The Week After Manning's Selection

The New Orleans Saints
Now that Peyton Manning has finally chosen a team to play for in the 2012 NFL season, we can focus on other important issues such as the "Bounty Program" in the NFL. For those who are not aware Greg Williams, the defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints, ran a "Bounty Program" for his defense during the past few seasons. If a player injured or harmed an opposing offensive player the Saints player would get at least a $1,000 bonus if not more. This "Bounty Program" has upset many people including the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell. Williams is believed to have conducted the same program when he was the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins. Some controversy originates from the Saint's Superbowl wining season in 2009 when the "Bounty Program" was conducted.

 The many punishments for the Saints are as follows:

• New Orleans Saints-Fined $500,000 and two 2nd round draft picks
• Greg Williams(defensive coordinator for St. Louis Rams)-Suspended Indefinitely
• Sean Payton(Saints head coach)- Suspended for 1 year starting on April 1st
• Mickey Loomis(General Manager of Saints)- Suspended for 8 weeks
• 27 other Saints player in the NFL- Punishment soon to follow
• Drew Brees- Bad reputation for team for a team he helped build

Meanwhile, the Saints, Williams, and Payton have appealed the decision before the appeal deadline of April 2nd. The Saint will be looking for an interim head coach to replace coach Sean Payton and as of now retired Cowboys head coach, Bill Parcels, is the man likely to get the job. The Saints have been very slow with appealing their suspensions and hiring an interim coach which could prove detrimental with the upcoming NFL draft. If the Saints don't get moving they may lose the NFC South to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Carolina Panthers who have both had very productive off-seasons.

Tebow and Manning

Manning
After weeks of speculation of where Peyton Manning will play in the 2012 NFL season, the quarterback that many consider to be the best in the history of the NFL has decided to join the Denver Broncos. To me this was a surprising choice since the Broncos already had a young quarterback, Tim Tebow, who lead the team to a division championship and one playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Denver was one of the first cities Manning visited after being released from the Indianapolis Colts. Manning spent a lot of quality time in Denver and was very impressed by the organization which is probably one of the main reasons he has chosen the Denver Broncos. I am excited to see how the Broncos and Manning perform this season following a truly special season the program had a year ago with Tim Tebow.

Tebow
Since the Denver Broncos signed Peyton Manning to their roster they decided to remove Tim Tebow from the roster. The Denver Broncos made a trade agreement with the New York Jets to trade Tim Tebow in exchange for a fourth round pick. When I heard this news I could not believe how little the Broncos settled with to trade Tim Tebow . I mean is he only worth a fourth round draft pick? I don't believe so. The Jets recently signed a multi-million dollar contract extension with their current quarterback Mark Sanchez which surprises me as to why the Jets would want Tebow. There may be a battle for the starting position at quarterback for the Jets come this season. No matter what, I hope Tim Tebow does well because I truly enjoyed watching him play last year.

The Season Has Begun!

The Beginning
The 2012 NFL season officially began on Tuesday, March 15th with the opening of the league's free agency. When a player's contract expires with their previous team they enter the free agency where another team can offer the player a better contract, the player may re-sign with their current team, or two teams can trade for a free agency player.

The most notable free agent players included:

• Brandon Marshall (Dolphins): signed with the Chicago Bears
• Mario Williams (Texans)
• Pierre Garcon(Colts): signed with the Washington Redskins
• Marques Colston(Saints): re-signed with New Orleans Saints
• London Fletcher (Redskins)
• Randy Moss (Retired): signed with the San Francisco 49ers
• And many others

RGIII

In other news, on Friday, March 9th the Washington Redskins made a historic trade with the St. Louis Rams for the second overall draft pick in the upcoming 2012 NFL Draft. The Redskins gave the Rams three first round picks in the 2012, 2013, and 2014 Drafts and a second round draft pick. It has been assumed the Washington Redskins will draft their franchise quarterback of the future and the current Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffin III (RGIII). This is a great move by the Redskins who has been a team with a very unstable quarterback situation starting more that 12 different quarterbacks in the last 10 seasons. I believe the RGIII will really help the recently noncompetitive team competitive in the upcoming seasons. I also plan on buying his jersey this summer. 

Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

There are two big headlines in the NFL this week which include the New Orleans Saints defensive coach Greg Williams' bounty system and the release of Peyton Manning from the Indianapolis Colts. Peyton Manning is considered to be among  the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. His entire 14 season career has been spent in Indianapolis where he won Super Bowl XLI and Super Bowl MVP against the Chicago Bears. His younger brother, Eli Manning, has been in recent news after winning his second Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, but with the release of Peyton from Indianapolis the spotlight has returned to him.

Where Should He Go?

The quarterback of a team is a key aspect to achieving offensive success and has become even more important as more teams start to rely on passing instead of rushing. In other words, a good quarterback is necessary on any NFL team. One of the main concerns about Peyton is his age, 35, which limits how much longer he has to play, but Brett Farve played until he was 40 so we can assume Peyton has about 5 more years.

Here is a list of teams that have had concerns about the quarterback position and the quarterback(s) that played in the 2011 season.

• Kansas City Chiefs-Matt Cassel & Tyler Palko & Kyle Orton
• Washington Redskins- Rex Grossman & John Beck
• Seattle Seahawks-Charlie Whitehurst & Tarvaris Jackson
• Arizona Cardinals-Kevin Kolb & John Skelton
• Cleveland Browns- Colt McCoy & Seneca Wallace
•  Houston Texans- Matt Schuab & Matt Leinart & Jake Delhome & T.J. Yates
• Denver Broncos- Tim Tebow & Kyle Orton
• Miami Dolphins- Chad Henne & Matt Moore

Not all teams are listed but all of these teams have expressed an interest in Peyton Manning.

My Opinion

Personally, I really want to see Peyton Manning go to the Miami Dolphins. Miami's main quarteback has been Chad Henne who is a decent quarterback, but rarely finishes seasons due to injury. In 2011, Matt Moore replaced the injured Henne but was not very successful. Dolphin's running back Reggie Bush had a personal best season in rushing yards in 2011 and Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall caught a Pro Bowl record of 4 touchdowns and was the Pro Bowl MVP. Miami also has a sturdy defense led by linebacker Jason Taylor. If Peyton Manning were to go to Miami he would have all the tools needed to go to the Super Bowl. The Miami Dolphins will win the 2013 Super Bowl if they acquire Peyton Manning and the team remains healthy. The Miami Dolphins are also in the same division as the New England Patriots and who wouldn't want to see Tom Brady and Peyton Manning play against each other TWICE in a season?

Change of topic

After much thought I have decided to change my blog topic to something that really matters. So, after this post I will begin blogging about the 2012 NFL preseason including the 2012 NFL draft.

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

Before Ordering

Earlier this week I attended the Italian Restaurant Olive Garden on Midlothian Turnpike to enjoy lunch on our half day. Before arriving at the parking lot of the restaurant I predicted the place would be packed since it was noon on a weekday, but to my surprise the restaurant was almost vacant. When I went in to be seated I was asked to wait fifteen minutes along with another party which really upset me since there was almost nobody in the restaurant. However, I waited fifteen minutes and was finally seated at a table. One thing I noticed at the restaurant is that the chairs around the tables had wheels which helped lower the amount of noise people created by dragging chairs along the floor and is also something I have never seen at another restaurant.  The waitress was very kind and attentive when she brought out my drink. When she came by to take my order I ordered an appetizer of fried calamari and an order of Fettuccine Alfredo.

The Lunch

Shortly after taking my order the waitress brought out a huge bowl of salad and a basket of freshly baked bread sticks. The salad had green, crisp lettuce, bright red tomatoes, crunchy croutons, and a homemade Italian style dressing with warm, fluffy bread sticks that are all complimentary with my meal. The salad and breadsticks were served prior to my appetizer. The waitress eventually brought my order of fried calamari which was fried to a light golden brown served with marinara and a white sauce. The fried calamari was simply amazing. Without out a doubt it is the best calamari I have had anywhere and I challenge anyone to find calamari that delicious at another restaurant. In case you are wondering what is calamari it is simply squid but don’t judge a book by its cover because squid normally taste way better than it sounds. After enjoying my amazing appetizer my order of Fettuccine Alfredo was brought to me. The dish included a generous portion of Fettuccine pasta covered with Alfredo sauce and a lot of butter. The dish had almost enough butter for me to taste all the cholesterol. Besides the large amount of butter and salt I enjoyed my meal. When I was brought the bill I realized why people eat at Olive Garden only once in a blue moon.

Final Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch at Olive Garden even though it did cost more than an average lunch. The best part about my lunch at Olive Garden was the fried calamari and the rolling chairs. I was very impressed by the overall cleanliness of the restraint which I found very appealing. I would recommend the restaurant to anyone as long as you are willing to pay more than usual. All the Italian dishes seemed delicious, but I cannot think of another restaurant that has fried calamari as good as Olive Garden’s. 

You can find directions to the restaurant here.

Don Pepe Mexican Restaurant

I recently enjoyed a great dinner at a local Mexican  restaurant called Don Pepe. When I arrived I was greeted by the manager and waited for a table. The manger was very personable and friendly that made me feel welcomed. Once I was seated my waiter brought chips, white chip dip, and fresh salsa accompanied with my drink. The waiter was also very friendly and attentive since I never once waited for a refill. I ordered the "pollo loco" or "crazy chicken" that included grilled marinated chicken, rice, re-fried beans, and soft tortillas. My meal was brought to me after only waiting fifteen minutes! The food was hot, very authentic, and fresh. My meal cost $8.00 for a large dinner portion that was worth the price.

 I have visited all three locations of Don Pepe and often enjoy their food more than once a week. The service is great and all the waiters make you feel at home. Don Pepe is not only the best Mexican food restaurant in the Richmond area, but possibly the best local restaurant of all. I thoroughly recommend a visit to Don Pepe for a wonderful lunch or dinner and for great service.

Don Pepe has three locations at Hull Street & Genito, Midlothian Tpke, and Chester.

They also have dollar Monday nights when tacos, enchiladas, and quesadillas are only $1 as well as margarita Wednesdays.