I was looking for some information on my Redskins, when I came across this article. Now, I could go on and on about what I think about the Redskins and the quarterback situation, but I think this brings up a whole other subject. That being that the NFL is a one position league. Take some time to at least scan through that article (believe me, it’s good for fans of any team). Let’s take a look at what the NFL has become.
I never really thought about writing about this subject until today when I read Jason Reid’s article on the QB situation for Washington and the whole league. It just reinforced my position that I have come to over the past 2-3 years. That being, the NFL is a one position (QB) league. You have to have a great QB to win the Super Bowl these days. Just go ahead and look at the QB’s that have made and won the past 11 Super Bowls (in reverse order):
- Super Bowl XLV – Aaron Rodgers (elite) / Ben Roethlisberger (elite)
- Super Bowl XLIV – Drew Brees (elite) / Peyton Manning (future Hall of Famer)
- Super Bowl XLIII – Ben Roethlisberger (elite) / Kurt Warner (future Hall of Famer)
- Super Bowl XLII – Eli Manning (elite) / Tom Brady (future Hall of Famer)
- Super Bowl XLI – Peyton Manning (future HOF) / Rex Grossman (average)
- Super Bowl XL – Ben Roethlisberger (elite) / Matt Hasselbeck (at the time – elite)
- Super Bowl XXXIX – Tom Brady (future HOF) / Donovan McNabb (at the time – elite)
- Super Bowl XXXVIII – Tom Brady (future HOF) / Jake Delhomme (at the time – elite/near elite)
- Super Bowl XXXVII – Brad Johnson (very good) / Rich Gannon (at the time elite)
- Super Bowl XXXVI – Tom Brady (future HOF) / Kurt Warner (future HOF)
- Super Bowl XXXV – Trent Dilfer (average) / Kerry Collins (good)
That’s right, you have to go all the way back to 2000 to see an average/good QB match-up. And that was really before a lot of the rules have made it to a QB league. Gone are the days of a Jim McMahon, Jeff Hostetler, Doug Williams, Mark Rypien winning the Super Bowl. Sure, you see Rex Grossman in Super Bowl XLI in 2006. He was surrounded by an outstanding defense and a great running game (why did Lovie Smith stop running the ball in the 2nd half?). But this is the exception. If you want consistent winning, which is the best way to make 1 or multiple trips to the Super Bowl, you have to have a great QB. This league is the haves and the have-nots. Sure, you can have your team jump up and have a great year winning 10 or 11 games and making the playoffs. There’s 5 new teams making the playoffs every year. But if you want to turn that into consistency, you have to have an elite QB. For the fans of the teams that don’t have an elite QB? You’re screwed. You want to know why the 49ers are back in the NFC Championship Game? Look no further than Alex Smith and before you start laughing, go look up his numbers this year. He has been more than a game manager. I wouldn’t put him in the elite catagory, but for at least this year he is a very good to great QB. For all of the flack (no pun intended) toward Joe Flacco (and I have my doubts, too) he has been a good to very good QB most of the time and has a ceiling in the elite level.
All we have to look at is this: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER have I ever even agreed with the notion to root for your team to lose games to get a higher draft pick. Well….that is until this year, of course. Sure, it was foreign to me and very hard. I even caught myself pulling for the Skins to win games that they were close in and ones at the end of the season. I reveled in the fact they swept the New York Football Giants for the first time since 1999!!!! I could finally call my brother and act like a complete idiot, pumping my fists in his face Harbaugh-style and singing Hail To The Redskins at the top of my lungs. Then, I remembered where our franchises currently stand and I cried like a baby…but enough about that.
Why did I pull for the Skins to Suck For Luck? Even though they had no shot at him because the Colts were purposely throwing their season. What other choice do you have? If you want your team to have a chance to win a Super Bowl you better believe this is your only shot nowadays. Plus, I think you would too if your team hadn’t had a franchise QB since 1985 when Joe Theismann went down to a nasty, career-ending injury at the hands of LT. And if you look at it, the Skins haven’t had a legit Hall-of-Famer at the QB position since Sonny Jurgensen was throwing it around from 1964-74. THAT’S A FULL 8 YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN!!! Sorry to yell, but COME ON! I realize that their only shot at being a legitimate franchise again is to get that elusive franchise QB. More than ever this is imperative. And it is to your team, too. I mean, think about it…the Colts aren’t stupid (well….) they are risking alienating the face of the franchise, since it moved to Indy in 1984, to draft the next elite QB. They now for them to maintain a level of excellence, this is their only way.
So, thank you Roger freaking Goodell. You have messed this league up, in the name of safety and trying to grab the casual fans’ eyeball. Thank you for giving my team (and many other fans’ teams) the chances of “when Hell freezes over” to not only win a Super Bowl but to compete for it for a full decade!
