KL: The Rise of the Quarterback

Week 2 of the 2008 NFL season provided some very interesting quarterback stories.

There was one veteran and one newcomer who each had an outstanding day statistically and lifted their teams to huge victories:

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay: 24/38 328 yds 3 TDs, 0 INT
Kurt Warner, Arizona 19/24 361 yds 3 TDs, 0 INT

There was another veteran and another newcomer who did not impress on such a statistical level, but nobly lifted their teams to much needed victories after a week of uncertainty. Two teams who desperately needed some order restored received it with quarterback play that efficiently managed the game:

Matt Cassel, New England: 16/23 165 yds 0 TD, 0 INT
Kerry Collins, Tennessee 14/21 128 yds 1 TDs, 0 INT



All four stories are different--yet so similar. They are stories that delicately interweave.

Two years ago, both Kurt Warner (Cardinals) and Kerry Collins (Titans) were forced out of their starting positions by younger, college superstars in 2006. Matt Leinart (Cardinals) and Vince Young (Titans) were both coming off of two of the greatest college football seasons ever for quarterbacks. Warner and Collins both won the starting job initially, but both were looking over their shoulders from the beginning. Fans, management, and coaches were all searching for ways to give Leinart and Young the duties. Two or three weeks later, they did--justified or not. Neither Warner nor Collins played horribly; but neither gave the coaches a reason to stick with either. Three years later, Leinart is working under a new head coach that is unforgiving of preseason interceptions and off-the-field distractions, while Young seems to have become emotionally unstable. Both have shown they are mentally weak when the going gets tough. Enter Warner and Collins. They have catapulted themselves back into starting jobs as tough-minded veterans who know how to survive in this difficult league.

Three years ago, Aaron Rogers and Matt Cassel were selected in the same draft--April of 2005. Both originally from the PAC 10; both becoming backup quarterbacks over the next three seasons in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots, respectively. However, their similarities end here. After turning Cal into a formidable football program, Rogers disappointingly dropped to the bottom of the first round of the same draft--after possible first-pick speculation. Cassel surprisingly even was picked--and it was in the seventh and final round; this is the same quarterback who was once an afterthought in college while, ironically, backing up Matt Leinart at USC. Rogers was to be the inevitable heir of Brett Favre in Green Bay. He knew he would have to sit before he was to play. But when one year turned into two years which turned into three years, there was serious concern over his status while Brett Favre continued his fickle retirement games. In New England, just like at USC, Matt Cassel was an afterthought. After all, Tom Brady was going nowhere and seemed to be as durable as they come. Cassel was fortunate to even be in the NFL. Unlike Rogers, who was forced to endure and adapt to a secondary role, Cassel had no reasons for complaint. He was living the life--as an NFL back-up no less!

This past weekend, Kurt Warner and Aaron Rogers led brilliant offensive attacks while Kerry Collins and Matt Cassel played calmly, conservatively, and handled the football with care. Combined, the four did not throw a single interception and led their teams to a 4-0 record. Meanwhile, Brady, Leinart, and Young sat, and Cassel defeated a Favre led squad--who (Favre) played far below his normal level.

So in the future, never assume you will be able to make sense out of this world. You will see that events will always find a way to turn themselves upside down!