Inexperience rules at QB in NFC West
Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Over the past quarter-century, veterans from the four franchises which now comprise the NFC West have combined to capture 11 most valuable player awards from various media outlets, and quarterbacks accounted for eight of those prestigious honors.
It was, in its halcyon days, a division that defined stability at the quarterback position. From Joe Montana and Jim Zorn and Neal Lomax, to Steve Young and David Krieg and Jim Everett, down to Jake Plummer and Jeff Garcia and, yeah, even Kurt Warner. There was, in a blessed stretch of consistency, a certain quarterback continuum to the division.
But that was then, as they say, and this is now.
And in a new-look NFC West, entering its third year since the realignment that parsed the NFL into its current format, the division has lost both stability and identity at its most important position. Consider this: Even the graybeard of NFC West quarterbacks, Matt Hasselbeck of Seattle, has logged fewer than 2½ seasons worth of starting assignments in his five-year NFL career.
That relative inexperience aside, Hasselbeck's 77 regular-season appearances still represent 50 percent more than the aggregate games played by the other three projected division quarterbacks. And his 38 starts are 10 more than the combined total starts posted by Marc Bulger of St. Louis, Tim Rattay of San Francisco and Arizona's Josh McCown.
Compared to his counterparts in the division, Hasselbeck is an elder statesman at just 28.
Actually, based on a 2003 performance in which he shepherded the Seahawks to a wild-card berth and garnered modest league MVP consideration, Hasselbeck is a quarterback who appears to be coming of age and Seattle officials have had preliminary talks about a long-term contract extension for him. But even Hasselbeck, following a year in which he finished as the NFL's eighth-rated passer, needs a similarly solid follow-up campaign to truly establish himself among the elite.
The rest of the quarterbacks in the division -- including Bulger, who had a roller coaster year in his first season as the full-time starter in '03, and played unevenly in the Rams' overtime playoff defeat against the Carolina Panthers -- need to establish themselves, period, in this year of NFC West flux.
"With maybe the exception of (Hasselbeck), yeah, we're all trying to solidify ourselves," acknowledged McCown, who started the final three games in 2003 and who has been anointed by new coach Dennis Green as the unchallenged starter. "We're all young guys trying to get a foothold, you know, and trying to make a name for ourselves. There are a lot of similarities in that regard."
Indeed, there are a lot of similarities in a division that almost certainly will be won by a team that plays in a precinct beginning with the letter "S," since it probably will take Green a year or two to inoculate the Cardinals to his style of play.
None of the four teams boasted a defense among the NFL's top 12 in 2003 and three will have new defensive coordinators this season. Only the Rams, with left end Leonard Little, had a player with double-digit sacks and St. Louis, which lost right end Grant Wistrom to the Seahawks in free agency, could now be without its top pass rusher because of a DUI charge. All of the NFC West teams have young, emerging receivers, and the Cardinals have the league's offensive rookie of the year (Anquan Boldin) from 2003. While three of the teams rated statistically among the NFL's best offenses in 2003, Arizona was 27th.
Yep, each of the NFC West teams have shortcomings and, while Seattle has arguably done the most in the offseason to spackle its holes, the Seahawks remain suspect inside on defense, where they will replace both tackles and their middle linebacker. For the 49ers, this season represents Year One of a two-year blueprint directed at making the team salary cap healthy. The window of opportunity for the Rams is sliding perilously downward. The Cardinals made a savvy move in hiring Green, only the second sideline boss for the franchise in the past three decades with prior NFL head coach experience, but he will have to be a miracle worker to quickly create an oasis in the Arizona desert.
And so, while the primary focus for 2004 figures to be on the battle between the Rams and the Seahawks for the division crown, there will be considerable scrutiny as well of the NFC West's young quarterbacks. Remarkable is that none will be challenged for the starting job with their respective clubs.
Hasselbeck, of course, certainly cemented his status in '03, the first campaign in which he started all 16 contests. There were times, particularly in the second half of the year, when he was borderline brilliant. And until his monumental gaffe in the overtime playoff loss at Green Bay, when he threw a "hot" route right into the hands of Packers cornerback Al Harris, he demonstrated estimable grit and playmaking skills.
"But after (Hasselbeck)," allowed Tim Rattay of San Francisco, whose surgery to repair a minicamp groin injury could sideline him for the regular-season opener, "we're all pretty much under the gun. We all have something to prove, you know?"
Even with his new, four-year, $19 million contract, and the $9 million signing bonus that accompanied it, Bulger has to get over the Rams' early playoff exit, and the perception coach Mike Martz didn't trust him in the final seconds of regulation in that contest. But compared to Rattay and McCown, with a half-dozen starts between them, Bulger is a proven commodity. Rattay won two of three starts in '03, and McCown engineered the Cardinals' breathtaking last-play victory in the season finale, a win that knocked the Minnesota Vikings out of the playoffs.
To his credit, Green, who went to the playoffs eight times in Minnesota, and with seven different quarterbacks, didn't push the panic button when he surveyed the quarterback depth chart he inherited in his new gig. In fact, he released veteran Jeff Blake, essentially to clear the way for the strong-armed McCown, who is rawer than Steak Tartar, to move to the top of the depth chart. Beyond that, Green has ignored suggestions that he sign one of the veteran quarterbacks still looking for work.
"I think as the players see Josh rise up, they (know) they have to do the exact same thing," Green explained. "He's not a franchise player. He's not a bonus baby No. 1 pick. He's a guy who was a backup last year and who is getting his opportunity under a new coaching staff, and all the other players can get that same opportunity. So I think they need to look at him as an example of what can be right about their own particular careers."
For his part, McCown, a former third-round pick who will be surrounded by one of the NFL's best young receiving corps, understands all eyes are on him.
"It's going to be," he allowed, "a year under the microscope."
If it's any consolation, though, he's going to have plenty of company on the lab slide that the NFC West has become.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Over the past quarter-century, veterans from the four franchises which now comprise the NFC West have combined to capture 11 most valuable player awards from various media outlets, and quarterbacks accounted for eight of those prestigious honors.
It was, in its halcyon days, a division that defined stability at the quarterback position. From Joe Montana and Jim Zorn and Neal Lomax, to Steve Young and David Krieg and Jim Everett, down to Jake Plummer and Jeff Garcia and, yeah, even Kurt Warner. There was, in a blessed stretch of consistency, a certain quarterback continuum to the division.
But that was then, as they say, and this is now.
And in a new-look NFC West, entering its third year since the realignment that parsed the NFL into its current format, the division has lost both stability and identity at its most important position. Consider this: Even the graybeard of NFC West quarterbacks, Matt Hasselbeck of Seattle, has logged fewer than 2½ seasons worth of starting assignments in his five-year NFL career.
That relative inexperience aside, Hasselbeck's 77 regular-season appearances still represent 50 percent more than the aggregate games played by the other three projected division quarterbacks. And his 38 starts are 10 more than the combined total starts posted by Marc Bulger of St. Louis, Tim Rattay of San Francisco and Arizona's Josh McCown.
Compared to his counterparts in the division, Hasselbeck is an elder statesman at just 28.
Actually, based on a 2003 performance in which he shepherded the Seahawks to a wild-card berth and garnered modest league MVP consideration, Hasselbeck is a quarterback who appears to be coming of age and Seattle officials have had preliminary talks about a long-term contract extension for him. But even Hasselbeck, following a year in which he finished as the NFL's eighth-rated passer, needs a similarly solid follow-up campaign to truly establish himself among the elite.
The rest of the quarterbacks in the division -- including Bulger, who had a roller coaster year in his first season as the full-time starter in '03, and played unevenly in the Rams' overtime playoff defeat against the Carolina Panthers -- need to establish themselves, period, in this year of NFC West flux.
"With maybe the exception of (Hasselbeck), yeah, we're all trying to solidify ourselves," acknowledged McCown, who started the final three games in 2003 and who has been anointed by new coach Dennis Green as the unchallenged starter. "We're all young guys trying to get a foothold, you know, and trying to make a name for ourselves. There are a lot of similarities in that regard."
Indeed, there are a lot of similarities in a division that almost certainly will be won by a team that plays in a precinct beginning with the letter "S," since it probably will take Green a year or two to inoculate the Cardinals to his style of play.
None of the four teams boasted a defense among the NFL's top 12 in 2003 and three will have new defensive coordinators this season. Only the Rams, with left end Leonard Little, had a player with double-digit sacks and St. Louis, which lost right end Grant Wistrom to the Seahawks in free agency, could now be without its top pass rusher because of a DUI charge. All of the NFC West teams have young, emerging receivers, and the Cardinals have the league's offensive rookie of the year (Anquan Boldin) from 2003. While three of the teams rated statistically among the NFL's best offenses in 2003, Arizona was 27th.
Yep, each of the NFC West teams have shortcomings and, while Seattle has arguably done the most in the offseason to spackle its holes, the Seahawks remain suspect inside on defense, where they will replace both tackles and their middle linebacker. For the 49ers, this season represents Year One of a two-year blueprint directed at making the team salary cap healthy. The window of opportunity for the Rams is sliding perilously downward. The Cardinals made a savvy move in hiring Green, only the second sideline boss for the franchise in the past three decades with prior NFL head coach experience, but he will have to be a miracle worker to quickly create an oasis in the Arizona desert.
And so, while the primary focus for 2004 figures to be on the battle between the Rams and the Seahawks for the division crown, there will be considerable scrutiny as well of the NFC West's young quarterbacks. Remarkable is that none will be challenged for the starting job with their respective clubs.
Hasselbeck, of course, certainly cemented his status in '03, the first campaign in which he started all 16 contests. There were times, particularly in the second half of the year, when he was borderline brilliant. And until his monumental gaffe in the overtime playoff loss at Green Bay, when he threw a "hot" route right into the hands of Packers cornerback Al Harris, he demonstrated estimable grit and playmaking skills.
"But after (Hasselbeck)," allowed Tim Rattay of San Francisco, whose surgery to repair a minicamp groin injury could sideline him for the regular-season opener, "we're all pretty much under the gun. We all have something to prove, you know?"
Even with his new, four-year, $19 million contract, and the $9 million signing bonus that accompanied it, Bulger has to get over the Rams' early playoff exit, and the perception coach Mike Martz didn't trust him in the final seconds of regulation in that contest. But compared to Rattay and McCown, with a half-dozen starts between them, Bulger is a proven commodity. Rattay won two of three starts in '03, and McCown engineered the Cardinals' breathtaking last-play victory in the season finale, a win that knocked the Minnesota Vikings out of the playoffs.
To his credit, Green, who went to the playoffs eight times in Minnesota, and with seven different quarterbacks, didn't push the panic button when he surveyed the quarterback depth chart he inherited in his new gig. In fact, he released veteran Jeff Blake, essentially to clear the way for the strong-armed McCown, who is rawer than Steak Tartar, to move to the top of the depth chart. Beyond that, Green has ignored suggestions that he sign one of the veteran quarterbacks still looking for work.
"I think as the players see Josh rise up, they (know) they have to do the exact same thing," Green explained. "He's not a franchise player. He's not a bonus baby No. 1 pick. He's a guy who was a backup last year and who is getting his opportunity under a new coaching staff, and all the other players can get that same opportunity. So I think they need to look at him as an example of what can be right about their own particular careers."
For his part, McCown, a former third-round pick who will be surrounded by one of the NFL's best young receiving corps, understands all eyes are on him.
"It's going to be," he allowed, "a year under the microscope."
If it's any consolation, though, he's going to have plenty of company on the lab slide that the NFC West has become.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
