The role of the back-up quarterback is one of the least envied positions in all of sports. Performing well enough in practice to displace the current incumbent is extremely rare (unless of course your name is Tim Tebow) and the back-up usually spends much of the season sitting on the bench, preparing for an event that is unlikely to ever come calling.

That being said, there are cases every season when the unlikely does come calling and an untested rookie gets a shot at making himself a star, or an over the hill veteran gets one last chance at glory. The relative heroics of Matt Moore, T. J. Yates and Tebow last season have cast some light on a previously unheralded position and as such we have compiled a list of the back-up quarterbacks most likely to make an impact this season.

1. Jason Campbell – Chicago Bears

Campbell signing with the Bears was one of the more surprising off season moves this year, effectively co-signing himself to second string behind Jay Cutler. When you look at the multitude of teams in the NFL struggling at the quarterback position, a move to Jacksonville or Miami (Ryan Tannehill could definitely do with a season learning the game before being thrust into the limelight) would have made far more sense given that Campbell has the quality to start in this league).

That being said, Cutler’s absence due to a broken thumb last season cost the Bears their place in the playoffs, with deputy Caleb Hanie leading Chicago to five straight defeats. If a similar situation were to occur this year, Campbell would arguably provide a much more efficient option, and with the Bears looking stronger on offense, it could make a significant contribution if called upon.

2. Tavaris Jackson – Seattle Seahawks

There is no guarantee Jackson will actually be the back-up, with Pete Carroll currently splitting snaps equally between Jackson, Matt Flynn and rookie Russell Wilson. Stranger things have happened in the NFL, but it is unlikely that the Seahawks will pay Flynn $26 million over three years for him to be a back-up, and whilst Wilson is a great prospect, he is not yet ready to start in the NFL. Wilson could well be the long term solution for the Seahawks at the position, but a role as a back-up will give him a great chance to flourish by learning from two quarterbacks as contrasting as Flynn and Jackson.

Jackson is a good quarterback, certainly not elite, but still good. Given that Flynn has started just two professional games, both of which he was surrounded by the supercharged Green Bay Packers’ offense, his credentials have yet to be confirmed at this level. Should things turn sour for him in Seattle, you could see Carroll reinstating Jackson to the starting spot by the middle of the season as they look to return to play-off contention in one of the weaker divisions in the NFL.

3. Kyle Orton – Dallas Cowboys

In my opinion, Tony Romo is an underrated quarterback. If you could cut out his high-profile errors then he would arguably be rubbing shoulders with the league’s elite quarterbacks. Unfortunately for Cowboys fans however, it doesn’t seem too likely that that is going to happen. Given that Romo is now 32, and supposedly at his peak, it is hard to imagine him improving his game dramatically enough to push himself into the upper echelons.

Orton certainly didn’t have the best time in Denver last season, but being in pole position ahead of Tebow is definitely not an enviable position (take note Mark Sanchez). Should Romo continue to hurt his teams’ chances with self-inflicted errors, how long is it before the Dallas faithful start calling for Orton to start? A refreshing role-reversal for Orton certainly.

4. Tim Tebow – New York Jets

It would be impossible to leave Tebow out of this list for numerous reasons, but perhaps most fittingly because he inspired it. Similarly to Campbell, there were calls from the Tebow faithful to explore the chances of a move to the Jaguars or Dolphins in an attempt to start, but ultimately the Broncos and Tebow found the right deal in New York.

As if the media hype surrounding Tebow last season wasn’t enough, the media circus that is in New York City will do nothing but fan the flames of ‘Tebowmania.’ Throw into the mix an under-performing starting quarterback in Mark Sanchez and you have all the ingredients for another season of drama for Tebow.

Sanchez is rightfully the starting quarterback for the Jets, he is young and was showing signs of being a successful franchise quarterback for ‘Gang Green’ but a terrible 2011 season has raised a lot of questions about the long-term future of Sanchez. A new three-year contract seemed to answer the multitude of these, but the arrival of the iconic Tebow caused them to resurface more quickly than Sanchez had hoped for.

Jets’ fans will be hoping that the arrival of Tebow has two equally important effects for a team who consider themselves play-off contenders. First, they hope that the increased pressure on Sanchez will bring the best out of the young man (although many have already condemned him to crumbling under the pressure), and second, that the unifying presence of Tebow will help bring peace to a tumultuous locker room.

One thing is certain; all eyes will be on Sanchez this season. Just one bad game from the quarterback and, perhaps unfairly, Jets’ fans, the media, and possibly even Sanchez’s teammates will all be calling for Tebow to start. In the case of Sanchez, it is perhaps far less enviable to be the starting quarterback, the ‘Tebow Savior’ headlines are probably already being printed in New York.

Image Courtesy of   Keith Allison

The article 2012 – The Year Of The Back-up Quarterback? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

In a span of five days, the Jets have gone from controlling their destiny for home field in the playoffs to potentially missing the playoffs all together. The Jets’ defense played great for 55 minutes on Thursday, but couldn’t stop Tebow on the final drive. Tebow capped a 95 yard drive with a 20 yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left to stun the Jets and give the Broncos the 17-13 victory.

“I like winning,” Tebow said after his third comeback in a month, “but I wish it wasn’t this stressful. Before the “drive,” the Broncos had punted on their eight previous possessions and Tebow seemed unable to do anything against the Jets defense. He then got the ball with less than six minutes and calmly engineered a 95 yard drive in which he had 57 yards on the ground.

“We played them well through the whole game, until that last play,” Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “We played them well. Tim Tebow’s legs took them to victory, ran them to victory.”

It was third and four from the Jets 20 with just over a minute left when the Broncos got a “timeout” when a fan ran onto the field and had to be chased by security. During this break the Jets made the decision to call their first all-out blitz of the night, a decision that will be talked about for weeks to come.

Tebow took the snap, read the blitz, and beat safety Eric Smith to the edge and cut back to find his way to the end zone. It was a horrible play by Smith who was supposed to set the edge, but came to far inside and couldn’t recover. ”You know he’s going to keep it in that situation. That’s what he does. You keep the ball in your playmaker’s hand,” Ryan said.

“We thought he was going to carry the ball and he didn’t disappoint us. But he ran for a touchdown. The kid’s a competitor and makes big plays with the game on the line.” Since Tim Tebow replaced Kyle Orton, the Broncos are 4-1 and have climbed back to .500 a half game behind Oakland for the lead in the AFC West.

“He’s a competitive dude,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “He’s super competitive. He never lays his sword down. He’ll fight you to the death. That’s just his nature. He’s a great young man.” Mark Sanchez heaved it up toward the end zone as time expired, but the pass was batted down dimming the hopes of the Jets to even make the playoffs.

The Jets were up 10-3 when Sanchez made a throw toward Plaxico Burress in which he followed him with his eyes the whole way, that was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Andre’ Goodman to tie the game up. Nick Folk broke that tie with a 45 yard field goal with 9:14 remaining.

The drive could’ve been over on the first play when safety Jim Leonhard had a chance to tackle Eddie Royal in the end zone for a safety, but was unable to wrap him up and Royal gained eight yards and got the drive started. Tebow impressed more with his running than his passing finishing 9 of 20 for 104 yards.

“I said before, I trust him. I trust him with everything,” teammate Von Miller said. “No matter how many interceptions he throws, no matter how many touchdowns he scores, that’s Tim Tebow and I’m going to ride with him to the end. I hope he shut up a whole bunch of critics today.”

Joe McKnight and rookie Bilal Powell had to share snaps for most of the night when Shonn Greene took a knee to the ribs and left the game. He never returned after that and with LaDanian Tomlinson being out already the Jets running back situation is very depleted. “He did it to us in college and he’s doing it here,” said teammate Robert Ayers, who went to Tennessee.

“It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be Aaron Rodgers-like. As long as we get it done, that’s all that matters.” The Broncos and Tebow look to continue their success in their race for the AFC West and the playoffs when they travel to San Diego to face division rivals the Chargers who have been reeling as of late.

The Jets return home to face the Bills in a must win for the Jets if they want to stay alive in the playoff hunt.

Image Courtesy of  https://www.facebook.com/Jets

The article Jets Blow the Game Late and Fall 17-13 to the Broncos appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

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.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/DenverBroncos

The article NFL Quarterback Shuffle appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Things are moving extremely fast in the NFL these days; in fact, sports fans haven’t been able to take in every thing that has been occurring in terms of free agency and trades.  The movement throughout the league is not surprising given the small window teams have to accomplish all of their off season requirements.

Free agency is an exciting time and so far it has been great to cover, the moves should have a big impact on other players still considering where they will take their talents next season. Also, these player movements should impact the success and failures we see during the season.

Let’s examine what has happen thus far and where the surprises lie.

Why not start with the biggest name still available—Asomugha hasn’t moved yet, but would the big name defensive back choose to return to Oakland.  He is a very loyal player but loyalty will not necessarily earn you a ring.  He is reaching a point in his career where he must make a move; the question remains though, where will he play.  Will he decide to play with another great defensive back in Revis and a potential Superbowl team in the Jets, play with another team offering the most money or will he return to Oakland? Only he knows at this point, but I know where the sports world hopes he goes.  It just makes sense to be in a jets uniform next year but will he accept that challenge.

The jets have already taken care of primary receiver Holmes and will likely not attempt to resign Braylon Edwards who had a decent year for them last season.

Other notable signings thus far include big named quarterback Donovan Mcnabb, perennial attack dummy for fans and NFL players alike.  He will take his talents to Minnesota this season and mentor their first round draft pick Christian Ponder until he is ready to take over.

Minnesota will also lose big time receiver Sidney Rice who has chosen to sign with the Seahawks.  The Seahawks are taking a chance on him given the fact he has had one productive season with the indecisive Brett Favre and he will be coming off surgery which sidelined him for most of last year.  The Seahawks have also acquired Tavarus Jackson from Minnesota after parting ways with their long tenured quarterback Matt Hasslebeck who will now be taking his veteran talents to the Titans.

The first big time talent to come of the board so to speak is Deangelo Williams, the Panther back has chosen to resign in a 5 year deal with over 20 million in guaranteed money.

The hated Patriots have struck potential gold in their trade with the Redskins in which they acquired Albert Haynesworth for a 6th round pick; once again, coach Belichick gets a possible steal that puts them back on top in the AFC East division. I don’t know how many teams were looking at the troubled defensive tackle, but looking at the potential defensive line, the AFC East along with the rest of the league have been out maneuvered up until this point.

While we already have big movements with quarterbacks, there are still moves to be made– specifically Kolb in Philadelphia and Kyle Orton in Denver.  Also, Vince Young will be released today, we have yet to hear where exactly he will pay, what role he will have on that team or even what teams have shown interested.  The young quarterback’s reputation has been damaged significantly, it remains to be seen if he will recover and get his career back on track.  Speaking of great college players, 3rd down back Reggie Bush has signed with the Dolphins with a 2 year contract worth roughly 5 million; a considerable reduction in value from his Saints days.

ESPN is now reporting that Chad OchoCinco has been dealt to the active patriots; maybe a way to combat the potential addition of Asomugha to the Jets.  It remains to be seen what happens with many more players including receivers, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. Expect many more announcements in the day’s ahead, things are just heating up as we approach the upcoming NFL season.

Image Courtesy of  Walter G Arce / Shutterstock.com

The article NFL Free Agent Frenzy: Many Big Names On The Move appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The AFC West hasn’t seen one team dominate for a significant amount of time since the days of John Elway. Those days are long gone now and the division has become significantly more competitive. Kansas City burst onto the scene last season, finally getting back to the playoffs under second year coach Todd Haley. Though they were the story of the division by far, San Diego and Oakland saw quite productive seasons, and Denver has finally figured out who will hopefully be their quarterback of the future. So whose the favorite in 2011?

Oakland Raiders: Oakland has had a solid defense over the past few years. Led by star defensive back Nnamdi Asomugha, few teams were able to torch the Raiders, allowing them to keep games close squeak out eight wins while fighting for a wildcard spot. Unfortunately Asomugha will now hit free agency and Oakland has virtually zero chance of resigning him. They will surely have a gaping hole, one which will need to be addressed immediately. They should be able to lean on Darren McFadden on the offensive end who has finally lived up to the hype he had out of college. He put up 1157 yards and seven rushing touchdowns last year in a tandem backfield with Michael Bush who had eight touchdowns himself. The throwing game hasn’t been the same since the days of Rich Gannon, but if Oakland can control time of possession and play well on the defensive end, they should be able to stay in contention. Besides, nobody wants to play them in Oakland. Those fans are flat out crazy.

Denver Broncos: I find myself at a loss about what to say here. I was never the biggest Kyle Orton fan. He never put up great stats when he was winning in Chicago, but he seemed to find a way to get it done. Someone flipped a switch when he got to Denver by making him throw for almost 7,500 yards in his two seasons as starter. The Broncos should not have won only four games last season. Underachieving doesn’t even begin to describe what they did, but maybe in a way it was a blessing. Toward the end of the year they were forced to turn to highly touted draft pick Tim Tebow. The thought probably was that if he didn’t get a chance now, he might be stuck as a backup for quite a while. He performed fairly well in his short time and proved that he could lead a team the same way he did for so many years at Florida. All the fuss about Tebow’s mechanics? Throw it all away if he can win games. If he can match the results that he had as a Gator remains to be seen, but new coach John Fox seems to have faith in him. Fox has always brought a defensive mind to his teams, and Denver should be no different. We will surely see some changes in the Broncos next season, and I’m sure much improvements on an abysmal 2010.

San Diego Chargers: Well since we’re talking about underachieving, San Diego seems appropriate. How they can be the best offensive and defensive team in the NFL and yet still end up only 9-7, and miss the playoffs at that…wow. Complete inconsistency in finishing games, this team just seemed to forget how to win. Antonio Gates had gotten out to an incredible start to 2010 but was bitten by the injury bug which surely had a gigantic impact on the win column. In fact they saw many of their receivers go down throughout the year, and were without Vincent Jackson for much of the year due to suspension, but there should be no excuse. Philip Rivers still found a way to throw for almost 5,000 yards yet again, so I’m not sure if the receivers really were the problem. There’s not really much to say about them. They don’t need to address very many issues, they don’t need to change very many schemes, they just need to go out and win the games. I wouldn’t be shocked if they had the best record in the league next season, but I also somewhat expect more of the same for them. There’s only one way to shake a reputation of choking: win.

Kansas City Chiefs: Todd Haley is inspiring. Jamaal Charles is a beast. Dewayne Bowe is a touchdown machine. Matt Cassel is…well…adequate. Why did everyone sleep on Kansas City last year? The roster was most definitely there, and now everybody knows it. Maybe that will be a disadvantage for them, having higher expectations going into this year, but I doubt it. This team grew up a lot last year, their young players, namely Charles came into their own and carried this team to the playoffs. If they can add a few pieces they should be able to meet their next goal of notching a playoff win or two. The fear for fans is that they’re one of those “one hit wonder” type of teams, and will be once again overtaken by the Chargers eventually. I don’t think this is true after watching the job that Haley was able to do in close games to get his team over the hump, but I also don’t have all that much faith in Matt Cassel. They need to prove themselves again this year to put their stamp on the division and prove 2010 wasn’t a fluke. 10 wins should be the benchmark for this squad, and hopefully a playoff victory.

The Chargers have the talent, the Chiefs have the chemistry, the Broncos have the poster boy, and the Raiders have the 150 year old owner who will surely do something to mess up the one decent season his team has had in a while. I’d like to see Kansas City win the west again because who doesn’t like an underdog? The tough thing for this division is that the AFC is so competitive all-around that it would be shocking to get two AFC West teams into the playoffs in one year. Divisional games will be dog fights, and I for one, can’t wait to see what happens in those late afternoon games this season.

JustASC / Shutterstock.com

The article Balance of Power: AFC West appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.