Alabama product AJ McCarron will start at quarterback Sunday for the Cincinnati Bengals. That’s a game the Bengals are still supposed to win, thanks mainly to the fact the San Francisco 49ers will be on the other sideline. Still, history certainly is not on McCarron’s side.
Somehow, it’s been 28 years since a former Alabama quarterback last won an NFL game.
On Nov. 15, 1987, career backup Jeff Rutledge — starting in place of the injured Phil Simms — “led” the New York Giants to a 20-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. In actual fact, New York might have won despite Rutledge, who threw two interceptions and completed only 16 of 30 passes. But a win’s a win, I suppose.
Here’s the list of all the former Alabama quarterbacks who have been on NFL rosters but have failed to win since then…
1. Mike Shula: A 12th-round pick in the 1987 draft, Shula spent some time that year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but never threw a pass.
2. Jay Barker: A fifth-round pick in the 1995 draft, Barker spent time with the Packers, Patriots and Panthers but also never threw a pass.
3. Brodie Croyle: A third-round pick in the 2006 draft, Croyle started 10 games during a five-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs. His win-loss record: 0-10. He led the Chiefs to more than 20 points in only one of those games, but he did lose three of them by exactly a field goal.
4. Greg McElroy: A seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft, McElroy spent two seasons with the Jets and one with the Bengals. His only NFL start came in 2012, with the Jets losing 27-17 to San Diego. However, earlier that year, McElroy threw a game-winning touchdown pass in relief of Mark Sanchez as the Jets beat the Cardinals 7-6.
Bart Starr, Joe Namath and Ken Stabler are all like, What the hell is going on here?
It is odd because this is a quarterback’s game more now than ever before and Alabama continues to possess a hell of a program in the strongest conference in the NCAA. But they haven’t been grooming NFL-caliber quarterbacks, and nothing exemplifies that more than the fact they’re hoping AJ freakin’ McCarron can get them their first NFL win since the Reagan administration.
SEC programs ranked by how many of their alumni have won games as NFL quarterbacks since 1988
1. Florida (7)
2. Texas A&M (5)
3. Arkansas (4)
3. LSU (4)
3. Tennessee (4)
6. Georgia (3)
6. Missouri
8. Auburn (2)
8. Mississippi (2)
10. Kentucky (1)
10. South Carolina (1)
10. Vanderbilt (1)
13. Alabama (0)
13. Mississippi State (0)
But McCarron is going to be different, guys. Just another Tom Brady. That’ll make up for everything above.
Just watch.
