The Football Fan Spot

1. Quarterback

If you have a bad quarterback, one who throws a lot of interceptions, you most likely are not going to make the playoffs. If you have a decent game manager, you can win but you need a hell of a support cast. A good quarterback, not only creates more yards than any other position on the field, but also opens up lanes for running backs, makes his receivers look better, and keeps his defense off of the field and rested, making them better. In fact, 18 of the 19 last Super Bowl winning quarterbacks made a Pro Bowl before winning the Super Bowl. Eli Manning is the only one to not make the Pro Bowl before winning the Super Bowl and he eventually made it the next year. There’s a reason for that.

Best in the league: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers

2. Offensive Tackle

A franchise quarterback isn’t much good if he’s on the ground every play. Not only do sacks and hits disrupt a quarterbacks rhythm, but too many over a long period of time can cause a young quarterback to develop David Carr syndrome and a veteran quarterback to develop Marc Bulger syndrome. Offensive Tackle also support the running game as well.

Best in the league: Joe Thomas, Jake Long, Jared Gaither

3. Defensive End/ Rush Linebacker

Well if hits can do things that bad to quarterbacks, it only makes sense that the guys who hit them are of great importance. It is an old and time tested football saying that in order to win you need a quarterback, to protect your quarterback, and to get to the other teams quarterback. Defensive ends are not the only players who accumulate sacks and hits and pressures, but they are the only ones whose first priority is getting to the quarterback. Rush Linebackers are essentially the same, only they line up at different spots on the field in different schemes and more often have to drop back into coverage. Nonetheless, rush linebackers normally lead their team in sacks, pressures, and hits.

Best in the league: Jared Allen, DeMarcus Ware, Dwight Freeney

4. Running Back

Well if you don’t have a franchise quarterback is the next best thing in terms of gaining yards. Franchise running backs don’t win you Super Bowls like quarterback do, but they certainly help. They can tire out the opponents defense and open up passing lanes for the quarterbacks and also catch passes and even do some blocking.

Best in the league: Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson

5. Wide Receiver

Quarterbacks can win without great wide receivers, in fact some can even argue that quarterbacks make great wide receivers, but it certainly will help any quarterback to have a speedy deep threat and a reliable possession guy at his disposal to help him guide his team. Just ask Eli Manning how he likes playing without Plaxico Burress (10-11 including playoffs since Plax shot himself in the leg).

Best in the league: Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Vincent Jackson

6. Cornerback

That being said, if you have a great #1 cornerback, he will nullify the opposing #1 wide receiver. Darrelle Revis shutdown every #1 wide receiver he faced last year. Don’t think that didn’t win them some games. If your quarterback is forced to essentially play 10 on 10 without his best receiver, he’s going to struggle.

Best in the league: Darrelle Revis, Charles Woodson, Leon Hall

7. Nose Tackle (3-4 only)

Other than rush linebacker, no front 7 position is more important to a 3-4 than nose tackle, even more than a defensive tackle to a 4-3. They don’t put up huge stats, but having a huge shield of a nose tackle than can occupy two blockers and also move around some makes everyone on the defense better.

Best in the league: Vince Wilfork, Kelly Gregg, Shaun Rogers

8. Defensive Tackle/3-4 Defensive End

Essentially the same position, only a 3-4 end lines up a little farther outside, but the job description is the same. Be a big body against the run and also get to the quarterback if you can.

Best in the league: Albert Haynesworth, Kevin Williams, Haloti Ngata

9. Middle Linebacker

Slightly more important in the 3-4, but they are the heart and soul of a defense and while they aren’t the most important, they are usually they most outspoken and the most versatile defenders on the field.

Best in the league: Patrick Willis, Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher

10. Offensive Guard

Just two offensive tackles alone isn’t going to be enough to protect your quarterback, though guards are primarily designed to get the big defensive lineman away from your running back and are not as used against the pass rush because of their size and position on the field, and for that reason they are ranked lower than offensive tackles.

Best in the league: Jahri Evans, Steve Neal, Chris Snee

The 2010 NFL Draft could be the year of the quarterbacks. If everything goes right we could see 8 quarterbacks go in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. This is not necessarily because there are any more good quarterbacks than previous years in college football, its because of the threat of the rookie pay scale in 2011. The 2010 NFL Draft could be the last time these players are free to make however much NFL teams are willing to overpay them and this could force a lot of red shirt sophomores, true juniors, and redshirt juniors out that would have normally stayed in college, not just quarterbacks, but across all positions, though it will be most noticeable at quarterback because, with at rate that rookie quarterbacks have been paid in recent years, quarterback prospects have the most to lose finically by staying. However, even though 8 quarterback prospects could go in the first round, I do not think this is that strong of a quarterback class. Let’s take a look at my basic summaries of the 8 quarterbacks who could go first round.

QB Sam Bradford- Oklahoma

            I love Bradford. Bradford, despite coming out of a spread offense and not having the strongest arm, has it. He has amazing poise, quiet leadership, great accuracy, and is very smart. He does not force throws very often and will make the safe play rather than going for it in a situation when all of his downfield targets are covered. Bradford almost certainly would have been the top quarterback off of the board last year, going #1 to Detroit, but decided to stay for his redshirt junior year. This year, because of an injury, he is slipping some, but I still love him as a quarterback prospect. He showed last week against Baylor that he can still play well after the injury. If he stays healthy the rest of the season, I think there’s no doubt he declares and he should be a top 10 pick.

QB Jimmy Clausen- Notre Dame

            Clausen has huge hype surrounding him as the Notre Dame quarterback and a Heisman contender. He’s a true junior and has one year of eligibility left after this year, but he will really be going out on top if he leaves this year and has a lot to lose, both financially, and draft slot wise. Quarterbacks in recent years, Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart, and to some extent Sam Bradford have hurt their stocks by returning to school and allowing their games to be picked apart by scouts. I like Clausen’s upside, but I don’t think he has enough sustained success. He really struggled last year. He don’t like his decision making and I think he forces too many throws.

QB Tim Tebow- Florida

            Tebow is the one guy that most scouts are down on that I actually love as a prospect. Some team could take him in the first round either as a wildcat or as a quarterback to help fill seats, but I think he is more than a fast guy with a big name. He is a football player who can play quarterback. He’s unorthodox yes, but that does not mean bad. He has more fight in him than any quarterback in college football and probably more fight in him than most NFL quarterback. He’s a playmaker, a play extender, a leader, and a winner. So what if he’s not the ideal prototypical quarterback. He’s a senior so he’s coming out this season.

QB Colt McCoy- Texas

            McCoy has no experience playing under center. He plays in a gimmick offense that has bloated his stats some. He is athletic and has an amazingly accurate arm, but he has no arm strength and will need time to learn an NFL style offense. He’s not the type of guy you can throw out there week 1 and expect him to be a star. That will turn him into Alex Smith. His best case scenario is Chad Pennington or Jeff Garcia if handled correctly, and in the right offense he could do what Kyle Orton is doing this year, but he needs to be handled properly at the next level because he has high bust potential. Seattle and Denver could be interested in him in the first round. He’s a senior so he’s coming out this season.

QB Jake Locker- Washington

            I wrote a scouting report on Locker yesterday in which I praised his speed and athleticism, but not much else. He doesn’t appear to be an NFL caliber quarterback, at least not at the moment. Contrary to what the mainstream media is telling you, he isn’t producing, not this year, not any year. He has good arm strength, but he forces throws and missed open guys far too often. He doesn’t have a lot of pocket poise and for all of the speed he has, he is only averaging 3.3 yards per carry this season. I wouldn’t draft him before the 2nd round, but someone could grab him in the first on upside. He’d be smart to return to school because he needs time to get right and capitalize on his upside, but he could come out for fear of losing money.

QB Jevan Snead- Mississippi

            Snead has turned me sour this year. He looks awful this year. He has a cannon for an arm, but he doesn’t appear to know how to use it. He has a 46.8% completion percentage and 9 picks to 9 touchdowns, including 4 picks last week against Alabama. He forces the ball into coverage far too often and has no accuracy. Kyle Boller had a very strong arm too and he reminds Snead of Kyle Boller coming out of college. Boller sucked and still sucks in the NFL. He’s a former first round pick turned Marc Bulger’s backup. Someone could still grab Snead in the first round on upside, but he may have played himself out of the first round this season. He needs another year in school, but probably will come out for more money this season, which is bad for him, because he could be the 1st overall pick in 2011 if he stays and gets things right.

QB Tony Pike- Cincinnati

            Pike is a bit of a dark horse to make the first round right now, but he has two good seasons for Cincinnati, granted they were in a spread style offense. He’s throwing his name in with the big boys this season as he’s lighting up his opponents in the Big East. I think he makes a nice backup at the next level. He’s smart and accurate on short throws, but he has no arm strength, he’s skinny and injury prone, and he’s about as mobile as a morning woody in the pocket. I’d use a 3rd round pick on him, but nothing more. I’ve seen sites mock him as high as the mid first though.

QB Ryan Mallett- Arkansas

            Mallett is the extreme example of someone who comes out this year as a result of the threat of a pay scale in 2011. He really only has 8 starts. He started 3 games in 2007 for Michigan, got out of town at the same time Rich Rodriguez came into town, redshirted last year, and has five really good starts statistically for Arkansas this year. He’s draft eligible as a redshirt sophomore this April, but he needs more time. I’m not even sure I should be making anything resembling a scouting report on him at this point because of the small sample size and the fact that I’ve never actually seen him play in a game. It didn’t strike me until this morning when I read a mock draft that he’s draft eligible this year. He has, from what I’ve heard, a very, very strong arm, but he’s also very raw. He has first round potential this year, but he needs to go back to school. I can’t imagine he’d be NFL ready after 8 starts. That’s half of what Mark Sanchez had coming out of USC and about a third of what Alex Smith had coming out of Utah.  

I’m not ranking these quarterbacks by who has the best arm, or who puts up the best stats, or who is the best fantasy quarterback, put if I had to win one game, which quarterback would I pick.

1. Tom Brady

He’ll have to show that he’s not shell shocked after that knee injury, but I believe in Brady’s confidence. He doesn’t seem like a guy who has confidence issues. He has three rings and is 3-1 in Super Bowl games. He has shown he can win with a good running back supporting him and an average running game, good receivers, average receivers, a good defense and an average defense. He can make every throw and on occasionally he almost has, going 26-28 in a 2007 playoff game against Jacksonville, with the 2 incompletion being dropped passes.

2. Ben Roethlisberger

Surprise! I don’t like Peyton Manning quite as much as Big Ben. Big Ben can do it all on the field. He feels the blitz, extends plays, fights for extra yards, fights to extend plays, and makes long throws. He has survived in Pittsburgh will almost no offensive line for 2 seasons. He’s a born leader on the field and an all-around tough guy. He has 2 Super Bowl rings to his name and always shows up for the big game.

3. Peyton Manning

There’s no denying the talent. Manning may only have one rings and an average playoff record, but he’s got one of the best arms, if not the best arm in football, and he’s his own offensive coordinator. He has some issues against 3-4 defenses, but he’s far and away better than any quarterback left on the board.

4. Kurt Warner

Another kind of surprising one. He only has 1 rings, but he’s been to the Super Bowl 3 times in his career, despite the fact that he hasn’t played than many seasons in the NFL. He’s injury prone and old, but he’s a great leader on the field and if you give him the ball, let him drop back 35-40 times per game, he can lead give your team a chance at victory. Give him a mediocre offensive line, a playoff, a mediocre running game, one good receiver, 3 average receivers and the chance to throw, either from under center out of shotgun, as much as he wants, and you’ve got a shot at victory.

5. Drew Brees

He doesn’t have a lot of playoff experience, but there’s no denying the talent. He didn’t have a ton of help last year for the injury plagued Saints, but he still kept them in every game with his arm alone. He may have choked late in a few games, and he doesn’t have very much experience in big games, but his arm is so much better than any one left that it barely matters.