NFL front offices are proceeding as if the season will start on time. But try selling season tickets when your team has no NFL-caliber starting quarterback.With the next hearing in the labor dispute set for June 3, free agents remain in limbo. A bunch of teams, especially those that did not draft a quarterback last month, are growing increasingly anxious about their QB situation.
Here are the Top 5 teams with the ugliest QB situations, along with their odds to win the Super Bowl in 2012, and how they could be prettied up quickly.
ARIZONA CARDINALS (+6,500)
John Skelton, the big kid from Fordham, sits atop the depth chart. Scary thought.
Skelton (6-5, 258) completed 47.6 percent of his throws in four starts last year following the Cardinals’ failed experiments with Derek Anderson and Max Hall. Skelton even got pulled for Richard Bartel, a Tarleton State product, in the season finale.
"After you go 5-11, I'm not comfortable with anybody we had playing that position," said coach Ken Whisenhunt, whose team nevertheless did not draft a replacement.
Anderson likely will be released, Hall appears headed for the practice squad, and the Cardinals will go all out for Kevin Kolb. Philly must deal Kolb because his contract expires after the season, and the Eagles will demand at least a first-round pick.
Arizona also is reportedly interested in Marc Bulger as Kolb's veteran backup. If Skelton and Bartel were battling for third string instead of No. 1, Whisenhunt would feel a lot more comfortable.
MIAMI DOLPHINS (+4,000)
The Dolphins also did not draft a QB, leaving them with inconsistent Chad Henne and Tyler Thigpen. Henne threw just eight percent of his passes 20 or more yards in the air, according to Pro Football Focus. When he did throw long, he was 10-of-40, which ranked 29th of 31 qualifying QBs.
Normally, cautious QBs don't make a lot of mistakes. But Henne has managed to be both conservative and error-prone, tossing 33 interceptions against 27 TDs in his career.
After going 7-9 overall and 1-7 at home, this team needs a QB change to excite the fan base. Kolb would flourish with Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess. Kyle Orton is in a contract year; a reunion with Marshall could not hurt this passing attack. And Vince Young, 30-17 as a starter, also has been mentioned.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (+3,200)
The Vikings are the only team on this list that drafted a QB, but their selection of Christian Ponder at No. 12 overall was highly questionable. Ponder is not a quick decision-maker. He is injury-prone. And while he looks great in practices and against inferior opponents, he hasn't had great success in big games. Remember his 113-yard, two-interception clunker in Florida State's loss at Oklahoma?
ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer called the Vikings' pick "a major, major whiff" and this time I agree with him.
Donovan McNabb, to be released by Washington, might be a good fit. Orton is another possibility. Backup Joe Webb clearly isn't ready.
Coach Leslie Frazier said recently he'll look to add a veteran QB to compete with Ponder. Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and the rest of the Vikings can only hope the acquisition goes through.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (+8,500)
Charlie Whitehurst, the QB whose look reminds many of Jesus, is no savior. He averaged a measly 5.1 yards per attempt in six games last season, with two TDs and three INTs. The question isn't whether Whitehurst is a starter but whether he can be a solid No. 2.
The Seahawks have no other QBs under contract; they're sure to be aggressive whenever free agency starts.
Despite coach Pete Carroll’s comment that Whitehurst "is going to throw his hat in the ring and try to be the starting quarterback here," that's a far cry from saying the team believes Whitehurst is a starter.
Speculation is mounting that Carroll will trade for his former USC signal-caller, Cincinnati's disgruntled Carson Palmer, or pursue Kolb. The Seahawks also could re-sign the man who's led them for a decade, 35-year-old free agent Matt Hasselbeck.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS (+5,200)
Hopefully Mike Shananan was joking. Or playing it coy.
The Redskins coach suggested he'd be fine with John Beck as his starting quarterback, saying, "I think the world of him." Beck is almost 30 and hasn't started a game since 2007. In those four starts as a Dolphins rookie, the BYU grad was overmatched. He averaged 5.2 yards per attempt, with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Beck is the only QB on Washington's roster besides Donovan McNabb and McNabb isn't coming back. "When [Beck] came out in 2007 ... he was by far my No. 1 guy," Shanahan said, though it should be noted how weak that QB class was. JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, Beck and Kolb were the top four taken.
Rex Grossman is a free agent, and Shanahan and his offensive coordinator son Kyle like what Grossman did last year: 280 yards per game, seven TDs, four INTs in three starts (1-2). Grossman could be back to battle Beck for the job.
The Shanahans could gamble on Young. He's only 28. He'll be cut by Tennessee, which just drafted Jake Locker, as soon as the lockout ends. A fresh start is just what Young needs.
