Opinion Man speaks out on QBs

Brunell will shine, Testaverde will struggle in 2000

By Ron Pollack, Editor-in-chief
May 7, 2000

• I can’t think of a tougher question than to be asked whether Brett Favre or Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL. I love Favre’s toughness, leadership and track record. I love Manning’s intelligence, leadership, willingness to learn all of the subtleties of the position and the fact that he has turned out to be better physically than anyone expected. Picking between the two is really splitting hairs, but you don’t get to be Opinion Man by saying it’s too close to call. Thus, I’ll go with Manning since the arrow is still pointing up on him, while Favre must show he can bounce back from last season’s results (which I think he will).

• Kurt Warner is definitely for real. I will be shocked beyond belief if he struggles this season. Will Warner’s numbers drop from last year’s? That’s a definite possibility. After all, Manning and Favre couldn’t live up to those numbers. That said, I think Warner will torture opposing defenses yet again and keep Trent Green planted on the bench.

• If Green does get to play, however, he will post monster numbers.

• I think Mark Brunell is going to step up this season and move into the truly elite level of quarterbacks.

• Vinny Testaverde is going to struggle without Keyshawn Johnson. Even if they bring in another veteran receiver, the loss of Johnson is going to really hurt Testaverde. The fact that Testaverde is no young kid coming off injury won’t help either. Testaverde won’t be terrible, but he won’t play to the level of two seasons ago.

• I think the addition of Joey Galloway is really going to help Troy Aikman.

• Drew Bledsoe is going to have some games this season where he really looks bad. And it won’t be his fault. He just doesn’t have enough help around him.

• If he doesn’t get seriously hurt, Steve Beuerlein will have another big season.

• Jake Plummer is going to rebound big time from last year’s disappointing season.

• If Cade McNown can win the Bears’ starting job (and I think he will), he will have a very strong season because of all the weapons around him.

• Tim Couch will continue to progress toward stardom.

• If Corey Dillon misses the first half of the season as a holdout, Akili Smith will not progress as much as the team would like. If the Bengals find a way to make Dillon happy, Smith will have a terrific year.

• Donovan McNabb needs more magic around him at the skill positions.

• I have my doubts about how quietly Doug Flutie will be willing to sit on the bench.

• Kordell Stewart will continue to struggle in 2000, even with a very solid WR corps.

• I’ve never been a believer in Tony Banks, but with Brian Billick showing him the way and so many weapons added, he looks as though he could be the real deal. If Banks gets off to a good start and can keep Trent Dilfer on the bench, he could be on his way to a very nice pro career. I still think Banks is too erratic, but I also think Billick is the kind of coach who can fix that.

• Daunte Culpepper will post enormous numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a few games where he has a major interception problem.

• Shaun King is going to be wonderfully efficient this season.

• I still think Jon Kitna is the Seahawks’ QB of the future.

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1999 - 2000 Season