, Schaub faced off against the Patriots and defensive guru Bill Belichik. He threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns with a completion percentage of 52.9 percent. He also drove the Falcons down the field and tied the game with only minutes left. The Patriots then got the ball and scored with only seventeen seconds remaining, leaving Schaub with too little time to answer.
Schaub has shown the capability to be an elite quarterback in the NFL and it is time he gets his chance to prove it. The Falcons have too talented a player in Schaub to keep him on the bench. Since they appear to lack trust in Vick, why not trade him?
Vick's trade value is extremely high right now, but if the injury issues persist, his playing career may be shorter than expected. At the very least, the period of time in which Vick will be an effective player may be quite short. Also, Vick does not fit the Falcons' west coast offense very well. His greatest assets (his legs and strong arm) are neutralized by the quick, short passes that the offensive scheme emphasizes. This also exposes his greatest weakness -- accuracy. Schaub, on the other hand, is the perfect quarterback for the Falcons' system: He is very accurate, smart and effective. In fact, it is the same type of offensive scheme that he ran while a member of the Cavaliers.
Whichever quarterback the Falcons choose, Vick or Schaub, it is a waste to keep so much talent off the field. The Falcons could improve their team through a trade of either player. More importantly, a trade would give Schaub his much deserved chance to show the National Football League exactly what he can do.
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