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The Cardinals want Peyton Manning.

Having brought the former Colt in for a visit, it's obvious the team is looking to upgrade the QB position, not being totally content with Kevin Kolb and John Skelton.

However, Manning is receiving plenty of interest from other teams, including the Denver Broncos and Tennesee Titans. And, while the QB heading to Denver wouldn't really affect the Cardinals, him signing in Tennessee could.

As ESPN's Mike Sando notes, Manning in Nashville would lead to Matt Hasselbeck getting the boot, and, since the Cardinals expressed interest in the former Seahawk last year, one could begin connecting some dots.

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.

Sando goes on to mention that while Hasselbeck and Kolb had similar QB ratings last season (82.4 to 81.1), the veteran signal caller had a significantly better Total QBR, which takes into account not only a QB's stats, but how each play impacts a game and his team's chances of winning.

For the season Hasselbeck completed 61.6 percent of his passes, throwing 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. His top receiver, Kenny Britt, played in just three games, and yet he was still able to guide the Titans to a 9-7 record. So, it's not as if the guy can't play anymore, and in Arizona he'd have that Larry Fitzgerald guy to throw too.

Another thing Hasselbeck would bring is a knowledge of the NFC West after spending 10 seasons in the division. At 36, Hasselbeck may not have much in the tank, but then again, how much does Manning have left? While he's not as accomplished as Manning, he would not be a bad option should the Cardinals decide they do not want to keep Kolb around, Manning or no Manning.

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    mesa mad man wrote...
    hasselbeck
    Hasselbeck now is like Garcia a few years back. Hes pretty much done and can just manage a game at this point. We could have had him last year if thats the direction we wanted to go. Better off with Kolb or Skelton and at least seeing what you got then renting Hasselbeck for a year
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    fenix3030 wrote...
    NO Adam...
    That was only an option last year (and a small one that no one liked)if we did not land Kolb. Adam, stop it. The only reason we are looking at PM is Bcus he is PM. Otherwise cutting Kolb would never have been discussed.
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    Michael D. wrote...
    Forget Hasselbeck
    Forget Hasselbeck! Make our line better. Give Kolb a chance! Manning is not coming here. Oh well. Cards needs to coach Kolb and give him a chance with a better line. Hasselbeck is retread. Lets work with our own quarterback and make him better. I do not see any other respectable coaches going after retread QB's.
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    DanTheTimid wrote...
    Strongly disagree with article
    As the others posting so far also seem to agree, this suggested move just doesn't make much sense. It takes time to get used to a new system, time Hasselbeck doesn't have in his aging career. Even if he did though, why do it? As the stats show, he's playing just about as good as Kolb, but Kolb already had a year to learn the system, so your setting yourself back a year for no significant gain. I don't know if Kolb will amount to anything, but if we don't get PM, I'd rather see what Kolb can do with an offseason then start over with a guy on the last legs of his career.
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    CardAz1 wrote...
    Waisting Time!!
    Manning! Manning! Manning! We sound like Jan Brady (Brady Bunch) Waisting valuable Free Agency time and loosing great available players to other teams while we hold all our cards in hopes of landing PM. Improve the O-line i promise Kolb will look like the player we expected him to be. Get a #2 reciever, their quickly moving on the market and if we wait any longer we will be stuck with Doucet/Roberts #2/#3, we saw how that all worked out last season. DB's, Linebackers and any1 else we need to get this team locked down and make a run for the ring.
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    Thaidragon wrote...
    Seriously
    Your Kidding Right I Rather Have Kolb Than Hasselbeck
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    JakesDish wrote...
    Hasselbeck is NOT the right direction
    The Peyton sweepstakes has burnt us all out the past week with his indecision and taunt at the idea PM would come here. Time to move on and continue with Kolb. Hasselbeck is NOT a viable direction. Let me repeat that again just in case you're a speed reader and blinked... Hasselbeck IS NOT a viable direction. The Peyton-being-a-Cardinal possibility would be the one exception to dropping Kolb after what was sacrificed in getting him last year. Now let's just pay Kolb, find a #2 WR, and an OT or two (get Brown back for reasonable price?), and continue preparations for the upcoming draft.
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