NFL QB Controversies

There are many quarterback jobs that are currently being competed for. The most interesting one that comes to mind is in Oakland where the number one pick for the Raiders, JaMarcus Russel, could possibly not even see a down of football in his rookie season. Oakland signed Dante Culpepper, a move that was probably for the best. Of course they pick the year that Randy Moss leaves the team to sign Culpepper but it's good enough for now as he creates a lot of possibilities for this Raiders offense even though their offensive line is horrendous. I can't see any QB having much success on a team with a line like the Raiders. But we'll have to see how this battle goes as right now it is between Andrew Walter, Josh McCown, and Culpepper. McCown has not been a consistent player throughout the course of his career as he did get some starting time in Arizona in the earlier part of his career. I do actually see him playing a factor in this battle. Russel, however, still hasn't even signed with Oakland yet which has led many to beleive he won't see any action at all in his rookie season. I was actually listening the MVN Radio's the Blitz the other day and both of the hosts said that they didn't even think Russel should play at all this season. I would like to see him in there, cosidering he is the future for the Raiders. But if they have a guy like Culpepper who is already proven, maybe it would be safer to go with the veteran. However, Lane Kiffin has recently been hospitalized so everything will be held back as a result of that.

In Cleveland there is another sticky situation with three men vieing for the starting QB job. Brady Quinn recently signed a deal with the Browns so he is on the practice field although he did miss quite a bit of time while holding out. We've been hearing that Derek Anderson has looked the best so far in camp. Anderson is completly unproven and its almost like we see this every year. We always hear about the guy who has absolutely no experiance doing the best in camp. It makes no sense and this is why the preseason in football is a complete crap shoot. It's almost completely pointless because fans get bad impressions like Derek Anderson will be the starting QB for their team. Hah. What joke. Anyway, Charlie Frye is the other guy competing in Cleveland, probably the favorite at this point in camp because he has experiance and alot of people say that he can lead this team places in the future if he gets the chance. Well the question to Browns fans everywhere is should we keep giving this guy a chance or should we bring in the future now? Hmm. Tough one isn't it? I know these questions aren't easy ones to answer but hey, the Browns fans have done a great job in building confidence throughout the offseason and in the draft. They should have no problem deciding. After all, should'nt the fans start filling in for Romeo Crennel? Wouldn't be a bad idea. I see Frye winning this job in the end but I would rather see Brady Quinn in there. I figure that in the end Quinn and Frye will end up having the same amount of talent.

Another job that is up for grabs is in Tampa where Jeff Garcia and Chris Simms are competing. Garcia showed his talent from his days in he San Francisco last year when he led the Eagles to the playoffs and even got them one win in the playoffs. My co-host on Fourth and Inches, Jimmy DiFalco says that Garcia only performs well when he's on teams that have alot of talent. I would agree with him on that. However, I do think that Garcia will win this job and do solid for the first couple of weeks. Simms did have a spleenanectomy last season and thats not easy to recover from. It's still tough to tell if he will be back to full health and even be able to play at full stregth as he did a couple of years ago. Garcia is in an offense that really expresses alot of similar qualities as the Eagles offense. I don't think Brian Westbrook is that much better then Cadillac Williams. The only determining factor there would be experiance. I look for Garcia to play for the first couple of weeks.

Running Back of The Future

Stephen Jackson had an amazing year in 2006. Action Jackson, as the fans call him in St. Louis, picked up more yards from scrimmage then anyone else in the NFL last season for the Rams. Even more then LaDanian Tomlinson, deemed the top player in the NFL last year, after winning his first MVP Award. Action, surprisingly enough made the list of MVP votes with one, and should be ready for a lot more if he performs as expected this year in a Rams offense that ranked fourth in the NFC last season, and sixth overall in the NFL..

Jackson has a bright and talented quarterback in Marc Bulger, who has his options and uses them very well. This is all the more reason to figure Jackson as one of the elite running backs in the league heading into 2007. He has versatility in that he can catch the ball (Steven had 90 receptions in 2006 and three receiving touchdowns), and run with the ball. It's always good to know you have a second wide receiver in your running back and the Rams can be sure they have that in Action. The three-year NFL vet has also shown his fair share of durability, specifically last season when he ran 346 times for 1,528 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry. Those are some amazing numbers, and this guy's only going to get better.

You might ask, is the presence of wide receiving talent on this team going to affect Jackson's playing time? Well, there has been no evidence of that in the past couple of years. Torry Holt, the hall of fame wideout on St. Louis that seems to be an ageless wonder, caught 93 balls last year, dropping nine from his 2005 total of 102. And in that same year, Jackson had just over one thousand rushing yards. There was a slight drop off in Holt's numbers as Jackson became more talented, but Big Game Holt still produces pro bowl numbers every year as it is.

Back to the running back of the future in Jackson. The guy ran for 100 yards or more in six games last season, four more than in 2005. He showed more quickness and reliability that he will have to continue to show in the coming years because eventually Torry Holt and Drew Bennett will not be on the team anymore as they are not the youngest receivers in the NFL. Jackson will still be there when they leave, and I believe he will continue to carry this franchise when that happens.