Welcome back. Thanks to Matthew for commenting. I welcome anyone who happens to glance at my blog to post; agree, disagree, like me, wish that I would get eaten alive by a pack of saber-tooth tigers, etc. I will continue to rank the NFL’s most competent QB’s in a moment, but first, some issues.
Scott Kazmir (one of my greatest loves) signed a one year, not quite 4 million dollar deal today with the DEVIL rays. Kazmir led the AL in strikeouts last season, much to a lot of people’s surprise. As much as I love Scott Kazmir, the DEVIL rays would be wise to trade him if they do not improve significantly by the end of this coming season. They are going to lose him soon to free agency. Do you think the Yankees or Red Sox would spend 4 million bucks a year on a 23 year old stud, who had more strikeouts last year than Johan Santana, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, or Roy Halladay?
I took the Metro down to the old Navy Yard to see the new National’s ballpark today. It’s not done yet. Not even really close. Season starts in 2 1/2 months. That should be interesting. Also, if you like the ghetto, you’ll love the location of the Washington Nationals’ new ballpark.
It probably bears mentioning that, for now, I live in Washington D.C. Probably should have mentioned that earlier.
In yesterday’s game of the day, Tennessee had no problem with Vanderbilt, who couldn’t drop a basketball into the state of Tennessee, much less a hoop in Knoxville.
On to the continuation of yesterday’s post:
20. Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins)
-Frankly, I was never very impressed with Campbell at Auburn. He had two of the best running backs (Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams) in his backfield and didn’t have to be “the guy.” He was a decent game manager. Luckily, before he got hurt, the Redskins have started to lessen their squeeze on his reins. He doesn’t have a lot of talent to work with in Landover, other than Santana Moss, who is really fast and a head case, and Chris Cooley who is the poor man’s Todd Heap (That’s two Todd Heap mentions in two posts. I’ll try to keep this going). Given a weapon or two (preferably not Sean Taylor’s bedside machete) Campbell could be a step above average and possibly a top-ten QB, but he needs to stop making mistakes so often, or he’ll be on the tracks to Kitnaville.
19. Matt Shaub (Houston Texans)
-I have Schaub here, above Derek Anderson, because I think he is a more fundamentally sound quarterback. I love Schaub’s mechanics. He’s the right size. He knows how to run the pro offense. He did it very well at UVA and should have been the Falcon’s starting quarterback (Yes, over Michael Vick. Ask Arthur Blank today if he thinks he made a mistake. Do it. I dare you too). Schaub got hurt last year, but I expect bigger things next year. If Houston can find a running back (I’m going to do a post on the running backs going into the Draft in the coming weeks) in this April’s draft who can move Darius Walker to a specialty situation and not a feature back role (just pretend that Ron Dayne doesn’t actually exist) I think Houston can finally get over the hump. I take Schaub over the guys behind him because I don’t think he makes the mistakes a lot of these other guys make. He knows what he is and plays within himself.
18. Donovan McNabb
-A lot of people will look at this (if a lot of people read my blog) and scream at their computer before they think. McNabb sucks. That is it. He can’t stay healthy. He tries to be the man and he’s incapable of being the man. Philadelphia with Jeff Garcia was a much better team than Philadelphia with Donovan McNabb because they had a quarterback who wouldn’t choke and make mistakes in crunch time. That is McNabb. For every lateral scramble miraculous first down run, McNabb makes 3 stupid passes into coverage that get either picked off or hit the turf. He had one remarkable game this year, against the Lions in those hideous yellow and sky blue jerseys that I loved. The Lions defense had more holes in its secondary in the 2007 season than the levees around New Orleans right before Hurricane Katrina. Kevin Kolb will be starting on opening day for the Eagles and they’ll be all the better because of it.
17. Chad Pennington (New York Jets)
-I will leave it as simple as this: I don’t think Chad Pennington is a remarkable quarterback. Over the long term, I would take guys like Schaub, Anderson, and Campbell. However, for one game, Chad Pennington does not make a ton of mistakes. He’s a better game manager, game-to-game than half of the NFL’s QBs. That doesn’t make him good. His stats indicate otherwise. However, he gives you a chance on most days.
16. Jay Cutler (Denver Broncos)
-Cutler showed signs of life in the second half of the Broncos’ incredibly disappointing season last year. He has a great arm. He has great size. He has more potential than Matt Leinart, with whom he will always be compared to. If you can get him to manage the game better, and not try to use his howitzer of an arm all the time, I think you can be successful with him. However, I still have him close to the bottom half of the NFL’s best. A good year next year, though, could catapult him up the ladder.
15. Vince Young (Tennessee Titans)
-Death, taxes, and Vince Young wins football games. These are the certainties of life. The Tennessee Titans, in my estimation, had the worst offense in the NFL last year. They have exactly ONE playmaker: Vince Young. Their running backs (LenDale White and Chris Brown…no, not that one) are, at best 3rd down/specialty backs. Their wide receivers are embarrassingly bad. Ben Troupe (tight end) is somehow the best pass-catching option. The problem with Vince, I believe, has been fixed. Norm Chow was fired earlier this week. Chow apparently thought that the Titans drafted the most dynamic ball-carrying quarterback of this or any generation of college football to develop him into the next Stan Humphries. Do you know what Vince Young should be doing on 2nd and 6 plays? Running the ball through the defense for 10 yards, not dropping back to throw a wide receiver screen to Bobby Wade or Roydell Williams. In my offense, Vince Young is the offensive coordinator. I only have him this low because we haven’t actually seen that he can throw on NFL defenses, because his coaches haven’t let him. For sheer talent though, he’s in the top half.
14. Marc Bulger (St. Louis Rams)
-I almost forgot that he was an NFL quarterback. With the exception of last season (because he was feeling a little woozy most of the year) Bulger has been a top-level talent. Scott Linehan has thrown a bit of a wrench into Bulger’s success, by thinking he could toy with success. While Mike Martz’s offense was a circus side-show, it was also very successful in St. Louis. Torry Holt is nearing his end and Isaac Bruce should have retired about 4 years ago. I still think that Bulger can be very successful, given the chance to throw. His situation is kind of like Vince Young’s, in that conservative offenses aren’t getting it done in today’s NFL.
13. Phillip Rivers (San Diego Chargers)
12. Eli Manning (New York Giants)
-It’s surprising to me that these two are not more often linked together, as they began their careers by being traded for each other. Neither was very successful in college, but both have that thing scouts love. Arm strength (Rivers) and really successful family members (Manning). Both play for consistently underachieving teams. Both have had coaches who have ZERO real NFL success as head coaches. And both, now, find themselves in their respective conference championships. I have Eli just ahead of Rivers because I think he may have finally learned how to manage an NFL game without completely butchering it. Rivers, also, needs to tone down the attitude. The last time I checked, he hasn’t accomplished any success on his own.
11. Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals)
-This is not a joke. I promise. Remember the 1999 St. Louis Rams? They were the best offense I had ever seen and may still be, apologies to this year’s Patriots. Warner’s accuracy could not be matched. Then, after some success, he fell off the face of the earth and was destined to blow into a question on Stump the Schwab in 10 years. However, when Nick Lachey, er, Matt Leinart got hurt this year, Warner lifted the Cardinals and led them to a somewhat successful season. His numbers were very good. 63% completion percentage. 27 touchdowns. And that was without any semblance of a running game. I’d start him next year over Leinart if I was the Cardinals and I wanted to, you know, win football games. I’d also start him if I had that one game I needed to win, because I really think, with an offensive line in front of him, Kurt Warner can get it done.
Game O’ The Day: (It’s a tad bit difficult to pick a game of the day when all you have is C-Level college basketball, the NBA, and the NHL). Charlotte Bobcats at New Orleans Hornets (That’s the NBA). Charlotte has started to come around of late and the Hornets are one of the NBA’s best teams. I still won’t watch it.
Tomorrow I will have for you the top 10 most competent NFL QBs and a real game of the day.
Mid-Atlantic Bias 