Quarterback Comebacks

Quarterback Comebacks
By Chris Cluff
Posted: 5:00 am PDT 2006-09-04

After a 2005 season in which more than a third of the league's starting passers missed significant time, this is the year of the quarterback comeback.

The recovering M*A*S*H unit is a who's who of the league's starters: Daunte Culpepper, Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Chad Pennington, Donovan McNabb, Ben Roethlisberger, Marc Bulger, Kurt Warner, Michael Vick, and the list goes on.

All of the QBs have passed - their physicals, that is -- and appear set to start the season with healthy knees, shoulders, hamstrings and groins. It's a development that has to have NFL bettors breathing a sigh of relief as a dozen teams bring back their known quarterbacks.

It's a much healthier group than the crippled crowd of last season, when a different passer fell nearly every week.

In a preseason game, Chicago QB Rex Grossman was lost for almost the entire season with a broken ankle.

In Week 1, Philadelphia's McNabb took a vicious hit to the sternum and struggled with the injury all season.

In Week 2, Atlanta's Vick injured a hamstring and continued to be hobbled by that and a later knee injury.

In Week 3, the New York Jets' Pennington (shoulder) was lost for the year and Arizona's Warner (knee) was knocked out for four weeks. Warner also missed the final two games.

In Week 6, Tampa Bay lost Brian Griese for the season with a torn ACL, St. Louis' Bulger suffered a shoulder injury that ended up costing him eight games, and San Francisco's Alex Smith was knocked out for five games with a sprained knee.

In Week 8, Culpepper tore all three ligaments in his right knee and missed the rest of his final season with the Minnesota Vikings.

In Week 10, McNabb finally succumbed to a sports hernia suffered in the first month.

In Week 17, Brees suffered a separated shoulder in what turned out to be not just the final game of the season but his final game with the San Diego Chargers.

In the playoffs, Cincinnati's Palmer suffered a torn ACL against Pittsburgh.

Then Pittsburgh's Roethlisberger, who had missed four games with knee problems in 2005, put his career and life in jeopardy when he crashed his motorcycle in the offseason.

The most scrutinized comebacks have been those of Culpepper and Palmer, who have made nearly spectacular recoveries from their knee injuries and have their teams among the favorites in the AFC on WagerWeb.com.

Culpepper has looked great in his first preseason with the Miami Dolphins, with whom he is running pretty much the same offense he operated in Minnesota.

"My knee's fine," he said after his first big test earlier this month. "I just thank God that everything's holding up. I'm continuing to get stronger every day."

Palmer made his preseason debut last Monday and dazzled a national TV audience with three touchdown passes. He played well again Friday night in limited action.

"It felt good just to get that one out of the way," he told reporters after Monday's game. "My knee feels great. I took a couple of shots on it, put a lot of pressure on it. It felt strong, like we expected, and I'm confident in it. I'm ready to roll and move on from here."

Brees and Pennington both appear sufficiently recovered from their shoulder surgeries. Brees has taken command of the New Orleans Saints' offense under first-year coach Sean Payton, and Pennington won a four-way battle to remain the Jets' starting quarterback under new coach Eric Mangini.

Brees and the Saints' offense have had growing pains this preseason, but Payton is confident in his quarterback.

"I've got to do a better job of getting (Brees) in a rhythm and getting him going," Payton said. "He's anxious and his arm is feeling fine, so it's just a matter of getting him in a rhythm early."

Mangini is just as confident in Pennington.

"He has made great progress throughout the preseason, especially over the last couple of weeks," Mangini said. "That consistency that I look for has been there, and his presence and his ability to move the team."

McNabb has come back well from surgery for the sports hernia and shown his usual command of the Eagles' offense. He appears poised for another Pro Bowl season.

Roethlisberger made it to camp on time despite suffering head injuries in the motorcycle accident. He recently sprained his thumb in practice but will be healthy for the season opener.

So should Bulger, Warner, Vick and the others. And they are all hoping to stay healthy for the full season this time. After all, this is the season of quarterback comebacks.

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