SB Nation - Josh McCown

Revisiting the Arizona Cardinals Past With The Detroit Lions

Andrew602 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:02:36 -0000

Before the last two seasons the Cardinals had made it a regular occurrence to face the Detroit Lions during the regular season. From 2001-2007 the Cardinals and Lions have squared off with the average score being Cardinals 24.7, Lions 26.5. The Cardinals have currently lost 2 of 3 and face the Lions who have only won 3 out of the last 34 games. Let's take a look down memory lane to see the Cardinals previous 6 games with the Lions.

Dec 8th, 2002: Cardinals 23, Lions 20

It was a game between two losers, as the 3-9 Lions traveled to Arizona to face the 4-8 Cardinals. It wasn't the most exciting of games but it did involve a 4th quarter comeback by Jake Plummer. The game went to OT where Robert Porcher recorded a QB hit that was intercepted by Chris Claiborne who returned it 30 yards into FG position. A facemask penalty was called on Porcher and Cardinals TE Freddie Jones, making the penalties offset and both teams replayed the down. The Cardinals got into FG range where they eventually kicked the FG for the win in OT.

Sep 7th, 2003: Cardinals 24, Lions 42

The Cardinals opened the season at Detroit, where rookie Anquan Boldin made a name for himself setting rookie debut records with 10 catches and 217 yards. The new-look Cardinals featuring Jeff Blake and Emmitt Smith weren't enough for the Lions high-scoring offense. The Cardinals turned the ball over 3 times and Joey Harrington threw 4 touchdowns which eventually set the tone for the Cardinals 4-12 season.

Dec 5th, 2004: Cardinals 12, Lions 26

The Cardinals traveled to Detroit for the 2nd year in a row, where Cardinals fans were waiting to see what 7th round pick John Navarre would do at quarterback. That question was answered when he threw 4 interceptions in the first game of his career. The part that hurt more was that the Lions had lost 5 in a row before this game and many thought the Cardinals would be favored to win. That turned out to be wrong when Lions rookie running back Kevin Jones ran for 196 yards - ouch.

Nov 13th, 2005: Cardinals 21, Lions 29

At Detroit, the Cardinals were once again not able to beat the lowly Lions who were currently on another losing skid(2). Kurt Warner started in place of Josh McCown, and threw for 359 yards, but only had 1 touchdown on the day. The Cardinals could only run for 38 yards and scored their 1st rushing touchdown of the season, while allowing 157 rushing yards to the Lions. This was the Cardinals third straight loss at Detroit and was their last appearence there until this season.

Nov 19th, 2006: Cardinals 17, Lions 10

The Cardinals played the Lions for the first time at University of Phoenix stadium with rookie Matt Leinart at quarterback getting his first NFL win. Leinart threw 233 yards and 1 touchdown while also running in a touchdown. The Cardinals were on their own 8 game losing streak and getting this win helped them ~~revive their season and make the playoffs~~ break their 3 game losing streak to the Lions and finish the season 5-11.

Nov 11th, 2007: Cardinals 31, Lions 21

Yours truly attended this game to watch the Cardinals lay a beating on the Lions after making their previous five games too close. Kurt Warner had 259 passing yards and 3 touchdowns as the Cardinals out-gained the Lions 319-245 in total yards. The Cardinals held the Lions to -18 rushing yards while forcing 5 turnovers in what would be the last time these two teams met.

If you're noticing a tendency here it's that the Cardinals haven't won in Detroit in this past decade no matter how bad the Lions have been. Obviously the Cardinals should be tremendously favored to win the game, but after the ugly loss we were forced to watch last week, who knows which Cardinals team will show up on Sunday.

Panthers Watch 2009: Jake Delhomme steps up for the 49ers

Fooch — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:00:38 -0000

More photos » by Rick Havner - AP

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Given that the 49ers own the Carolina Panthers 2010 first round pick, I've decided to introduce a new Sunday evening feature: Panthers Watch 2009. The Panthers are a team with some solid offensive talent, but as today showed, they have some other problems that could really help boost that 2010 draft pick. This will be a fairly simply story each week, just taking a quick look at how the Panthers played that week and who they're facing the following week. As we get further into the season, I'll include an update of where their draft pick sits. Also, I'm hoping to come up with a logo for this some time soon. A "Watch" certainly needs some kind of logo affixed to it. Although, this watch sounds strikely similar to Panda Watch from Anchorman.

Week 1 - versus Philadelphia Eagles
To say the Panthers crapped the bed against Eagles would not do this game justice. The folks at Cat Scratch Reader are probably still in shock after the Philadelphia Eagles dismantled their Panthers, to the tune of 38-10, dropping the Panthers to 0-1. Most notably, this game saw QB Jake Delhomme throw 4 interceptions and lose one fumble before being benched in the third quarter. Delhomme finished 6 for 17 with 73 yards, with a QB rating of 14.7. The benching led to the glorious return of Josh McCown, who was 1 of 6 for 2 yards before leaving the game with knee and foot injuries. This in turn led to 3rd string emergency QB Matt Moore, who hadn't thrown a pass since the last week of the 2007 season. He finished 6 of 11 with an interception of his own. The Eagles defense was absolutely dominant, getting the 5 interceptions, to go along with 5 sacks, all while shutting down the vaunted Panthers rushing game (which still surpassed the 49ers on this day).

While I'd certainly like to think this is your 2009 Panthers squad in a nutshell, I know that's not the case. First off, Jake Delhomme is a roller-coaster ride of a QB and will have great days to go along with his real stinkers. Of course, he's also getting up there in age and might be running out of gas. I'll give him a few more weeks before I make that judgment. Second, the Eagles are one of the best teams in the NFC. Maybe not 38-10 on the road at Carolina good, but they're good. The Panthers will have enough easier games down the road.

Week 2 - @ Atlanta
But probably not next week. Atlanta is coming off a solid defensive effort against the Dolphins. Since Delhomme took over the Panthers have always struck me as a Jekyll and Hyde type of team so they could bounce back with a win over Atlanta and it would not surprise me in the least. I think Atlanta can win this one, but again, nothing from the Panthers will surprise me. That could make it an interesting season to follow in our Panthers Watch 2009.

Panthers Fall to Steelers 21-10 in Preseason Finale

Jaxon — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:13:30 -0000

More photos » by Rick Havner - AP

3 months ago: Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Reilly (13) is brought down by Carolina Panthers players Charles Johnson (95), Everette Brown (91), and Nick Hayden, left, during a preseason NFL football game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Rick Havner)

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Going 0-4 in the preseason isn't exactly the preferred way to prepare for a season but the Panthers will start season just like that none the less. Preseason game 4 mean absolutely nothing so I will spare the doom and gloom because in the end I think our 1^st team offense would put up more points if they played the entire game. Instead here are my capsules from the game which as I look it over it looks like a repeat from the previous two preseason games.

The Good:

When talking about the Good there is no better place to start than rookie RB Mike Goodson. He again looked brilliant running (15 for 79 yds, 5.3 TPC) and catching the ball (2 for 13 yds) but still made some rookie mistakes. He got run over trying to block DE James Harrison which led to a sack and fumble and then had a costly fumble in the red zone. I know the coaching staff wants to get this kid on the field but the turnovers have to be a concern.
I feel like a broken record in my praise of WR Kenny Moore (6 for 59 yds) but he again delivered big time. After watching Moose stone hand a pass I started to think Moore could be the #2 on this team by the end of the season. That off-season work with Steve Smith has paid off big time. I even loved his post game interview in that he wasn't happy with his performance (he had an illegal motion penalty). This guy is a keeper.
WR Dwayne Jarrett finally showed something getting 4 catches for 44 yards. With a long of 11 yards though I wonder why the Panthers don't try to use his height downfield.
DE Charles Johnson recorded 1.5 sacks as he showed nice speed coming off the edge. He should see increased PT in 2009.

DT Nick Hayden had his best game as a Panther. He had 3 tackles, half a sack, a QB hurry and a nice tackle for a loss. But was it enough to stay with the team? Probably but more help at DT is needed.
New Panther DT Louis Leonard got significant action and he appeared to play well ringing up a tackle for a loss.
Rookie RG Duke Robinson had some nice blocks when pulling to support outside runs

The Bad

Neither QB Matt Moore (49 rating, pick 6 INT) or Josh McCown (11 for 15, fumble) distinguished themselves from the other in my view. McCown had a decent rating of 86 but he missed a wide open Jeff King for an easy TD. Overall it's a toss up in my view meaning for the #2 McCown holds his spot.
The PR coverage was horrid in giving up a 80 return for a TD for Stefan Logan.
RG Keydrick Vincent got run over by LB Kenyaron Fox for a sack. He's got 80 lbs on the guy but went down like a domino.
The back-up offensive line got pushed around a lot, gave up too much penetration and didn't inspire anything but doubt. It will be interesting to see who sticks.
Sideline reporter Pete Yannity called WR Kenny Moore a UDFA during the broadcast when he's actually a 5^th round pick in 2008 of the Lions. He then repeated his error during his post game interview with Moore. Moore coolly corrected Yannity in his response and then conveyed his dismay with his own performance right after Yannity praised his game. So he's cool and mature too. What's not to love about him?

The Bubble Watch

RB Jamal Lee finally got significant playing time and he responded fairly (11 for 37 yds). You can tell he has some potential with his size and speed though he does still run a little upright. Look for Lee to make the practice squad.
RB Decori Birmingham and T Patrick Brown didn't get on the field and it cannot be good for their chances. Time for them to cut bait.
S Joe Fields missed a couple tackles so I'm bearish on him. Look for Quinton Teal to be the back-up SS.

Poll

Do you think the Panthers still need to add another veteran defensive tackle?

Yes

169 votes

No

33 votes

202 votes | Poll has closed

Five More Questions Regarding the Panthers

Jaxon — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:19:00 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

4 months ago: Carolina Panthers running back Mike Goodson, center, is taken down by Miami Dolphins players in the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game in Miami, Fla., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009. The Dolphins defeated the Panthers 27-17. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz).

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The News & Observer writer Charles Chandler poses five questions regarding the Panthers 2009 prospects following two preseason losses. The five are good questions that I'm going to add five more to:

Question 6: Who in the world is going to start at LDT in the season opener?

Panther rookie Marlon Favorite and Corvey Irvin show promise and should get in the rotation at least periodically. Neither player though has shown enough consistency or skill to be the season long solution. So if it's obvious the Panthers will need to bring in a veteran just exactly when will they do that? Will the Panthers give up a draft pick and/or player for a decent player or will they simply sign another teams' cast off? There is potential for the Panthers to overpay given the entire league knows they are in dire need.

Question 7: Who is the #3 wide receiver?

The word from camp is Dwayne Jarrett is finally showing his potential but in the first two games Kenneth Moore has outplayed him. Moore seems better suited for the slot than Jarrett while Jarrett still seems to be a year away (I'm being kind).

Question #8: Who is the #2 QB?

QB coach Rip Scherer said Matt Moore would get his opportunity and he played pretty good this past week. His stat was less than impressive but he stood in the pocket, showed some awareness and made a couple nice throws. It would appear at the moment though the competition with Josh McCown is still wide open.

Question #9: Is it time to get worried about RB Jonathan Stewart?

If he's going to be available for the season opener he needs to get into practice soon. Darin Gantt reported this morning that Stewart was still being held out. If he can't start participating in full practices by the end of the week you might want to prepare mentally for Mike Goodson to back up DeAngelo Williams in the season opener.

Question #10: Who will be the starting nickel cornerback?

CJ Wilson appeared to have the inside track but rookie Sherrod Martin is a 2^nd round pick and 7^th round rookie Captain Munnerlyn has impressed in man coverage. There was talk over the off-season Richard Marshall would move from the outside to the nickel and Wilson would play the outside but we haven't seen much of that so far. None of the above separated themselves from the pack as of yet.

After the next preseason game at home against the Ravens some of the answers to these questions might surface. Don't be surprised though if we don't get all the answers until the opener against the Eagles.

Panthers vs. Giants 2009 Preseason Game Preview

Jaxon — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:00:10 -0000

Finally, the Panthers get to hit someone from another team rather than each other. It's about time. Also, be sure to chime in on Open Game Thread Monday Night at 7pm.

Panthers Offense:

We can expect the Panther first team offense to play at least two series but not maybe much more. Josh McCown will be the first off the bench and expect to see RB Mike Good son early and often. Matt Moore will get a chance to atone for a horid 2008 peseason that ruined his momentum. An early measure of this offense will be how well the 1st team o-line manages to run the ball against the Giants first team d-line. Here's the state of the Giants d-line from the Bleacher Report:

I have no idea how the defensive line will shake out. There are at least eight guys that could be starting on many teams (Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka, Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield, Chris Canty, Rocky Bernard, and Jay Alford).

Some of these guys are coming off injuries. Might the Panthers make a bid for one of these cast-offs? Other players to watch on offense include WR Dwayne Jarrett, FB Tony Fiammetta and WR Jason Carter. I will also key on how well the Panther srun the ball late in the game when the back-up o-linemen are in the game.

Since these two teams meet later this season don't expect too much trickery. The scheme should be fairly vanilla from both offenses as they focus on execution of the basics.

Panthers Defense:

I'm excited about seeing this new, more aggressive defense we've heard so much about. Expect a lot of rotation across the front line and hopefully they can keep the Giant running game in check. LB Dan Conner should get in the game early as our second team LB's will get plenty of action. Rookie DE Everette Brown should replace Peppers on the right side early as well. Let's see if the kid is the real thing and gets pressure on whatever Giant QB is out there. Another battle to watch is DE Charles Johnson trying to outperform Tyler Brayton, a hybrid DE/DT who could become a 3^rd down specialist.

The secondary should get plenty of work as the Giants try to figure out what they have at WR. The Giants Steve Smith won't be playing either so the Panther secondary can expect opportunities to make plays on the ball in the red zone. Without Plaxico Burress the Giants have no established red zone receiving threat. This should give S Quinton Teal an opportunity to continue his good work and who knows, maybe an INT in a live game.

Once we get in the 4^th quarter let's see if there is a drop off in intensity. A couple UDFA's are making a bid for the practice squad, including LB Jon Leman and DT Marlon Favorite. Also 7^th round pick Captain Munnerlyn will probably play a lot and hopefully show how to play the bump and run. I will be curious to see how much man-to-man the Panthers will show the Giants just to give them something to think about when they meet again when it counts.

Special Teams:

Both the kick return and punt return competitions are wide open. Expect to see some rotation as Goodson, WR Larry Beavers and WR Jason Carter take turns. On punts it will be WR Ryne Robinson, Beavers and Munnerlyn getting looks. It should be an adventure.

On kick coverage many of the Panthers second team will be trying to show the added value of good special teams play. I'm predicting Conner, Munnerlyn and Sherrod Martin excel against the Giants.

Three Up and Three Down

Matty I — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:15:07 -0000

It's time once again to go "three up and three down" - when I pick some topic related to the Dolphins and look at it from a positive perspective and a negative perspective. This week, I wanted to focus on off-season acquisitions. In particular, I want to examine the best and worst off-season acquisitions since 2000. To clarify, these are all players acquired either through free agency or via a trade. Undrafted free agents who were signed are eligible here - but draft picks are not.

So read my take on this and then give us your perspective on the topic below.

MY THREE MOST FAVORITE OFF-SEASON ACQUISITIONS

1. Chad Pennington - There's no way that Pennington wouldn't be #1 on my list. The Dolphins signed Pennington last off-season off of the Jets' scrap heap. Chad went on to have the 11th most yards passing in Dolphins history - only topped by 10 Dan Marino seasons. His 67.4% completion percentage in 2008 was the highest in Dolphins history. And his 97.4 quarterback rating is second all-time in Dolphins history - only trailing Marino's ridiculous 1984 season. Chad led the Dolphins to an improbable division championship and came in second place in the league's MVP voting. And he only cost the Dolphins $7.9 million over 2 years. You simply can't beat that value.

2. Ricky Williams - If not for all of Ricky's off-field "issues," there's a good chance he'd be #1 on this list. After all, his 7771 yards rushing is most in Dolphins history. Ricky's 2002 season saw him set franchise records for yards rushing (1,853), rushing touchdowns (16), and 100-yard rushing games in a season (10). That season also saw Williams have the top two individual rushing games in team history - 228 yards in Buffalo followed a week later by a 216 yard effort against Chicago. Ricky also has the most career 100-yard rushing games in team history and is just two rushing touchdowns away from Larry Csonka's team record of 53. We've also had a chance to see a young man grow and mature as his career progressed. And I think many people like Williams despite all of his "issues" because most of us can relate to him somehow - a man who had some demon to overcome in his life...and did just that.

3. Will Allen - Three guys came to mind here for me to pick - Allen, Jay Fiedler, and Anthony Fasano. But I went with Allen because, though Miami's secondary has struggled since Allen's arrival in 2006, Will has been a consistently solid player. He isn't an ideal #1 cornerback. But he's a terrific guy to have back there as your veteran leader. He's improved every year he's been in Miami. And now he's proving to be a great mentor to our young cornerbacks. Clearly, the front office respects Will a lot, too - as proven with the contract extension they gave him earlier this offseason.

Honorable Mention: Davone Bess - I'm a huge fan of Bess. Championship teams need players like Bess. I'll have more on Davone at some point leading up to training camp. But needless to say, he's already one of my favorite Dolphins.

MY THREE LEAST FAVORITE OFF-SEASON ACQUISITIONS

1. A.J. Feeley - The Dolphins acquired Feeley in March of 2004 in exchange for a 2005 2nd round draft pick - a pick that turned out to be the 35th overall in the draft. Players such as Lofa Tatupu, Shaun Cody, Michael Roos, and Ronald Bartell were all available with that pick. But the Dolphins, instead, got one season out of Feeley - a season that saw A.J. go 3-5 as a starter, complete just 53% of his passes, throw 15 interceptions to just 11 touchdowns, and fumble 10 times (losing 5 of them). The Dolphins then traded Feeley the following year to San Diego, throwing in a 6th round pick as well, for Cleo Lemon. So, essentially, the Dolphins traded a 2nd round pick and a 6th round pick for Cleo Lemon. Yeah - that worked out well.

2. Josh McCown - The Dolphins signed McCown to a 2 year, $6.25 million deal in March of 2008. But he failed to impress this regime during minicamp and OTAs. He needed stitches in a finger after getting cut while holding firewood for his brother while his brother chopped it prior to training camp. He then was unimpressive in training camp, played in one preseason game for the Dolphins, going 5/8 for 35 yards, and was traded to the Panthers for a 7th round pick. And the Dolphins didn't even use that pick - trading it to Kansas City. So, essentially, the Dolphins paid $2.5 million (the guaranteed money they spent on McCown that they had to pay him) on a 2010 7th round draft pick. Yikes!

3. Ernest Wilford - There were a number of ways I could have went here (L.J. Shelton, Lamar Gordon to name a few). But the amount of money being paid to Wilford makes him the choice here. His 4 year, $13 million deal included $6 million in guarantees. And for that money, the Dolphins got three receptions in year one. Now Wilford has a chance to at least make some contribution to this team if his tight end experiment actually works out. But I'm not confident it will. And even if it does, there's no way he can do enough to earn the contract that the Dolphins gave him. His signing was a clear "swing and a miss" by this front office. But you can deal with some these as long as they continue to make those great moves and continue to have very good drafts.

Lane Kiffin Has Played This Game Before: The Oakland Raiders 2007 QB Controversy

Will — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:43:58 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

Daunte Culpepper, now with the Detroit Lions, was involved in a quarterback controversy in Oakland during Lane Kiffin's tenure.

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As opinions continue to fly over BJ Coleman's decision to transfer and what the future of the program looks like with Jonathan Crompton at the helm, it's helpful to remember that while Lane Kiffin may not have much experience as a head coach, this is not his first quarterback controversy.

At the start of his brief stint in Oakland with the Raiders, Kiffin inherited a situation that included number one overall pick JaMarcus Russell and his holdout, the proven veteran recovering from injury in Daunte Culpepper, and a relative unknown in Josh McCown. Russell's holdout carried into the opening week of the 2007 season, leaving Kiffin and the Raiders with Culpepper and McCown to begin the season.

Fans, of course, wanted to see Culpepper because they actually knew who he was, and were picturing his mammoth seasons in Minnesota coming to life again in Oakland, even though Daunte had never shown anything with the Raiders.

But Kiffin elected to go with McCown in the 2007 opener. This was met right away with booing and chants for Daunte from the Raider faithful, in Kiffin's first game. How did Lane respond?

"Fans have the right to their opinions," Kiffin said. "After (McCown's) third touchdown in a row they weren't chanting for Daunte anymore."

Interesting.

It's clear that Kiffin isn't making decisions with fan perception in mind. No matter which side of the Crompton/Coleman debate you fell on, I think it's clear that Kiffin isn't afraid to make unpopular choices. McCown went 30 of 40 for 313 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs in that opener.

But it's also clear that Kiffin isn't blind and unafraid to change his mind: in Week 2 of the 2007 season, McCown went 8 of 16 for 73 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs. The following week, a banged up McCown was pulled for Culpepper. When the two finished with similar stats, Culpepper got the start in Week 4. And back and forth we would go from there.

In the 16 regular season games of 2007, Culpepper led the team in passing seven times, McCown seven times, and JaMarcus Russell twice in the last two weeks of the season. The Raiders went 4-12, and their quarterbacks had some great days (Culpepper's 344 yards against his old team at Minnesota) and some downright lousy ones (four times the Raiders failed to pass for more than 100 yards). But I don't think Kiffin left any options on the table.

From the beginning at Tennessee, I think Kiffin has been handling the quarterback situation as it works best for the program. I have to believe Jonathan Crompton is the presumed starter on September 5 because he truly is the best option. But based on Kiffin's track record, don't think that Crompton's job is safe all year just for recruiting's sake. And don't think that fan pressure will make Kiffin play Nick Stephens more. This guy is going to do what he wants to do...and in the case of quarterback controversies, it's one of the few places where we can say he's seen this all before.

NFL Free Agent QBs for 2010

Skeller — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:00:12 -0000

Courtesty of KFFL.com, here's a list of QBs that are scheduled to be unrestrictred free agents in 2010.

Mark Brunell               New Orleans Saints
Jason Campbell          Washington Redskins
David Carr                     New York Giants
Kellen Clemens           New York Jets
Brodie Croyle                Kansas City Chiefs
Jake Delhomme          Carolina Panthers
Jeff Garcia                     Oakland Raiders
Joey Harrington            New Orleans Saints
Tarvaris Jackson          Minnesota Vikings
Jon Kitna                        Dallas Cowboys
Eli Manning                    New York Giants
Josh McCown                Carolina Panthers
Kyle Orton                       Denver Broncos
Patrick Ramsey             Tennessee Titans
Chris Redman               Atlanta Falcons
Philip Rivers                   San Diego Chargers
Ben Roethlisberger     Pittsburgh Steelers
D.J. Shockley                 Atlanta Falcons
Brian St. Pierre             Arizona Cardinals
Andrew Walter               Oakland Raiders
Charlie Whitehurst      San Diego Chargers

He's not listed, but Matt Cassel will be also be a free agent in 2010.

That is a lot of talent. You would expect guys like Manning and Roethlisberger would be resigned by their teams, but you never know what kind of money they'll be asking for.

I don't think there's a guaranteed connection, but it does seem as though players often have career years when they just happen to be playing for a contract. All these guys will be playing for a contract this year, so you might want to move them up your draft list a spot or two.

The true value of Trent Edwards, third round quarterback

Brian Galliford — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:29:40 -0000

QB Edwards is great value for Bills (Associated Press)

Disclaimer: this post is not designed to be a tool to help football fans, specifically football fans, read the future, specifically the future of quarterback Trent Edwards. The former third-round pick out of Stanford has surprised in his first two years in the league, and his surprise continues to be a pleasant one despite the fact that Edwards helped commandeer one of the worst collapses in Buffalo Bills team history as its starting quarterback in 2008.

I'm a numbers guy. I like taking numbers and stacking them up against history to determine exactly where we're at at a given position. In racking my brain, I came to conclusion that Trent Edwards was the best third-round quarterback selected in the past decade. Numbers back that up. In fact, when comparing Edwards to first-round quarterbacks over the same decade, it becomes apparent that the Bills got tremendous value when they selected Edwards #92 overall.

First thing's first: let's compare Edwards to all quarterbacks drafted in the third round over the past decade (a relatively small number, to be sure). Edwards is the only third-round quarterback to have a winning record during his career. That, alone, makes him the best third-round quarterback of the past decade (though he has some competition). For illustrative purposes, here are the top five third-round quarterbacks of the past decade ranked by won-lost record. Draft team, record over the first 23 games, overall record, and career QB rating are also listed.

Quarterbacks: Round 3 Prospects
Year	Name	Team	F23	OVR	RAT
2007	T. Edwards	BUF	12-11	12-11	79.1
2003	C. Simms	TB	7-8	7-8	71.2
2002	J. McCown	ARI	10-13	12-19	71.6
2004	M. Schaub	ATL	9-14	10-14	86.2
2000	C. Redman	BAL	4-6	4-6	79.5

Other third-round quarterbacks of the past decade: 1999 (Brock Huard, SEA); 2000 (Giovanni Carmazzi, SF); 2003 (Dave Ragone, HOU); 2005 (Charlie Frye, CLE; Andrew Walter, OAK; David Greene, SEA); 2006 (Charlie Whitehurst, SD; Brodie Croyle, KC); 2008 (Kevin O'Connell, NE)

Not much of a contest there. Simms and McCown are unlikely to be starters again. Schaub is coming on fast, as are his Texans, but he hasn't been able to shake the injury bug throughout his career.

It's pretty apparent that, in terms of third-round quarterbacks, Edwards was tremendous value. You didn't need me to tell you that. It's rare enough that a third-rounder starts more than half a season as a rookie, which Edwards has already done. But how well does Edwards stack up to first-round quarterbacks within the same decade? Counting Drew Brees (the first pick of the second round; that's essentially a first-rounder), 29 quarterbacks have been taken in the first round over the past decade. Of those 29 signal-callers, nearly half (12) had better records through their first 23 games. The list...

Quarterbacks: Round 1 Prospects
Year	Name	Team	F23	OVR	RAT
2004	Roethlisberger	PIT	20-3	51-20	89.4
2004	P. Rivers	SD	18-5	33-15	92.9
2003	R. Grossman	CHI	17-6	19-12	70.2
2008	M. Ryan	ATL	11-5	11-5	87.7
2008	J. Flacco	BAL	11-5	11-5	80.3
2001	M. Vick	ATL	14-8-1	38-28-1	75.7
2000	Pennington	NYJ	14-9	43-34	90.6
1999	Culpepper	MIN	14-9	41-53	89.0
2003	C. Palmer	CIN	13-10	32-33	88.9
1999	D. McNabb	PHI	13-10	82-45-1	85.9
2003	K. Boller	BAL	13-10	20-22	71.9
2006	V. Young	TEN	13-10	18-11	68.8
2007	T. Edwards	BUF	12-11	12-11	79.1
2004	E. Manning	NYG	12-11	42-29	76.1

Other notable first-rounders (with F23 data): Tim Couch (5-18), Akili Smith (3-14), Cade McNown (3-12), Drew Brees (9-14), David Carr (6-17), Joey Harrington (6-17), Patrick Ramsey (9-14), Byron Leftwich (10-13), J.P. Losman (8-15), Alex Smith (9-14), Aaron Rodgers (6-10), Jason Campbell (10-13), Matt Leinart (7-9), Jay Cutler (11-12), JaMarcus Russell (5-11), Brady Quinn (1-2)

So what does this prove? Largely nothing. You see some very bad quarterbacks with blazing starts to their careers, and some very good ones (i.e. Brees) with slow starts to their career. The only thing this list proves is that Edwards compares favorably to most of the quarterbacks drafted in the first round over the past decade - and he's a third-round pick. That, my friends, is good draft day value.

Side note before you pick apart the numbers, proclaim this exercise as useless and/or declare yourself bored because this has nothing to do with the future of the team: only two quarterbacks on this list have Super Bowl rings - Mr. Roethlisberger and Mr. Manning. They show up at opposite ends of this list.

So let's hear it. Anything interesting you find in these numbers? Are you encouraged/discouraged/remain unmoved about Edwards' potential? Does it surprise you that J.P. Losman isn't the crappiest first-round quarterback of the past decade? Feel free to discuss, whether you find this tangible or not.

It's been a long, winding road

Matty I — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:15:08 -0000

Think back to where we were a few months ago. The Dolphins were coming off of a 1-15 season. We hired a legend in Bill Parcells, in hopes of turning this thing around. And it seemed like nobody's job was safe - as Cam Cameron and Randy Mueller would come to find out.

At quarterback, nobody knew what might happen. John Beck was coming off a tough rookie season, though he looked much better when he stepped in to replace Cleo Lemon in the regular season finale against the Bengals. And Trent Green was coming off a concussion and his future was in doubt.

As the offseason unfolded, we learned that both Lemon and Green were in the past, decisions by an old regime that this new regime would not live with. Both left Miami, never to return. Who did return was John Beck - also picked by he previous regime. The thing that was interesting here was that nobody really knew what Parcells, Jeff Ireland, and Tony Sparano thought of him.

Then, on March 2, the Dolphins added a veteran QB to their roster by signing Josh McCown. Many figured this meant a QB competition was to begin between McCown and Beck. However, as the draft approached, rumors swirled about Miami having interest in Michigan QB Chad Henne. But if the Dolphins selected Henne, would that mean Beck's days were numbered?

As the draft unfolded, we saw the Dolphins pass on Henne to select Phillip Merling with the 32nd pick. Many, including myself, thought that this was a sign that the new regime liked Beck enough to pass on Henne - who most probably assumed would be gone by pick #57.

He wasn't.

And the Dolphins made Henne the 57th overall selection. The QB situation in Miami was as cloudy as ever.

Tony Sparano made it clear right from the beginning that all 3 QBs would have a chance to win the starting job. And so the battle was on. Unfortunately, the promise that Beck showed during OTAs and off-season workouts - and there was promise, from what I've heard - quickly dissipated once training camp began. At times, it seemed like all 3 had their struggles.

Then Brett Favre decided to return and was traded to the New York Jets. It's funny, though, how Favre deciding to return to football - and the Packers deciding they didn't want him back - changed everything for a team that was totally uninvolved in that circus.

Regardless, the Jets acquired Favre and they quickly moved on releasing their former starting QB, Chad Pennington - tossing him to the side like he was yesterday's leftovers. Well, one man's leftovers are a starving man's feast - or something like that. And the Dolphins, by this time, were seemingly starving for a QB.

The Dolphins wasted no time, quickly reaching out to Pennington. In a matter of days, Pennington was in Miami and was quickly establishing himself as the best QB this team has right now - and possibly the best the franchise has had since #13 retired.

And now here we sit, less than 2 weeks away from the season opener, and we can say that we have a starting QB. And not just any starting QB, but a very capable one - one that is statistically the most accurate QB to ever play the game. And one that, by all accounts, is smart and is a leader for an offense - which is exactly what this offense has needed for some time.

The players all seem to love him already. And most of all, like most of us Dolphin fans, Pennington probably now has the same hatred for the Jets that we do. It's that hatred and that fire in Chad's belly that will drive him to be the very best he can be and play as sharp as he can play when his former employers roll into town to start the season. And that game isn't just a game anymore. It's now CBS #1 game of the week, meaning countless cities across the country will be watching. The national media will be, too, because we all know how much they love Brett Favre.

But what about Chad? Call me crazy, but is it so far-fetched to believe that Pennington, who I'm sure is chomping at the bit to go against his former team, can lead this Dolphins' team to a huge victory to start the season? Maybe it is. But this feeling of hope is what you, as a fan, get when you finally have a legitimate, experienced leader under center for your football team.

I never once thought I'd ever say this:

Welcome to Miami, Mr. Pennington.

Be sure to get involved with our community projections. Currently, we're projecting Pennington's stats and you can click here to go directly to that thread to post your projections.