With roster cuts almost complete, it seems like most of the position battles have been resolved. The most position battles took place at the toughest position in ALL of pro sports: the quarterback.
Teams in Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Arizona, and San Francisco have all recently ended speculation regarding their quarterback battles, and players have been chosen to start opening day Sept. 7.
Atlanta Falcons
Battle: Chris Redman vs. Joey Harrington vs. Matt Ryan
Winner: Matt Ryan
Many people will criticize this move, going back to what happened with Tim Couch and David Carr. But this could do for Ryan the same thing that it did for Peyton Manning back in 1998.
Granted, Manning had better weapons to throw to, but seeing what Ryan has done in the preseason, many people are very impressed. He has made all of the throws, looks pretty good in and out of the pocket, seems to grasp the offense well, and has command of the huddle, as well as the respect of his teammates.
All in all, the Falcons made the right choice; it is a gamble, as they are trying to clean up their image after you-know-who got put in prison.
Arizona Cardinals
Battle: Kurt Warner vs. Matt Leinart
Winner: Kurt Warner
I thought this move should have been made from the word "go." Leinart went from starter to having an inconsistent camp to having an even more dismal preseason, and his recent performance illustrates that point: 4-for-12 passing for 24 yards with three interceptions, resulting in a 2.8 passer rating!
Did the Cardinals make a bad investment in the former USC star? It's a little early to say so, but the early indications show that they have. He has been a disappointment, but it is too early to call him a bust.
Leinart, at times, looks scared and panicked when plays break down. Warner, on the other hand, found the fountain of youth in Arizona with a very nice rebound season (3,417 yards, 27 TD) and almost took the Cards to the playoffs. Arizona definitely made the right choice here. As for Leinart, back to the clipboard, kid.
Baltimore Ravens
Battle: Kyle Boller vs. Troy Smith vs. Joe Flacco
Winner: Troy Smith (?)
2006 Heisman winner Troy Smith has been slotted as the starting quarterback for the Ravens and new coach Jim Harbaugh. Though he stands barely over 6'0", Smith has shown the ability to use his skills to his advantage and has looked okay in preseason action, after making two starts in his rookie campaign last season.
Flacco is their prized signal-caller of the future...or is he? Both Smith and Flacco are young, with very strong arms, but Flacco is a rookie coming out of a Division I-AA college, where he worked almost always out of the shotgun.
The speed of the game has been somewhat of a culture shock to Flacco, but he has started to adjust to the pressure and is giving Smith a run for the starting job. Unless Boller improves in the next week or so leading up the season opener, it is a two-man race down in Baltimore.
Chicago Bears
Battle: Kyle Orton vs. Rex Grossman
"Winner:" Kyle Orton
4 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Ted Choate 10 months ago
Matty Leinart has been a disaster.
Kurt is clearly his superior.
I also can't understand why this starting job was even up for grabs.
...and I have run out of pity for Lovie years ago.
Why he has continued to trot out bums like Rex and now Orton is beyond reason. He has now wasted the efforts of several epic NFL defensive teams because he has refused to pursue a decent starting QB.
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Vincent Jackson 10 months ago
highly agreed, thanks for the comment! what do u think of the falcons' qb situation? right move?
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Tom Highway 10 months ago
Good article, Vince!... and good comments, Ted!
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Ted Choate 10 months ago
Falcons?
Tough call there.
The general rule is to start the vet, and let the rookie finish up when the season is lost.
That being said, Ryan must have been pretty darn impressive for his coach to toss him out there on Day 1.
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