LET THE DEBATE BEGIN

In watching college quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Vince Young shred up opposing defenses during this past college football season it is easy to believe they will both have long professional careers. I would like to introduce these believers to Jason White. He was the Heisman Trophy winner and star of the Oklahoma Sooners until bad knees were cited as the reason for his "retirement" after the Chiefs signed him as an undrafted free agent and cut him in training camp. Not surviving "The Turk" as a young quarterback on Kansas City's roster is comparable to being fired for your inability to sell breath mints at the Garlic Festival.

TORETTA TO GALLOWAY FOR THE TOUCHDOWN!

Another example of a Heisman winning quarterback who faded into oblivion would be Gino Toretta of Miami, FL who after taking home the 1992 hardware threw a whopping 16 passes for the Seattle Seahawks during his entire term as a paid NFL employee. At least his lone career touchdown pass was a sweet one. It went 32 yards to Joey Galloway to give his team a lead they would never relinquish during a 28-21 win at Oakland. The year was 1996 and I happened to be at the meaningless game to end the season between two teams that would finish 7-9. If this helps hammer across the point even more, the Raiders used David Klingler and Billy Joe Hobert that day. Still, it is hard to decide who the worst quarterback on the field was. Perhaps some think it was Stan Gelbaugh, who threw two incomplete passes for Seattle. However, I do hear he played in a World Bowl, whatever that is.

INVASION OF THE TEDHEADS

This might inspire the question of what characteristics, other than alleged injuries, would prevent successful collegiate quarterbacks from making a successful transition into the NFL. The concept that working in the system of a coaching guru has been brought up as one of the culprits. Certainly those watching the mixed results of current California Berkeley head coach Jeff Tedford disciples will buy into that argument. The play of Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, David Carr, Trent Dilfer, Kyle Boller and Aaron Rodgers has certainly been less than consistent. Smith has been run out of the league. Harrington appears ready to be cut by Detroit. Carr might be on his last legs in Houston. Dilfer won a Super Bowl ring and is by far the most successful of the group. Boller is surging after a rocky start. Rodgers is still an open case for debate.

CAN I BOX THIS UP TO GO?

Statistics can only take the argument so far. The Tedford disciples, Toretta and White give us a sampling of eight quarterbacks who were indisputably successful in college yet had very different results on the professional level. The question that needs to be asked is what are the categories that quarterbacks fit into? Everyone refers to some as scramblers, gunslingers, losers and winners among others. Perhaps it is time to be a little more specific and scientific about this subject.   

THREE FLIES UP ANYONE?

While sitting at a Raider game earlier this season this category was born in my mind. I asked the fan sitting behind me if Kerry Collins was engaging in a game of "three flies up" or really trying to complete a pass down the field to Randy Moss. His erratic throws eventually led to his star receiver being sandwiched between two San Diego Charger defenders and suffering multiple injuries. The emergence of playmaking receivers with the ability to catch inaccurate passes thrown up for grabs has probably added more quarterbacks to this category. In college at Oklahoma, Jason White had Clayton, Bradley and Jones to make those receptions. All of them were taken on the first day of the NFL draft while he went the weekend without his name being called. Kerry Collins was possibly a one game benching away from throwing for 4,000 yards this season. Only five quarterbacks had more passing yards in 2005 than his average of 250.6 per game. Fans have been calling for his head since just after Halloween which is certainly an indication that yardage is for fantasy football players, not winning quarterbacks.

PLEASE HAMMER, DON'T HURT 'EM

Not many realize that MC Hammer was once the batboy for the Oakland Athletics and spy for their owner, but I digress. The point of this category is to highlight the unheralded player who succeeds in much the same way that an offensive lineman does. Announcers often point out that the only time you hear about a blocker is when he fails to do his job by being flagged for holding or a false start. It is the same for a quality quarterback who keeps his football team in the game by avoiding the crucial mistake. The quarterback rating system is great for geeks with computers who can figure out the rationale behind it. People enjoy pointing out things like Brett Favre having a rating of 70.9 while rookie Kyle Orton had a 59.7 mark. What I say now might be blasphemy in the state of Wisconsin, but this season Orton was the better quarterback. The bottom line at the position is winning football games, and another way to do that is by not losing them. Orton threw only 368 passes during 13 full games and part of two others. Favre led the NFL with 607 chucks of the pigskin. Using math helps to figure out which quarterback really had more interceptions. Favre had 4.78% of his throws intercepted while Orton had only 3.53% fall into enemy hands. Any way it is cut up, Orton did a better job of protecting the football by finishing with exactly half (18) of the turnovers that Favre logged when you include lost fumbles. Is it any surprise then that the Bears won the division at 11-5 while the Packers went 4-12?

JUST DON'T LOSE BEN

Perhaps because of surrounding talent Roethlisberger's 13-0 regular season record as a rookie starter was more impressive than Orton pulling Chicago to a division title to some. Big Ben threw 21.15 passes per start, which factored into an entire season would be 338 attempts. Saying nothing of average attempts, in 2005 there were 21 quarterbacks who threw the ball more than 338 times and in 2004 there were 24. In other words based on a two year sampling 70% of the NFL counts on a guy to throw the ball and win a game more than Bill Cowher has in Pittsburgh. Still, his team went 26-6 in the regular season which ties them with Peyton Manning's Colts for tops in the NFL.

RUN YOURSELF RAGGED

Hopefully I was not the only one who ever played this game as a kid. Advertising agencies are in love with Michael Vick and he is certainly an exciting player. Apparently the rushing quarterback fad skipped the 2005 season though. Vick led the NFL with 597 rushing yards which was more than the next two guys combined. They were Houston's David Carr (308) and New Orleans' Aaron Brooks (281). For their efforts all three of them will be watching the playoffs on television and only Vick has job security. Surprisingly, two guys who played part time were next on the list with Jacksonville's David Garrard (172) and Buffalo's J.P. Losman (154). Perhaps this pair is the next generation of scrambling quarterback in the NFL, but first both will have to get into a position to take control of their team. Just three of the 14 quarterbacks who ran for at least 100 yards are entrenched starters on playoff teams. Jake Plummer (151) Matt Hasselbeck (124) and Mark Brunell (111) had a cumulative average of 3.11 yards per rushing attempt. That figure will not scare an opposing defensive coordinator or get any of them shoe endorsements. However, this trio averaged a very respectable 24.3 sacks taken while averaging 453 pass attempts. In fact, they had almost identical totals in that last category with 449 (Hasselbeck) 454 (Brunell) and 456 (Plummer). Clearly the evidence points to being wise about avoiding the loss of yardage associated with being sacked. It is worth noting that Vick was taken down 33 times and of course sack test dummy Carr was the victim of 68 opposing defenders. Sometimes pocket presence can be more effective than speed and running for yardage.

STAY ON TARGET

If I make another Star Wars reference I might be labeled a nerd, but I am willing to take that chance. The key here is that completing a high percentage of passes should lead to a modicum of success. It is certainly a good way to boost your quarterback rating because by its very nature the pass is helping your team advance the ball down the field and not being intercepted by the other team. The top 10 quarterbacks all completed at least 62.6% of their passes. Only half of those players were regulars who started every game, and four of those five will be participating in the playoffs. The exception is San Diego's Drew Brees who probably should not be held responsible for his team missing out. Of the others, Minnesota's Brad Johnson led his team on a renaissance after their early season miseries. Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger is in the playoffs. Arizona's Kurt Warner, St. Louis' Marc Bulger and Buffalo's Kelly Holcomb probably would not have led their teams to post-season appearances even had they remained healthy all season. However, by my count that still leaves 70% of these precision passers having a very positive impact on their team's success.

THE ENVELOPE PLEASE

Putting a name to each category, there are Bombers, Scramblers, Runners, Precision Passer and Winners. Boxing up all of the NFL quarterbacks and trying to fit them into one place is very difficult. Where is the pure pocket passer? Good question. This might be a dying way to categorize a player. Peyton Manning is often thrown there, yet his younger brother Eli has shown more elusiveness on his path to success. This leads us to the conclusion that a truly successful quarterback must be more than one of the above. Clearly Tom Brady is proven in probably every category. That might explain the rings on his hand.

WHO'S REALLY #1?

Where does this leave Matt Leinart and Vince Young? Both performed at a high level in a Rose Bowl national championship game that will be talked about for generations. Leinart was responsible for advancing the football 350 yards the 43 times he was directly responsible for it, or 8.14 per play. One might be surprised to find out that Young's average was 7.92 per play. He did score 3 impressive touchdowns and pile up a lot of yards, but this is a team game after all. His team possibly won as a result of the circumstance that the opposing coach called an unsuccessful running play, giving him the opportunity to wind up on the winning side. No one will ever know if Leinart might have completed a slant pass to Jarrett or screen to Bush, preserving a 38-33 USC victory if given the chance. Therefore, this game was a relative push. Leinart probably fits into the Bomber, Precision Passer and Winner categories. Young is a Bomber, Scrambler, Runner and Winner. When the NFL competition rolls around, this could all change.

CHIME IN ANY TIME

This is where you make your opinion known. It might take forever to identify every current starter, which is where you come in on the comment section. There are certainly great quarterbacks who have not been mentioned in this piece, past and present. Feel free to offer your thoughts.