Changing their minds and more

Sporting News, The, Nov 11, 2002 by Paul Attner

Let's hope what has happened this season with the Steelers, Jets, Redskins and Cowboys is the start of a trend, not a hiccup in the NFL's way of life. So much about the league continues to change; why not the way quarterbacks have been pampered and sheltered?

These four teams have benched their original starting quarterbacks, and we're just starting the second half of the season. Steve Spurrier has shuffled his starters three times, beginning with and now going back to Shane Matthews. Bill Cowher grew tired of Kordell Stewart's inconsistencies; enter Tommy Maddox. Quincy Carter might have pulled out two Dallas wins, but he wasn't productive enough for Jerry Jones and Dave Campo. Maybe Chad Hutchinson will be better. Vinny Testaverde is too old; Herman Edwards decided to try the young guy, Chad Pennington.

No. 1 quarterbacks should be treated like starting pitchers. If they aren't effective, get 'em out of there. Doesn't mean they're finished, doesn't mean their psyche is damaged permanently. Doesn't mean they can't be brought back. What if Roger Clemens took it personally every time he was relieved. Or Randy Johnson?

Yet the NFL way is to handle every quarterback decision as if the course of life just changed. Spurrier has it right when he likens it to golf. "If I am making a lot of bogeys, I'm just not going to be satisfied with the bogeys," he says. "I am going to figure out a way to make pars." If a quarterback is piling up bogeys, find a par shooter and send the starter to the driving range.

This no longer is a league in which patience wins--where you can absorb growing pains and mediocre performances at quarterback. If the first guy can't do it, try someone else. Just look at the standings. This is an NFL where one loss--and one poor quarterback performance--can indeed determine playoff fates.

These four coaches don't want to look back and wonder: What if? What if I had made a quarterback change early on? Would that have made a difference? They've eliminated the what-ifs at quarterback; other struggling teams should have the guts to duplicate their wisdom.

E-mail: pattner@sportingnews.com.