The NFL’s Quarterback Carousel Is Spinning Out Of Control

Added on Sep 21, 2010 by Scott in

NFL

As week three of the NFL season approaches, a few teams are already embroiled in ugly quarterback quandaries. For better or worse, the leashes on signal callers keep getting shorter and shorter. Head coaches, General Managers and owners just won’t tolerate losing. And since you can’t bench an entire roster, the easy solution to abysmal play is to yank the guy under center. In some circumstances a quarterback change can pay off, but more often than not it does nothing but further complicate an already dire situation. The following franchises have either made a switch, or are very close to doing so.

Buffalo Bills – Watch Trent Edwards for one quarter and it’s obvious he has no business being an NFL starter. Backup Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t much better, but that didn’t stop first-year head coach Chan Gaily from sitting Edwards in favor of the journeyman. To be honest, it makes little difference who’s tossing the pigskin in Bills country. They’re still destined to finish 3-13.

Carolina Panthers – Bye, bye Matt Moore. Hello, rookie Jimmy Clausen. Geesh. Moore’s stint as the number one guy in Carolina was shorter than Lindsay Lohan’s last incarceration (rimshot!). Like Buffalo, wins will be hard to come by for the Panthers. Might as well give the kid a shot because this team is heading for a massive rebuilding stage in 2011.

Oakland Raiders – Poor Jason Campbell. The dude just can’t buy a break. Yeah, he’s limited in the talent department, but being saddled with a subpar receiving corps ain’t doing him any favors. That being said, Bruce Gradkowski does have a knack for generating a spark, as he did against the Rams. Tom Cable hasn’t decided yet on who his starter will be for week three. Not that it matters.

Arizona Cardinals – Max Hall. Get used to the name because Derek Anderson’s starting days in the desert are numbered. I have no idea who Hall is, but he had one interception and one completion in his brief appearance on Sunday. I can’t envision anyone being worse than Anderson not named JaMarcus Russell.

Jacksonville Jaguars – David Garrard’s road woes continue. A four interception performance versus San Diego landed him on the bench. Backup Luke McCown actually looked decent until he got hurt. Garrard will likely remain the starter for now, but don’t count out McCown should Garrard lay another egg.

Tennessee Titans – Here we go again. The Vince Young/Kerry Collins two-headed turd monster has reared its ugly head in Nashville. Jeff Fisher wisely pulled VY against a ferocious Steelers defense and has given his erratic quarterback a dreaded vote of confidence. Bottom line: Young is running out of time to establish himself as “the man.”

San Francisco 49ers – There haven’t been any loud grumblings about Alex Smith being replaced, but an 0-2 start will certainly get the chatter started. Smith’s wildly inconsistent play is like a headache you can’t get rid of. David Carr probably isn’t the answer, but it’s pretty obvious Smith isn’t either.

Kansas City Chiefs – Matt Cassel should be benched. Will he? No. Why not? Two reasons: 1) he makes too much money and 2) Brodie Croyle is the backup.

Philadelphia Eagles – Mike Vick out. Kevin Kolb in. Andy Reid wants us to believe there is no controversy regarding his quarterbacks. That might be true, but if the Eagles lose their next three games and Kolb looks awful… well, I think you know.