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Throws of a crisis: the quarterback play has been largely lousy this season—and don't look for it to improve anytime soon

Sporting News, The, Dec 30, 2005 by Paul Attner

We see it every week. Inexplicable interceptions, passes that bounce at the feet of open receivers, throws not even close to intended targets, hapless hot reads, no-clue thinking. We see it every week--too many quarterbacks simply overmatched by defenses, stumbling around with awful mechanics and terrible execution, producing mindless mistakes and embarrassing performances. It doesn't matter if they are old or young; lots of this quarterbacking is just plain lousy.

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How lousy? Let's go back to Week 7. There were so many frightful displays of bad play that you wonder how in the name of Johnny Unitas this could be happening. Here are some passer ratings from that nightmare--and remember, anything below 80.0 is mediocre at best: Michael Vick 16.3, Trent Dilfer 22.4, Gus Frerotte 37.3, Alex Smith 41.7, Drew Bledsoe 50.0, Carson Palmer 53.8, Josh McCown 55.7 and Matt Hasselbeck 58.0. Another nine were below 77.4. To earn these woeful numbers takes a combination of poor accuracy, low yards per completion, too many interceptions and not enough touchdowns. So imagine the level of dreadfulness produced by 17 of 28 starters in those 14 games.

But Week 7 is not an exception; it is close to reflecting the norm. Some lowlights from a season of shameful quarterback play.

Week 1: David Carr has a 12.1 rating against Buffalo, with three interceptions.

Week 2: Joey Harrington and Daunte Culpepper each throw five interceptions.

Week 3: Kyle Orton's line: 17-of-39 with five interceptions and a 14.7 rating against Cincinnati. Aaron Brooks' line: 12-of-32 with two interceptions and a 43.6 rating against Minnesota.

Week 5: Smith commits five turnovers against the Colts.

Week 6: Tommy Maddox has an 11-of-28 embarrassment against Jacksonville, including four turnovers, the last of which is an overtime interception for the winning touchdown.

Week 8: Jeff Garcia's horrible across-the-body overtime pass is returned by the Bears for the winning score. Brett Favre has five interceptions against the Bengals.

Week 10: The 49ers' Cody Pickett is 1-of-f3 for 28 yards and a 7.5 rating against the Bears.

Week 11: Frerotte's line against the Browns: 4-of-18, 53 yards, 39.6 rating.

Week 13: Brooks has four interceptions and Ben Roethlisberger three. Bledsoe is 15-of-39 with two interceptions and two fumbles against the Giants.

Week 14: Rams rookie Ryan Fitzpatrick throws five interceptions against the Vikings, Kyle Boiler has a rating of 31.4 after three quarters against the Broncos, Mark Brunell racks up three interceptions and a 34.2 rating against Arizona, and J.P. Losman has an 8.5 rating with 3 minutes left against the Patriots.

Week 15: Vick goes 13-of-32 for 122 yards on one interception (25.8 rating) against the Bears; Brad Johnson throws for 9 yards in the second half against the Steelers; and Todd Bouman, starting for Brooks, has four interceptions and loses a fumble against Carolina.

If this is not the worst quarterbacking we've ever witnessed, it's close. Eight teams have benched their opening game quarterback, at least briefly. In all, 54 quarterbacks have started at least one game, including four for the 49ers. This clearly is a league with a quarterback crisis: Too many 30-and-older quarterbacks are nearing the ends of their careers with no replacements waiting, and too many young quarterbacks aren't ready to grasp the base fundamentals of being a pro, much less to assume star status. As the level of quality at this position deteriorates, it drags down the quality of play within the league. The NFL is quarterback-driven; most of the stars come from this position--and without stars, not even a Goliath like the NFL can escape unaffected. After all, would you really pay to see Frerotte play against Brooks Bollinger every week?

"We've always been as good as our quarterbacks have made us," says Texans G.M. Charley Casserly. "It's a concern when the position has problems."

Right now, the NFL is being driven by a handful of elite quarterbacks. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are future Hall of Famers. Culpepper and Donovan McNabb, both out with injuries, are dominant, and Vick is unimaginably exciting. They've been joined by Palmer, already a striking player in his second year as a starter. With Favre slumping and Steve McNair hobbled, those are the marquee names. That's it. Roethlisberger is close, and maybe others eventually will emerge, players such as Byron Leftwich and Eli Manning. But it is a short list. Otherwise, we have too much of what's not good. After all, this is a league in which Chicago, a potential division winner, has the 34th and last-rated passer in Orton (59.5), and he was replaced last Sunday in the second half by Rex Grossman.

"It makes me puke every week," says one NFL team executive about the league's level of quarterback play.

"We are in trouble in the quarterback ranks," says ESPN analyst Joe Theismann, a former Redskins quarterback. "I came into this season wondering, 'Is this going to be the year of quarterbacking?' I am getting an answer, but I don't like what it is. It just amazes me how sloppy the play at this position has become. Sometimes I wonder, 'Can some of these guys do any of it right?'"

Throws of a crisis: the quarterback play has been largely lousy this season—and don't look for it to improve anytime soon

Sporting News, The, Dec 30, 2005 by Paul Attner

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