A Revolution

It’s happening. It’s early, but it’s happening. It’s one of the biggest revolutions in football history. Young quarterbacks are streaming, no, check that, flooding into the ranks of starters. More teams in the past couple of years have turned to young, highly and not-so-highly touted, young quarterbacks to take the reins of struggling and playoff-bound NFL teams. Forgive my youth (and the less than 20 years of professional football I can recall), but in the past 15 or 20 years there has not been a mass changing of the guard at the most important position in the NFL like the one we are experiencing right now. There are 11 quarterbacks currently starting in the NFL that have been running an offense for less than two seasons. In case you were wondering, they are: Matt Leinart, J.P. Losman, Charlie Frye, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, David Garrard, Philip Rivers, Alex Smith, Bruce Gradkowski (who is replacing another youngster – Chris Simms), Vince Young and Jason Campbell.

It’s staggering really. Guys like David Carr, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and Rex Grossman are grizzled veterans in today’s landscape.

Let’s take a look at some of the young gunslingers to see how they are faring and what we can expect from them this year and in the coming years because I’m sure most of them plan on sticking around for a while.

Matt Leinart, Arizona – The Cardinals have put Leinart in a very enviable long-term situation. True, they won’t be going anywhere this year, and probably not even next year, but with Larry Fitgerald and Anquan Boldin split wide and Edgerrin James in the backfield, Leinart is poised to have some big years in the desert. That is, of course, if the front office can find some offensive linemen to protect these guys. With a little protection, this could be a fun offense to watch. For now, porous blocking and a youthful Leinart make it a little tough to watch. But it will get better. Leinart has the potential (with the weapons surrounding him) to make a Pro Bowl or two with the Cardinals. In eight starts so far, he has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions.


J.P. Losman, Buffalo – Losman is in only his first full season at the helm of the Bills. The Bills, like Leinart’s team is struggling a bit. The Tulane product has certainly been serviceable thus far. He has a rating of 82.0 and has thrown for nearly 2,200 yards with 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He’s probably not going to be a Pro-Bowl caliber quarterback, but he hasn’t lost many games for the Bills this year either. He’s probably a Trent Dilfer-type; steady, yet unspectacular. That also means the Bills probably won’t be the lone team he starts for in his career.

Charlie Frye, Cleveland – Frye’s status for the remainder of the season is up in the air. His wrist is not broken, as was earlier diagnosed, so he might be back. The question is: Do the Browns want him back in the starting lineup? Yes, he’s young and doesn’t have a ton of help, but he has thrown an awful lot of interceptions this season (16). It appears he tries to force passes a bit too much, and maybe with a little seasoning that will improve. But the early prognosis is that he might more suited to being a solid, reliable backup for much of his career.

Tony Romo, Dallas – Can a young quarterback really step in during the middle of a season and lead his team to the Super Bowl? Romo sure looks like that is what he plans on doing. He has been nothing but clutch since he took over in Dallas for Drew Bledsoe. He is the top rated passer in the league (102.4). He is 5-1 as a starter, with the lone loss coming on a last-second field goal in a crazy final minute against the Redskins. Romo looks like the real deal. He has 1,913 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He certainly has shown he has Pro Bowl potential. Let’s see how he performs down the stretch as the team looks to make it to, and play deep into the playoffs. He might not ever be as good as Troy Aikman, but he’ll be a solid NFL quarterback for a number of seasons.

Jay Cutler, Denver – The Broncos let him start for the first time last week in place of Jake Plummer. Some people are already calling for a return to Plummer. Was it really that bad? Well, if you are in the thick of a playoff race, yes. There is no need for Cutler to be starting right now. Plummer had the Broncos at 7-4 and in good shape to make the postseason. Unlike Dallas where the team was shaky with Bledsoe in the starting role, the Broncos were playing pretty well (good enough to be on the inside of the playoff bubble). Cutler certainly has the tools to be an excellent quarterback, but after one start, it’s still too early to tell how good he can be. He was 10-of-21 for 143 yards and two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions (one was returned for a touchdown).

The situation he was thrust into isn’t exactly the best for a team looking to develop a long-term quarterback. He is immediately expected to lead his team to victories and a playoff spot. That might be a little too much pressure. Long-term prediction is he ends up with the longest post-Elway tenure for the Broncos (I know that’s not saying much, but that is as far as I am willing to go right now).

David Garrard, Jacksonville – I threw Garrard into this list because really, this is only the second chance he is getting to start for the Jags, and there is a good chance this will be the time he cements himself as the starter for good. With Byron Leftwich on the shelf for the rest of the season, Garrard has plenty of time to prove he should be the guy next year. He’s only started five games thus far, and has had one really bad outing, but has been above average the rest of the time. He has a great arm and good vision. His only interceptions of the season came in that nasty loss to Houston in Week 10. He's thrown for 1,088 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions this season, while completing nearly 60 percent of his passes. While he may not be on a Pro Bowl roster most seasons, he could be an average starter in the NFL.

So that’s six of the 11 young quarterbacks. I’ll cover the rest in a post later in the week just to leave you hanging and draw you back for Rivers, Smith, Gradkowski, Young and Campbell.

Photo Sources: SportsNetwork.com, Scout.com, Dallas Cowboys, LongMontFYI.com, DallasNews.com