| In the second installment of a three-part series, PFW
editor-in-chief Ron Pollack looks at the two divisions he rates third and fourth based on
the quality of their quarterbacks.
Super elite: Troy Aikman, Cowboys.
Elite: Jake Plummer, Cardinals.
Middle of the pack: Brad Johnson, Redskins.
Bottom 10: Kent Graham, Giants; Doug Pederson, Eagles.
Analysis: The talent around him isn’t as dominant as it used to be, so
people don’t pay quite as much attention to Aikman as they should. Simply put, he is
still a spectacular performer. When the Cowboy offense is in sync, he is as accurate as
they come. Aikman will always get high marks in my book for his willingness to forego
personal stats in order to give the team the best chance to win.
I think that Plummer is on the verge of superstardom. He gets very high marks for
leadership. The fact that he plays for a team that appears to be ready to break through as
an elite team in another year or so should only help his growth and his reputation.
Johnson is an interesting player. He looks as though he can be a very fine player, but
he never seems to have stayed in the lineup in college and the pros. If he can stay
healthy and keep his starting job, he should do well. Despite the lack of success of
recent Redskin quarterbacks, I still think that Norv Turner is a good resource for a
quarterback, which could help Johnson. The fact that the Redskins have a truckload of
first-round picks in next year’s draft should help Johnson as well. If the light bulb
finally goes on for WR Michael Westbrook, then Johnson will really be in a great position
to succeed.
Graham and Pederson seem as if they are just keeping seats warm for now at quarterback.
I see Graham eventually losing the job to Kerry Collins. That is a prediction, not a
guarantee. For a guarantee, go to Philadelphia, where it is a mortal lock that Pederson
will eventually be replaced by Donovan McNabb.
Interesting young backups: McNabb is a very intriguing player to watch. He
brings all of the tools that you like to see in the modern-day, mobile quarterback. He
appears to have the traits you look for in a winner. Plus, he will be under the watchful
eye of a head coach, Andy Reid, who is also a QB guru.
Top of page
Super elite: Steve Young, 49ers.
Elite: Chris Chandler, Falcons.
Middle of the pack: Trent Green, Rams.
Bottom 10: Steve Beuerlein, Panthers; Billy Joe Hobert, Saints.
Analysis: The NFC West finishes hot on the heels of the NFC East. I give the NFC
East the edge, however, because of the situations for the teams with bottom-10 starters.
Graham and Pederson may not excite in New York and Philadelphia, but Collins and McNabb
have the tools to develop into special players if everything falls into place. The
Panthers and Saints have bottom-10 starters, but their future outlook at the position is
much more murky.
Not enough has been made of the unbelievable job that Young has done replacing Joe
Montana. Simply put, replacements for all-time greats are not supposed to play as well as
Young has. Young deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame after he retires. What’s even
more impressive about Young is that he has had so much success in the 49er system despite
the fact that he is a different type of quarterback than Montana was.
Chandler just barely sneaks into elite status. Some people might raise an eyebrow at
his inclusion there, given the fact that he was viewed as a journeyman for much of his
career and had a reputation for some time as the injury-prone "Crystal
Chandelier." If you look at his results the last four seasons, however, you see that
he has in fact become an elite quarterback. Over the last four regular seasons, Chandler
has a spectacular TD-interception ratio of 78-40. He now seems like a more mature,
confident quarterback than he was earlier in his career.
Green will be interesting to watch this upcoming season. He had an out-of-nowhere
success story of a season last year. Of course, Gus Frerotte had unexpected success for a
time with the Redskins before finding himself back on the bench. Will Green meet a similar
fate as expectations and attention from opposing defenses increase? Working in
Green’s favor are the skill-position weapons surrounding him with the Rams. WR Isaac
Bruce is terrific when healthy, rookie WR Torry Holt has big-time potential, and RB
Marshall Faulk is an excellent threat as a pass catcher. I don’t see Green becoming a
superstar, but I think he can have a very productive run as a starter with so much talent
surrounding him. Green barely snuck into the middle-of-the-pack category. A case can be
made for putting Batch into this category and Green into the bottom 10, but I sided with
Green because of what he accomplished with fewer weapons around him in Washington last
season.
Beuerlein is a barely adequate, short-term, veteran answer for the Panthers, but
he’s never going to be anything more than that. He’s the type of guy you can
tread water with and who won’t kill you, but you need to replace him before long if
you aspire to be a dangerous team.
Hobert strikes me as a guy you want as your backup quarterback. He is someone who can
come off the bench to provide a nice short-term spark if your starter is struggling or
hurt. He doesn’t strike me as someone you can win big with over the long haul,
though. Maybe I’m just missing something here, but Hobert doesn’t strike me as
the answer to act as the starter who can take maximum advantage of all the attention
rookie RB Ricky Williams will attract.
Interesting young backups: Backup Jeff Lewis seems to be in place to get a shot
at being the Panthers’ quarterback of the future. While he has some qualities that
are interesting, it wouldn’t shock me if the Panthers eventually draft someone else
to be their quarterback of the future. I’m not discounting him, but his lack of
experience and the fact that the Broncos chose to keep Brian Griese over Lewis make me
take a wait-and-see approach to the Panthers’ backup.
I think Jim Druckenmiller has always been a bad fit for the 49ers. Joe Germaine is
worth keeping an eye on down the road for the Rams if he gets good coaching. Dameyune
Craig is worth a closer look in training camp by the Panthers off of what he has
accomplished this year in NFL Europe. Atlanta’s Danny Kanell strikes me as a very
capable backup, but I don’t think he’s what you want as a starter.
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Thursday: Find out which divisions Pollack ranks fifth and sixth, and why. |
