To QB, or not to QB
The Professional NFL Quarterback is what every kid wants to grow up to be. Nobody goes into their backyard as a kid and wants to be the best slot receiver in football; nope they want to be the Quarterback. Why, you ask? Well QB’s get all the chicks, that and all the accolades. But I am glad that with the accolades also is beginning to come the blame. Coaches are holding QB’s responsible when things are not going well. There are a few situations in the NFL which need to be examined at this juncture.
The first one is that of the Atlanta Falcons and Michael Vick. Now I could be known as a “Vick hater” because I am awfully critical of him, but it is only because when the Falcons actually win a game he is given every ounce of credit. Then when the Falcons lose a game it is because Head Coach Jim Mora, Jr. and Offensive Coordinator Greg Knapp are not using Vick correctly and they are trying to make him into a pocket passer. Well as I have always pointed out, pocket passers win championships and scramblers sell tickets. So if you are the Falcons you have to examine what it is you are trying to do, if selling tickets is all you care about then by all means keep running Vick’s mediocre ass out there. Although that may not work anymore since Vick decided to give the old one finger salute to the fans at the Georgia Dome yesterday after they booed him and his teammates as they jogged off the field. Good job Mike, who the hell are you now, Marcus Vick? The fans had every right to boo Vick; this was the fourth game this season where he completed less than half of his passes and the fourth game where he failed to throw a TD pass, that is atrocious. This past off-season at least three teams inquired about Falcons backup Matt Schaub, but they were told Schaub was there to stay. That says to me someone in the organization believes heavily in Schaub (former ACC player of the Year) and has little confidence that Vick is the long term answer. I say it is time to go with Schaub; the loss yesterday to the Saints puts the Falcons on the fast train to missing the playoffs, so why not play Schaub. Heck if Schaub plays well there are more than a few GM’s out there who would gladly take Vick off your hands. And after you get off the phone with those GM’s tell them I have some land in South Florida they might be interested in.
How about Rex Grossman? Is there a better team with a worse Quarterback right now than the Chicago Bears? This guy is plain awful; in the last 6 games the Bears have played he has tossed 11 interceptions. Unfortunately the Bears keep winning a lot of these games so the problem is masked. But if I am a Bears fan there is no way I go into a playoff game and have any confidence in Rex Grossman completing a pass to guy wearing the correct colored jersey. The Bears were afraid something like this may happen that is why they went out and signed veteran backup Brian Griese. Well I do not want to tell Lovie Smith how to do his job, but pal if you don’t figure this thing out quick you are going to flame out down the stretch.
Give Mike Shannahan the brass balls award. He has the sack to tell his high paid veteran QB, hey pal even though we are winning some games we need to get more production out of our quarterback. Shannahan’s team is in a good spot for a playoff position and he is going to a rookie who has never thrown a pass in the NFL. All indications in pres-season where that Cutler had the good’s to be a solid NFL QB right off the bat, and now we will find out if that is true. The Broncos have 5 games left on the season and are scratching and clawing toward the playoffs, their schedule includes: San Diego, Cincinnati and Cutler’s first start against the resurgent Seattle Seahawks.
Lastly there are the trials and tribulations of Eli Manning. I have always argued that through his ups and downs Manning’s team has been victorious even when he didn’t play exceptionally well. Now the time has come where Manning is underperforming and his team is losing, and losing badly. Though I do contend that no matter how bad the quarterback play is you cannot give up 24 points in the last 9 minutes of a game to lose. During the Giants winning streak earlier this season Manning was doing enough o get the job done, completing 58% of his passes and throwing 7 TD’ to only 4 interceptions. However, over this three game losing streak he has been downright terrible. The Giants unfortunately right now do not have another option at the QB position, but even if they did they would be reluctant to make a change because of the stature and money they have invested in him. In order for Manning to begin to show progress after this season I think it is important to get a quality veteran backup that will help teach him, but also help push him, especially if they miss the playoffs or don’t win a playoff game.
And one last note on terrible things in the NFL. How bad is the Packers defense? Seriously, this has been going on for about 6 years now and things have not improved. Last night the Seahawks threw 3 picks and a fumble thingy that was returned for a touchdown b y the Packers, yet they still surrendered 34 points 200+yards rushing and almost 400 yards total. How fucking terrible is that, everyone on that unit should be castrated.
The first one is that of the Atlanta Falcons and Michael Vick. Now I could be known as a “Vick hater” because I am awfully critical of him, but it is only because when the Falcons actually win a game he is given every ounce of credit. Then when the Falcons lose a game it is because Head Coach Jim Mora, Jr. and Offensive Coordinator Greg Knapp are not using Vick correctly and they are trying to make him into a pocket passer. Well as I have always pointed out, pocket passers win championships and scramblers sell tickets. So if you are the Falcons you have to examine what it is you are trying to do, if selling tickets is all you care about then by all means keep running Vick’s mediocre ass out there. Although that may not work anymore since Vick decided to give the old one finger salute to the fans at the Georgia Dome yesterday after they booed him and his teammates as they jogged off the field. Good job Mike, who the hell are you now, Marcus Vick? The fans had every right to boo Vick; this was the fourth game this season where he completed less than half of his passes and the fourth game where he failed to throw a TD pass, that is atrocious. This past off-season at least three teams inquired about Falcons backup Matt Schaub, but they were told Schaub was there to stay. That says to me someone in the organization believes heavily in Schaub (former ACC player of the Year) and has little confidence that Vick is the long term answer. I say it is time to go with Schaub; the loss yesterday to the Saints puts the Falcons on the fast train to missing the playoffs, so why not play Schaub. Heck if Schaub plays well there are more than a few GM’s out there who would gladly take Vick off your hands. And after you get off the phone with those GM’s tell them I have some land in South Florida they might be interested in.
How about Rex Grossman? Is there a better team with a worse Quarterback right now than the Chicago Bears? This guy is plain awful; in the last 6 games the Bears have played he has tossed 11 interceptions. Unfortunately the Bears keep winning a lot of these games so the problem is masked. But if I am a Bears fan there is no way I go into a playoff game and have any confidence in Rex Grossman completing a pass to guy wearing the correct colored jersey. The Bears were afraid something like this may happen that is why they went out and signed veteran backup Brian Griese. Well I do not want to tell Lovie Smith how to do his job, but pal if you don’t figure this thing out quick you are going to flame out down the stretch.
Give Mike Shannahan the brass balls award. He has the sack to tell his high paid veteran QB, hey pal even though we are winning some games we need to get more production out of our quarterback. Shannahan’s team is in a good spot for a playoff position and he is going to a rookie who has never thrown a pass in the NFL. All indications in pres-season where that Cutler had the good’s to be a solid NFL QB right off the bat, and now we will find out if that is true. The Broncos have 5 games left on the season and are scratching and clawing toward the playoffs, their schedule includes: San Diego, Cincinnati and Cutler’s first start against the resurgent Seattle Seahawks.
Lastly there are the trials and tribulations of Eli Manning. I have always argued that through his ups and downs Manning’s team has been victorious even when he didn’t play exceptionally well. Now the time has come where Manning is underperforming and his team is losing, and losing badly. Though I do contend that no matter how bad the quarterback play is you cannot give up 24 points in the last 9 minutes of a game to lose. During the Giants winning streak earlier this season Manning was doing enough o get the job done, completing 58% of his passes and throwing 7 TD’ to only 4 interceptions. However, over this three game losing streak he has been downright terrible. The Giants unfortunately right now do not have another option at the QB position, but even if they did they would be reluctant to make a change because of the stature and money they have invested in him. In order for Manning to begin to show progress after this season I think it is important to get a quality veteran backup that will help teach him, but also help push him, especially if they miss the playoffs or don’t win a playoff game.
And one last note on terrible things in the NFL. How bad is the Packers defense? Seriously, this has been going on for about 6 years now and things have not improved. Last night the Seahawks threw 3 picks and a fumble thingy that was returned for a touchdown b y the Packers, yet they still surrendered 34 points 200+yards rushing and almost 400 yards total. How fucking terrible is that, everyone on that unit should be castrated.
