http://youtube.com/watch?v=IcjSDZNbOs0
In today’s NFL, which is a quarterback driven league, the NFC West presents it version of bizarro world. Taking a look around the league, division by division, usually two out of four and in some cases, three out of four teams have an above average or elite quarterback behind center.
So why is it that in the NFC West you have the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals succeeding (relatively) with Alex Smith, Tarvaris Jackson and John Skelton while the St. Louis Rams are failing with Sam Bradford. This is not the way it was supposed to be… is it? I mean the team with the best quarterback is supposed to win… right?
Sure there are other factors in winning; coach, scheme, defense and supporting cast to name a few. But the quarterback is supposed to be the difference maker, the one making others around him better. Time and time again the NFL has taught us (with a few exceptions) that the better the quarterback behind center, the higher the ceiling for the team.
So why is this not happening in the NFC West? Perhaps because the NFC West is playing by its own set of rules, seemingly off in its own bizzaro world of strange football and years of irrelevancy. This is the division where a 7-9 team won this division last year and then went on to beat the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in the playoffs. Maybe the same rules that apply to the rest of the NFL just do not apply here.
Need another example that life is a bit… different… out west? Take a look at the top two teams in the NFL as of today: the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. Now look at who is taking the snaps for both teams. All world quarterback Aaron Rodgers – Superman himself – and Alex Smith… the quarterback who went number one overall in the same draft, but plummeted to Bust-land. Rodgers is on a record-setting passing pace on his way to the MVP while Smith has yet to crack the 300-yard mark, but there is only one loss between the two of them in 2011.
Is the NFC West is challenging the established protocol that to win in the NFL it’s all on the QB? (The term winning used in relative terms, of course.) Is this the beginning of a trend, exposing the need for a 1st round QB as myth? Or is the NFC West nothing more than an outlier in the greater NFL equation, creating a bizarro world as a means of survival.
Again, it is not just about winning, it is about exceeding (or falling short of) expectations. Here is how the quarterbacks stack up in the NFC West’s Bizarro world, and who their regular-world NFL counterparts would be.
Bizarro QB: The new Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers
His NFL Opposite: Philip Rivers
Smith doesn’t put up gaudy numbers but the 49ers continue to come out on top. In four straight wins since October 9th, he has thrown a mere four TD and two INTs. Yet at the same time he has made big plays when called upon and his decision making has shown tremendous improvement under Harbaugh. His QB rating thus far (95.8) is comparable to Rivers’ career average (95.0)… though Rivers is the one now failing to live up to expectations.
In Alex Smith you have a quarterback who has been at both ends of the expectation spectrum. Coming in as the number 1 overall pick they couldn’t have been higher. Then was essentially written off as a bust just a few years later losing his starting job to Troy Smith they could not have been lower. Much like the Phoenix, he has risen from the ashes, breathing new life into his career and a franchise.
- Team record: 8-1
- Record as a starter: 8-1
- Individual statistics: 64% completion; 1709 yards passing; 11 TD; 3 Int
- QB Rating: 95.8
- 4th quarter comebacks: 4
- Game winning drives: 4
Bizarro QB: Tarvaris Jackson, Seattle Seahawks
His NFL Opposite: Donovan McNabb
Left out of the mix in Minnesota – twice – Jackson was a forgotten man. Once the Vikings made their intentions to acquire Donovan McNabb known, they let Seattle scoop up Tarvaris for pennies on the dollar. But an injury suffered midseason put him back on the shelf in favor of Charlie Whitehurst. After missing two starts, Jackson finally had his chance to grab the job and hold on.
Last week, he turned in a Bizarro performance for the ages at home against Baltimore, outplaying Joe Flacco by a shockingly wide margin.
Jackson hung tough in the pocket when pressure was mounting and delivered the ball accurately to seven different receivers, including to Marshawn Lynch. But the most impressive play of the day showcased his strong arm. Jackson, supposedly limited by a strained right pectoral muscle, threw a pass 45 yards in the air to Doug Baldwin on an across-the-body throw while rolling hard to his left. Not many quarterbacks can make that type of throw.
- Team record: 3-6
- Record as a starter: 3-4
- Individual statistics: 60.6% Completion; 1773 yards passing; 6 TD; 9 Int
- QB Rating: 74.8
- 4th quarter comebacks: 0
- Game winning drives: 0*
(* He did lead an impressive “game-icing” drive to eat up the clock against the Ravens.)
Bizarro QB: John Skelton, Arizona Cardinals
His NFL Opposite: Kerry Collins
Skelton, much like Collins, was not on anyone’s radar as a starting quarterback heading into this season. Arizona was so desperate for a legitimate starter that they dealt Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the trade that brought Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals. That trade was supposed to put them back atop the NFC West… where they were when Kurt Warner retired.
Indianapolis was in similarly desperate straits when they realized the seriousness of Peyton Manning’s injury, and recruited Collins out of retirement in a desperate attempt to preserve their division-leading mojo. Naturally, Collins flopped as his replacement.
Kolb also floundered while trying to fill Warner’s shoes, before getting hurt. But lowly John Skelton answered the bell and has helmed two uplifting wins in his two starts. With another big game like last week’s 315 yards versus Philadelphia, Kevin Kolb might not have a job to come back to.
Skelton is not polished by any means, though, so he may have some troubles against quality defenses like San Francisco’s. But hey, two starts under his belt, two wins and two 4th quarter comebacks… sure why not. Only in the NFC West.
- Team record: 3-6
- Record as a starter: 2-0
- Individual statistics: 54.7% Completion; 537 yards passing; 4 TD; 2 Int
- QB Rating: 84.1
- 4th Quarter Comebacks: 2
- Game winning drives: 1
Bizzaro QB: Sam Bradford; St. Louis Rams
His NFL Opposite: The Old Alex Smith
Bradford has not done much this season, including the games before his injury. He has yet to have a game with multiple touchdown passes, and he now has thrown for less than 200 yards in four of his seven starts. Unlike his NFC counterparts, Bradford has yet to have a game where he exceeded, let alone met expectations, and left with a win the Rams otherwise should not have had. (In a truly Bizarro performance,34-year-old backup AJ Feeley delivered the team’s biggest win of the year, upsetting the Saints.)
At risk of pointing out the elephant in the room, Sam Bradford has not been a difference maker in 2011. With Steven Jackson running like he is fresh out of college and Brandon Lloyd in the mix, the Rams need more out of their $50 million man. Unfortunately, with tensions high in St Louis and his offensive coordinator eyeing a head coaching job, Bradford could be headed to the same purgatory that Alex Smith once fell into: rotating new offensive schemes and coaches every year, while the talent around him falls into decrepitude.
In a division with two #1 overall draft picks, Bradford has some work to do. Right now he looks more like the 2006 version of Alex Smith. My guess: the Rams would prefer not to have to wait five years for a better version to finally emerge.
- Team record: 2-7
- Record as a starter: 1-6
- Individual statistics: 55.3% Completion; 1587 yards passing; 4 TD; 4 Int
- QB Rating: 72.6
- 4th Quarter comebacks: 1
- Game winning drives: 1
Sidebar: Comparing QB Pedigrees Around The League
All one has to do is look around the league to understand the qualifications for being labeled an above average or elite quarterback go well beyond where someone is drafted. Many of the names may surprise you when comparing level of play to where the QB was drafted.
