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Triggermen in the Firing Line
by Chris Brophy
10/8/2009
The NFL is a quarterback hungry league and recent history shows teams will pay through the nose both in terms of actual cash and in trade to get a guy that they hope can be their franchise QB for the long term future. The truth is though, the percentages are low. Many attempts to upgrade fail whilst many maintain the status quo just with a different name throwing the passes although there are a few success stories.
When you see a player like Eli Manning get paid big time, it shows you that the rewards are there even if you aren’t in the absolute elite at the position. The Diner takes a look at five quarterbacks entering pivotal seasons for themselves and their teams. Why are they getting another chance? Will they succeed? Let’s consider each individual on a case by case basis.
 Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills: Edwards enters his third NFL season and second year as the clear cut starter. It all started reasonably positive for the young man out of Stanford as a rookie and to be fair, there were some signs of progress in 2008 his completion percentage jumped above 65% and his average per attempt was a respectable 7.2 yards. However, he has to take a step forward this season in terms of making the big play. Last season seen him rank 18th in the league in completions over 20 yards and 19th in completions over 40 yards. He has since been given a new big play threat in Terrell Owens to go opposite Lee Evans. They will also have 2nd year receiver James Hardy back from injury to complete a good looking trio. His receivers didn’t drop many passes last year but Edwards has to get out of the habit of being too safe and challenge defenses in order to back them off and consider all aspects of the Bills attack. There were too many games last season that saw Edwards put up below average stats, especially in the second half of the season after he enjoyed a fast start. Maybe his injury in Week 5 had a bigger effect than it first seemed but failure to bring more big plays to the Bills offense will see defenses pack the box and attack Edwards on the field and he’ll trot off the field to TO tantrums on the sideline.
 Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins: You have to feel for Jason Campbell in a way. He’s had more offensive systems thrown at him than his receivers dropped passes last year (40 in all, 5th in the league and all four QB’s above him attempted more passes) it seems. Every year brings a new scheme and terminology it’s like starting again for Campbell and this has gone on right throughout his college and professional careers. This year he finally stays in the same system and not only should he benefit from that but so should his team mates. When Campbell first took the starting job he looked steady early on but over his two plus years as a starter his arc of improvement has not taken the path many expected after his debut in 2006. 2007 seen him start reasonably well but begin to struggle and when he got injured about three quarters of the way through the season, Todd Collins stepped in and led the team on a run to post season. Last season saw another good start but when Clinton Portis faded in the second half of the season Campbell failed to pick up the slack. His ability to sustain drives and make big plays is the area he needs to show considerable improvement in or both he and the offense will remain stagnant. 58.7% completion (31st in the league), 5.9 yards per attempt (25th), only 3TD passes (tied 26th) none of which were over 20 yards and only five completions over 20 yards (28th) on 3rd downs are all stats that show he failed to get the job done in key situations last season and explain why the team’s offense struggled with only a 35% completion on 3rd downs. He also has an issue finding the passing lane at times with 17 passes batted down last year (joint 3rd in the league). Campbell’s psyche will have taken a knock this off-season though as the Redskins made serious attempts to bring in other quarterbacks (Jay Cutler, Mark Sanchez). In a contract year, Campbell threats to either boom or bust. Boom and he’ll be making Eli Manning jealous. Bust and both he and Head Coach Jim Zorn will likely be seeking new employers in 2010 whilst the Redskins hunt for a new QB (again!).
 Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers: Smith has the potential to be one of the stories of the upcoming season. Over the course of four previous NFL seasons the former overall number one pick of the 2005 draft from Utah has experienced few ups and many downs with the 49ers. It is worth noting that despite not too much progress over those four seasons, Smith has not long turned 25 years old and despite his struggles, especially under former OC Mike Martz, he has also shown signs of ability at times, especially in the 2006 season when Norv Turner was running the offense. He was helped that year by a really strong running attack (Frank Gore led the NFC in rushing) and a scheme that emphasised more deep and intermediate balls than short, quick timing passes. The 49ers are returning to an offensive scheme similar in style to Turner’s system under new OC Jimmy Raye which should be of benefit to Smith. Raye has also streamlined the playbook and not filled his player’s minds with too much junk that gets in the way of the important stuff. This too should be of help. Whilst there are positives for Smith, he still has plenty to overcome. Most importantly, he has to earn the starting job in a competition with veteran Shaun Hill who has looked very competent in his play over the past two seasons. Smith has also had several shoulder surgeries and while everything looks ok at this point, the rough and tumble of the NFL means it will be tested should he win the starting gig. The Mike Singletary era got off to a promising start in 2008 and the 49ers Head Coach now has the structure in place he wants and he and the organisation are showing great patience with their young signal caller. In a league where free agency and the salary cap has seen teams cut their losses at quarterback much quicker than they would probably like at times, it would be nice to see a franchise and a player’s patience rewarded. However, failure to win the job or perform should he see the field will see the bust label come back out of the draw for Smith and he may find it hard to get a chance elsewhere in the future.
 Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns: I can still picture the 2007 NFL draft where Brady Quinn, invited to the infamous green room by NFL officials, was made to wait until the 22nd pick to get selected and only after the Browns finally traded up to get him. It seems Quinn is still stuck in that seat over two years later as his NFL career has failed to take off. His rookie year seen Derek Anderson respond to the challenge of Quinn’s presence with some high powered performances and when Anderson finally became too erratic to be trusted last season and was stood down for Quinn, he lasted only three games before a season ending injury struck. Now with a new coaching staff in place, Quinn has to prove himself all over again as he competes with Anderson for the starting spot. He does have advantages in this competition the scheme the Browns want to run is aimed more towards Quinn’s strengths as a player short, quick passes and the ability to make good decisions (protect the football). However, Quinn still lacks experience and with Eric Mangini likely getting a free pass this season to find out about his roster, patience may not be very forthcoming. The Browns invested a lot in Quinn a couple of years back, but should he slip behind Anderson again this year, he may well have to seek pastures new in 2010 in order to get the long term opportunity he is seeking. The problem with that is he’ll have already burned up three years of his career.
 Matt Schaub, Houston Texans: Ever since some promising pre-season performances in 2004 as a rookie for the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Schaub’s a player many expected to develop into at the very least a solid pro QB, if not something more. Five years later, despite a big opportunity when traded to the Texans to start under the offensively minded Gary Kubiak, we are still waiting for Schaub to become more than just potential. To be fair, last season was by far his best ever year and in only 11 games he managed over 3000 yards and 15TD’s passing. However, he yet again managed to miss time injured and in a league where opportunity only needs to knock once for some people, he may find his next back-up is not as inconsistent as the now departed Sage Rosenfels. Schaub is a player who seems to be in the right system, with the right coach and with plenty of talent around him (Andre Johnson, Steve Slaton and Owen Daniels to name a few) but has yet to really grab the bull by the horns. An injury free year and some team success should see him establish himself as well as the faith placed in him by the franchise but should he get injured again, patience may well run out.
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