QB Surprises - NFL News And Picks

QB Surprises
By Chris Cluff
Posted: 4:00 am PDT 2006-09-22

Two weeks into the season, the three top-rated quarterbacks in the NFL are a guy who was booed by his team's fans all preseason, a passer who still has no offensive line and a youngster who had never started a game until this year.

Two weeks into the season, the three lowest-rated quarterbacks were all on playoff teams last season.

In other words, two weeks into the season, the NFL quarterback picture has been shaken and stirred, with a great many surprises.

Sure, bettors can always put their money on Peyton Manning, who is in his accustomed place among the league leaders - first in passing yards, fourth in touchdowns, sixth in rating.

But Chicago's Rex Grossman is off to an even better start, leading the NFC North favorite Bears (-$350 on WagerWeb.com) to a 2-0 record. Grossman is the highest-rated passer in the league and has a league-best five touchdown passes. It's a stunning turnaround by a quarterback fans wanted benched in the preseason and replaced by Brian Griese.

Houston's David Carr, who was sacked a league-high 68 times in 2005, is succeeding despite his offensive line. He is the league's No. 2-rated quarterback, completing 75 percent with four TD passes and no interceptions despite being sacked nine times (on pace for 72).

And Philip Rivers, San Diego's first-year starter, is the No. 3-rated passer, completing 72 percent with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Joining that trio of pleasant surprises are Chad Pennington and Donovan McNabb, quarterbacks whose 2005 seasons were cut short by injuries.

Pennington, coming off two shoulder surgeries in two years, has opened the season with two 300-yard games for the New York Jets. He is completing 65.7 percent of his throws, with four touchdowns and one interception, and is the fourth-rated passer in the league.

McNabb has been equally stellar in his comeback from surgery for a sports hernia. The Philadelphia quarterback is the fifth-rated passer, tied for the league lead with five touchdown throws.

Two other quarterbacks have made nice recoveries from offseason surgeries. Cincinnati's Carson Palmer, coming back from a torn ACL, is completing 62.7 percent of his passes, and he threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-17 win over Cleveland last week. Drew Brees seems fully recovered from shoulder surgery in his first season with the New Orleans Saints. He has completed 59 percent of his passes for 523 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions, as the Saints have opened 2-0 and made themselves a good bet at +$700 on WagerWeb.com to win the NFC South.

On the flip side of the quarter (back) in the first two weeks, a number of successful veterans have gotten off to terrible starts.

The three worst were starters for playoff teams last season: Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, Denver's Jake Plummer and Tampa Bay's Chris Simms.

Roethlisberger, who has endured multiple serious health problems this year, did not have a good game in his first appearance of the season Monday. After missing the opener because of an appendectomy, Roethlisberger completed just 17 of 32 passes for 141 yards and two interceptions in a loss to Jacksonville.

Plummer has completed less than 52 percent of his passes, with four interceptions and a league-worst rating of 38.6.

It has sparked calls in Denver for rookie QB Jay Cutler, but Coach Mike Shanahan said he is not about to panic and make that move.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said the same even though Simms has been perhaps the worst quarterback in the league, with six interceptions and no touchdowns in Tampa Bay's 0-2 start.

"We've got to do a great job of rallying around (Simms) as a staff," Gruden told reporters. "I know our football team will do that. He's got to take responsibility to get better, and I know he will. I have a lot of respect for him and his resolve. I expect him to come back raring and ready to go this week."

Simms, Plummer and Roethlisberger aren't the only playoff passers who are not in sync yet this year.

New England's Tom Brady and Carolina's Jake Delhomme have suffered in the absence of their top receivers. Without Deion Branch (traded to Seattle), Brady has hit on just 50 percent of his passes for 383 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Delhomme, meanwhile, has missed Steve Smith (hamstring), completing just 52.7 percent for 367 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.

New offenses have affected the performance of other former standouts.

In St. Louis, Marc Bulger and his teammates are still adjusting to new coach Scott Linehan's offensive system, and Bulger's numbers have suffered (54 percent completions, 402 yards, one touchdown).

Steve McNair also has been slow to assimilate a new system. The Baltimore Ravens' new quarterback has completed 55 percent, with two touchdowns and an interception.
Daunte Culpepper also is with a new team, and he seems to still be hindered by the severe knee injury that ended his final season with the Minnesota Vikings last year. Culpepper has just one scoring pass and three interceptions in Miami's 0-2 start.

Fans chanted for backup Joey Harrington last Sunday, but Coach Nick Saban said he has no intention of making a move.

"A lot of people assume because Daunte Culpepper came here, everything was going to be easy," Saban said. "That is not the case. He can be a good player, but he is not playing like he's capable of playing right now. He's still coming back and working his way back from an injury. His mobility is not 100 percent of what it used to be. And we need to play faster and better so he can play better."

It's safe to say all of the teams with struggling quarterbacks hope they start playing better soon, while teams like Chicago, Houston and San Diego hope their highly rated passers can continue to play as well as they have in the first two weeks of this season.

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