Is John Brantley Already a Better Quarterback Than Greg McElroy?

Despite rumors to the contrary, we on the left coast still find time to check out the goings on in the SEC when we aren’t fawning over the USC Trojans.

The rumblings coming out of Florida have the erstwhile John Brantley leading the Gators to the promised land as Florida fans come to terms over the loss of Tim Tebow to graduation.

In fact, many of these fans are so enamored with the drop back prowess of Mr. Brantley that they say that in 2010, the best quarterback in the SEC will be the junior who has waited so patiently for his shot behind the legend named “Tebow.”

Certainly, there are reasons for these smug assertions, not the least of which is that Brantley, albeit in a limited role, has a gaudy 75 percent passing accuracy for his brief career.

In this year’s spring game, as if to accentuate the accolades heaped upon him, Brantley went 15 for 19 for 201 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

Okay, we get it Johnny, you are good. Damn good.

However, last time I checked, there was another quarterback in the SEC who can make his own claim to fame.

All this guy did in 2009 was lead his team to an undefeated season, including a 32-13 victory over Mr. Tebow and Florida while capturing the national championship.

Along the way, Greg McElroy, “G-Mac” to his buddies, passed for 2,508 yards, 17 touchdowns, and only four interceptions.

In a game where winning is everything, all McElroy does is win. In fact, G-Mac hasn’t lost a game since…well, does peewee football count?

In this year’s Crimson Tide spring game, McElroy, being the consummate team player he is, only went 12 for 22 accumulating 142 yards to go along with a touchdown and an interception.

Instead of throwing for big numbers, McElroy was content to hand the ball off to the best running back duo in the nation, Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson.

Both of these guys had a big game for the 91,000 fans that came out to witness the annual spring rite of passage.

Which brings me to another point of contention when discussing who is the best quarterback in the SEC.

Football is a team game and it doesn’t matter how exceptional any quarterback is if he isn’t surrounded by talented teammates.

Fortunately for both McElroy and Brantley, they have some pretty good players around them.

Both Florida and Alabama return offenses that are the envy of every college football program in the nation, including my USC Trojans.

For McElroy, in addition to the aforementioned Ingram and Richardson, he has Julio Jones, a monster of a wide receiver and some real nice second options to go along with an offensive line that returns three starters.

Meanwhile, Brantley has his own weapons at running back including the ultra quick Chris Rainey and Jeffrey Demps.

Also, a strong offensive line led by James Wilson and Mike Pouncey return to provide Brantley with protection.

So it appears that both Brantley and McElroy will be immersed in very talented offenses with running games that will take the pressure off of each quarterback.

Both quarterbacks have solid receivers and good tight ends.

If there is one wildcard in determining who is the best quarterback between the two, it may come in the defenses both teams return.

Florida is expected to have one of the best defenses in the nation this year as that side of the ball, so young in 2009, gained valuable experience last year to go along with all of that talent.

For Alabama, who lost nine starters from last year’s dominant defense, there are questions.

What isn’t being questioned is the talent of the new starters for the Crimson Tide.

As should be expected from a bumper crop of sterling recruits, Alabama’s defense will only need experience as they are abundantly skilled.

Obviously, a solid defense takes a lot of pressure off of any quarterback who knows he doesn’t have to be perfect to win.

If both teams defenses perform as expected, the onus will be reduced on both quarterbacks as far as the need to bail his team out of a mess left by their defensive counterparts.

So how about it? Is Johnny Brantley a better quarterback than Greg McElroy?

Maybe he is, but he will have to prove it on the gridiron and he will have to do it with more than the 76 passes attempted that currently makes up his resume.

For my money, until he proves otherwise, Greg McElroy is who I want leading my team at crunch time.

He may not excite the NFL scouts who are salivating over Brantley like a hound that hasn’t ate for three days but he wins.

And isn’t that the point of the game?