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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- I came to the Jaguars' headquarters at EverBank Field in search of specifics.

Blaine Gabbert’s terrible rookie year was well-documented. But his new coaches believe he still can become a quality NFL quarterback.

What have they seen that fuels their confidence in him? And can we expect to see improvement in summer camp and fall games?

We’ve heard from coach Mike Mularkey about how he respected the way Gabbert dealt with all the negativity connected to his completion percentage of just over 50.0, the 40 sacks he absorbed, the 12 touchdown passes against 11 interceptions, his 14 fumbles (five of them lost) and 65.4 passer rating.

Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski offered some analysis of what needed fixing in this “Evening with the Coaches” talk early in the offseason.

I wanted to pick up on that.

Enduring early lumps is part of the deal for virtually every quarterback early in his career. Now, with a new start, tell me about what he’s doing better, I asked.

The initial request was a long shot, but I was still disappointed that Gabbert and his coaches were unwilling to show me one play on film -- comparing and contrasting what Gabbert did with it in last year’s training camp or during last season, and what he’s doing now. No, they don’t need to go into that sort of detail or offer that level of information. But what would it have hurt?

Short of that, Bratkowski offered the most detail in discussing Gabbert’s improvements so far, circling back to what he touched on in that chalk talk.

“Fundamentally, there were some times last year in his drops when he was getting a little bit long with his footwork and getting a little too fast,” Bratkowski said. “So what we’ve tried to do is get him to slow his feet down just a little bit, take shorter steps and stand taller in the pocket.

“Those are some things we identified when we first looked at him, and he’s improving on those things out there right now. You can see him carrying it into the actual plays we’re running in team situations.”

After a fast drop that took him too deep, he typically wound up shuffling forward as soon as he completed his drop, and his busy feet hurt his ability to make sound throws.

Gabbert said forming the new habit isn’t hard.

“The biggest thing all the quarterbacks are working on is just calming our feet down, staying in the pocket, not getting too long, not taking too long of a drop,” Gabbert said. “Because at some point in time, the angles get off with our offensive tackles when they’re trying to block a rush end …

“A lot of the footwork is dictated on the route concepts, the type of offense you run, the style of offense you run. And we have a different offense. We have different plays, and the drops go with those types of plays.”

Mularkey said the Jaguars' offense is about half installed at this point. Reporters are dismissed from OTA sessions once the team reaches the installation phase.

So, despite the reportorial desire to be shown, not told, those of us trying to track the team are left to rely more on conversations than observations regarding Gabbert and everything else.

In the handful of team plays I saw, one horrific pass stood out: a short throw over the middle that bounced well behind the intended receiver. At another point, as the quarterbacks threw to a couple of stationary receivers while running through some red zone possibilities, they were aiming for a target at the front left corner of the end zone.

The situation required a high, firm pass. After Gabbert’s first try wasn’t loopy enough, quarterbacks coach Greg Olson assumed the position of a cornerback the pass needed to get over. He stood with his back to the throw, an arm extended. But as he anticipated the ball’s arrival, he jokingly pulled his hands back to cover his head.

“Can I trust you?” he joked as he turned back to Gabbert, whose second attempt at the pass had cleared Olson and landed where it needed to, proving him trustworthy.

It was rhetorically symbolic, I thought.

"It really is about that to me, at any position with any position coach -- there's got to be a trust factor," Olson said. "He's got to feel that everything I tell him is meant to get him better. Three months into the relationship, I think we are developing that trust factor. If there is no trust there, you have no chance to grow."

Gabbert's teammates have big expectations for a big bounce-back after a rookie season that included the team's being sold and former coach Jack Del Rio getting fired during a 5-11 season.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of a situation where a quarterback gets thrown into a starting role that early with the deficiencies in personnel that we had at that time, with a lot of things stacked against him,” said guard Uche Nwaneri.

“I think people kind of teed off on him. There were some things that he did that weren’t particularly the best, but, you know, he was a rookie. There were so many things happening that affect the quarterback as the result of protection, route running, guys getting open.”

Look, it’s somehow fashionable to say that the bad things Gabbert put on display last year serve as indisputable evidence he can’t be a successful NFL quarterback. I understand his footwork isn’t the only thing that gets sped up -- our assessments come faster than ever.

But judging a quarterback on 15 games and 13 starts with a bad team is simply too hasty.

Gabbert is not going to be Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman. But those guys were awful as rookies, too. Manning threw 28 interceptions, and his Colts were 3-13. Aikman threw 18 interceptions and didn’t win a game for the Cowboys.

Two things struck me as I spoke with Gabbert that I think are significant for right now.

Several times he talked about how’s he’s having fun, how football is fun, how the new offense is fun.

And he still looks and sounds the part -- he’s got confidence as he talks, and in the way he carries himself. He doesn’t look like a broken guy. He looks like a kid ready to go give it another try.

The biggest issue is dealing with the rush. Olson said the team is trading some seven-on-seven passing situations (where there are no linemen) for team periods where Gabbert has to feel pressure and sort it out. In drills without defenders, a coach or an equipment guy typically charges at him with flailing arms.

"For a guy coming out of a system in college where he wasn't only in the shotgun, but they had him lined up 7 yards deep, it was new to him last season," Olson said. "We're just hoping he'll be more comfortable with that environment, coming out from underneath center, taking a drop with an oncoming rush. That's all you can hope for right now, is the comfort level gets much greater. And it's been good."

Not having OTAs and minicamps didn’t hurt Cam Newton when it came to posting big rookie numbers for the Panthers, and it didn’t stop Andy Dalton from leading the Bengals to the playoffs.

Gabbert didn’t get off to the same kind of start, and maybe he’ll never earn his way into a conversation about the top quarterbacks of the 2011 draft class.

He’s getting that OTA time now. There is time to build slowly. It’s a different deal.

I wondered if Gabbert was appreciating the pace now, or finding himself anxious to get to the Jaguars' Sept. 9 opener in Minnesota, so he could do something to start to erase the dud of a first season.

“Everybody’s eager,” he said. “When you have a season where things don’t go the way you want them to, you’re always eager to get back out there. But it’s a process.”

The important people are willing to give him the time to go through it. The rest of us will just have to wait.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Bengals in 2012.

Dream scenario (11-5): The Bengals end their three-decade-long streak of inconsistency and put together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1981-82. Cincinnati wins its second division title in four years and hosts a playoff game at a sold-out Paul Brown Stadium.

The offense takes another step forward in coordinator Jay Gruden's second season. A.J. Green becomes a top-five receiver in the NFL and turns in a Calvin Johnson-like season (Johnson produced 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns in his second season). Wide receiver Brandon Tate and rookie third-round pick Mohamed Sanu make surprising impacts and fill the void left by Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell. The running game goes from plodding to productive with BenJarvus Green-Ellis and two new run-blocking guards in veteran Travelle Wharton and first-round pick Kevin Zeitler.

The defense remains a top-10 one in the NFL and avoids a second-half swoon like last season. Rey Maualuga becomes a force in the middle now that he is healthy and adjusted to playing inside linebacker again. Cornerback Leon Hall is able to start the season after making a full recovery from last season's Achilles injury. The rest of the cornerbacks (Adam Jones, Jason Allen and Terence Newman) show they still have first-round talent. Safety Reggie Nelson lives up to his new four-year, $18 million contract.

Nightmare scenario (6-10): New players, same result. Even with an influx of young talent, the Bengals once again show they can't follow up a successful season, which crushes the momentum built from last year's surprising playoff season and productive offseason. This would follow the Bengals' pattern. Cincinnati had a four-win season after the last time it had gone to the playoffs in 2009.

Quarterback Andy Dalton suffers from a sophomore slump and regresses after defenses have had a full offseason to dissect him. Green also can't put up the same numbers from a year ago, although it's not his fault. Defenses clamp down on him because the Bengals don't have anyone to step up to become the No. 2 wide receiver. Green-Ellis, who averaged 3.7 yards per carry, doesn't upgrade the running back position over Cedric Benson.

Defensively, the Bengals start the season without Maualuga, who receives a suspension for violating the personal conduct policy. Hall doesn't heal as fast as expected and begins the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, meaning he misses the first six weeks of the season. His replacements prove to be either too old (Jones, Allen and Newman) or too young (first-round pick Dre Kirkpatrick). New starting safety Taylor Mays becomes a liability in pass coverage.

A respected committee of ESPN experts -- including Trent Dilfer, Mel Kiper, Gary Horton and Matt Williamson -- got together to look into the crystal ball and produce the NFL Future Power Rankings .

The projection is for the 2015 season and takes into account five factors: roster (32.5 percent), quarterback (17.5 percent), draft (15 percent), front office (15 percent) and coaching (20 percent).

You'll need an Insider subscription to see the entire post, but here's the AFC North portion of it:

5. PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Williamson: The "Steeler Way" has been working extremely well for a long time, as Pittsburgh's front office evaluates college talent and its own players as well as any team in the league. They are exceptional.

Hensley: The key was the Steelers using their top two picks on offensive linemen. As long as Ben Roethlisberger is protected and stays healthy, the Steelers will be among the top teams in the NFL.

10. BALTIMORE RAVENS

Kiper: No team consistently delivers as much value. Ozzie Newsome is a Hall of Famer … in the front office, too. The Ravens face some big personnel losses on defense coming soon, but few are better equipped to move on.

Hensley: The biggest question mark facing the Ravens by 2015 is how do they replace the leadership of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Baltimore needs its offense to become the dominant unit in order for the Ravens to be a top-10 team at this point.

11. CINCINNATI BENGALS

Dilfer: Andy Dalton quietly had an exceptionally good rookie season. Only Cam Newton diminished it. He has maintained a mature approach that we saw when he was at TCU; he gets deep into his reads, has an accurate arm and should continue to get better. If they can run it a little better, this offense will take a big leap.

Hensley: The Bengals have certainly set themselves up with two really strong drafts. The key is developing this talent and making sure these young players reach their potential. Cincinnati could be the most complete team in the division by 2015, with the emphasis on could.

32. CLEVELAND BROWNS

Williamson: Color me skeptical of the Browns' front office -- and this organization isn't exactly patient. Cleveland's front office is now directly tied to Brandon Weeden's future success. I can't say that is the perfect position to be in.

Hensley: With the exception of Trent Richardson, this team lacks playmakers. That's a rough spot to be in when you play defenses like the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals. And don't forget that Weeden will turn 32 during the 2015 season.

The AFC North quarterbacks received no love from NFL.com, which ranked the division's passers fifth in the league.

This is a little low in my estimation. Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton and Brandon Weeden (or Colt McCoy) should at least be No. 4. Here's how NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah assessed the division:

It was a tough call putting this group behind the AFC West QBs. Big Ben has two Super Bowl rings and is arguably the best in the league at extending the play. Last season, Flacco was a dropped pass away from making his Super Bowl debut, while Dalton would've been the talk of the league if not for Cam Newton's amazing rookie year. I'm not the biggest Weeden fan, but he does have size and a live arm.

For those reasons, I would put the AFC North ahead of the AFC West, which ranked fourth despite featuring a banged-up Peyton Manning and a struggling Philip Rivers, along with two quarterbacks on the hot seat (Matt Cassel and Carson Palmer). Roethlisberger has to be considered better than Manning at this point. Flacco outplayed Tom Brady in the AFC title game, and Rivers threw the third-most interceptions in the NFL (20). And Dalton made more of an impact on his team as a rookie than veterans Cassel and Palmer did last season.

The AFC North falls short of No. 3 with the NFC East, which has Eli Manning, Tony Romo, Michael Vick and Robert Griffin III. Roethlisberger has as many rings as Manning, but it's difficult to argue that Flacco had a better season than Romo (31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions). The nod goes to the NFC East in Dalton-Vick and Weeden-RG3.

Quarterback Carson Palmer said both sides won when the Cincinnati Bengals traded him to the Oakland Raiders last season.

Not sure whether we should file this under "What did you really expect him to say" or "Players are sometimes delusional about their own situation." Palmer made this comment when asked if he needed to patch things up with his former team.

"It was time to move on and it was time for them to move on," Palmer said Monday on the Dan Patrick Show, "and they're in a better place and I'm definitely in a better place."

Palmer added, "I think in the years to come both organizations will look back and say this thing was the best thing to happen."

It's fair to say that Palmer's time with the Bengals had run its course. But it's inaccurate to say both organizations are happy with the results, at least based on last season.

The Bengals went to the playoffs with new quarterback Andy Dalton and received two additional draft picks (including cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick in the first round this year) in the deal with Oakland. Palmer ended up going 4-5 as the Raiders' starter and lost the head coach (Hue Jackson) who spearheaded the move to get him to Oakland. The Bengals even ended up with Jackson as an assistant. Not sure how Palmer is counting, but this was a win-win-win for Cincinnati.

For Palmer to justify Oakland giving up a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-rounder in 2013, he has to do more than lead the Raiders to the playoffs. He has to win postseason games and a good number of them. Some might say Palmer would have to guide Oakland to the Super Bowl to validate what the Raiders gave up for him.

The Cincinnati Bengals enjoyed the most successful free agency period of any team in the division. The Bengals were applauded by many experts for being among the big winners in the NFL draft.

The question everyone in Who Dey Nation wants answered is how much ground have the Bengals made up on the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. But that's the wrong question to be asking.

Whether or not the Bengals return to the playoffs isn't about their division rivals. It's about whether this franchise can finally handle success.

The Bengals haven't put together back-to-back winning seasons since 1981-82. To put that into perspective, those were the years when Ronald Reagan was beginning his first term as president, a gallon of gas was going for $1.30 and Marvin Lewis was starting his coaching career at Idaho State.

This doesn't mean Cincinnati has struggled every year. The Bengals have been to the playoffs three times since 2005, the same amount as the Cowboys and one fewer than the Packers over that span. The problem has been following up that success. An AFC North title in 2005, and an 8-8 season in 2006. Another division title in 2009, and a 4-12 season in 2010.

There are few connections to this year's Bengals team and the 2010 one. Only seven players remain starters from Team Ochocinco & T.O., and Andy Dalton, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Thomas Howard had nothing to do with that disaster of a reality show from two years ago. A.J. Green is still A.J. Green ... and not A.J. Verde.

Momentum has clearly been on the Bengals' side since they drafted Dalton and Green last year. Cincinnati went from the NFL's worst team at the start of the 2011 season --according to the ESPN power rankings -- to a playoff one. With the second-most salary cap room in the NFL, the Bengals then used free agency to not only fill holes but upgrade those positions. It was a methodical approach that avoided the pricey big names like Carl Nicks, Robert Meachem and Cortland Finnegan. The theme was solid moves instead of splashy ones.

They signed Green-Ellis, an all-around running back and touchdown machine, to replace Cedric Benson. They added left guard Travelle Wharton, a strong run blocker, to take over for Nate Livings. That should boost a team that ranked 30th in the NFL in yards per rush (3.3) and tied for 21st in touchdown runs (three).

Cincinnati didn't ignore the defense, signing six former first-round picks. The Bengals kept their free-agent priority, safety Reggie Nelson, beating out the New York Jets for him. Cincinnati then added three cornerbacks (Jason Allen, Adam Jones and Terence Newman) and two defensive linemen (Jamaal Anderson and Derrick Harvey).

In the draft, the Bengals landed the best zone cornerback (Dre Kirkpatrick), top run-blocking guard (Kevin Zeitler), the 2011 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (Devon Still), a top-rated tight end (Orson Charles) and two promising wide receivers (Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones).

"You don’t win games on paper and that's what we have to realize, starting with me," Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth told the team's website. "We've got to be better. This looks like a good class. But the rookies know it's going to come down to what they do and how they prepare and how they go after it."

This team is clearly better than last year's one. The expectations, though, are higher. The pressure will be on to finish better than last year's record of 9-7. The pressure will be on to win the division.

The Ravens lost the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the start of the season (Terrell Suggs) and likely won't have their running back in training camp (Ray Rice isn't expected to sign his franchise tag anytime soon). The Steelers could be without their starting running back (Rashard Mendenhall) and nose tackle (Casey Hampton) for the first six weeks of the season and lost long-time leaders (Hines Ward, James Farrior and Aaron Smith) in their salary-cap purge.

While the Bengals have question marks at the No. 2 wide receiver spot and strong safety, the gap is significantly smaller between the traditional AFC North powers and Cincinnati this year. The Bengals return a Pro Bowl quarterback and wide receiver in Dalton and Green. They bring back a defense that ranked seventh in yards allowed (316.3) and nine in points given up (20.2). This team isn't lacking in talent or chemistry in the locker room, just a proven track record.

The biggest challenge for these young Bengals is beating the best. Cincinnati went 9-0 against non-playoff teams and 0-7 against teams who made the postseason. Maybe that's why the Bengals are ranked No. 16 in the post-draft ESPN power rankings, which is eight spots lower than what they finished last season.

There's going to be doubters, especially for a franchise that has gone three decades without consecutive winning seasons. But, based on what they accomplished in free agency and the draft, these are the new and much improved Bengals. All they have to do is show they can handle the best teams in the NFL along with their own success.

If anyone has any questions of whether Peyton Manning has yet to take control of the Denver Broncos’ offense, rest easy.

Check out the words of new Denver receiver Andre Caldwell, in comments distributed by the team Thursday: “He’s literally leading everything. He’s setting us up, putting us in the right positions. He’s not running the drills — definitely he and [Eric] Decker go hand-in-hand with that — but he’s pretty much the leader in everything else.”

Caldwell is loving what he has seen from Manning, who missed all of last season with a neck injury. However, Caldwell has echoed the sentiment of so many other people who have worked out with Manning or watched him work out recently: The man’s on point.

“He looks great,” Caldwell said. “He looks ready to go. I’d go to war with him any day right now, so he looks fine and healthy to me.”

Caldwell signed with Denver as a free agent from Cincinnati. He noted the difference between starting the season with a veteran like Manning as opposed to rookie Andy Dalton last season with the Bengals.

“It’s a big difference,” Caldwell said. “The quarterback had to get adjusted to us [last year], but instead, Peyton is leading us. He’s showing us all the drills we need to do. He’s ahead of everybody, and he’s just our leader. Being with a rookie last year, our leader was on the O-line. This year it’s the quarterback. He’s leading everything that he does.”

The Baltimore Ravens are among three teams interested in Steelers free-agent quarterback Dennis Dixon, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The St. Louis Rams and Denver Broncos are also in the running for Dixon, who is not expected to return to Pittsburgh.

The Ravens have been inconsistent in how they've addressed the backup quarterback position recently. In 2010, Baltimore spent $3.8 million on Marc Bulger to have veteran insurance behind Joe Flacco. In 2011, the Ravens went with rookie sixth-round pick Tyrod Taylor.

One reason why the Ravens could go with Bulger in 2010 was the uncapped year, but it's definitely a major philosophical switch to go from a playoff-tested quarterback in Bulger to a raw prospect like Taylor. Of course, Baltimore hasn't needed a backup, because Flacco has never missed a start in his four-year career (64 straight, the third-longest current streak in the NFL). But the Ravens' playoff chances would get decimated if Flacco got hurt, and the team had to turn to Taylor for an extended period.

Dixon, 27, the No. 3 quarterback last season for Pittsburgh, has made three career starts in his four seasons with the Steelers. He has a 2-1 record, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Dixon's first start came against the Ravens in 2009, when his interception in overtime set up the winning field goal.

Here are the backup quarterback situations for the rest of the AFC North:

BENGALS: Cincinnati is set with journeyman Bruce Gradkowski. When Andy Dalton was hurt in last year's season opener, Gradkowski rallied the Bengals to a 27-17 win at Cleveland.

BROWNS: At this point, the Browns are going with Seneca Wallace, the team's backup for the past two seasons. But the depth chart could get moved around if Cleveland drafts a quarterback in the early rounds. If the Browns don't take a quarterback, Wallace won't be competing with Colt McCoy for the starting job, the team said.

STEELERS: Besides Ben Roethlisberger, the only quarterbacks on the roster are Troy Smith and Jerrod Johnson. The Steelers likely will bring back Byron Leftwich or Charlie Batch. The favorite to return is Leftwich, who reportedly drew interest from the Colts.

It amounted to fast-break basketball on grass: a summer tournament seven-on-seven football game.

Stratford High School coach Eliot Allen watched it unfold from his usual spot in the back of an end zone, not interacting with the kids representing his school against Dez Bryant and Lufkin High.

Over two 20-minute halves with a running clock, at a furious pace where he had to throw the ball within four seconds of the snap against coverages that had no concern for the run, Andrew Luck didn’t throw an incomplete pass.

“He’s accuracy was unbelievable,” Allen said. “That one game he didn’t have an incomplete pass, I’ve never see it before or since. He throws such a catchable ball.”

When the Indianapolis Colts make Luck the first pick in the draft on April 26, the Stanford quarterback will enter the league rated by many scouts and evaluators as the most pro-ready quarterback since John Elway.

While Luck’s refined his remarkable touch as the leader of the Cardinal, he honed it early on in Texas seven-on-seven summer ball. He participated even as a rising ninth-grader, and Allen says Luck easily played 75 such games before moving onto college, contests that were crucial to the early development of good habits and exquisite ball placement.

As coach of Cypress Falls High, David Raffield regularly saw Luck play during the summer, then coached against Stratford in regular season and playoff football during Luck’s junior and senior years.

“Watching Andrew grow and develop into a quarterback was nothing short of amazing,” said Raffield, who now coaches A&M Consolidated High School in College Station. “The seven-on-seven allowed him to really develop his game. When you are out there as a quarterback running the offense, it’s not plays being called by a coach. You’re the guy doing it. You’re becoming your own offensive coordinator …

“His junior and senior year he had an amazing ability to place the football. The accuracy was phenomenal. He understood pass coverages. It gave him such advantages. I didn’t know he’s wind up being an NFL first-round draft pick, but I knew he was special.”

The summer before Luck’s senior year in 2007, his team finished second in Texas and played in a national tournament in Los Angeles. There, football staffs of high schools from California and Florida coached their players, Allen recalled.

It doesn’t work that way in Texas, where a state organization runs the leagues and tournaments. A high school’s coaches might help arrange leagues, tournaments and officials, but players work under the watch of others. Stratford uses former players from their team as summer ball coaches.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak was a St. Pius X High School (Houston) and Texas A&M quarterback well before seven-on-seven summers started. He joked if he had a chance to play that much, people would have discovered he wasn’t any good.

Klein Kubiak, a Strake Jesuit High School receiver who graduated in 2009 and now plays at Rice, played in the same district and overlapped with Luck. So as Gary Kubiak followed his son, he saw Luck play in tournaments. He’s also seen just how much the competition and setting have done for Texas signal-callers.

“He was very impressive,” Gary Kubiak said. “I think there is a lot of growth going on in those leagues right now. On a Saturday afternoon, those kids might play six of those games.

“I just think you can’t get enough of those repetitions. It’s almost like having two spring balls. It’s almost gotten a little bit year round, kind of like baseball.”

Such summer-league play takes place in a lot of states now. But Texas was a pioneer.

So it’s no coincidence that the three top quarterbacks in this draft -- Luck, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill -- are all from Texas.

“Think about these names,” said Tennessee Titans quarterback coach Dowell Loggains, who started at quarterback for Cooper High School in Abilene in 1997 and 1998 in both summer seven-on-seven and regular fall football. “Ryan Mallett, Andy Dalton, Colt McCoy, Christian Ponder, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Kevin Kolb, Robert Griffin, Case Keenum.

“I mean it’s huge. That’s why all these Texas high school quarterbacks are coming out and doing really well. They are so much further along than the rest of the states, plus they get 15 dates for spring practice just like a college. They are getting so many more reps than the rest of the country.”

Other states may be taking note and trying to copy, Loggains said. But it’ll be tough for many to match or top Texas because of the facilities and money high school football has in the Lone Star State.

Added ESPN analyst Jon Gruden when asked about Texas’ production of quarterbacks: “Obviously if you go to Texas, you can probably find passing tournaments going on right now, and if they're not going on right now, they'll be going on later this afternoon and for sure tomorrow and the next day. They throw the ball and have organized passing camps more than any place I've ever been.”

Allen said seven-on-seven forces quarterbacks to figure out ways to beat man-to-man coverage with two-deep safeties and that doing so at an early stage of their football careers is invaluable. Against such a look from the secondary in an actual high school game, a quarterback would hand off most of the time.

“You don’t win those games playing defense,” Allen said. “It reveals a quarterback’s accuracy and I don’t think you can simulate stiff coverage in a better way. Andrew was very good at it. He can throw the deep ball. A lot of people give him a hard time about not being able to throw the deep ball. He was great at it. But his deal is, he just wants to get first downs.”

As a high-schooler, Loggains said he thought the summer opportunity was “awesome.”

And it made it a heck of a lot easier to get time and work with receivers, who might not show up for an informal session on a Tuesday night, but wouldn’t miss a chance to play in a game with a score and a title on the line.

The proliferation of seven-on-seven play actually influenced the game at all levels.

Coaches found they had quarterbacks equipped to run spread offenses in high school, and moved away from traditional run-heavy, defense-centric schemes. They then fed those quarterbacks to colleges, where the spread continued to spread.

And when those quarterbacks landed in the NFL, teams had no choice but to employ some spread concepts, willingly or unwillingly, to try to take advantage of their quarterbacks’ strengths.

“When we had Vince Young, we had to mix in a lot of that with [offensive coordinators] Norm Chow and Mike Heimerdinger,” Loggains said.

Rather than an NFL idea trickling down, a byproduct of a high school idea trickled up.

And one scout I spoke with said he sees no end to it.

“That’s the new craze, the seven-on-seven stuff,” he said. “Texas has been doing it longer and it’s the most organized state. How many good quarterbacks have come out of Texas the last 10 years? A ton. The more reps you get at anything, the better you’ll be at it.

“It’s why I stink so bad at golf.”

Two weeks from now, the Washington Redskins will select, with the second pick in the 2012 NFL draft, their quarterback of the future. In all likelihood, this will be Baylor's Heisman Trophy-winning Robert Griffin III, a player who has already captured the hearts and the imaginations of Redskins fans to a startling extent. There is, according to anyone who's been asked, no reason to dream anything but the biggest dreams about what Griffin can be, and the extent to which he can restore the franchise to its former glory. These are fun times to be a Redskins fan.

One of the big questions these days, then, is not whether Griffin can make the Redskins a winner, but rather how soon. The Redskins had a good young defense in 2011, and there's reason to think it could be better in 2012. Fans are happy with the past couple of drafts, and the sense that there is a plan for the future. But at the same time, no one wants another 5- or 6-win season in Washington. Mike Shanahan, entering his third season as head coach, needs to show some concrete, on-field improvement in 2012 in order to avoid spending the capital he's built up from the trade that will allow him to draft his franchise quarterback. So what is reasonable to expect from the 2012 Redskins?

The key thing to remember is that, as excited as everyone is about Griffin, he still will be a rookie quarterback in 2012. Teams with rookie quarterbacks do not often reach the playoffs, though the past four seasons have offered several examples. Atlanta's Matt Ryan and Baltimore's Joe Flacco both reached the playoffs as rookies in 2008. The Jets made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game at the end of Mark Sanchez's 2009 rookie season. And last season's Bengals were a playoff team behind rookie quarterback Andy Dalton.

But for the Redskins to emulate those teams' achievements, they will have to rely on much more than just their rookie quarterback. In fact, the best way to get a rookie quarterback to the playoffs is to ask him to do as little as possible.

The 2008 Ravens ranked second in the NFL in total team defense and fourth in rushing offense. The 2009 Jets ranked first in total team defense (by a stunning 32 yards per game) and first in rush offense. The 2008 Falcons were not a good defensive team, ranking 24th in the league. But they were second in the league in rushing yards, which means Ryan was not asked to carry the offense. Last season's Bengals ranked just 19th in the NFL in rushing yards, which put more of a burden on Dalton and his superstar rookie wide receiver, A.J. Green. But they did have that superstar rookie wide receiver. And they ranked seventh in the league in total defense.

Of our four examples, the 2011 Bengals asked the most of their rookie quarterback. They averaged 33.4 pass attempts per game, which ranked 20th in the league, and threw for 209.2 passing yards per game, which also ranked 20th. The other three examples on our list? They flat-out coddled their rookie quarterbacks by comparison:

2009 Jets: 24.6 att/gm (32nd), 162.3 pass yds/gm (31st)

2008 Ravens: 27.1 att/gm (T-29th), 185.7 pass yds/gm (28th)

2008 Falcons: 27.1 att/gm (T-29th), 215.0 pass yds/gm (17th)

Now, Shanahan is a better-regarded offensive coach than any of the men who coached those teams. Rex Ryan of the Jets, in particular, believed he could win it all with defense, and very nearly did. Shanahan will design an offense in which Griffin can flourish, utilizing his arm and accuracy as well as his athleticism, speed and mobility. He'll design an offense in which Griffin works in concert with the run game, and in which each needs the other to thrive. Shanahan is likely to ask more of his offense than Ryan did of his in 2009, or than John Harbaugh did of his in 2008.

But the Redskins might find themselves limited in how quickly they can make it all work. It's possible that Pierre Garcon, Josh Morgan, Leonard Hankerson and tight end Fred Davis will be a great young receiving corps. But it's likely that it will take some time before they can really be that. There are likely to be growing pains, especially as questions persist on the offensive line, in the running game and on the back end of the defense. The 2012 Redskins are not as finished a product as the teams into which Sanchez and Flacco and Ryan were dropped, and it's unreasonable to expect instant success.

Could they contend for and even win a playoff spot? Sure. No one knows, because there are too many external factors to consider. Did the Giants get better? Did the Cowboys fix their defense? Can the Eagles make good on their mulligan? Heck, Sam Bradford's 2010 Rams weren't a very good team (12th in team defense, 24th in rush offense, by the way), but they went into the final game of that season with a chance to be an 8-8 division champion. You never know what kind of opportunity circumstances might offer.

If you're imagining big things for the 2012 Redskins, however, I think it's best to soft-pedal your expectations. In fact, those 2010 Rams might turn out to be the most apt comparison. But if the Redskins remain on the fringes of playoff contention deep into December and end up winning something like seven or eight games, as a Redskins fan you'd have to be happy with that, wouldn't you? Especially considering the direction in which things seem to be moving.

This is exciting, this idea of a new franchise quarterback. It's just important to remember how far down the Redskins have been for so long, and that fixing these things the right way can take some time.

Similarities between Matt Flynn and Matt Hasselbeck border on eery.

Flynn, like Hasselbeck in 2001, came to the Seattle Seahawks from the Green Bay Packers. Both were reunited in Seattle with personnel people they knew in Green Bay (John Schneider for Flynn, Ted Thompson for Hasselbeck).

Flynn is 25 years old. Hasselbeck was 26. Both quarterbacks, though unproven, appeared close to joining the Miami Dolphins before landing in Seattle.

Flynn's new coach, Pete Carroll, has a 14-18 record and one playoff appearance with the Seahawks. He has been on the job for 26 months. Hasselbeck's coach in 2001, Mike Holmgren, had a 15-17 record and one playoff appearance with Seattle. He had been on the job for 26 months when the Seahawks landed Hasselbeck.

For all the striking circumstantial parallels, three differences give Flynn an opportunity to enjoy early success, something that eluded Hasselbeck and nearly derailed his career with the team. All three factors are a direct reflection of Carroll and, to an extent, Schneider:

• Realistic expectations: Carroll has tempered expectations by declaring publicly that Flynn must compete for the job with Tarvaris Jackson. Holmgren anointed Hasselbeck, went on about the importance of the position, and suggested his own job security hinged on his new quarterback's performance. There's always pressure on quarterbacks, but Carroll isn't adding to the pressure on Flynn by suggesting he's their savior.
• Support system: Carroll and Schneider are further along rebuilding the roster, particularly on defense, than was Holmgren in 2001. This allows the current Seahawks to better support all their quarterbacks. This was by design and carried risk when the team opted to use its 2011 first-round choice for guard James Carpenter instead of quarterback Andy Dalton, figuring the line needed reinforcing before welcoming a young passer.
  .
  But the upside is that Carroll and Schneider have put together the NFL's youngest defense, one that ranked ninth last season and should only improve. When Hasselbeck arrived in 2001, Holmgren was patching the NFL's last-ranked defense with veterans John Randle, Chad Eaton, Marcus Robertson and Levon Kirkland. There wasn't a young talent base to build around on that side of the ball.
  .
  "Matt (Flynn) comes in at a time when our sights are set on a strong running game, a young offensive line we're excited about with depth, an attitude that plays off the defense-and-special-teams-style that we play, and that we all can feel," Carroll said Monday.
• Overall philosophy. Carroll wants to win with a strong defense and running game, whereas Holmgren was all about the quarterback.
  "We have never asked the quarterback to carry the whole show," Carroll said. "We want him to be part of this offense and part of this football team, and be the point guard and spread the ball around."

Questions remain regarding the current Seahawks' ability to develop a quarterback for the long term. That was Holmgren's strength, and one reason Hasselbeck eventually developed into a Pro Bowl player.

The NFL has become more of a passing league since then, opening for debate whether Carroll's philosophy is best for the current NFL landscape.

Those are subjects for another day. Improving the short-term chances for Flynn has to be the top priority. The Seahawks have done that. The rest is up to Flynn.

Forget about Alex Smith paying a free-agent visit to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks' contract agreement with Matt Flynn, announced by the team, largely solves the team's quarterback search for at least the 2012 season. The pressure to draft a quarterback early is now gone.

Seattle can go into the season with Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson as its veteran options. The length of the contract, three years, is shorter than what a franchise quarterback would command. But the potential value of the deal -- $26 million overall -- gives Flynn a giant opportunity to distinguish himself at one. He's most likely going to be the starter heading into the upcoming season, in other words.

The Seahawks' general manager, John Schneider, was with the Packers when Green Bay drafted Flynn. There was never any indication Seattle pursued a trade for Flynn when looking for quarterbacks a year ago, however. That tells me Flynn made a strong positive impression with the Seahawks during his recent visit, firming up the impression he made in limited on-field opportunities with Green Bay.

The agreement with Flynn leaves one fewer opportunity for Smith as the 49ers continue their pursuit of Peyton Manning. Smith visited the Dolphins, who also showed interest in Flynn. But Miami has so far shown very little ability to land its preferred candidates for important roles, having lost Jim Harbaugh and Jeff Fisher to NFC West teams, and having been scratched off Manning's list as well.

Seattle needed to address the quarterback position in some manner. Manning rebuffed its efforts to pursue him. Stronger-than-expected finishes over the past two seasons also prevented Seattle from drafting early enough for a realistic shot at the top quarterback prospects. And when the team did have an opportunity to select a promising quarterback in Andy Dalton, coach Pete Carroll sought help for his offensive line instead.

Enter Flynn, who becomes the latest veteran quarterback with an opportunity to start in Seattle. Carroll and Schneider acquired Charlie Whitehurst in 2010, but that did not work out. Whitehurst hit the free-agent market last week and signed with San Diego over the weekend. The Seahawks brought in Jackson last offseason, emphasizing the quarterback's ties to their new offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell.

Jackson was OK, but the team had trouble rallying late in games. A pectoral injury also affected Jackson's ability to deliver the ball.

Flynn, meanwhile, comes to Seattle after completing 31 of 44 passes for 480 yards with six touchdowns and one interception in the Packers' regular-season finale against Detroit. A year earlier, he passed for three touchdowns and nearly led Green Bay to victory at New England. Those two starts showed Flynn could produce when given a chance. Can he do so over the course of a season? The Seahawks will find out.

The Steelers are concerned that another team will take Mike Wallace if they put a first-round tender on the restricted free agent instead of the franchise tag. The last place Pittsburgh would want to see the big-play wide receiver go is inside its own division.

The Ravens and Bengals are among a handful of teams who are considered viable candidates to go after Wallace. Both teams are looking to upgrade at wide receiver. Both have more salary-cap room than the Steelers. And both have more motivation than other teams: Acquiring Wallace not only makes them stronger at wide receiver, but it takes away a playmaker that they won't have to defend twice a season.

Wallace, a 2011 Pro Bowl performer, finished first among AFC North wide receivers with 72 catches and 1,193 yards receiving. He stretched the field with seven receptions of at least 40 yards, including touchdowns of 81 and 95 yards. He also caught one pass of 40 yards or more in six straight games this season.

It's logical that the Ravens would be interested in Wallace. Baltimore only had two wide receivers who caught more than four passes last season (Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith) and neither had more than 57 receptions. But the Ravens have never traded a draft pick higher than a second-rounder (Terrell Owens in a 2004 deal that was ultimately rescinded) and they've come across as being more impressed with Antonio Brown than Wallace.

Still, Baltimore would only have to part with the 29th overall pick, and the Ravens know no wide receiver the caliber of Wallace will drop that far. Wallace, who turns 26 before the season, is entering the prime of his career, which makes him a more attractive option than the other free agent wide receivers: Marques Colston (who will turn 29), Vincent Jackson (29) and Reggie Wayne (33).

But Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome made it sound like the team wouldn't be pursuing restricted free agents.

“There’s going to be some restricted free agents that we would like, but is it going to be worth giving up a significant amount of cash and cap and a draft pick?," Newsome said at the Ravens' season-ending press conference. "When you deal with that double-whammy, even though the rules have been relaxed, you just go, ‘Nah, no, I wouldn’t do it.’ That’s just my philosophy.”

The bigger threat inside the AFC North to pry away Wallace is the Bengals, because of their cap situation. With an estimated $60 million in cap room, the Bengals could sign Wallace to a contract that includes a $20 million roster bonus (which ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter explains in the video). The Steelers, who are around $11 million over the cap right now, would be hard-pressed to match such an offer.

Cincinnati can make this move and still draft in the first round, because it has two picks this year. The Bengals, who have the Raiders' 17th overall pick from the Carson Palmer trade, would give up the No. 21 pick for Wallace.

Wallace would significantly upgrade Cincinnati's wide receiver group. The Bengals have one of the best young wide receivers in the league in A.J. Green, but they are looking for more consistent production than what they got from Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell. Imagine what Andy Dalton could do with Wallace, Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham.

Of course, the Steelers can make themselves less vulnerable if they put the franchise tag (estimated $9.6 million) on Wallace instead of the first-round tender ($2.7 million). But it will take a massive round of cuts (wide receiver Hines Ward, guard Chris Kemoeatu, defensive end Aaron Smith, offensive tackle Jonathan Scott and inside linebackers Larry Foote and James Farrior) and restructured contracts (quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and linebacker James Harrison) to make enough cap room for the Steelers to use that tag.

The Steelers have until March 5 to decide whether they will put the tag on Wallace or risk losing him.

I don’t think this will come as a surprise to anyone, but Carolina quarterback Cam Newton has been named the Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press.

The real surprise would have been if Newton had not won the award. But that didn’t even come close to happening. Newton received 47 of the 50 votes. Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton received the other three votes.

In many other years, Dalton’s season would have been enough to earn him the honor. But Newton had no ordinary season.

Although the Panthers only won six games, you could make the argument Newton had the best rookie season ever by a quarterback. He set a new rookie record for passing yards and became the first player in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 500 yards in the same season. Newton also set an NFL record for rushing touchdowns (14) by a quarterback.

Despite the losing record, Newton brought hope to a franchise that had been very down. Carolina went 2-14 in 2010 and coach John Fox wasn’t retained. He was replaced by Ron Rivera, who joined with general manager Marty Hurney in making what many viewed as a risky decision to use the first overall draft pick on Newton.

A lot of skeptics wondered if Newton would be able to run an NFL offense after running what those same skeptics said was a very simple offense at Auburn. Although the lockout prevented Newton from working with coaches until the start of training camp, it didn’t take him long to grasp the offense.

He earned the starting job in training camp and opened his career in spectacular fashion, passing for more than 400 yards in each of his first two games.

Although Carolina’s defense was decimated by injuries, Newton and the offense continued to improve as the season went on.

During the season, Newton talked frequently about how the losing bothered him. If Carolina can just improve its defense a bit, Newton’s not going to have to endure many more losing seasons.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Bengals' Andy Dalton exceeded expectations in 2011 when he was the AFC's top rookie quarterback. A second-round pick last year, Dalton became the only rookie in NFL history to throw for 20 or more touchdown passes while winning eight or more games as a starting quarterback.

Dalton, though, isn't just seeking improved numbers. He is looking for more responsibility in his second season.

"Going into next year, they're going to put more on me and that's what I want," said Dalton, who was at the Super Bowl to promote the Panini Pop Warner Bowl.

Dalton only has to look at two other quarterbacks in the division to gauge his progression for next season. The Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and the Ravens' Joe Flacco both improved their passing yards by at least 10 per game. Roethlisberger's interceptions went down from 11 to 9, and Flacco's touchdowns went up from 14 to 21.

But, unlike Roethlisberger and Flacco, Dalton didn't have a full offseason in his rookie season because of the lockout. Now, Dalton will have time to work with offensive coordinator Jay Gruden before training camp begins.

"We were going into a new system so everyone had to learn," Dalton said of the challenges from last season. "For the rookies, we didn't know anything different. It'll be nice to know the schedule this year."