If you want to shine the spotlight on royally disappointing quarterback play even more severe than that of Leinart and Young—and who doesn't after reading this article?—you need look no further than the Bay Area for fellow No. 1 draft picks, San Francisco's Alex Smith and Oakland's JaMarcus Russell.
Smith signed a six-year, $49.5 million contract with the 49ers—$24 million guaranteed—after being selected first overall out of Utah in 2005, where he played for Tim Tebow's current coach at Florida, Urban Meyer.
"Now it's time for me to go earn this money and prove that I deserve this money," Smith said in 2005. "The primary goal is to get on the field. I don't think this team is paying me this money to sit on the sideline."
19 touchdowns, 31 interceptions, and three sad, sad years later, Smith has failed at everything football related, except disappointing those who'd hoped he'd be the once-proud franchise's savior.
Instead, Smith is now backing up some bloke named J.T. O'Sullivan, who probably signed w/the 49ers primarily for San Francisco's abundance of Irish pubs. No disrespect.
Across the Bay, second-year pro JaMarcus Russell made his second start of the season last week against the Kansas City Chiefs and picked up his first career victory, no thanks to the giant QB's performance.
The guy was picked No. 1 overall in 2007 because he's built like Karl Malone and can throw a football 80 yards, but apparently he struggles a bit with accuracy.
Did you see Russell's stat line against the Chiefs last weekend? His numbers were so bad that he doesn't even have them posted on his website, www.jamarcusrussell.com. Believe me. I just checked. They're not there.
JaMarcus' college stats from LSU are on the site—and his Raiders jersey is for sale—but his NFL stats are strangely amiss.
Fortunately, I knew where to find them on NFL.com. Let's see, against AFC West rival Kansas City he was...Wait for it, wait for it...6-of-17 for 55 yards! Wow. That's bad, and not the way Michael Jackson meant it.
In the end, the Raiders defeated a tragic Chiefs team, but it was due mainly to the stellar performance of rookie running back Darren McFadden, Herm Edwards' ineptitude, and the efforts of the Raiders' defense against Kansas City's third-string quarterback, Tyler Thigpen, who's just happy to be here.
Where does the league find these guys?
Will They Ever Learn? And Can They Learn Quickly Enough?
Finally, there are two teams in the league who are starting rookie quarterbacks and history says their first year will be a struggle, both individually and for the team.
The Falcons' Matt Ryan is immensely talented and mature for both his age and his lack of playing experience, and he may prove to be the exception to the rule.
However, the jury is still out on his counterpart in Baltimore, Raven's rookie Joe Flacco.
No matter how these quarterbacks fare in their first year, though, the deciding factor concerning their long term success may be how well their confidence remains intact despite numerous inevitable setbacks.
And if their rookie years become especially painful, they can all reflect on Troy Aikman's initial year out of UCLA, in which the Cowboys lost every game he started.
Yet, despite these early growing pains, No. 8 went on to have a pretty successful career for the Blue & Silver.
I guess that just shows what I know.
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