When your favorite team's offense looks shaky, don't create the illusion that a guy on the street or on your bench is always the answer.
All teams had a chance last offseason to sign the best possible players on the market to upgrade their starters or backups. They could have used a high draft pick to bring in competition or traded for a player if need be. In other words, last spring was a better time to make decisions about the backup quarterback spot rather than hitting a panic button now.
The Carolina Panthers learned a valuable lesson a year ago when they found out the backups on their roster couldn't get the job done and they traded for Josh McCown this year to bolster the roster and have a young player with starting experience. A year late, but better late than never.
The Titans have always placed a high value on the backup quarterback. Three years after Neil O'Donnell called it quits, the Titans signed Kerry Collins. Titans coach Jeff Fisher wants a guy with former Super Bowl experience; a quarterback who still has some gas in the tank.
Even though J.P. Losman was a first-round draft pick and a promising young starter, the Buffalo Bills still drafted Trent Edwards, who ended up beating out Losman for the starting job. Losman isn't a bad backup on the bench. A number of teams inquired about trading for Houston backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels, but the Texans knew his value and he has already had to play this season.
Here's the reality of the quarterback situation after eight weeks of action:
» 55 quarterbacks have already thrown at least one pass in a game this season.
» 47 quarterbacks have already started at least one game, and six teams have made a change at quarterback in order to give the team the best chance to win now.
» Two teams have already switched back to the guy benched for a second chance.
The 49ers, under new coach Mike Singletary, are the most recent team to change a quarterback based on performance. Singletary removed J.T. O'Sullivan and inserted Shaun Hill, who played well last year to finish up the season but was relegated to third string when the new offense was installed. O'Sullivan was never a starter before this season, so 32 sacks (one every eight pass attempts) and 17 turnovers in seven games was too much for the new coach. It's probably a good move to let Hill take his shot with the struggling team.
Now we hear grumblings in Dallas that Brad Johnson is on a short leash. Johnson may be 40 years old, but he led Dallas to a win, not a loss, over a very tough Tampa Bay team last week. It should be noted that the Buccaneers had held Jake Delhomme and the Panthers to three points two weeks ago. Tampa is the ninth-ranked defense in the NFL, and gave up only nine touchdowns to 12 interceptions coming into the Dallas game. A win is a win, and why apply pressure to Johnson now with the Giants staring him in the face?
Dallas knew what it had in Johnson last spring and that's when it had to decide if he was the answer if and when Tony Romo went down with an injury. In March and April, they had to evaluate how well Johnson could get the ball to Terrell Owens and Jason Witten, if that was important to them. I talked with Johnson the day before the Tampa Bay game, and he was relaxed and ready to play within himself. He knows what he can and can't do on a field at 40 years of age. There's nothing wrong with a solid running attack and a short passing plan until Romo returns. Too bad if Owens can't get a few deep balls. Keep in mind Johnson beat the Buccaneers, which may go a long way in the tiebreakers at the end of the season. But now he heads into the Giants game with the threat of being replaced by Brooks Bollinger?
There was no guarantee Romo was going to succed against the Giants, let alone Bollinger. While a few are attacking Johnson, keep this in mind: In last season's playoff loss to the Giants, Romo attempted 36 passes and his longest completion was 20 yards. In that playoff game, the Cowboys ran 20 times for 113 yards in the first half and the score was tied at 14. In the second half, they only ran the ball 13 times for 41 yards. Johnson will get the team in the right running play and attack the linebacker coverage zones, but the line has to block better. Two weeks ago, Johnson had completions of 34 and 36 yards, so it's not like he can't throw the ball. He's a backup quarterback with experience and limitations.
Bollinger has started one game since 2005. He is 2-8 lifetime as a starter and his career sack average is one sack every eight pass attempts. The 6-foot-1 signal caller is a career backup whose college scouting report in 2003 suggested he is a tough competitor with decent movement skills and an average arm. He has had six years to refute those claims on a football field. I know men who have coached Bollinger and they really enjoyed the experience, but none of them felt he was starter material. I'm sure Bollinger has learned plenty under Jason Garrett and could function in a game if they had to use him.
