Donavan McNabb – Minnesota Vikings
Things have gotten much better for McNabb since Week 1. Well things could not have really gotten much worse after his 39 yard performance against the Chargers.
He has been consistent in the past four weeks, but the Vikings continued to struggle. McNabb hovers around 200 yards a game, and will throw the off touchdown here and there. He is not nearly as mobile as he once was, but he can still scramble for a few yards here and there.
But will he get yanked by Leslie Frazier? That seems unlikely according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Frazier is said to be fiercely loyal, and he will go with McNabb until he gets that call from owner Zygi Wilf that it is time to make a move.
The pressure on teams to play rookie quarterbacks, especially one taken in the first round, is immense these days. Christian Ponder was taken 12th overall by the Vikings after Gabbert, Locker and Newton were all off the board.
But how soon is too soon for Ponder? McNabb was brought in as the veteran quarterback to lead the Vikings for a year as Ponder prepares to take the reigns of the team. But he has led them to a 1-4 start on a highly paid team that is in serious flux.
With the way the Vikings schedule is shaping up, with the Bears, Packers and Panthers coming up before the bye week, we could just see Ponder Week 10 against the Packers.
Jason Campbell – Oakland Raiders
Since coming to the Raiders, Campbell has had a remarkable amount of success by his, and the Raiders, standards. He has led them to a 3-2 record early this season, and was 8-5 at the helm last season. So why on earth would he be at risk of getting pulled?
Well there is this little case of Terrelle Pryor. The former Ohio St. Buckeye pivot was taken in the 3rd round of the supplemental draft by the Raiders in the off-season, and his absurd 5-game suspension is almost done. He has been training at the Raiders facility, and is getting ready for primetime.
It is next to impossible that Pryor would get a start over Campbell once healthy, as he still has much to learn about the pro game. But there will be a time this season when Campbell gets dinged up, and with only Kyle Boller standing in his way, Pryor might get a few snaps.
Many have said that Pryor would be better off getting looks at tight-end, or wideout, but he has been training as a quarterback and intends to pursue that position to the end. People said Tebow should switch positions, but that hasn’t happened yet.
So Campbell’s seat is not the hottest of the bunch, but with Pryor on the team, it is a matter of time until Hue Jackson at least gets curious to see what he has in store.
Kyle Orton – Denver Broncos
Maybe the Broncos should have traded Orton to the ‘Fins in the off-season. It might have been the best option for both teams. But instead Orton is still in Denver, and Miami has to pick between Matt Moore and Sage Rosenfels.
But how about those Broncos? Orton has been frustrating this year to say the least. He has been racking up respectable numbers, but many of them came as the Packers were playing prevent last week, as he almost tossed for 300 yards and managed to throw three scores. He also had three picks though, so it is clear that the former Boilermaker is not quite on point this year.
Everyone wants Tebow to start. Make that, everyone in Denver wants Tebow to start. They even have billboards stating that they do. While it is ignored that the Broncos could have picked Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski or Ben Tate with the Tebow pick, people still want to see an option quarterback with limited arm strength take over the starting job of a real life NFL franchise.
So will it happen? With Tebow playing at the tail end of their loss to San Diego, it would seem that he may be the new starter in Denver, but is that for the best? Only time will tell.
