Preseason QB Battles
By Joe Nelson
The Vikings grabbed most of the headlines this week with the expected but still interesting Brett Favre signing. Minnesota will be a team to watch in the preseason and the Favre signing will create a heated battle among the remaining quarterbacks on the team. Preseason NFL games are difficult to handicap but one favorable situation is when a team has quarterbacks battling for a job, which can often increase that team’s offensive production and open up the playbook a bit to challenge the involved players.
Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota will likely be a bit overvalued the rest of the preseason but the Vikings are in serious conundrum with regards to the rest of their quarterbacks. Sage Rosenfels was the consensus winner in the preseason opener going 10-13 and with a serious financial commitment made to Rosenfels he will remain the leader for the back-up spot behind Favre. Tavaris Jackson is 10-9 as a starter for Minnesota but he has not been able to escape constant criticism and he may become the most expendable. J. D. Booty has developed into a promising player as well but keeping four quarterbacks is not an ideal situation. Jackson is a bit more expensive that Booty in terms of his contract but not a big enough gap to be a decision-maker and neither Jackson or Booty would likely clear waivers or bring anything significant in a trade as teams know the tough position that the Vikings are in.
New York Jets
In New York it seems to be a foregone conclusion that top pick Mark Sanchez will win the job as the starter for the Jets. New Coach Rex Ryan saw first hand that a rookie can have success in Baltimore last season and Sanchez was sharp in his preseason debut including a 48-yard bomb on his first play. Kellen Clemens completed all four of his passes but didn’t do anything to impress on the coaches that he should be the guy rather than letting Sanchez take over right away. Sanchez is slated to start the next game and this should be an interesting battle, particularly in Clemens can put together a great performance at some point and Sanchez shows his youth with sloppy play or a limited grasp on the playbook. The Jets have a brutally tough early season schedule so there could be some logic in starting Clemens in his fourth year in the league and waiting for struggles or a more favorable match-up to bring in Sanchez.
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco has a tough battle going on for the starting spot as well as former #1 pick Alex Smith has been healthy and motivated in camp but Shaun Hill has a much more impressive resume in real game situations and led the 49ers on a strong late season surge last year. Hill completed both of his passes and also had a nice scramble on a scoring drive in limited action while Smith did have a touchdown pass. Neither quarterback really stood out as Hill was sacked twice and the 49ers benefited from great field position in the game. Damon Huard likely will not get consideration for a starting role as a long-time back-up but for a team that has a lot of solid pieces in place in other areas a veteran like Huard could get the job done if Hill and Smith do not play well.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns failed to score in their opening preseason game and Brady Quinn played well enough in his time on the field. He should have had a touchdown pass but Braylon Edwards had a drop in the end zone on a well thrown ball and Quinn then had an interception. Derek Anderson led the Browns to their surprise season in 2007 but he looked terrible in limited action in week one, having his only non-incomplete pass go for an interception. Quinn has to be considered the favorite with the fans but Anderson still has more wins under his belt as a NFL starter. Quinn only played three games last season and though he showed promise he also has been injury prone.
Detroit Lions
Top draft pick Matthew Stafford threw an interception for a touchdown in his debut for the Lions but he also made some excellent plays. Smart money is on veteran Daunte Culpepper to be the opening week starter however as Detroit wants to be cautious with Stafford and coming off a 0-16 season this is a team that needs to find a way to get in the win column sooner rather than later just to end the streak. Culpepper was efficient in the preseason game against the Falcons and he played well at times in last year’s lost season. Drew Stanton also has some experience for the Lions but should project as the number three starter no matter how things go in the preseason.
Denver Broncos
Kyle Orton was named the starter by rookie head coach Josh McDaniels in Denver but given the awkward start that McDaniels has had he might be more willing to cave into media pressure and put more weight on the preseason than a veteran coach in a more stable situation would. A veteran coach would not think twice about doubting his starter but Orton’s hold on the top spot could be more tenuous then McDaniels leads on as there will be pressure to win after he drove the popular Jay Cutler out of town. Orton had three interceptions in his debut for the Broncos and back-up Chris Simms threw for 142 yards with two touchdowns to get the Broncos back in the game. If Orton fails on the big stage with Cutler and the Bears in town in week three of the preseason, Simms may get serious consideration as he has had past success as a starter with Tampa Bay and an NFL pedigree.
VegasInsider.com