Around the middle of the NFL season, usually week 7-9, teams hit that proverbial fork in the road. Coaching staffs around the league have personnel decisions to make at the most important position, the starting QB. Option A is pretty simple, and it consists of staying with the starter QB you selected at the beginning of the season with the hopes that he will lead your team to the playoffs.

However Option B is a complex situation full of hard decisions and calculated gambles. Option B requires a coaching staff to replace the starting QB with someone on your bench for the remainder of the season. The complex part revolves around why replace the starter, who you do replace the starter with, and when do you finally pull the trigger.

Well in Week 7, six NFL teams have gone the route of Option B and that got my editorial partner, Kristian Winfield, and me to thinking. Which one of these fresh faces will have the better season? The candidates are as followed Charlie Whitehurst (SEA), A.J. Feely (STL), Christian Ponder (MIN), Carson Palmer (OAK), Tim Tebow (DEN), and John Beck (WSH).

It’s almost a loaded question against us because a QB swap is usually only made after a team has had an unproductive 7 weeks. We will admit that there are some exceptions, and injuries sometimes force the hand of a coach. More often than not, the former is the underlying factor in a change at the QB position.

Before we each give you our picks, let’s review why each QB is starting in the first place.

John Beck: John Beck impressed people during the preseason with his picture perfect passes, but because of a single interception thrown, the start was given to Rex Grossman. In five games Grossman might have hauled in 1,132 but it was clear Grossman was driving the Redskins’ offense into the dirt. Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan decided to make a change and Beck was named the new starter.

Carson Palmer: After losing starting QB Jason Campbell for the season because of a broken collarbone, coach Hue Jackson came face to face with his biggest crisis as new head coach, who was going to start at QB. In a surprise move the Raiders traded away multiple draft picks for former “retired” Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer.

A.J. Feely: Feely was the back up on the St. Louis Rams to Sam Bradford. In last week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bradford suffered a high ankle sprain that forced him wear a protective boot during the week. With a 0-5 record and the Rams clearly out of the divisional race there was no need to rush Bradford back, so head coach Steve Spagnuolo handed over the reins to Feely.

Tim Tebow: Late in the season last year Tim Tebow was named the starter on the Denver Broncos after the Broncos’ playoff hopes were dashed. Tebow was supposed to remain the starter this year but due to a coaching change and horrible pre-season play by Tebow, Kyle Orton was given his starting position back.

Under Orton this year, the Broncos went 1-4 and new coach John Fox gave Tim Tebow a chance to reclaim his starting position back. Charlie Whitehurst:  Charlie Whitehurst was given the starting position after Tarvaris Jackson injured his pectoral muscle against the Giants.

Whitehurst had been previously named the starter late into the 2011 season, winning a game against the St. Louis Rams that sent the Seahawks to the playoffs. Christian Ponder: After Donovan McNabb’s abysmal 1-5 start for the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Leslie Frazier made a power move, inserting Christian Ponder into the lineup as the starting QB.

Now for what you’ve been waiting for, our “expert” picks.

Kristian’s Pick

The Vikings season was going nowhere fast, to put things into perspective, Donovan McNabb played absolutely terrible for the six games as the Vikings starter. In the first game of the season, he only threw for 39 yards—worst among starting QB’s in the NFL for season openers. Through five-and-a-half games, McNabb threw for four touchdowns and two interceptions.

I can name some wide receivers that have more receiving TD’s than McNabb has passing. Either McNabb was going to drag the franchise into the dirt, or a change was going to be made. Enter my pick, the pure passing rookie QB out of Florida State, Christian Ponder.

In their win last week over Carolina, Ponder played very well, considering the situation, throwing for 236 yards and a touchdown, while completing 18-of-28 attempts. And the week before, against the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, Ponder threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

He’s still got a long way to go, but for a rookie that was pretty much dumped into the rotation after six weeks, Ponder is a significant improvement from the lackluster performances of McNabb. Ponder IS NOT the short term solution, but by showing promise and glimpses of greatness, he definitely is the Vikings’ QB of the future.

Terrance’s Pick

My pick is the man who can do no wrong, the Christian crusader, the legend himself, Tim Tebow. All of the reasons why I think Tebow will have the better season are not intrinsically football-related.  Tebow has the will to win, and has proven that he can win on every level of football.  You can’t teach a man how to be winner, that is something you have to be born with, and Tebow has it in spades.

For example take his performance in week 7 against the Miami Dolphins into consideration.  Tebow played like absolute crap for 55 minutes of a 60 minute game, but when you have that never-say-die mentality, sometimes five good minutes is all you need. Tebow lead his Denver Broncos to score 15 points in five minutes, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for a two point conversion.

Being down 15 points and subsequently scoring 15 points in the final five minutes of game a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970. During the Broncos’ improbable comeback, Tebow consistently made big throw after big throw, performing so well that ESPN analyst Skip Bayless compared him to Steve Young.

However if there is one factor that could trump all of Tebow’s intangibles it would be his poor throwing mechanics. This has been the one gripe about Tebow since he entered the NFL last year. His awkward throwing release causes him to be inaccurate and overthrow receivers.

Before the 2010 NFL Draft Tebow worked tirelessly on correcting his throwing motion, when under pressure old habits tend surface and his team suffers. That same awkward delivery was on display during the first 55 minutes of the Dolphins game; Tebow consistently missed open receivers.

The one upside to Tebow’s glaring flaw is that his throwing motion can be fixed, and there are instances where he has shown that, just not on a consistent basis. Only time will tell us which one these six QBs will have the better season.  The only that is for certain is that each NFL season is highly unpredictable.

For all we know, both Ponder and Tebow could perform miserably the rest of season, and make our expert picks null and void. If that happens let’s just hope that Toonari Post doesn’t swap us out for some fresh journalistic faces.

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The NFL trade deadline isn’t like that of baseball and basketball where we see names and players flying everywhere for team’s attempts to either dump salaries or gear up for the playoffs. Being that football is so much more of a team and system sport, it’s very hard for players, especially key position players, to join a new team and get integrated in the system quickly.

However, that didn’t stop the Oakland Raiders, who sit at 4-2 in a race for the AFC West, from trading for a quarterback to replace the injured Jason Campbell who’s out 6-8 weeks with a broken collarbone. The QB they landed is Carson Palmer from the Bengals. Palmer, who was once the Bengals franchise quarterback, has been “retired” this season.

He wanted to be traded but the Bengals said no, forcing Palmer to opt for retirement rather than finish out his contract. This was an ugly PR battle between the Bengals owner Mike Brown and Palmer, who were taking jabs at each other in the media at the beginning of the season.

Brown said they wouldn’t trade Palmer and agreed to let him sit at home as the Bengals went and drafted TCU’s Andy Dalton. Dalton has been playing well as the Bengals also sit at 4-2 and it might have factored into Brown’s decision to let Palmer go. However, the main reason was probably that Oakland made an offer he couldn’t refuse.

In return for Palmer, the Bengals get a first round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional second round pick in 2013 that could become a first round pick if the Raiders make it to the AFC title game this season. To many, this seems like a very steep price to play for a QB who many deem to be past his prime and who has been sitting at home, thus far this season.

However, given the Raiders options — either using backup Kyle Boller or sign a free-agent QB — none of whom are very good, they decided to go with the ‘win now’ approach. The Raiders are excited to get Palmer and he represents a dramatic upgrade from Campbell. The question now becomes how quickly he can get up to speed.

“I just know if I was on the streets for a while I’d need about, myself personally to knock the rust off as a defensive lineman, I’d need personally about three weeks to get back into form,” Richard Seymour said. Palmer has been named the starter for their game this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Coach Hue Jackson worked with Palmer in Cincinnati and said much of the terminology is similar which should help speed up Palmer’s ability to learn the playbook. Palmer and receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey and Jacoby Ford have been staying after practice to get extra reps, in an attempt to have some sort of chemistry when they hit the field this Sunday.

“It’s just a matter of the timing, he has to get that down and get used to the offense and has to get used to new receivers,” Ford said. “Whenever we can do that we’ll be clicking on all cylinders.

The Raiders paid a high price to get Palmer, but if you ask anyone in the Raiders organization or their fans, I’m sure they will tell you that for a team who hasn’t made the playoffs since 2002, when they lost in the Super Bowl, they’d take a trip to the AFC Championship or Super Bowl over a few draft picks any day.

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The AFC North division is one of the most competitive and entertaining in the NFL from top to bottom. Every team has a fierce rivalry with each other. Every game is played with 100% intensity and effort, making watching these games an incredible experience for fans. For a while now Baltimore and Pittsburgh have been the clear frontrunners here. That being said, Cincinnati is perennially a tough team to beat, and usually on the verge of the playoffs come the later weeks in the season. Also Cleveland, who had been at the bottom of the barrel for a while now, has injected some new young talent, and is looking to start their turnaround. The 2011 season could see an even more balanced AFC North than fans have seen in years.

Cleveland Browns: The Browns are at a crossroads. They have a quarterback in Colt McCoy who seems as though he’s ready to lead this team. McCoy has shown both the skill and the intangibles to be a very solid quarterback immediately, and maybe more in the future. I remember watching their game against the Jets last season, seeing Colt drive the ball down field with ease using both his arm and his legs to shred one of the better defenses in the NFL. At that moment I knew that this team was on their way up. McCoy isn’t alone either. He has a stud in the backfield in Peyton Hillis who had an absolute breakout season last year. Hillis racked up 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns, not to mention countless highlights of him leaping over one defender and running over the next. With Rob Ryan running the defense, this team is only a few weapons and some experience away from being a serious contender in this division.

Cincinnati Bengals: Inconsistency is the word. From the playoffs in 2009 to a four win season in 2010, there was a serious drop-off in Cincinnati. The Carson Palmer era seems to be over, and the Andy Dalton years are just beginning. Rumor has it that the starting job is already his. That being said, something about this franchise just screams under-performance. Ochocinco apparently wants out and nobody knows if Terrell Owens will be able to come back from off-season surgery and perform at a high level. If Dalton is relying on Jordan Shipley to be his number one target, there will undoubtedly be another rough season. Even off the field this team can’t win. Every time fans turn around their beloved Bengals are back in the news shining a negative light on the franchise for one thing or another. Maybe new leadership under center will turn things around, but it will take some time. Prepare for some rebuilding years Cinci fans.

Baltimore Ravens: Anquan Boldin came on the scene in 2010 and made a serious impact on this offense. Joe Flacco added a serious weapon to his already bolstering arsenal, and immediately showed good chemistry with Boldin, connecting down-field game after game. I’m shocking myself in writing about a Ravens offense first, but it’s catching up to their powerhouse defense that we have known and loved for years. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed might have some mileage on them, but nobody’s worried, they’re still some of the best in the league at their positions. There really aren’t very many weak links in this Raven’s team, they’re ready now. Year after year Flacco gets better, and fans are just waiting for the year where they can overthrow the Steelers. Could 2011 be the year? I’ll leave it at a maybe, but it’s going to take some big game performances to get the deal done. Their time will come as long as they can get it done before they lose their veteran leaders to retirement. Expect to see them back in the playoffs, and from there you never know.

Pittsburgh Steelers: What’s to say here? Sure, they lost in the Super Bowl, but they were beaten by an excellent team that was on an incredible roll. Mike Tomlin has a resume at 39 that most coaches never will have in their entire career. Big Ben is one of the best clutch quarterbacks in the league no matter how ugly his stats or mechanics may be. The defense is back to the days of the “Steel Curtain.” I could probably go through every single player on the defensive side of the ball and rave about them, but I’ll spare readers the extra words and just tell you they’re all really, really good. They’ve got youth, they’ve got offense, defense, special teams, veterans, coaching, experience, rings…they’ve got it all. I refuse to believe I’ve seen the last of Ben Roethlisberger or Troy Polamalu in the Super Bowl. When it’s all said and done, this team might rival some of the great Pittsburgh teams of the past.

The Steelers are going to be tough to overcome for a long time, but getting out of this division might be their hardest task. Fans better believe that they will be given a run for their money as this division begins to balance out. Hard hits and clutch plays are the name of the game in the AFC North. If you haven’t been watching these divisional games in the past few years, start. Great football, great players, great moments. Whoever is able to come out of this division on top will surely be ready for anyone that gets the tough task of meeting them in the postseason. Be ready for some battles.

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