Quarterback carousel: QB changes early in the season
Who said the NFL isn’t all about quarterbacks? Well no one should, because several slumping teams have already made quarterback changes in order to turn their fortunes around. Teams like the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers have already
named new starters for week three while the Philadelphia Eagles have made a change due to an injury and momentum.
Why don’t we start with the Buffalo Bills? Well frankly this isn’t anything new as every year it seems Ryan Fitzpatrick ends up taking over for either an injured or ineffective Trent Edwards. Why the Bills didn’t get a new quarterback this off-season, we’ll
never know. Bills’ coach Chan Gailey was expected to work miracles with Edwards but the player has never shown he can be a legitimate starter in this league. The switch likely won’t make much difference as the entire Bills team looks awful but at least Fitzpatrick
has proven he can win some games.
So much for Jason Campbell being the savior of the Oakland Raiders. It took less than two games for Campbell to lose his starting job and while it wasn’t entirely his fault, he has shown that a change of scenery hasn’t done much for him. The Washington Redskins
traded Campbell to make room for Donovan McNabb and the Raiders made room for Campbell by releasing JaMarcus Russell. While Campbell may have been an upgrade on Russell, many others would have been an upgrade also. Raiders fans acted as if Campbell was Peyton
Manning but they have to remember there’s a reason why the Redskins got rid of him; he couldn’t win games.
Bruce Gradkowski is now the man in Oakland and he has shown he can give the Raiders a chance to win. As the starter last year, Gradkowski helped the Raiders finish strong, as Oakland scored some big victories over Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Denver late in
the season. Gradkowski now has a great chance to truly make a positive impression and may hold the job for a while if he can make the Raiders competitive.
When the Carolina Panthers drafted Jimmy Clausen, they expected him to be their long-term solution. It was expected that he would sit and learn this season while Matt Moore would manage the Panthers’ offence. Starting 0-2 in the final year of his contract
was not what coach John Fox had in mind. With Moore turning the ball over and being ineffective, Fox had to act quickly to save the Panthers’ season in a hurry.
Clausen looked cool and confident when he replaced Moore late in Carolina’s 20-7 loss last Sunday. He brought a spark and some swagger to the Panthers’ offence and gave them a chance to win late in the game. A goal-line stand by the Buccaneers stopped the
Panthers’ hopes but Clausen did enough to earn the starting job. While we shouldn’t expect miracles from Clausen now, the rookie has a chance to cement his place as Carolina’s permanent starter if he gives them the spark they’re looking for.
It appears that the Philadelphia Eagles’ trade of Donovan McNabb wasn’t so much of making room for Kevin Kolb, but just a matter of getting rid of McNabb. With Kolb injured but still guaranteed the starting job, his coach Andy Reid went back on his word,
instead going with the hot hand in Michael Vick.
While it may be the right move for the team, how must Kolb feel right now? How can he believe anything his head coach says? He’s been waiting patiently for his shot and now he’ll have to continue to wait for it until further notice. It will take either an
injury to Vick or bad play from him in order for Kolb to get his job back.
Some of these moves might work while others may not. What it does prove though is that the quarterback will always be credited for a win and blamed for a loss. More quarterbacks will likely be replaced this season as teams continue to struggle. This year
may be either a coming out party for several quarterbacks or a career changer for others.
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