Gryphon
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Sometimes, there's nothing wrong when 2 becomes 1
by NFL Expert Mike Nahrstedt
Jeff Garcia was a 36-year-old afterthought when he took over for Donovan McNabb last season. Five wins to close out the season and one playoff appearance later, Garcia was the most popular man in Philadelphia. Donovan who?
Damon Huard got similar love in Kansas City when he led the Chiefs to five wins in eight games while Trent Green was out with a concussion. Green went from being a beloved Pro Bowler to a distraction when his head cleared after a 10-week break.
When the starting quarterback's return sparks that much controversy, you know you have a pretty good QB situation.
The Eagles and Chiefs wouldn't have made the playoffs without Garcia and Huard stepping up, and 14 other teams also had to start a backup at some point last season.
So it's not just who's starting now; it's who will be starting if he's forced to. The second guy on the depth chart could make all the difference in how a season turns out. So we examined the league's quarterback duos, separated them into four categories and ranked them within each. Some are built for success; others are more like a wing and a prayer -- or a pair of prayers.
A solid 1-2
1. Philadelphia (Donovan McNabb, A.J. Feeley). It has worked before; Feeley's 4-1 starting stint in 2002 propelled the Eagles to the playoffs.
2. Pittsburgh (Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch). Batch starts, Steelers win (3-0 over the past two seasons). The other guy won a Super Bowl.
3. St. Louis (Marc Bulger, Gus Frerotte). A guy who was 9-6 as Miami's starter two years ago backs up a Pro Bowler.
4. Baltimore (Steve McNair, Kyle Boller). Boller was starting to hit his stride when a future Hall of Famer came in and pushed him aside.
5. Arizona (Matt Leinart, Kurt Warner). A star in the making and a highly decorated tutor.
6. Atlanta (Michael Vick, Joey Harrington). Vick might yet put it all together, and Harrington has been through some battles.
7. San Francisco (Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer). Dilfer is one of the all-time great mentors and has a Super Bowl ring, and his protege keeps getting better.
8. Carolina (Jake Delhomme, David Carr). The Panthers could do worse than having a No. 1 overall draft pick in reserve.
9. Dallas (Tony Romo, Brad Johnson). Romo is on the rise, and Johnson has a 71-51 record as a starter.
10. San Diego (Philip Rivers, Billy Volek). Volek put up good numbers when pressed into service three years ago with the Titans.
11. Chicago (Rex Grossman, Brian Griese). The Bears wouldn't lose much if Griese took over.
12. Tampa Bay (Chris Simms, Jeff Garcia). Jon Gruden has good options to scrutinize in training camp.
13. Tennessee (Vince Young, Kerry Collins). The Titans are rebuilding around Young, and Collins still has some gas in his tank.
14. Jacksonville (Byron Leftwich, David Garrard). Neither player is exciting, but neither is a disaster, either.
15. Denver (Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey). Ramsey's experience is a cushion in the event Cutler has issues.
Solid 1, iffy 2
1. Cincinnati (Carson Palmer, Doug Johnson). If Johnson is required to do more than mop-up work, the Bengals will be toast.
2. New Orleans (Drew Brees, Jamie Martin). Martin is an even scarier option than Johnson.
3. Seattle (Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace). Wallace wasn't bad in four starts last season. Not great, either.
4. New York Jets (Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens). The Jets are high on Clemens, but at this point, who knows what he has?
5. New York Giants (Eli Manning, Anthony Wright). Manning's inconsistency lowers this duo's ranking.
Anything but solid
1. Buffalo (J.P. Losman, Craig Nall). Losman improved last season but remains a work in progress.
2. Kansas City (Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard). Croyle is an unknown commodity, and Huard, as good as he was last season, is a 33-year-old journeyman.
3. Cleveland (Brady Quinn, Charlie Frye). Potential abounds in a group that includes Derek Anderson, but nobody inspires great confidence -- yet.
4. Detroit (Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky). The Lions drafted Drew Stanton for a reason.
5. Miami (Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon). The Dolphins drafted John Beck for a reason -- though a healthy Culpepper would change everything.
6. Houston (Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels). Schaub is all the rage, but he must prove himself on the field.
7. Washington (Jason Campbell, Mark Brunell). Brunell isn't a bad fallback option. Just an old one.
8. Minnesota (Tarvaris Jackson, Brooks Bollinger). A 2-9 record in 11 combined starts. These guys face a steep learning curve.
9. Oakland (Andrew Walter, JaMarcus Russell). This situation will look much better a year from now when a second-year Russell is backed up by current No. 3 Josh McCown.
Starter is so rock-solid ...
These guys never get hurt and play lights-out, so their backups are largely insignificant.
1. Indianapolis (Peyton Manning, Jim Sorgi).
2. New England (Tom Brady, Matt Cassel). 3. Green Bay (Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers).
__________________
for more updates visit http://gryphononcowboys.blogspot.com/
by NFL Expert Mike Nahrstedt
Jeff Garcia was a 36-year-old afterthought when he took over for Donovan McNabb last season. Five wins to close out the season and one playoff appearance later, Garcia was the most popular man in Philadelphia. Donovan who?
Damon Huard got similar love in Kansas City when he led the Chiefs to five wins in eight games while Trent Green was out with a concussion. Green went from being a beloved Pro Bowler to a distraction when his head cleared after a 10-week break.
When the starting quarterback's return sparks that much controversy, you know you have a pretty good QB situation.
The Eagles and Chiefs wouldn't have made the playoffs without Garcia and Huard stepping up, and 14 other teams also had to start a backup at some point last season.
So it's not just who's starting now; it's who will be starting if he's forced to. The second guy on the depth chart could make all the difference in how a season turns out. So we examined the league's quarterback duos, separated them into four categories and ranked them within each. Some are built for success; others are more like a wing and a prayer -- or a pair of prayers.
A solid 1-2
1. Philadelphia (Donovan McNabb, A.J. Feeley). It has worked before; Feeley's 4-1 starting stint in 2002 propelled the Eagles to the playoffs.
2. Pittsburgh (Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch). Batch starts, Steelers win (3-0 over the past two seasons). The other guy won a Super Bowl.
3. St. Louis (Marc Bulger, Gus Frerotte). A guy who was 9-6 as Miami's starter two years ago backs up a Pro Bowler.
4. Baltimore (Steve McNair, Kyle Boller). Boller was starting to hit his stride when a future Hall of Famer came in and pushed him aside.
5. Arizona (Matt Leinart, Kurt Warner). A star in the making and a highly decorated tutor.
6. Atlanta (Michael Vick, Joey Harrington). Vick might yet put it all together, and Harrington has been through some battles.
7. San Francisco (Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer). Dilfer is one of the all-time great mentors and has a Super Bowl ring, and his protege keeps getting better.
8. Carolina (Jake Delhomme, David Carr). The Panthers could do worse than having a No. 1 overall draft pick in reserve.
9. Dallas (Tony Romo, Brad Johnson). Romo is on the rise, and Johnson has a 71-51 record as a starter.
10. San Diego (Philip Rivers, Billy Volek). Volek put up good numbers when pressed into service three years ago with the Titans.
11. Chicago (Rex Grossman, Brian Griese). The Bears wouldn't lose much if Griese took over.
12. Tampa Bay (Chris Simms, Jeff Garcia). Jon Gruden has good options to scrutinize in training camp.
13. Tennessee (Vince Young, Kerry Collins). The Titans are rebuilding around Young, and Collins still has some gas in his tank.
14. Jacksonville (Byron Leftwich, David Garrard). Neither player is exciting, but neither is a disaster, either.
15. Denver (Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey). Ramsey's experience is a cushion in the event Cutler has issues.
Solid 1, iffy 2
1. Cincinnati (Carson Palmer, Doug Johnson). If Johnson is required to do more than mop-up work, the Bengals will be toast.
2. New Orleans (Drew Brees, Jamie Martin). Martin is an even scarier option than Johnson.
3. Seattle (Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace). Wallace wasn't bad in four starts last season. Not great, either.
4. New York Jets (Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens). The Jets are high on Clemens, but at this point, who knows what he has?
5. New York Giants (Eli Manning, Anthony Wright). Manning's inconsistency lowers this duo's ranking.
Anything but solid
1. Buffalo (J.P. Losman, Craig Nall). Losman improved last season but remains a work in progress.
2. Kansas City (Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard). Croyle is an unknown commodity, and Huard, as good as he was last season, is a 33-year-old journeyman.
3. Cleveland (Brady Quinn, Charlie Frye). Potential abounds in a group that includes Derek Anderson, but nobody inspires great confidence -- yet.
4. Detroit (Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky). The Lions drafted Drew Stanton for a reason.
5. Miami (Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon). The Dolphins drafted John Beck for a reason -- though a healthy Culpepper would change everything.
6. Houston (Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels). Schaub is all the rage, but he must prove himself on the field.
7. Washington (Jason Campbell, Mark Brunell). Brunell isn't a bad fallback option. Just an old one.
8. Minnesota (Tarvaris Jackson, Brooks Bollinger). A 2-9 record in 11 combined starts. These guys face a steep learning curve.
9. Oakland (Andrew Walter, JaMarcus Russell). This situation will look much better a year from now when a second-year Russell is backed up by current No. 3 Josh McCown.
Starter is so rock-solid ...
These guys never get hurt and play lights-out, so their backups are largely insignificant.
1. Indianapolis (Peyton Manning, Jim Sorgi).
2. New England (Tom Brady, Matt Cassel). 3. Green Bay (Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers).
__________________
for more updates visit http://gryphononcowboys.blogspot.com/
I love that Eli is what brought their ranking down, not our former back up. 
