The NFL Rank ‘Em Up: #32-29 QBs
For my next trick, I’m going to try rank all of the offensive skill position players in the NFL. This whole thing is based on the assumption that the NFL season will start up at some point before the second coming of Christ. For the first one of these articles, we’re going to talk quarterbacks and since these rankings are going from bad to good, we’re starting with the worst of the worst, or at least the ones who haven’t had a chance to prove otherwise.
Without a wide receiver that can stay out of jail, Jake Locker will be hard press to not suck this season.
At the bottom of my list, occupying the #32 spot is Tennessee’s Jake Locker. But, wait, I can already hear you say, “Jake Locker was your Rookie of the Year in literally the last article you wrote. Why is he the cellar dweller here? This was before Locker’s best receiver, Kenny Britt, decided to reenact his favorite scene from “World’s Wildest Police Videos”, and while he’s just barely famous enough to get off scott-free, this will probably be a distraction for the entire season, and besides, other than Britt, who is Locker going to throw the ball to? Nate Washington? Justin Gage? Bo Scaife? Sounds like things won’t end well for the former U of Washington alum.
Next on the list is Carolina’s Cam Newton. It’s not a good sign when the #1 overall pick can’t even crack the top 30 quarterbacks. Yes, he can get things done on his own. But, unless he wants to meet an early retirement at age 24, he won’t run around as much as he did in his Auburn days. There is only one person on the entire Carolina roster that I would even give the time of day to in the first one hundred picks, and that’s Jonathan Stewart. Cam has nothing at wide receiver and I think his biggest receiver this season will be Jeremy Shockey. Can’t see a lot coming from Newton, not until he gets a little bit of help.
Cracking the top 30 is Jacksonville QB Blaine Gabbert. This is a risky pick, because there is a pretty good chance that Gabbert won’t start at all this season. Unless something catastrophic happens to David Garrard, injury or suckage, Gabbert will be wearing the headset this season. But, if something does happen to the poster boy for Crohn’s disease, Gabbert could slip in, and put together some solid performances. But, for right now, I think he’ll take the Aaron Rodgers approach, and wait his turn.
Colt McCoy has a similar problem to Jake Locker. The difference is McCoy doesn't have a good receiver, period.
The last quarterback in this article is Cleveland’s Colt McCoy, taking the 29 spot. The Browns are getting better, but there not there yet, not even close. There’s no receiver on the roster that I’d even want as a #2, if I were putting a team together from scratch. Mohamed Massaquoi, Josh Cribbs (aka James Harrison victims #297 and 298), Brian Robiskie, Benjamin Watson, and the newly drafted Greg Little will fight for receptions. Normally, this is the part where I’d make some sarcastic remark about how I could be the leading receiver for the Browns, but I’m not gonna lie. This looks pretty damn grim. Good luck Coltan, you’ll need it.
Well, that went pretty well. This could be one of my better series. Next time, we talk about three QBs that are running on empty, and one of my favorite rookies.
Feeling Drafty #3: Buffalo Bills
The Harvard-grad, Ryan Fitzpatrick kept Buffalo competitive and had a breakout year, enough to earn Buffalo Team MVP honors.
When a team’s performance is undermined by the team’s record, that could potentially be a positive down the road. That means most of the pieces are there, the team just needs to stop blowing games (see last year’s Chiefs). The Buffalo Bills have a fairly potent offense that can win games, they just need some playmakers on the defense to make themselves a contender in the AFC East.
The Bills had a knack this season of taking great teams to the limit. They lost by eight to New England, three to Baltimore, three to Kansas City, three to Chicago, and three to Pittsburgh. And not many teams were able to put up the 49 points that Buffalo racked up against Cincinnati.
Their offense is pretty good. Ryan Fitzpatrick had a nice season, especially when you consider his last five seasons with St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Buffalo. He established career highs in games started (13), completions (255), attempts (441), passing yards (3,000), passing TDs (23), and passer rating (81.8). Fred Jackson backed up his 2009 breakout season with a respectable 927 yards, while putting up career highs in TDs, and 20+ yard runs. Stevie Johnson had a breakout season of his own, going for 82 receptions, 1,073 receiving yards, and 10 TDs. And going for 1,000 receiving yards in Buffalo isn’t an easy task; it’s only been done three times since 2003.
It's sort of odd that the team's MVP is the same position as their projected first round pick, but that's the case with Cam Newton.
But, unfortunately, Fitzpatrick may not have done enough to keep his job intact. With the NFL’s “win now” philosophy and the fact that Buffalo hasn’t had a big star that could attract people to Ralph Wilson Stadium since Thurman Thomas. The Bills will probably pick up Auburn QB Cam Newton. Let’s recap this guy’s last season at Auburn. 6’6″, 250 lbs., 4.42 in the 40 yard dash, 2,854 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, seven picks, along with 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground, and one Heisman Trophy. Absolutely crazy.
It’s not likely that Cam Newton will fall past this point, so about ten teams will leave the first round disappointed (most notably Cincy, who is right after Buffalo, and Minnesota, who need a replacement to Brett Favre). If Cam Newton can be the same guy he was at Auburn, we could be looking at one of the most exciting players in NFL history. Personally, I think that Cam will either get hurt or limit the exciting runs like all dual-threat college quarterbacks do when they enter the NFL, but, hey, that’s just me thinking.
My Fantasy Football World 