The buzz about Tim Tebow joining the New York Jets has been almost nonstop. However, the impending battle between Tebow and incumbent starter Mark Sanchez to win the hearts of Jets fans and coaches is hardly the NFL's only quarterback intrigue.
When teams begin organized offseason activities, there will be plenty of quarterback issues to solve. Here are six competitions that will be hotly contested:
We know Peyton Manning chose to go to the Denver Broncos over the Cardinals. We don't know if either Kolb or Skelton can handle being the starting quarterback in Arizona.
The Cardinals traded for Kolb just one year ago, giving him a five-year, $63.5 million deal, and giving the Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick in return. Obviously, the Cardinals were convinced Kolb would be their franchise guy. But his first season with the Cardinals was an injury-riddled disappointment (nine touchdowns, eight interceptions, 81.1 quarterback rating), leaving him much to prove heading into 2012.
Whisenhunt believes Kolb will shake off any bruised feelings associated with the Cardinals' pursuit of Manning.
"We talked," Whisenhunt said at last month's NFL meetings. "I think everybody recognizes that he (Manning) is a great football player, and we had an opportunity to potentially make our football team better. That's what it was all about.''
Whisenhunt also has made it clear that Kolb and Skelton will compete for the starting job. Neither played great last season, but something clicked for the Cardinals when Skelton was under center. The Cardinals were 6-2 when Skelton started, and just 2-6 when Kolb did.
The Cardinals hope that having a full offseason to settle into the Cardinals' offense will help Kolb.
"We saw a tremendous difference in him after he got hurt against Baltimore and was out for four weeks,'' Whisenhunt said. "When he came back against Dallas, he was like a different player, because he had a chance to catch his breath and see what we were doing, and not be thrown in there like he was at first. My anticipation is that when he gets in the offseason program, he'll be much more comfortable.''
If that doesn't happen, it won't be Manning who replaces Kolb. It will be Skelton.
This could turn into a three-way battle if the Dolphins, who have the No. 8 overall pick in the draft later this month, select Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehillâ€"regarded by many as the third-best quarterback prospect behind Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin III.
"With Tannehill, I believe he belongs in the top 10, and I would have no problem pulling the trigger on this guy,'' ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said.
Many Dolphins fans are upset with the team's failure to land either Manning or Matt Flynn in free agency. Moore played decently last season, but he's not an elite quarterback. Ditto for Garrard. He missed all of last season following surgery, and he had already lost his starting job with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
At least Tannehill would give the Dolphins hope that their long search for a franchise quarterback had ended. If not, it may not matter much who wins between Moore and Garrard. The Dolphins, with new coach Joe Philbin, could be in for another long season.
This battle doesn't make your heart skip, either. Gabbert struggled as a rookie. Henne couldn't cut it as the Dolphins' starter.
New Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey would rather look forward than backward. Who can blame him?
"This is a fresh start for everybody,'' Mularkey said. "Fresh start for the team, fresh start for the staff, this organization.''
Many thought Tebow was headed to the Jaguars, which would have sold tickets, even if it didn't bring success. For the Jaguars, this only plays out well if Gabbert makes strides next season, and shows he can be a franchise guy. If Gabbert can't hold off Henne, that won't be a good sign.
Matt Flynn vs. Tarvaris Jackson
The Seahawks gave Flynn a three-year, $26 million contract. They have not given him the starting job.
Coach Pete Carroll said there will be an open competition with Jackson, but this is Flynn's chance to prove he is a worthy starter in the NFL, not just a backup that looked good in the Green Bay Packers' system.
Matt Hasselbeck vs. Jake Locker
The Titans will also need to move on from not solving their quarterback problem with Manning. Hasselbeck is coming off a solid season, but Locker (four touchdowns, no interceptions) played well in limited action as a rookie. Locker is ready to challenge for the starting job. If he's good enough to take it from Hasselbeck, that bodes well for the Titans' near future.
So much has been said about Sanchez versus Tebow. But the fun really begins once these two get on the field. Forget what the Jets say. The only way Sanchez can keep Tebow from becoming a threat is to play well from Day 1. That's going to be tough.
"The thing about Mark is, he's a little more confident than people want to give him credit for,'' Jets coach Rex Ryan said.
We're about to find out if Ryan is right.
No comments:
Post a Comment