Quarterback Controversies

By: K.C. Sampson, unlockedsports.com

courtesy of Unlocked Sports

So much has been made of these situations in the past ten years that it’s hard to know where to start breaking down a quarterback controversy. Last season a couple of notables were Grossman vs. Griese in Chicago, Losman vs. Edwards in Buffalo, Pennington vs. Clemens for the Jets, Broyle vs. Huard in K.C., Schaub vs. Rosenfels in Houston, McCown vs. Culpepper and Russell in Oakland. Anytime you have a young quarterback to bring along, a quarterback controversy is usually bound to happen at some point. Quarterback controversies also occur because of injury. Often the starter gets hurt to be replaced by the backup who has a very strong performance. Todd Collins, Kurt Warner, Trent Edwards are backups that rose under the occasion when their team needed them.

In terms of sports predictions or handicapping, it would be wiser to go either with the better team or with the more experienced quarterback. Watch closely for news from practice all week and learn your players’ exact abilities and where their comfort zone is. If he has trouble escaping fast linebackers then you may not want to take the guy against a team that will be putting pressure on him. Also a healthy supporting cast of receivers is necessary for most young QBs so as to develop confidence in their crew and they can then change cadence and throw defenders off balance. Another train of thought would be to avoid betting on teams with a QB situation unless we know that one or the other QB has a history of winning games and has a cool enough head to not let rumors or speculation upset them.

phpwnyejdam.jpgMatt Ryan (number 3 pick overall in the 2008 NFL draft) will be joining Joey Harrington and Chris Redman in Atlanta. The rookie will be the future of the franchise but if they continue to struggle offensively he will probably get the nod sooner than expected. Joe Flacco will be joining Troy Smith behind Kyle Boller in Baltimore and this here is a crowded situation that could be exploited. Look for K.C.’s Brodie Croyle to continue his progression to #1 over Damon Huard who was Trent Green’s replacement and the Eagles Donovan McNabb who’s got Kevin Kolb behind him to reclaim his title as the franchise in Philadelphia. J.P. Losman has had time but this could be it for him as Buffalo’s starter since Trent Edwards has shown twice the poise of any other rookie QB and led them to a couple surprise upsets late in the season.

The worst problem a team can face is starting the wrong guy at QB as the speculation and heat will eventually turn to the coach. Is Alex Smith ready in San Fran? If not who do you turn to? Shaun Hill and Drew Olson aren’t exactly impact types at this point so you have to assume Mike Nolan has confidence in the young man from Utah since Trent Dilfer has moved on. The largest problem with young quarterbacks is that they tend to show a ton of promise in minicamps and preseason drills and they really aren’t ready to handle their first few bad outings against pro bowl defenders. Do you really think Ed Reed cares how many yards Chad Henne can throw for in a dome?

The young guys may look attractive but only in very rare cases are they ever ready instantly and even then they have to pull themselves out of holes frequently due to inexperience. All things taken into consideration your safest picks are betting on teams that are settled at the quarterback position. These teams have the most stability at the one spot and throwing untested rookies or even non-confident veterans into the mix against the world-class defenses on the NFL front is usually synonymous with cellar based teams.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

K.C. Sampson is a fanatic when it comes to playing and following football. He currently studies full time at Concordia University in Montreal Canada while playing football for the Stingers. When he is not studying he spends most of his time writing football related articles or studying the trends from the previous season in an attempt to improve his football predicting skills. Visit unlockedsports.com here.

Share This Article

1 Comment

  1. kdoeljp hnvjiqsu ltzas hcurkwte pilvd utpdnx nihz

    Comment by kcrztyw gmiy on October 28, 2008

Comment On This Article