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The Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers showed interest in former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck last offseason.

What might happen if Hasselbeck hits the market again in 2012?

The question comes to mind while Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams makes a strong push for quarterback Peyton Manning.

Adams' interest, expressed emphatically over the weekend, initially seemed like bluster. But with Manning and the Titans meeting Wednesday, there's at least a chance. Manning would get to face his former team, Indianapolis, and the happy-with-Matt Schaub Houston Texans two times apiece per season.

If Manning lands in Tennessee, the Titans would proceed with 2011 first-round choice Jake Locker as their backup and projected future starter. Hasselbeck would be out.

The Cardinals could make room for Hasselbeck by declining to pay a $7 million bonus due to Kevin Kolb by Friday. We're dealing in the hypothetical at this point, but so are the teams. As much as the Cardinals want Manning, they must prepare alternate strategies. They could have a choice between Kolb and Hasselbeck if Manning landed in Tennessee. Hasselbeck would upgrade the position on the field, in my view, while giving the Cardinals a veteran mentor for Skelton.

Hasselbeck ranked about the same as Kolb in NFL passer rating last season, but much higher in Total QBR. Hasselbeck suffered from losing top receiver Kenny Britt to a season-ending injury. The Cardinals would presumably welcome his ability to make quick decisions, a problem area for Arizona last season.

Quite a few NFC West watchers have also asked whether Kolb might land in Seattle if the Cardinals released him. My sense is that Seattle could be in the market for a range of quarterbacks at sub-starter prices. Matt Flynn and Chad Henne are visiting this week. Kolb would present another option if the Cardinals parted with him.

Manning would be the only available quarterback Seattle would pay starting money this offseason, in my view. Previous reports have suggested the Seahawks were not in contention. The latest news story from ESPN's Chris Mortensen offers at last some hope even though Seattle does not appear to be under consideration at this time.

"Manning has not eliminated any of the teams with which he has previously met -- the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, or Miami Dolphins, nor has he closed the door on possibly meeting with other teams," the story says.

As for the 49ers, they appear most likely to re-sign Alex Smith. Hasselbeck would be an obvious alternative for them if he became available and Smith's situation with the 49ers changed.

Quick thoughts on news that Peyton Manning plans to meet with the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans:

• The situation is fluid: Attempts to handicap this race have become futile. Either Manning does not have a concrete plan or Manning is not sharing his plan. I suspect he's finding his bearings following an emotional break from Indianapolis.
• Other teams have hope: If Manning is going to meet with the Titans, a team scarcely mentioned as a candidate for his services until owner Bud Adams went public with his interest Sunday, other teams' chances would seem to be on the rise as well. The question for Seattle is simply whether Manning has categorically ruled out the Seahawks for reasons they could not address, such as geography. But the longer Manning remains without a team, the longer the window remains open, even if only a little.
• Timetable out the window: It's looking like we can forget about Manning signing with another team before free agency opens Tuesday. Initial reports suggested that was his goal. That timetable appears impossible if Manning follows through on meetings with the Dolphins and Titans.
• Cardinals on hold: Arizona made its pitch to Manning over the weekend and now must join the rest of us in waiting for a resolution.

Manning's situation isn't the only one of note in the division Monday. Randy Moss is meeting with the San Francisco 49ers. The St. Louis Rams are also beginning to trim their roster in preparation for the signing period Tuesday.

We know Peyton Manning visited the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals over the weekend.

We do not know what he will do next. NFL teams do not know. Manning might not know.

Billionaire NFL owners accustomed to getting their way appear utterly helpless as they wait for answers. Imagine the pressure team executives must feel as they report to ownership on their failure to secure even a visit from Manning. These owners cannot even know whether Manning's surgically repaired neck will allow the quarterback to play again, but they would happily gamble millions on the prospect that Manning will be OK.

The latest report from ESPN's Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter quotes sources as saying the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs are "no longer considered contenders" for Manning. The quarterback himself has said nothing publicly.

Public declarations from Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams seem aimed at appeasing fans hoping the team will bring back Manning to the state where he played his college ball.

"He is the man I want, period," Adams said. "And the people that work for me understand that. They know who I want. I want Mr. Manning with the Titans and I will be disappointed if it doesn’t happen."

Does anyone really think Manning will respond favorably to an owner essentially popping off? As with so much of this story, no one seems to know for sure.

Manning's meticulous preparation as a player suggests he'll make a well-informed decision. It's an upset if he rushes into anything.

We all know what happened the last time an NFC West team watched its preferred coaching candidate interview with the Miami Dolphins.

Jim Harbaugh, then at Stanford, took one look at Stephen Ross' team and hired on with the San Francisco 49ers. That is something St. Louis Rams fans should keep in mind amid reports suggesting the Dolphins will not let the Rams outbid them for Jeff Fisher.

Fisher's history suggests money will not be decisive as long as the Rams are competitive with any offer. They can afford to be competitive, and then some, because their owner, Stan Kroenke, is a billionaire.

Fisher stayed in Tennessee for 16 years and worked under an owner, Bud Adams, not known for extravagance. Kroenke ranks just ahead of Ross and well ahead of Adams on Forbes' lists of billionaires -- not that a few million bucks for a head coach would tax any of them.

"The Dolphins are prepared to make Jeff Fisher the best financial offer of any team vying for the coach this winter," Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported, citing sources.

Sound familiar? It should.

"Ross is willing to make Harbaugh the highest-paid coach in the NFL," ESPN reported last offseason.

Ross, general manager Jeff Ireland and consultant Carl Peterson flew to California for a Harbaugh recruiting trip. Ireland and Peterson remain involved in the Dolphins' current search.

The Rams are reportedly interviewing the Atlanta Falcons' Les Snead and the Baltimore Ravens' Eric DeCosta for their vacant GM job.

Fisher would likely participate in the hiring of a GM in St. Louis. Titans executives such as Lake Dawson or Ruston Webster would be logical candidates.

Seattle took that approach when naming Pete Carroll as coach, then landing John Schneider as GM -- after Carroll signed off. It's an appealing process for a veteran head coach familiar with how daily operations work.

Fisher and former Titans GM Floyd Reese weren't on the best terms as their time together in Tennessee ended. The same was true for Carroll when he was coaching the New England Patriots more than a decade ago.

I have a hard time envisioning Fisher running to Miami over money. He'll take the right situation and get paid well anyway.

News that the NFL's finance committee has backed St. Louis Rams minority owner Stan Kroenke stands as the latest positive indicator for Kroenke's bid to own the team outright.

The process is running its expected course and will almost certainly pass muster when owners vote at their summer meetings Wednesday.

The finance committee features a group of influential owners. Gaining their approval means Kroenke has made the right connections. The committee features chairman Tom Benson (New Orleans Saints) and members Bud Adams (Tennessee Titans), Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons), Joel Glazer (Tampa Bay Bucs), Jim Irsay (Indianapolis Colts), Robert Kraft (New England Patriots), Jeffrey Lurie (Philadelphia Eagles), Bob McNair (Houston Texans) and Wayne Weaver (Jacksonville Jaguars).

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 9:

Cardinals subplots abound. Several years ago, the Bears told free-agent quarterback Kurt Warner he could sign with the team if he agreed to start out as the third quarterback behind Rex Grossman and "some other quarterback" Warner couldn't recall during a recent interview. Warner grew up watching the Bears. He played for the Rams when current Bears coach Lovie Smith was an assistant there. But it never worked out with Chicago. Warner visits Soldier Field in Week 9 for the Cardinals' first game against the Bears since the unforgettable 2006 meltdown game that launched then-Cardinals coach Dennis Green into Coors Light commercial stardom. If the Bears were who Green thought they were, who are the current Cardinals? They're 3-0 on the road, 1-3 at home and badly needing to get their passing game back on track.

	Don McPeak/US Presswire
	Titans quarterback Vince Young will be facing a tough 49ers defense on Sunday.

Niners rough on quarterbacks. I'm not sure what Titans owner Bud Adams sees in Vince Young beyond an expensive investment, but I'm pretty sure I know what the 49ers see when they study Tennessee's newly restored starting quarterback: an opportunity to dominate. The 49ers have faced a steady stream of dynamic quarterbacks this season. Warner, Matt Hasselbeck, Brett Favre, Matt Schaub and Peyton Manning have combined to throw five touchdown passes in five total games against the 49ers this season. Any defense in the league would be thrilled with those results. Young's mobility presents different challenges, but the 49ers' pass defense should fare very well in this matchup.

Big-play running backs. The 49ers' Frank Gore and the Titans' Chris Johnson should combine for a couple of long runs when their teams meet at Candlestick Park. Gore is tied with Adrian Peterson for the most touchdown runs of at least 60 yards since the 2005 season. The Titans have allowed three scoring and non-scoring runs of at least 40 yards this season, tied for most in the league. They have allowed 410 yards rushing in their past two games. The 49ers have allowed zero 40-plus runs this season. They are one of nine teams to allow three or fewer total runs of 20 yards or longer. Johnson remains a threat to their defense anyway. The 49ers could miss injured cornerback Nate Clements more in the running game than against the pass. Clements is one of the NFL's elite corners in run support.

Timing right for Seattle. The Lions have lost 15 consecutive regular-season road games, making Week 9 the perfect time for Seahawks coach Jim Mora to challenge his players, as Mora did following a 38-17 defeat to the Cowboys. All signs points to Seattle responding favorably against an overmatched opponent. Losing at home to the Lions is not an option for the increasingly desperate and frustrated Seahawks. For all their struggles, the Seahawks have shown an ability to dominate bad teams at Qwest Field. They pulled away from the Rams for a 28-0 victory. They hammered the Jaguars, 41-0. The Lions lost by 18, 24, and 26 points in their previous road games this season. For Detroit, losing at home to the Rams last week had to be humiliating. Anything less than a convincing Seattle victory would be troubling for the Seahawks.

Swing game for 49ers. San Francisco has played quite well over its last six quarters, but the team has still lost three in a row. Losing at home to the Titans might prove devastating for a team that has openly talked about qualifying for the playoffs in Mike Singletary's first full season as head coach. This is a potentially dangerous game for the 49ers. Tennessee possesses three things the 49ers do not: nothing to lose, lots of players left over from a 13-3 team and momentum following a victory. The pressure is on San Francisco.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Rank Team 1 IND 1 1 2 2 2 NO 2 2 1 1 3 DEN 3 3 4 3 4 MIN 4 4 3 4 5 NE 6 6 6 5 6 CIN 7 7 5 6 7 PIT 5 8 8 7 8 NYG 9 5 7 9 9 DAL 10 9 10 13 10 ARI 8 11 11 14 11 ATL 12 10 12 11 12 PHI 13 12 14 8 13 GB 15 13 13 10 14 BAL 11 14 15 12 15 NYJ 17 15 9 17 16 SD 14 16 19 16 17 HOU 18 20 18 15 18 CHI 16 17 21 19 19 MIA 19 19 17 20 20 SF 20 23 16 18 21 JAC 22 18 20 21 22 BUF 21 22 23 23 23 SEA 23 24 22 22 24 CAR 24 21 25 24 25 WAS 25 27 24 25 26 DET 26 29 26 27 27 OAK 27 25 31 26 28 KC 28 26 27 29 29 TEN 31 30 28 28 30 CLE 29 28 30 31 31 TB 30 31 29 32 32 STL 32 32 32 30

The top spot in ESPN.com's NFL power rankings for Week 8 could be yours for the taking, New Orleans Saints.

Voting will not commence until after the Falcons-Saints game Monday night, but I've pretty much made up my mind on New Orleans. If the Saints beat the Falcons, they'll overtake Indianapolis as the top-rated team on my ballot.

The Colts found a way to win against the 49ers on Sunday, but it wasn't pretty or convincing.

The chart shows power rankings votes from last week. Red lettering identifies teams that lost in Week 8.

The power rankings for Week 9, scheduled to appear here Tuesday, could very well validate Paul Kuharsky's choices in the top three spots one week ago. Kuharsky had the Saints, Colts and Vikings as his top three teams, respectively.

That sounds about right, provided the Saints win Monday night.

The Cardinals and Giants will almost surely drop from the top 10, replaced by the Eagles and Ravens. The Falcons have a chance to join them with an upset victory over the Saints.

And now, the power rankings revisited ...

The reckoning: Six games featured lower-ranked teams defeating higher-ranked teams:

• (32) St. Louis 17, (26) Detroit 10. Steven Jackson deserved your early Pro Bowl vote even before his latest inspired performance. This game left no doubt.
• (29) Tennessee 30, (21) Jacksonville 13. Bud Adams was right. Vince Young is the Titans' greatest quarterback since Kerry Collins.
• (24) Carolina 34, (10) Arizona 21. The Cardinals' run defense fell from No. 1 to No. 9 in one Sunday. No wonder strong safety Adrian Wilson avoided reporters after the game.
• (19) Miami 30, (15) New York Jets 25. Nice postgame quotes, Rex Ryan. Delivered like a future defensive coordinator.
• (14) Baltimore 30, (3) Denver 7. The Ravens did not score an offensive touchdown until the second half.
• (12) Philadelphia 40, (8) New York Giants 17. That Cardinals victory at Giants Stadium seems a little less impressive.

Still to play: (11) Atlanta at (2) New Orleans on "Monday Night Football."

Welcome to Loserville: The Broncos, Bills, Browns, Seahawks, Giants and Jaguars lost by a combined score of 199-64. The winning teams scored at least 30 points in nine of 12 games Sunday. The Giants and Seahawks allowed a combined 78.

Doing 120 in the southbound lane: Giants, Jets, Seahawks, Lions. The idle Bucs could fall into the 32nd spot, but how far should the Lions fall after losing to the Rams? They were 26th last week.

Northbound in a hurry: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Houston, Carolina.

My early favorite for the No. 1 spot: New Orleans, provided the Saints beat the Falcons.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The St. Louis Business Journal points to FedEx CEO and Washington Redskins minority owner Fred Smith as a potential buyer for the Rams. Smith is from Memphis.

Said St. Louis icon Dan Dierdorf: "Fred Smith was, and has been for a long time, interested in obtaining an NFL franchise. What makes him attractive in my mind is financially he is more than capable of the transaction. The NFL would not want two teams in Tennessee. Bud Adams, the [Titans] owner in Nashville, would have a fit. Smith would be a great choice because his hometown would not be a competitor with St. Louis. He could keep the Rams here long term."

And that is what current majority owner Chip Rosenbloom says he wants to do. Smith would not be a locally based owner, but numerous NFL owners do not live in their teams' cities. Smith appears to have the financial resources and NFL ties to provide solid ownership.