Five Quarterback battles - and who will win them

With Mini-Camp over, the next time we see the NFL players at organised team activities will be in August, as they enter Training camp. It's also where many teams will decide who wins battles on the depth chart, and there is little controversy as enthralling as a good ol' Quarterback battle.

Here are five teams with questions under centre, and our thoughts on who will win in the end. We deliberately left Miami out because we went into that in some depth in the team preview. On with the show!

San Francisco

The contenders: Alex Smith, Shaun Hill, J.T. O'Sullivan

The most wide-open battle ironically occurs in a city that has a tradition of consistency at the position over the last 30 years. From Montana, to Young, and even to Garcia, there has rarely been a question mark coming into Training Camp. In true bus fashion, they've made up for it by having two at the same time.

Alex Smith looks like the obvious favourite to the casual observer. His 'first-overall' status has yet to wear off completely, and the financial commitment that the 49ers have made in him is not inconsiderable. With this in mind, it is a gauge of how far Smith's stock has dropped that he faces a competition with a journeyman backup and a young QB who has yet to start an NFL game.

Shaun Hill held all of the momentum coming off the end of last season. Two wins in the final two games in place of the decrepit Trent Dilfer emphasised the poor play at the position by both previous incumbents. Unfortunately for Hill, that momentum has faltered since the hiring of Mike Martz as Offensive Co-ordinator for the coming season. Martz favours the big arm of Hill, and has worked with O'Sullivan in Detroit last season. From the noises that Martz and Nolan have made, the competition is still open, but it is Smith's to lose.

Who will win?

More than likely, Smith. He is coming off a shoulder injury that hampered his progress last season, and he arguably showed that he is capable of getting the job done during 2006 under Norv Turner.

Chicago

The contenders: Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton

Bears coach Lovie Smith must wonder how things have got back to this stage. In 2005, Kyle Orton led Chicago to 10 victories, before being replaced at half-time by Grossman, who himself inspired the week 15 comeback against Atlanta. Grossman was then named starter, and consequently took the team to the Superbowl in 2006, falling to Indianapolis on the biggest stage.

Criticisms of Grossman's error-prone 'boom or bust' style continued to dog Smith, and after an average start to 2007, backup Brian Griese took over. Griese proved that he had very little to offer in either the short or long term, and thus the Franchise used it's third QB of the season for the last three games of '07, as Orton returned, and finished the season with two victories.

This battle could go either way. Counting in Grossman's favour are both his status as a high draft pick, and that Smith seems enamoured with his potentially brilliant skills. You kind of get the impression that if it wasn't for the constant speculation in the media, Smith would have persevered longer with Grossman.

Who will win?

Grossman. Put simply, he still fascinates the coaches in Chicago. He really is on his last chance as a starter, but his potential upside far outweighs that of Orton, who has proved to be a capable backup. Realistically though, it is very concievable that both will start at some point through 2008.

Arizona

The contenders: Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner

Ironically, heading into the 2007 season, there was very little question about this battle being won by Leinart. Thanks to a combination of injury, poor off-field decision making, and Warner's strong play in place of him, the former first-rounder finds himself under pressure. The ageing Warner proved that he is still effective, throwing an impressive 27 TD's and almost 3,500yds, and this has in turn put coach Ken Whisenhunt on the spot. Does he go with the short term option - Warner - and try to win a championship at the expense of his Franchise quarterback's progression? Or does he give Leinart the reigns, and hope that his play justifies keeping Warner out of the equation.

Who will win?

It's hard to imagine Leinart losing the job completely, but it's also impossible to discount some kind of time-share arrangement that we saw before Leinart went down last year. The latter would keep neither man happy, but would also allow Whisenhunt the option of putting Warner in more liberally than if he actually committed to Leinart. Remember that Arizona is entering a small window with Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Edgerrin James in the same lineup.

However, we'd hazard a guess that Leinart will start, if only because annoying Warner has far less repercussions down the road for the franchise.

Baltimore

The contenders: Kyle Boller, Joe Flacco and Troy Smith

While there can be no doubt about Flacco's place as the Raven's long term starter, the question of who will open in week one could be intriguing. Boller, let us not forget, was in a similiar situation when he was drafted by Baltimore in 2003. In fact, it could be argued that as a first rounder, he has never been given the chance that he may have expected. Rarely has he had the confidence of the coaching staff through his time with the team, and the signing of Steve McNair in 2006 must have been a bitter blow. Still, the team have not quite given up on Boller, and since McNair's retirement he has another shot at trying to convince another team that he can start in the NFL.

The wild card is Troy Smith, who - despite winning the Heisman trophy in 2006 - was drafted in the fifth round last season. Smith saw some time last year as the Ravens season ended, but it is debateable whether losing to Miami can be considered something you want on a C.V.

Who will win?

As we say, it's clear that Flacco is the long term starter. Just for the record though, Boller was drafted with the 19th pick in 2003, and Flacco was pick 18. There has been positive noises from the coaches regarding the possibility of Flacco starting immediately, but despite his physical gifts, it is a huge risk, and one that did not come off with Boller. Smith would be considered if the team decide that they can still get a return on Boller via a trade, but this is unlikely.

If we had to pick one now (and starting this article means we have little choice), we'd pick Boller, but the calls for Flacco will start roughly 4mins into the first drive of the regular season.

New York Jets

The contenders: Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens

We know, we already covered this, but it is definately worth re-visiting, as this is probably the most even matchup we will see this August. Chad Pennington is the most accurate Quarterback in NFL history, a fact that really doesn't tell the whole story. Arguably one of the most talented players of his draft class, Pennington has suffered through injuries and now faces the most difficult challenge to his tenure in New York. Indeed, he was replaced for a good portion of the 2007 season by Clemens, who showed little with the opportunity he had.

The Jets are the most talked about franchise in this situation, inevitably, after their pre-season spending spree. Whoever does win will inherit a much better Offensive line to protect them, anchored by the $40m man, Alan Faneca, at Left Guard. Pennington certainly deserves the shot, when you consider the relatively poor O-lines he has played behind over the first 6 years of his career, but Clemens has an unknown quantity that Eric Mangini may be tempted by.

Who will win?

This one will probably go down to the wire. Mangini himself does not seem to have much conviction in either man, and it will be interesting to watch both players' stock fluctuate over the course of the pre-season. Pennington probably edges it, in our opinion, purely because of the clear desire to win now, as opposed to down the line.

That's all for Quarterbacks - we'll have the other key positional battles over the next few days.

New York Jets: Season Preview 2008

The New York Jets

The past few seasons have not been kind to the Jets; despite the continued failings of the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins, the emergence of a New England Patriots dynasty within the NFL (and more significantly to the Jets, the AFC East) has done little to cheer a franchise whose last (and only) SB visit was in 1968.

The hiring of Eric Mangini - a former Patriots employee - as Head Coach in 2006 resulted in almost immediate success, however a 10-6 regular season record only led to a 37-16 Wild Card playoff defeat to 'you know who'. Was it possible that fans of the Jets could get any more irked by the Patriots in 2007? It turned out it was, as after the Week One 38-14 loss to "you know who" the Spygate soap opera debuted.

The Coach

Entering his 3rd season, The Mangenius might start to see questions about his role (if not his nickname) within the franchise raised should the Jets succumb to another 4-12 season. Upstairs Mike Tannenbaum will be entering his 3rd season as General Manager and will be adding Executive Vice President to his ever-growing list of responsibilities (he will also be sitting on the newly formed NFL GM committee). Kevin O'Dea has been named Special Teams Coordinator after the excellent Mike Westhoff was forced to step down from the role due to medical reasons. Bill Callahan joins as Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach while, to the surprise of some, Bob Sutton remains as Defensive Coordinator.

2007 season

2007 was a season to largely forget for the Jets. A lackluster running game (19th in rushing yards a game, tied 22nd in yards per carry), a defence who couldn't stop the run (29th in Yards allowed per game), and the lingering question of if Clemens really is the Jets' QB of the future. On the plus side the 4-12 record did result in the 6th overall pick in the draft (Vernon Gholston), Cotchery had another productive season while the standout rookie season of David Harris should minimise the effect of the departure of Jonathan Vilma in the off-season.

Draft class of 2008

Round 1 - Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State
Round 1 - Dustin Keller, TE, Purdue
Round 4 - Dwight Lowery, CB, San Jose State
Round 5 - Erik Ainge, QB, Tennessee
Round 6 - Marcus Henry, WR, Kansas
Round 7 - Nate Garner, OT, Arkansas

New York's draft effectively started on February 29th when they traded away their 3rd and 5th round picks for monster DT/NT Kris Jenkins.

Draft day picks Gholston and Lowery add further dimensions to what was a poor 2007 defence and Keller should have a chance to start at TE. The offensive line wasn't addressed till the 7th round, but that was partly due to the 2008 free agent acquisitions of Alan Faneca and Damien Woody.

Strong side

With the talent available to Mangini the 2008 season shouldn't be a repeat of 2007. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, Faneca and Woody should provide a more than adequate offensive line. The 3-4 defence received significant upgrades in Gholston and Jenkins, the play of David Harris after Vilma suffered a season ending injury in week 7 was extremely encouraging and Kerry Rhodes is becoming one of the best safeties in the league - This team, on paper, isn't a 4-12 team.

Weak side

Despite a strong off-season there is still one position above all in which doubts may remain - Quarterback. Through a combination of injuries and the rest of the league figuring out how to deal with his game, James Chadwick Pennington has never managed to repeat his 2002 season. One of the brightest young QBs in 2002 was one of the highest paid backup QBs for much of the second half of the 2007 season. Kellen Clemens, the 2nd round pick in 2006, didn't do much to impress when he played and while it was only his first season (and only half a season at that) as starter 2008 might be the last chance either QB gets with the Jets.

On the TE front Chris Baker is aggrieved at his contract situation and has asked to be traded. Bubba Franks came off an injury plagued season at Green Bay and at 30 years old might only see limited action in a Jets uniform. A lot may be expected of Keller in his rookie year.

Major transactions

In:
TE Bubba Franks
OG Alan Faneca
OG Damien Woody
DT Kris Jenkins
LB Calvin Pace

Out:
WR Justin McCareins
LB Jonathan Vilma
DT Dewayne Robertson

2008 Schedule

2 Thu, Aug 7th, 2008 at Cleveland 07:30 PM Cleveland Browns Stadium
3 Sat, Aug 16th, 2008 Washington 07:00 PM Meadowlands
4 Sat, Aug 23rd, 2008 NY Giants 07:00 PM Meadowlands
5 Thu, Aug 28th, 2008 at Philadelphia 06:30 PM Lincoln Financial Field

1 Sun, Sep 7th, 2008 at Miami 01:00 PM Dolphin Stadium
2 Sun, Sep 14th, 2008 New England 04:15 PM Meadowlands
3 Mon, Sep 22nd, 2008 at San Diego 08:30 PM Qualcomm Stadium
4 Sun, Sep 28th, 2008 Arizona 01:00 PM Meadowlands
5 Bye
6 Sun, Oct 12th, 2008 Cincinnati 01:00 PM Meadowlands
7 Sun, Oct 19th, 2008 at Oakland 04:15 PM McAfee Coliseum
8 Sun, Oct 26th, 2008 Kansas City 01:00 PM Meadowlands
9 Sun, Nov 2nd, 2008 at Buffalo 01:00 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium
10 Sun, Nov 9th, 2008 St. Louis 01:00 PM Meadowlands
11 Thu, Nov 13th, 2008 at New England 08:15 PM Gillette Stadium
12 Sun, Nov 23rd, 2008 at Tennessee 01:00 PM LP Field
13 Sun, Nov 30th, 2008 Denver 01:00 PM Meadowlands
14 Sun, Dec 7th, 2008 at San Francisco 04:05 PM Monster Park
15 Sun, Dec 14th, 2008 Buffalo 01:00 PM Meadowlands
16 Sun, Dec 21st, 2008 at Seattle 04:05 PM Qwest Field
17 Sun, Dec 28th, 2008 Miami 01:00 PM Meadowlands

Fan view

Jets fan Iain Bartholomew's (rather lengthy!) view on why the 2008 season is “Kellen or Bust”.

The state of the Jets is, to put it simply, unknown. There are so many things that should work, but if they all do work it will be remarkable. Adding two new pieces to the offensive line ought to shore up the unit and allow whichever QB starts the time to be effective and opening up holes for the running game. In theory the offense should be above average, no matter who the QB is. Kellen Clemens, by the way, should be the QB. We know what we have in Chad Pennington and what we have is a great guy who will never be an elite QB in the NFL. In Clemens there is a chance that he flames out. Big deal - At least then we know he’s not a QB.As a fan I want to be excited by the offense and Clemens is the QB with the potential to be explosive (as opposed to Chad whose shoulder has the potential to explode).

For what it’s worth, I believe that Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum are on the right track here. They have a clear plan and are executing it. They clearly misjudged matters last year and failed to shore up the offensive and defensive lines. They clearly don’t know whether Kellen Clemens is the QB he was drafted to be, else Chad Pennington would no longer be on the roster.

Jets fans do appear to be somewhat split between those who have seen too much to retain any real sense of optimism and those who believe we’re going in the right direction. For me, this seems to be a win-now team without a win-now QB. If neither Chad nor Kellen can step up and take the job then we’re in a lot of trouble. By the time a replacement is groomed or integrated it will be too late for the likes of Faneca, Woody, Barton, Jones, Ellis, Jenkins and Coles. That’s a lot of key elements to replace. That’s also why it has to be Kellen or bust in 2008.

Wide-Right's view

2008 could go either way for the Jets. A repeat of 2006 (10-6 and a Wild Card playoff appearance) is not totally out of the question, but then neither is a 5-11 season.

A lot will depend on the form of Clemens and/or Pennington and how well rookies (most notably Gholston) quickly adapt to life within the NFL. While New England aren’t going to implode any time soon, the fortunes of Buffalo and Miami will be a big factor in the Jets season.

Prediction for 2008

The Jets won’t finish first in the AFC East, nor in all likelihood will they finish last,a fairly average 8-8 season may be on the cards. A week 1 matchup at Miami may set the tone for the whole season and a surprise week two win against NE could do wonders for the whole season. A 0-2 record however heading into week 3 could be a sign of a long season to come.

Mangini survives the 2008 season, but the fortunes of 2009 offer no less uncertainty...

Useful links for Jets fans

Official site
Depth chart
TheGangGreen - fansite