| We are in a very interesting time for
quarterbacks in the NFL. Most of the old guard of great quarterbacks of the most recent
era are out of football (Steve Young, Troy Aikman, John Elway and Dan Marino). Plus, the
NFL is stocked with very, very young potential franchise players who could be great for
the next decade but either haven’t done it yet or haven’t done it for long
enough to say for sure that they will have astonishing careers. There are a lot more
questions than answers at the QB position in the NFL these days. Let’s take a
team-by-team look at these questions.
Arizona Cardinals — Is Jake Plummer the real deal or just a
tease? Early in his career he was brilliant when the game got frenzied, ad-libbing
extremely well and leading wonderful comebacks. The Plummer of more recent vintage has
taken a step or two backward instead of progressing forward. The Cardinals have been
surrounding Plummer with first-round draft picks on offense, so the opportunity is
certainly there to jump up in class.
Atlanta Falcons — Michael Vick is immensely talented yet
immensely raw, so he is a gigantic question mark for the moment. Is he the next Michael
Jordan or the next Ryan Leaf? The key is for the Falcons not to throw him into the fire
too quickly. The question on Chris Chandler is: How much does he have left at this stage
of his career after taking such a beating in recent seasons?
Baltimore Ravens — Elvis Grbac is coming off a big season, but
there are a lot of questions about him. How will he respond to a new team? Is he a good
enough leader and tough enough? Can he avoid mistakes enough to fully take advantage of a
spectacular defense and a terrific, young running back? Is there a No. 1-caliber wide
receiver for him to be able to count on?
Buffalo Bills — It’s Rob Johnson’s ball now. Can he
stay healthy? Are his football instincts good enough? Will he stop hanging on to the ball
too long?
Carolina Panthers — With Steve Beuerlein no longer the answer, is
anybody on the roster good enough to be a capable starting NFL quarterback? Jeff Lewis,
Dameyune Craig and Matt Lytle are not exactly thrilling answers until they prove
otherwise. Chris Weinke is an interesting prospect, but he is an untested rookie who
didn’t exactly go early in the draft.
Chicago Bears — Can Cade McNown become an elite quarterback? Can
he become a capable quarterback? The Bears desperately need the light bulb to go on for
him so that WRs Marcus Robinson and David Terrell can be fully utilized. Otherwise they
have to go with Jim Miller or Shane Matthews, neither of whom has a very exciting upside.
Cincinnati Bengals — Can Akili Smith become a franchise
quarterback? While it’s too soon to write him off because of a terrible season in
2000, it’s disturbing how poorly he played despite the fact that opposing defenses
were concentrating so much on stopping RB Corey Dillon. If Peter Warrick steps up his
play, that would certainly help Smith, although Smith is the one who really needs to take
the bull by the horns, mature very quickly on the job and start producing.
Cleveland Browns — Can Tim Couch take a step up in class with so
little talent around him on offense? He is a potential franchise quarterback, but he
hasn’t been surrounded with the firepower on offense to date to be able to really get
the job done. Also, can he improve his accuracy and timing throwing the ball downfield?
Dallas Cowboys — Are the Cowboys fooling themselves with the
quarterbacks they are counting on? Tony Banks has a reputation of being a coach killer.
Translation: He teases you with his physical tools and the occasional big game, but he
never really gets it done for any enduring period of time. Meanwhile, rookie Quincy Carter
was taken much earlier than most teams had him rated in the draft. Either the Cowboys see
something in these two quarterbacks that most of the rest of the league is missing, or
they have made a big mistake and will be looking for new answers in a couple of years.
Denver Broncos — Brian Griese looks like the real deal, who has
all of the intangibles you love to see in a winning quarterback. Plus, he is surrounded by
excellent talent on offense. The only question at the moment seems to be: Can Griese stay
healthy?
Detroit Lions — Was last season just an off year for Charlie
Batch that will soon be forgotten, or has he hit the wall in his progress? He is still
very much a work in progress. Also, can he be durable enough in the NFL?
Green Bay Packers — Brett Favre is still an elite quarterback in
the NFL, so it seems ludicrous to ask questions about him, but there are a couple. Just
how much has Favre slipped? Not a ton, since he is still one of the best quarterbacks in
the game, but he can no longer improvise and make plays single-handedly as often —
with the emphasis on "as often," since he can still do it — as he used to.
How much will the mediocre receiving corps impact Favre?
Indianapolis Colts — No questions. Peyton Manning should be going
to Pro Bowls for many years to come. The only question about Manning is: Will a meteor
land on him? If one does, his career is in trouble. Otherwise, the future looks great. If
you want a real question, it would be: Can Manning lead the Colts to big-time postseason
success? That’s not a criticism, merely a piece of unfinished business in a career
that has a long way to go.
Jacksonville Jaguars — Can Mark Brunell become a great
quarterback? He is a very good quarterback, but he has not been able to break through and
become a superstar in the Peyton Manning/Brett Favre/Kurt Warner tier of quarterbacks.
Kansas City Chiefs — Trent Green is a solid quarterback, but can
he become something more than that? Can he make quick enough decisions as a quarterback?
How good can he be now that he does not have the rest of the Rams’ offense on his
side? The skill-position weapons are certainly in place in Kansas City for Green to
succeed.
Miami Dolphins — Does the addition of Ray Lucas mean that Jay
Fiedler has less room for error this season? Can Fiedler continue to make progress as a
starter, or will he revert to his journeyman roots? Will a No. 1-caliber wide receiver
emerge to help him out?
Minnesota Vikings — Daunte Culpepper was spectacular last season.
The only question becomes: Will the league catch up to him a little bit now that it has
had a chance to study him, or will he get even better with some experience under his belt?
New England Patriots — Can Drew Bledsoe survive a complete lack
of support from the running game? The running backs really leave a lot to be desired. Are
the receivers good enough to enable Bledsoe to achieve a lot? Terry Glenn is immensely
talented, but he isn’t always a guy you want to go to war with.
New Orleans Saints — The question isn’t ability so much as:
Who is the starting quarterback? Jeff Blake can be solid. Aaron Brooks was terrific when
he played last year, but he is very inexperienced. The bet here is that Brooks wins the
job. Then the question becomes: Does he build upon last season’s success, or does the
league catch up to him?
New York Giants — Will the real Kerry Collins please stand up?
Was the real Collins the player who had such a great comeback season for most of the
campaign? Or was the real Collins the guy who struggled so mightily in the Super Bowl?
New York Jets — How much does Vinny Testaverde have left? He
threw a ton of interceptions last season, which makes you wonder if age is catching up to
him. Is this the year Chad Pennington gets into the starting lineup?
Oakland Raiders — Rich Gannon has been terrific in Oakland,
playing for Jon Gruden. Still, there are questions. Will age start to catch up to him?
Will he revert to his old journeyman status? The age question strikes me as the bigger
concern of the two.
Philadelphia Eagles — Donovan McNabb looks as though he has a
sensational career ahead of him. Nonetheless, he is still very inexperienced, so you have
to ask: Will he slip up some this season? Can he improve his accuracy? How will McNabb do
if Duce Staley does not rebound well from injury?
Pittsburgh Steelers — Will Kordell Stewart ever become the
state-of-the-art quarterback he once looked as if he would become? Will Stewart make more
of an effort to be more of an instinctive, running-type quarterback, which is when he has
had most of his success, or will he try to be a pure drop-back passer, which is not his
strength? Will the Steelers’ highly touted WRs Plaxico Burress and Troy Edwards
mature and start producing more, thereby helping out Stewart immensely.
San Diego Chargers — Doug Flutie knows how to win, which
ultimately is what you want in a quarterback. The question with him is: When will his age
catch up to him? As for rookie Drew Brees, how quickly will he be ready to become a
starter in the NFL?
San Francisco 49ers — Jeff Garcia seems to have come out of
nowhere to become a quality NFL starter. Will his journeyman background catch up to him,
or is he really as good as he looked last season? Will an iffy RB situation resolve
itself, or will it hurt Garcia’s cause?
Seattle Seahawks — Matt Hasselbeck has looked great during the
preseason in the past, but he hasn’t had much opportunity to show what he can do
during the regular season. Now that he’s being handed the ball, how will he do when
the bullets are flying for real during games that count? Will QB guru Mike Holmgren be
able to make Hasselbeck the real deal right away?
St. Louis Rams — Kurt Warner is the real thing. A big-time
superstar, and a great guy as well. The only major question with him is: Can he stay
healthy? It would also be nice if he could scale back on the interceptions he threw last
season, although I feel a little funny making that criticism when you consider how much he
lights up the scoreboard.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Can Brad Johnson stay healthy? If Johnson
gets hurt, can Shaun King get the job done, or will losing his starting job hurt his
attitude and confidence? I think the Johnson health issue is a bigger question mark than
King’s ability to handle his demotion.
Tennessee Titans — Can Steve McNair improve his pocket passing
enough to become a true superstar? Will McNair ever turn it loose and start throwing the
ball down the field more?
Washington Redskins — Will Jeff George play to the level of his
great arm, or will his lack of leadership and intangibles keep him from getting the job
done? |
