by john hartley
j-hartley@onu.edu
Once again we roll around to the fall season. I always enjoy seeing the leaves change colors on the trees because it reminds me that my weekends will be full of football. And that has been the case so far this autumn. My Sundays are filled with watching the giants of the gridiron bash each others brains out in what could be considered by some, “beautiful chaos.”
One major trend of this chaos so far has been the role of quarterbacks in the NFL. Big names like Vince Young, Jeff Garcia, Tavaris Jackson and Derek Anderson all have been in the headlines, at least my mind headlines.
Starting with Vince Young, we see one of the biggest QB meltdowns of the year. In his most recent game he threw two interceptions, and was injured, and the Titans still won. In all that though, Young snapped, probably when people started booing him. Feeling down on himself, he went on a little mind trip, and was so unstable coach Jeff Fisher called the cops to go find him. They found him and an unloaded handgun in his car, leading many to believe that this once huge star for Texas may be letting the fans get to him.
Speaking of player-coach relationships, let’s look at Jeff Garcia. A quarterback that has seen more fields than a farmer, Garcia started the season as the big quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But when you can’t really perform and you don’t get along well with your coach, you probably won’t remain a starter. So now Garcia finds himself riding the pine, pulling splinters out of his butt, watching Brian Griese further pound the near non-existent Bucs into the ground.
Switching to players that just plain suck, let’s discuss Derek Anderson. Hold up, he went to the Pro Bowl you might say, but honestly, have you watched this guy play? Sure he’s great and makes amazing plays into triple coverage to a receiver’s outstretched hand, while other receivers are wide open, but does he need to? Braylon Edwards makes circus catches, and why? Because Derek Anderson sucks. Okay, sucks may be a little strong, but please, watch the next game if you disagree. Try and decide if the passes he throws would be caught by mediocre receivers. Anyway, the Browns should just switch to who everybody wants to see play and toss Brady Quinn in there, at least then Ken Dorsey would be the backup and feel better about himself.
Ah, now we get to Tavaris Jackson of the Vikings who had an absolutely putrid beginning of the season. He was the golden child, the chosen one. Now he’s playing end, guard, tackle. End of the bench, guard the water cooler, and tackle anyone that tries to steal it. Who’s playing instead of him? Some old, white dude named Gus Frerotte. Gus who? Exactly, I rest my case.
So that’s a quick overview of the craziness of the QB spots across the NFL. I’m not even going to touch the whole Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Chad Pennington situation. I’m only given so much room on the page and that would take a book to write. Maybe Favre will write one when he retires again this next offseason.