Ask the expert: Jerry Angelo

Thursday, 6 a.m.

Jerry Angelo is a former personnel director for the Bucs and former general manager of the Bears. Each week, Angelo answers your questions regarding the NFL. Send your questions to GarySheltonsports@gmail.com with "ask the expert'' in the subject line. The most interesting question will be selected.

Who is the best backup quarterback in the NFL?

Scott Myers

The ex-starter.The aswer is pretty obvious. Matt Hasselbeck is 4-0.

Peyton Manning has said he wants to play one more year. But where? Houston? Cleveland? Would you sign Manning for aone-year deal?

Probably not, it’s pretty much over. In my mind he’s done. I said going into this year this would be it. He's like so many great players who have a hard time coming to grips with their mortality.

But history tells us, there are always one or two teams that

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may be desperate enough to do it. Manning knows that and until 32 teams say no, he’ll keep playing and playing for 2 things now, his legacy and money.

Coming down the stretch, which teams do you think will win their divisions? And which teams are you favorites to be wild-card teams?

AFC

North: Cincinnati
South: Indianapolis
East: New England
West: Denver

Wildcards: Kansas City and Pittsburgh

NFC

North: Minnesota
South: Carolina
East: New York Giants
West: Arizona

Wildcards: Green Bay and Seattle

What are Matt Ryan’s problems lately? And will the Bucs’ pass defense cure them?

Matt Ryan is a good quarterback, not a special one. He’s a special person, but not a special player.

I’ve said for years he’s overrated like many others who are paid like franchise quarterbacks but are not. You can win with him, but rarely are the Falcons winning because of him and that’s how the great ones are measured. He hasn’t shown that level of play on a consistent basis. When everything is going well, he’s fine.

I’ve always said anyone can man a ship in calm waters. It’s when you’re going through a storm is when you find out who can lead and who can’t. How will he fair against the Bucs? Wish I could tell you. It all depends on what Bucs team shows up.

The Panthers are the last unbeaten team standing. What are the chances they go unbeaten?

I'm betting they’ll run the table. Their schedule is very doable and they have shown to be a resilient team. They are the best team in football right now. They have no real flaw as a team and they can win in all 3 phases of the game. They are well-coached. They are consistent and they play extremely hard each and every week. That’s the formula and they have mastered it. Their quarterback in my opinion is the league’s MVP. I’m pulling for them.

What are your top five teams in football, and in honor of Bart Starr, name an iconic player you admired.

Carolina
New England
Cincinnati
Arizona
Denver

The player I admired the most was Joe Namath. If you ever want to see a great documentary, watch the one HBO did on him.

If you weren’t living, this was during an era when the NFL was competing with the AFL for which was the better league, then you have to watch this HBO special. Namath did more than anyone player to help merge the two leagues into what we know as the NFL. There hasn’t been any player in the history of football who was burdened with such fame and fortune in a major-market and handled it better than him with little or no help other than his own resources.

Tampa Bay tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has shown flashes of ability. But he’s missed 17 games in less than two years. When does a team start to lose patience with a guy who is constantly hurt?

Good question. Durability is every bit as important as talent when it comes to evaluating players. If you’re going to pay a player, then you have to be able to count on him.  If you can’t count on a player, how do you continue to develop him, play him or pay him.

Missing that many games in less than 2 years is a red flag to me. The plan going forward would be to go into next season and if the same pattern occurs, then you have to look hard at what you’ve really got with him. All that glitters isn’t gold.

Did the Cowboys rush Tony Romo’s return?

I have no doubt he was healed, but resting him another week or two probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Had they done that, they certainly would have missed any chance of making the playoffs.

He knew that and they did as well. The severity of the hit he took against Carolina probably would have gotten the same results, regardless if you rested him a little more or not. It was just bad luck. Unfortunately for the player and the team they are now officially done. You can’t control injuries. All you can do is keep your fingers crossed.

Not counting quarterbacks, who are your top seven players in the NFL?

J.J. Watt
Luke Kuechly
Patrick Peterson
Julio Jones
Adrian Peterson
Rob Gronkowsi
Josh Norman

What are your bottom five teams?

Tennessee
Cleveland
Philadelphia
Miami
Dallas

Jerry’s picks

Atlanta at Tampa Bay…..Bucs

PERFORMANCE TO DATE: Bucs
INCENTIVE TO WIN: Falcons
COACHING: Even
QUARTERBACK: Even
PERSONNEL: Even

Seattle at Minnesota…Seahawks

PERFORMANCE TO DATE: Even
INCENTIVE TO WIN: Seahawks
COACHING: Vikings
QUARTERBACK: Seahawks<
PERSONNEL: Seahawks

Colts at Steelers…Steelers

PERFORMANCE TO DATE: Steelers
INCENTIVE TO WIN: Steelers
COACHING: Steelers
QUARTERBACK: Steelers
PERSONNEL: Steelers