Quarterbacks on the hot-seat; now or never
It’s always important to be patient in the NFL when waiting for young quarterbacks to develop. Even tremendous success at the collegiate level doesn’t mean one is ready for the big leagues and some quarterbacks need to be given an appropriate amount of time to learn, develop and adapt to the pro game.
There does come a certain point though when the waiting time is up and quarterbacks must either start to produce or teams must move on. If you’re the quarterback of the future, the future must come at a certain time. There are several quarterbacks who must now produce to the level they’ve been expected to, or they’ll be looking for other jobs.
One of those quarterbacks this year is Matt Cassel of the Kansas City Chiefs. Cassel was Tom Brady’s backup in New England, meaning he wasn’t getting much playing time. He caught his break in 2008 when Brady suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of the season, against the Chiefs, and Cassel had to take over for the remainder of the season. Cassel filled in nicely as he went on to beat the Chiefs in that game and went 11-5 in the season. The Patriots somehow still missed the playoffs with their impressive record.
Cassel was then traded to the Chiefs that offseason as the Patriots were able to get the best value possible for him. Cassel struggled in his first season in Kansas City though. Many would point out that Cassel had Randy Moss and Wes Welker as targets in New England and not quite that support cast in KC.
This year Cassel will have Chris Chambers for a full season and now has more experience leading a team. Yes, he played a full season in New England, but it was always seen as Brady’s team. The Chiefs are his team and his performance will decide the Chiefs success. He’ll also have Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator, who turned Tom Brady into a superstar in New England. A team like the Chiefs can only rebuild for so long.
Alex Smith may be under more pressure in San Francisco. Smith had high expectations, naturally as the number one overall pick in the 2005 draft. Smith has shown some minor signs of improvement but not nearly what the team needs out of him.
The 49ers have a legitimate shot this year of winning a weakened NFC West division and the last thing 49ers fans want to see is Smith costing the team a chance at it. Some may feel the 49ers will win in spite of Smith rather than win with him.
The 49ers are a young and talented team. They have talent across the board from the backfield, the receiving corps, the o-line, the defence and special teams. You could argue that they’d be Super Bowl contenders with a great quarterback. Smith must soon prove to be that quarterback or the Niners would have no choice but to move on.
Matt Leinart is another first-round pick that must start to be great. Granted he has the difficult task of filling Kurt Warner’s shoes, but don’t forget he was once the starter before the older, wiser Warner beat him out for the job and even took the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl. Leinart has to step up this year or the Cards will have to go in a different direction.
Trent Edwards of the Buffalo Bills must hope that offensive guru and the newest Bills coach Chan Gailey can lead him to the consistency that he has failed to attain. The Bills quarterbacking situation may be the league’s worst and barring a spectacular season by Edwards, the Bills could easily just draft a quarterback next year in what looks like a very promising draft class.
These are just some young quarterbacks who are looking at their last days as a starter if they don’t start elevating their game. Certainly no jobs in the NFL are ever permanent and just as we see every year, there are bound to be new quarterback changes this year. That’s the way the league goes and teams have to know when it’s time to change direction.
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