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One thing I have learned in my nearly one full year of running this blog is that everyone is in complete lock-step agreement on how good a quarterback Tony Romo is and on his value to the Dallas Cowboys. Every time I write about Romo, all of the comments are exactly the same, and there is never any dispute about Romo's ability, his worth or his future prospects. We have our share of controversial topics here on the NFC East blog, but when the topic is Romo, no one ever argues or gets upset.

Yeah, right.

Romo's as reliable a lightning-rod topic as this blog has, and hoo boy do I have a doozy for you guys. You might have seen this when it went up Monday afternoon, but it bears a bump this morning: K.C. Joyner has a piece up on the site that says, according to several statistical measures, that Romo is one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Now, if you're still reading, and you haven't already rushed to the comments section of this post to fight with each other about this, or to K.C.'s Insider post to argue directly with him, I'll give you a little synopsis of the man's points. (And I guess I might as well remind you that K.C. was about the only analyst last summer who was predicting the Giants to win this division, so it's not as though his often-controversial opinions have never been right.)

K.C. tells us that Romo's ranking is based on the following, mainly statistics-based reasons:

-Superior route-depth metrics (tied for fifth last year in yards per pass attempt)

-Low bad-decision rate, or "BDR" (fifth-lowest last year among quarterbacks with at least 175 pass attempts)

-High Total QBR (finished fourth in the NFL in 2011)

-A long history of top-level statistical performance (tied for fifth in NFL history in career yards per pass attempt)

-Ability to raise the level of play of those around him (Romo averaged double-digit yards per attempt to his third and fourth wide receivers in 2011)

-Changing of the elite guard at the quarterback position (i.e. disappointing 2011 seasons from Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger, and injury concerns about Michael Vick and Peyton Manning)

-No signs of letting up (still in his prime and surrounded by big-time offensive weapons)

I think what's interesting is that a lot of these areas in which the numbers show that Romo excels are areas of his game that often fall victim to easy criticism from his detractors. "BDR," for example. K.C. acknowledges that games like the Detroit loss last season contribute to a perception that Romo is a reckless gunslinger, but he says the numbers don't back it up:

BDR is a metric that gauges how often a quarterback makes a mental error that leads either to a turnover or a near turnover, like a dropped interception or fumble that is recovered by the offense.

The nine-year track record of this metric shows that a 2 percent or lower BDR is an above-average mark for a dink-and-dunk passer, while gunslinger quarterbacks can take pride in a BDR under 3 percent.

...

As poor as that [Detroit] performance was, Romo still posted a 1.8 percent BDR for the season. That total ranked fifth-best among qualifying quarterbacks (minimum 175 attempts) and is doubly notable because it's quite rare for a risk-taking quarterback to post a BDR under 2 percent.

In the end, though, the issue with Romo remains unchanged. Those who are inclined to dislike him will find plenty of reasons to do so, and will hang their hats on the fact that he's only won one playoff game ever. They'll go back to the botched snap, and the playoff loss to the Giants four years ago, and they'll bellow that he doesn't have what it takes to be great because he hasn't come up big in a big game. And until and unless he does that, no statistical analysis will convince those who don't want to be convinced.

The fact is that Romo is an excellent quarterback who hasn't won yet. And while in this day and age, all that matters to anyone about a quarterback is whether he's ever held the Vince Lombardi trophy up over his head while confetti fluttered down around him, it is in fact possible to be exactly that. Doesn't mean it's fun to be that, but it also doesn't mean Romo's worthless. Two-thirds of the teams in the NFL would trade their current quarterback situation straight-up for the Cowboys' quarterback situation, whether the guy's won or not.

You know, when you submit mailbag questions, you're supposed to give your name, location and e-mail address. Just sayin.

Orangeskins from oompa loompa land saw Adam Schefter's report late Friday that running back Tim Hightower was visiting the Patriots and asks whether the Washington Redskins have given up on trying to re-sign him.

Dan Graziano: No, they have not. The Redskins still like Hightower an awful lot, and if he's fully recovered from his ACL tear they would love to have him back as their starting running back in 2012. Yes, ahead of youngsters Roy Helu and Evan Royster. Mike Shanahan loves Hightower, whom he views as an every-down runner, a good receiving back and a help in pass protection as well. He's not sold on either of last year's rookies as the total package yet, and so the Redskins' ideal plans for 2012 include a healthy Hightower at the front of their running back corps. Now, the question is how much they want to offer him before they're sure he's healthy again, and if he's getting interest from other teams, his price could stray beyond what they're willing to risk. Ryan Grant and Joseph Addai were also reportedly in New England for visits this week, so it remains to be seen what the chances are of Hightower signing there. If he does, the Redskins will look for a veteran back or two to add to the Helu/Royster mix.

Joseph Kony from Antarctica asks whether I share his belief that New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning's production will drop now that his big brother is back in the league this year. Joseph believes that "without the pressure of having to compete with his brother, Eli was able to have his best statistical year and win the SB... again."

DG: I think that's a reach, Joseph. Eli Manning's career arc is one of steady improvement year over year, with the one exception being the interception total from 2010. He's an excellent player in his own right, obviously mentally tough enough that no one should still be questioning the way in which he handles the fact that his big brother operates in the same profession. I would have thought the second Super Bowl ring would have eliminated questions about Eli and Peyton's shadow. But your question reinforces my sad theory that people are always going to believe what they want to believe, even in the face of evidence to the contrary.

Robert Shipman of Mobile, Ala., a Crimson Tide fan, likes the idea of safety Mark Barron going to the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 14 pick but wonders if the Cowboys might consider outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw instead as a pass-rushing complement to DeMarcus Ware.

DG: From everything I've been told about Dallas' mindset, they have evaluated Upshaw and Melvin Ingram and the other pass-rushers at the top of the draft and decided that they're all pretty much similar players to Anthony Spencer. And since they have Spencer on the franchise tag already, they believe the best way to maximize the value of that pick is to look at other positions. If they drafted Upshaw, it would be because they'd decided to rescind the franchise player designation and let Spencer leave as a free agent, and that doesn't seem a likely course of action. I think if both players were there at 14, they'd take Barron. The question at this point seems to be whether Barron will last that long.

Zach Iseminger of Southland, Texas recalls that last year, the Philadelphia Eagles for the first time gave responsibility for calling the offensive line protections at the line of scrimmage to quarterback Michael Vick. "Obviously there were other factors like a new O Line coach and a new blocking scheme and two rookies starting on the line, but just curious if a full off season with OTAs will help this year."

DG: It certainly could. I remember writing about this change last year at the Eagles' opener in St. Louis. Howard Mudd likes giving the quarterback the ability to call changes in protection based on what he sees at the line, and that game was the first time Vick had that responsibility. The pass protection did improve as the year went along, as everybody on the line got used to each other and to Mudd. It's still tough to block for Vick, who likes to try to keep plays alive as long as any quarterback in the league does. And the loss of left tackle Jason Peters is going to have a negative effect. But to answer your basic question, yes. As I tell my kids, the best way to get better at anything is to practice, and more practice identifying defensive schemes and calling those protections at the line can only help Vick.

Keep the questions coming, folks. Next Saturday, we'll be writing about the fourth through seventh rounds of the draft instead, but maybe we'll do this on Sunday.

During Super Bowl week, I wrote this story about the relationship between New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Specifically, it was about the ways in which Jeter's example as a low-key star New York athlete has helped inspire Manning, who has modeled himself after Jeter in some ways. I don't know if you remember it or not, but hey, it's baseball season now, so go ahead and read it again.

Anyway, the reason I thought of this was that I read this post by Art Stapleton of The Record, who spoke with Jeter over the weekend and asked him what advice he'd give Manning for his upcoming (May 5) stint as the host of Saturday Night Live. Jeter hosted the show in 2001, and he had this advice to offer Manning, per Art:

"Enjoy it," Jeter told me in an exclusive interview with The Record Sunday night. "I tried to have fun with it, but I was nervous. It's a tough week. It's a lot to do. You'll gain a lot of respect for those actors and actresses on that show. It's a lot of work that goes into it. I enjoyed myself."

...

"I had fun with it," Jeter said with a smirk. "I dressed up like a woman, man. I had fun and I just went with it."

Obviously, it remains to be seen what kind of fun the show's writers will devise for Manning -- and whether he'll pull it off as well as Jeter did or as well as his brother Peyton Manning did when he hosted the show in 2007. But no matter how the show comes out, Jeter remains an admirer of Manning's:

"Eli's done a great job," Jeter said. "I really like the way he handles himself, especially here in New York. He's done a great job in dealing with everything, and he's had a lot of success. He's going to have a lot more success, too."

In the meantime, though, Manning's going to try his hand at some comedy. I understand the skepticism, but I promise you, those of us who were covering Jeter in 2001 were skeptical about him in the same role. You never really know about a guy...

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- One more day here by the beach. As you read this, I am at the NFC coaches' breakfast listening to what Andy Reid, Jason Garrett, Tom Coughlin and Mike Shanahan have to say. I shall spend the remainder of the morning and the afternoon working feverishly to communicate back to you the items of NFC East interest from this session before my flight leaves for home this evening. They had links at the AFC coaches' breakfast Tuesday, along with bacon and some kind of cool steak eggs benedict deal. Not sure if today's spread will be the same, but you know you can always count on having links right here, every morning at 8 a.m.

Dallas Cowboys

The only thing you know for sure about the draft this time of year is that everybody's lying. Everything's a smokescreen and no one's telling you what they really think or plan. So take this with a grain of salt, even though I agree with Jerry Jones that it wouldn't be a great idea for him to take an offensive lineman in the first round after drafting three of them last year and signing two more earlier this month.

Yeah, I wish Jones would tell us what he really feels about the salary-cap penalties, too, but he's smart to keep his mouth shut until the arbitrator rules on it, and so this little crack about wanting to settle his dispute with John Mara on the field will have to do for now.

New York Giants

Coughlin's getting a contract extension, obviously. Mara told the New York Post that he expects the deal to be done within four to six weeks, and there's every reason to think the Giants coach, who's won two Super Bowl titles in the past five years, will get paid a salary similar to those of the best coaches in the league -- upward of $7 million per year. I'm thinking it ends up being a three-year deal.

Defensive end Dave Tollefson continues to draw interest on the free-agent market, now scheduled to visit the suddenly free-agent-happy Green Bay Packers. As they are with Jonathan Goff and, to some extent, Brandon Jacobs, the Giants are letting Tollefson test the market while also letting him know they'd like to have him back. If he can't find a better offer than what the Giants are willing to give him, he comes back. If not, they move on and find a replacement. It's how they roll.

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman sure made it sound as though the team believes it can find a trade market for cornerback Asante Samuel between now and the draft. Roseman discussed that issue and several others Tuesday with Jeff McLane. One point further down in the notes: Roseman declined to say where he expected Jamar Chaney to play because the Eagles are "still in the talent acquisition phase" of the offseason. Says to me they're still looking for linebackers, even with DeMeco Ryans in the fold.

Former Andy Reid assistants Pat Shurmur and John Harbaugh, now the head coaches of the Browns and Ravens, respectively, came to the defense of their former boss -- and of defensive coordinator Juan Castillo -- in conversations with Paul Domowitch at the aforementioned AFC coaches' breakfast.

Washington Redskins

Yes, the Redskins were seriously interested in Peyton Manning when he was on the market. No, it's not clear how good their chances were of getting him. But Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan met with Manning even after trading for the No. 2 pick in the draft, and it's clear that he was a serious option in their minds if they hadn't been able to move up to the spot from which they now plan to draft their next franchise quarterback.

Former Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien is at the front of the latest lawsuit by former players against the league over head injuries. These suits continue to be filed, and will continue to be filed, and if you don't think they worry the league, then think again about why the punishments against the Saints for the bounty stuff was so severe.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- We are all up bright and early this morning for the first of two "coaches breakfasts" at the NFL owners meetings. Pretty cool deal, actually. Today, all of the AFC coaches sit at tables for an hour and you can sit with them and ask them anything you want. The NFC coaches do it tomorrow. So, in my capacity as NFC East blogger, I will of course be working those tables tomorrow for information and insight from Jason Garrett, Tom Coughlin, Andy Reid and Mike Shanahan. But I'm going to today's session, too, to do some work on another project and because you never know what you might learn.

I don't know if they'll have links there. I do know you have them here.

Dallas Cowboys

After saying he'd talk with reporters Monday about the salary cap penalty issue, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones declined to do so and in fact stayed very much out of sight all day. (I mean, I was looking for the guy from 8 am until 10 pm, and I saw him once, and he was in a room I wasn't allowed to enter.) It sounds as though the Cowboys and the Redskins will both keep quiet on this, though you should stay tuned because you never know with Jerry, right?

Wanna hear what Tony Romo thinks about Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow? Here you go. What? Hey, at least it's not about Romo playing golf. I know you guys just love it when I give you the Romo golf updates...

New York Giants

Giants general manager Jerry Reese spoke with Sirius XM Radio about several issues, including the team's ongoing hunt for a middle linebacker and the idea of "slow-playing" free agency. I'm amazed that I still get questions from Giants fans about why they haven't done much in free agency. They don't have much cap room, first of all. And second of all, this is how they usually handle free agency, and it seems to be working well for them, no?

Former Giants wide receiver Steve Smith signed with the Rams, which could be an Eagles link because he "played" for them last year and could be a Cowboys link because some Cowboys fans were wondering if their team might sign him to replace Laurent Robinson but is ultimately a Giants link because Smith was much more a Giant than he ever was an Eagle or certainly a Cowboy.

Philadelphia Eagles

Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly is doing a periodic draft diary for Philly.com, and Sheil Kapadia has the latest installment. We don't know if the Eagles will end up picking Kuechly in the first round, but he's a guy who would fit nicely there, and he's someone who's been on the minds of Eagles fans, so there you go -- a little look into the pre-draft process through his eyes.

Jeff McLane explains why he thinks the Eagles could use one of their first three draft picks on a quarterback.

Washington Redskins

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said that commissioner Roger Goodell has the "full support" of the league's other owners on the matter of the salary cap penalties against the Redskins and Cowboys. Of course, Kraft also said Goodell was "in the best position to speak to that," and a few hours later Goodell refused to do so. So, you know. Whatever.

My old friend LaVar Arrington thinks this is a case of two NFL owners bucking the "old-school" approach the others are so determined to preserve. And in truth, this does feel more and more like a vindictive personal issue among the owners involved. That's probably why the league doesn't want anyone talking about it anymore. If the arbitrator assigned to the case thinks there's some kind of personal motivation behind the penalties, that might make him more likely to overturn them.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay says his team likes Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III and hasn't decided which of the two star quarterbacks it will take with the No. 1 pick in next month's draft.

"I think they're both outstanding young men," Irsay said during a break in the owners meetings here Monday. "I don't think it's either-or, where only one of them is going to succeed. I think they're both going to be great."

It's long been assumed the Colts would take Luck with the first pick, and after the Washington Redskins traded up to get the No. 2 pick in the draft, it's been assumed that they'd take Griffin. In truth, the Redskins are expecting the Colts to take Luck and excited to have Griffin. But if the Colts did take Griffin instead, the Redskins would be thrilled to have Luck fall to their spot.

Since they have the No. 1 pick, the Colts could, if they so choose, do a contract with Luck (or Griffin, or any player they want, actually) in advance of the draft.

"If we decided to do a deal early with one of them, that's something we could definitely look into," Irsay said. "But we're still in the evaluation process right now."

It's possible the Colts have always been and remain set on taking Luck, and that the public interest in Griffin is a negotiating tactic Irsay is attempting to use with Luck. The Colts have been enamored with Luck for a long time. ESPN analyst Bill Polian, who was the Colts' GM until a couple of months ago, has said last week on NFL Live that he believes Irsay is set on Luck as Peyton Manning's successor in Indianapolis.

The key thing to remember, though, if you're a Redskins fan, is the team believes (as Irsay says his team does) that there are two can't-miss quarterback prospects in this year's draft, and the trade the Redskins made with St. Louis ensured they will get one of them. Which one it is doesn't matter as much as the fact that the Redskins believe that No. 2 pick sets them up at quarterback for years to come.

So, here's what we have on this Philadelphia Eagles thing today.

We have a report, from the well respected Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, that paints coach Andy Reid in a power struggle with ownership and the front office and says that Reid wanted to pursue Peyton Manning when Manning became available:

[+] Enlarge
Jim O'Connor/US PresswireDid Andy Reid want to make a run at Peyton Manning? The Eagles' coach denies it.

Two NFL insiders, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said that Philadelphia Coach Andy Reid was ready to walk away from the Eagles if he didn't get more personnel control, and now he has it. We've seen a flurry of decisive moves by the Eagles in recent weeks, including finally cutting a blockbuster deal with receiver DeSean Jackson; extending two good soldiers, defensive end Trent Cole and right tackle Todd Herremans, outbidding the Ravens to keep guard Evan Mathis; and trading for Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans.

Something else about the Eagles: Reid wanted to jump in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes, despite the signing of Michael Vick to a six-year, $100-million contract last season. Talks never got too serious, the insiders say, because Manning didn't like the idea of playing against his brother Eli, quarterback of the New York Giants, at least twice a season.

And we have a statement from Reid, released by the Eagles, that disputes pretty much everything Sam wrote:

"We look into everything, as all teams do. And I have the highest regard for Peyton Manning. But as I said publicly last month, that wasn't the direction we were heading in. Michael is our guy.

"As far as the personnel control, I have had final say on personnel matters for quite some time here and that's never been an issue or a point of contention.

"Our front office works very well together and that's one of our strengths."

So, couple of things on this:

I have no reason to doubt Sam's reporting, or the idea that people in the know told him exactly what he ended up reporting. But I question the conclusion, apparently reached by Sam's sources, that the Eagles' offseason moves reflect an assertion of greater control by Reid. Sure, the Eagles have acted less aggressively on the free-agent market this year than they did last year. But last year was the exception, and Reid has explained it many times by saying the team identified last year's offseason as a unique market with unique opportunities. The way the Eagles have acted this offseason is more in line with what they've done in the past, in a front-office structure that allows Reid final say in personnel decisions but in which he works closely with GM Howie Roseman and team president Joe Banner.

As for Manning, I don't think there's ever a situation in which a quarterback hits the market and Reid doesn't at least consider making a run at him. Remember, Vick didn't seem to make sense for the Eagles either when they got him. Reid believes strongly in the value of quarterbacks, in the importance of depth at the position and in his and his staff's ability to get the best out of any quarterback who enters their system. I'm certain that, once it became apparent that Manning was hitting the market, Reid and the Eagles' brass discussed the idea of pursuing him. I have no way of knowing how far such discussions progressed, but Reid seems intent on making sure everyone knows they never got serious.

The Eagles, like most high-profile professional sports teams these days, prefer to control the flow of information. They're generally pretty friendly about it, but they don't like it when their private plans or other business get aired in public. So while it seems odd to put out a statement denying Sam's report (because now, if they don't rush to deny the next such report, people will jump to the conclusion that it's true), it's in character for Reid and the Eagles to want to be out in front of this or any story about their team.

I'm not inclined to believe everything's hunky-dory between Reid, the front office and ownership in the wake of one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. And I believe there's a lot of tension and pressure heading into this season, in which the pressure on Reid will be at an all-time high. But I don't believe Reid found himself, this offseason, in a position to demand greater control under threat of quitting. First of all, he already had a ton of control. And second of all, his job security's not at an all-time high to begin with. My sense is that there's a lot of behind-the-scenes chatter right now about the Eagles, who are one of the most intriguing teams and situations to watch in 2012, and that this isn't the last time some details are going to come to light and get shot down by people who'd like us to believe everything's peaceful and happy in Philly.

Good morning in the East, where spring has sprung early and the roster tinkering is in full swing. What will Wednesday bring? More signings? Another surprise trade? All we know for sure is it starts with links.

Dallas Cowboys

New Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr said one of the things that convinced him to sign with Dallas was an in-person sales pitch from DeMarcus Ware, Jason Witten, Sean Lee and Miles Austin, all of whom attended the dinner at which the team's brass treated Carr at Cowboys Stadium on his free-agent recruiting visit. The $26.5 million guaranteed surely didn't hurt, either.

Troy Aikman says he thinks Tony Romo is already a better quarterback than he ever was, which surely comes as a surprise to those who wanted the Cowboys to sign Peyton Manning or wish they would trade Romo for Tim Tebow.

New York Giants

Ahmad Bradshaw says his fractured foot has healed completely and that he believes he can handle a workload similar to the one he had in 2010. That would be especially nice if his friend Brandon Jacobs finds work elsewhere, as it appears he will. But I'd still expect the Giants to bring in some veteran running back to help spell Bradshaw just in case.

I'm sick of banging my head against my desk every morning looking for a second Giants link. Nobody who covers or blogs about the Giants is writing anything right now unless the Giants sign someone or one of their guys signs somewhere else. Since that didn't happen Tuesday, there's nothing out there. Go ahead, check for yourselves. I'm open to suggestions. You guys tell me what the second Giants link should be. I can't find it.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jonathan Tamari likes the deal for linebacker DeMeco Ryans. And while Jonathan does bring up a couple of the reasons to wonder how they got him so cheap, the fact is it's an impossible deal to dislike. Ryans was a great player for Houston before his Achilles injury and will be nearly two full years removed from it (and still just 28 years old) when the 2012 season starts. Houston wasn't using him enough to justify what they were paying him, because they were taking him off the field in nickel situations in the sub packages in their new 3-4 defensive scheme. The Eagles saw a guy who was being undervalued by his team but would fill the biggest need on theirs, and they snagged him. Good for them. If it doesn't work out, they lost a fourth-round draft pick. But there's no doubt Ryan is better than anything they had at linebacker in 2011.

Players on the Eagles are excited about the move and players on the Texans are bummed out about it, as Les Bowen writes. That tells you a great deal.

Washington Redskins

Free-agent quarterback Josh Johnson, late of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will visit the Redskins on Wednesday. When this news broke Tuesday night, people were asking why, and I don't see what the great mystery is. You need to be at least three-deep at quarterback, and Johnson as the No. 3 (or the No. 2, if he can pass Rex Grossman on the depth chart) seems like a heck of a lot better option than paying John Beck $1 million. Why not take a look? Quarterback is a position at which it's important to be as good and as deep as you can possibly be. And remember, as excited as everyone is about Robert Griffin III, he is going to be a rookie. He'll need good backups.

The Redskins also re-signed Kory Lichtensteiger, who was playing very well for them at left guard last year before blowing out his knee in that completely disastrous Week 6 loss to the Eagles in which everyone got hurt and Grossman got benched for Beck. They still need to upgrade at right tackle, and if Lichtensteiger isn't fully healthy they still need to be looking for help on the interior. But they were happy with what Lichtensteiger was giving them before his injury, so he's back.

I have to give you guys credit. After the news broke that Eli Manning's brother had found a new job, along with the news that the Broncos would now try to trade Tim Tebow, I didn't hear from very many of you. Normally, when a player arrives on the market, I get Twitter queries within five minutes from fans of all four of our teams, asking whether their team should or will pursue said player. But today, not much. The one Redskins one I got was later explained as sarcastic by the person who asked it (silly me for not figuring that out immediately), and I've had a couple of people ask whether it'd be worth it for the Eagles to bring him in as a long-term project behind Michael Vick. But that's it.

Anyway, the answer is no. Whichever team is your favorite in the NFC East should not be trying to trade for Tebow. To wit:

Tim Tebow
#15 QB
Denver Broncos
2011 STATS
• Att271
• Comp126
• Yds1729
• TD12
• Int6
• Rat72.9
• The Redskins don't need the headache of crazed Tebow fans screaming and putting up billboards saying he should start the first time Robert Griffin III has a bad game.
• The Eagles need as little controversy as possible, and no matter how hard they may work to portray Tebow as a long-term project, you know the same thing would happen there if Michael Vick started to struggle.
• The Cowboys just signed a three-year deal with Kyle Orton to be their backup, and it wouldn't surprise me if it included language guaranteeing that Orton never had to hear Tebow's name again as long as he lives.
• The Giants? No.

Remember this about Tebow: His success as a Bronco came after the team decided to completely structure its offense around him, accentuating his strengths and minimizing his weaknesses (i.e., actually throwing the ball). The Broncos had no established receivers that were going to kick about such a decision, a veteran running back who was totally on board and a flexible, open-minded coach who was willing to consider an outside-the-box option as possibly better than the offense he preferred to run.

There isn't a team in the NFC East that remotely fits that description.

And finally, Tebow's not a free agent. This isn't a situation in which you could sign him to a low-risk, incentive-based deal and benefit if he blossomed but not suffer in the short-term if he didn't. You'd have to trade something of value for Tebow, who'd come with a contract he got as a result of being a first-round pick. Who in this division (heck, who in any division) can say it's worth spending real resources on a quarterback who might never be an NFL-caliber thrower.

Tebow is, obviously, a fine young man and would be a great guy to have on a team. I think the Broncos should keep him, use him as a backup quarterback and design some interesting offensive sub packages around him. But the Broncos already have him, and whatever they've invested in getting him is a sunk cost. For a team to trade something to get Tebow would appear to be a mistake at this point, and it certainly wouldn't make sense for anyone in the NFC East.

This is why, regardless of how astronomical the price may have been, you can't say the Washington Redskins overpaid in the trade that scored them the No. 2 pick in this year's draft.

You following this quarterback stuff, Redskins fans? Are you watching what's going on in Miami, in San Francisco, in Denver, in Tennessee? In poor, miserable Cleveland? This is quarterback musical chairs, folks, and there aren't enough chairs for everyone. At least one of those teams is still going to be looking for a quarterback once Peyton Manning decides and Alex Smith figures out what he wants to do, and if you're a Redskins fan watching all of this, you should be thinking, "Whew. I'm really glad my team's not mixed up in that mess."

The Redskins know who their quarterback is going to be next year. Or at least they're sure it's going to be one they like. They assume the Colts will take Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick and they'll take Baylor's Robert Griffin III with the second, but if something weird happens and the Colts take Griffin, they at least know they get Luck. There are, by most teams' evaluations, two franchise-caliber quarterbacks in this year's draft, and by dealing three first-round picks and a second-round pick to the Rams, the Redskins ensured that they'd get one of them.

By doing it a week and a half ago, they also ensured that they would not find themselves in Dolphins' current situation — spurned by Manning and Matt Flynn, trying to steal Smith away from the 49ers and reportedly talking to David Garrard in case Smith stays put. They ensured that they would not be the Broncos, who wait to find out whether they get Manning or whether they'll need to ask Tim Tebow to turn water into wine on a weekly basis for another year. They ensured that they would not be the Browns — the team they had to beat out to get the Rams' pick, a team that's now looking at another year with Colt McCoy and hoping it gets Matt Barkley in next year's draft.

This could have been your team, Redskins fans. Instead, Washington has a draft pick that ensures it will get a quarterback who projects as a long-term star. It has a backup it likes — one that ran the offense last year and is willing to help teach it to a rookie taking his place. The Redskins' quarterback situation doesn't make them an automatic 2012 contender — Griffin will be a rookie, after all, and the overhauled receiving corps has more potential than track record. But it's one about which the team and its fans can feel good. Such is not the case in places like Miami and Cleveland and whichever of those other teams fails to get Manning.

So yeah, they paid a fortune to get the pick, and it puts a lot of pressure on Griffin to become a star. But knowing that this was the alternative — to be sitting around on March 19 hoping you could maybe get Alex Smith or get by for another year with Rex Grossman and get a chance at Barkley — has to help you understand why they did it. And why they surely don't have any regrets.

Former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon has announced on Facebook and Twitter that he is signing with the Washington Redskins.

"It's a great signing by the Redskins," former Colts GM Bill Polian said on NFL Live. "He's got great size, great speed. Played at Division III Mount Union College, just now coming into his own in the NFL. He's got world-class speed. In the west coast offense, where they look for guys who can catch the ball across the middle and run with it after the catch, Pierre Garcon is a perfect fit."

Former Charger Vincent Jackson was the best player left on the free-agent wide receiver market and the No. 1 guy on the wish list of most Redskins fans. But this quick move by Washington indicates that perhaps Jackson's talks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are pretty far down the road.

Garcon has had his moments, to be sure, but he's never been a real No. 1 wide receiver and there's nothing to prove he can handle that kind of role. He flourished at times with Peyton Manning throwing him the ball, but he was operating in a system in which he was usually no better than the No. 3 target behind Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark.

As Rich Campbell of the Washington Times pointed out in the wake of this news, Garcon averaged 5.2 yards after the catch in 2011, compared with 3.7 for Jackson and 3.8 for Washington's Santana Moss.

Shanahan did tell me in December that he was looking for a playmaker who could catch the ball on a slant and "take it the rest of the way," and that YAC number indicates Garcon could be such a guy. He turns 26 in August and could break out if given the opportunity as a No. 1.

Today's "Get off my lawn!" moment is brought to us by Reuben Frank of CNSPhilly.com. Reuben has apparently heard some of the same chatter I've heard in the past few days from Philadelphia Eagles fans and some Dallas Cowboys fans who are worried that the Washington Redskins' big trade up in the draft to get (presumably) Robert Griffin III threatens to move their teams further down in the standings. Reuben believes this to be hogwash, and has written a piece throwing cold water on the notion that the Redskins will win next year's Super Bowl because they draft this particular quarterback:

Only two quarterbacks drafted with one of the first three picks since 1990 have won at least one playoff game before their fourth year in the league. You might recognize their names.

Michael Vick. And Donovan McNabb.

So if you're worried that the Redskins have somehow tipped the competitive balance of the NFC East by acquiring the pick that they'll use to draft RG3, think again.

Even Peyton Manning didn't win a playoff game until his sixth NFL season, and Eli didn't win one until his fourth year. Vick and McNabb both won one in their second season, but McNabb didn't get to the Super Bowl until his sixth year in the league and Vick still hasn't been to one.

All a top-three pick gets you is a remote chance of landing a stud. And a far, far greater chance of landing a dud.

We do love the occasional injection of perspective and context, especially as it pertains to draft and free-agency season. I go back a couple of weeks, to when Jerry Jones said of course he wouldn't trade Tony Romo to move up and get Griffin or Andrew Luck. Jones was being reasonable, because the fact is, if Griffin or Luck turns out to be half as good as Romo already is, they'll be ecstatic and so will the Colts and Redskins.

There is no reason to doubt that Griffin can someday be a successful star quarterback in the NFL. There's no reason for Redskins fans to be anything but excited that their team made the bold move to trade up and get him. But for fans of the Cowboys and Eagles, there's no reason to despair and worry that the move suddenly makes your team inferior to the one that finished last in the division this past year. We believe Griffin can be great. We already know that Romo and Vick are. That difference is significant, and it's worth remembering at times like these, when overreaction comes so swiftly and easily.

The mailbag is bursting with questions two days before the start of free agency. I will do what little I can here to help alleviate.

Russell Goodacre of Ijamsville, Md., asks whether the Washington Redskins -- assuming they take Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 pick in the draft -- are thinking long-term or if the move means they can make the postseason this coming season.

Dan Graziano: Russell, I think the trade indicates a desire to win now. Yes, part of the appeal of Griffin (over someone like Kyle Orton or even Peyton Manning) is that he can be the long-term answer at quarterback. But with all of the salary-cap room they appear to have, the fact that the NFC East was won with only nine wins last season and the fact that they beat the team that won it twice, the Redskins believe they have an opportunity to put together a team that can reach the postseason this coming season. Whether they do it will depend on the work they do in free agency and the middle-to-late rounds of the draft to put the right pieces around Griffin and on how quickly Griffin develops as an NFL quarterback. But we've seen rookies make the playoffs in recent years, and guys like Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez had even done well once they got there as rookies.

Jason Quinn from San Diego points out, as several others have, that the franchising of Anthony Spencer doesn't technically eliminate the Dallas Cowboys from the pursuit of someone like Mario Williams. Jason's take is that they could sign Williams and rescind the franchise offer if Spencer doesn't sign it right away.

DG: Yes, that is true. My assumption has been that Spencer would sign the franchise tender, and I think it's very likely that he will. But someone else pointed out to me recently that, once Williams signs, Spencer becomes a desirable fallback option for other teams seeking outside linebacker help, and that he may like the idea of keeping his options open. If the Cowboys do sign Williams and rescind the franchise offer to Spencer, there could be a market for his services that would pay him more than $8.8 million for one year. So yes, it's technically possible. I still see Williams someplace like Seattle or San Diego, though. We'll see.

Eric Rubenstein from Orlando wants to know if I think the New York Giants would look at Plaxico Burress as a No. 3 wide receiver if, as expected, Mario Manningham leaves as a free agent.

DG: I do think it'd be a possibility, Eric, and I think it says a lot about the people running the Giants that they'd keep an open mind about it. Burress has publicly shredded Tom Coughlin at every available turn since Burress got out of prison. And last year, when the Giants were genuinely interested in signing Burress as a No. 3 receiver, he blatantly used them for contract leverage with other teams and ended up signing with the Jets. But Coughlin and Jerry Reese are both solid, upstanding fellows who don't seem like the type to hold grudges, and I believe they would not rule out Burress as one of many potential options, assuming the price is right.

Stephen from PA wants to know who I think the Eagles will target at linebacker in free agency.

DG: The linebacker market is a good one this year, Stephen. There's a belief around the league that the Eagles will be quiet in free agency this year -- especially in comparison to the splash they made last year. But if there's one spot where the market is ripe for them to make a big move it may be linebacker. I imagine you will hear them connected to many of the big names available, including Stephen Tulloch, Curtis Lofton and even London Fletcher. There's been a lot of buzz lately around Baltimore's Jarret Johnson, an underrated piece of the defenses there the past couple of seasons. I know that Lofton, Fletcher and Johnson are all looked at as strong locker-room guys and leaders, too, which would be something the Eagles could use.

Well, that settles that, then. Count the Washington Redskins out on Peyton Manning and count them in big on Robert Griffin III. Adam Schefter reports that Washington has agreed to trade its next three first-round picks, plus this year's second-round pick, to the St. Louis Rams for the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft. With Indianapolis expected to take Andrew Luck No. 1 overall and the Redskins desperate for a quarterback, we are left to presume they will use that pick to draft Griffin, the Heisman Trophy winner out of Baylor, to be their quarterback of the future.

It isn't surprising that the Redskins are trading up for Griffin. They wanted him badly, and there are few if any teams in the league that need help at quarterback more than they do. What's shocking is the price. To move up four spots in this year's draft, they are trading away first-rounders in 2012, 2013 and 2014, as well as a second-rounder in 2012. It feels like too much, and it puts a heck of a lot of pressure on Griffin. They're basically going to draft him and tell him, "All right. It's all yours. But we don't have a first-round pick in either of the next two years with which to help you out."

This tells me a number of things:

It tells me the Redskins are 100 percent sold on Griffin. That they believe he can step right in and start next year and be the answer over the long haul. That they are convinced he can handle the kind of pressure I just talked about. That he fits what they want to do on offense and that he can pick it up quickly. There's no reason to doubt any of this. Based on everything we've seen and heard from Griffin, he fits these descriptions well, and Mike Shanahan and his coaching staff have surely researched it more deeply and directly than any of us have.

It tells me they plan to be big players in free agency. With a projected $40 million or so in cap room, they can afford to throw money at a stud wide receiver like Vincent Jackson, add depth to their offensive line, re-sign running back Tim Hightower if he's healthy, give London Fletcher the contract he wants to remain the captain of their defense and upgrade where they need to upgrade in the secondary. They will need to do the bulk of this stuff in free agency, because they're not going to have a pick after Griffin until the third round, and they must feel confident that they can get the players they plan to target and put the right pieces around Griffin right away.

It tells me they got a big, fat "no" from Manning, which is basically what Chris Russell of ESPN 980 in Washington reported Thursday, and wanted to act swiftly to make sure they weren't forced to go to Plan C. If they didn't get Manning or Griffin, they were going to have to sign someone like Kyle Orton and/or draft Ryan Tannehill higher than his value indicates he should be drafted. And they would have had a hard time selling that to their fans.

The price is toe-curlingly high, and a month or so ago I thought three first-rounders would have been too much. But I think the Redskins had to do it. Look around the league. Teams that get quarterback right are set for a decade. They are playoff teams, almost guaranteed, every single year. They have far fewer worries at draft time, and their offseasons are far less stressful and scrutinized. Teams that miss on quarterback are miserable, lost and confused, perpetually reaching for ill-fitting solutions and facing the same insurmountable problems year in and year out.

If the Redskins really think Griffin is the guy to fix all of that for them, they were right to do whatever it took to get him. Now, it's on him to justify that price and on them to build the team around him that puts him in position to make this deal look good.

Peyton Manning may not be the only superstar mainstay the Indianapolis Colts can no longer afford. Adam Schefter is reporting that the Colts are entertaining trade offers for defensive end Dwight Freeney, one of the dominant NFL pass-rushers of the past half-decade. It's not a slam-dunk that they can deal Freeney, as he's 32 years old and scheduled to make about $14 million this year. But he's a big enough name that it's worth imagining whether he'd fit with the teams about which we care.

Freeney is a 4-3 defensive end, and the only two teams in the NFC East that play 4-3 defenses are set at defensive end. Sure, if the New York Giants traded Osi Umenyiora, they might look to replace him, but they have their own salary-cap issues and it's unlikely they'd look for an expensive 32-year-old replacement when they could just slide Mathias Kiwanuka back up front to supplement Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. The Philadelphia Eagles start Trent Cole and Jason Babin at end and have some depth, including the ability to play defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins there. The Eagles' needs on defense are at linebacker and safety, and maybe in the middle of the line.

The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys are 3-4 defense teams, and the Redskins like their young outside linebacker pass-rush duo of Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo. That leaves Dallas, which needs pass-rush help but may not be a fit. I doubt it's reasonable to acquire Freeney in the hopes of making him either a 3-4 defensive end or a standup outside linebacker. Guys have done it, but at this point in Freeney's career it's hard to know whether he could make the transition. Plus, the Cowboys just franchised outside linebacker Anthony Spencer, which likely limits their ability to pursue expensive pass-rushers on the free agent or trade market.

So maybe Dallas kicks the tires on Freeney if they have some creative idea about how to use him, but the likelihood is that the Colts don't have an NFC East suitor for him.