Trent Edwards or Josh McCown: Who's the Game's Best Backup?

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If you have researched the success of every past Super Bowl winner, a solid backup QB is one thing you would see more than expected.

Joe Montana had Steve Young, then when Steve Young took over, his backup was Steve Bono (a solid backup).

When the Miami Dolphins went undefeated in 1972, starting QB Bob Griese got injured early in the year. Backup QB Earl Morrall took over and led Miami all the way to the Super Bowl until Griese finally healed up.

Tom Brady began as a backup to Drew Bledsoe and has dominated the NFL.

And in the 1997 and 1998 NFL seasons, when the Denver Broncos went back-to-back, John Elway got hurt a couple times during the regular season.

His backup was Bubby Brister of all people, and he went undefeated went under center in The Mile High City.

So as you can see, backup QBs are very, very important.

That being said, who's better; Trent Edwards or Josh McCown?

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Raiders vs 49ers: Does Trent Edwards or Josh McCown Have a Chance to Start?

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With Some Shaky Starting QBs, Trent Edwards and/or Josh McCown Could Find Themselves Under Center This Fall

There's no question that both of these QBs have had flaky careers.

We'll begin with Trent Edwards.

He's thrown 25 TDs to 29 picks, has never thrown for more than 2,700 yards, and never started a full season.

His best year came in Buffalo, where he threw for 2,699 yards, 11 TDs, 10 picks, and ran for three more scores.

Trent did also however, fumble nine times, losing five of them, in addition to being sacked 23 times.

But, he completed 65 percent of his passes, so at least he doesn't throw too many incomplete passes (if that makes any difference).

Now, let's move onto Josh McCown, who hasn't received any NFL playing time since 2008.

His best season came with Arizona in 2004, which coincidentally, happened to be Larry Fitzgerald's rookie season.

That year, McCown threw for over 2,500 yards, 11 TDs and 10 picks (sound familiar?), while scoring twice on scrambles.

And for his NFL career, he's got 35 TDs to an ugly 40 picks.

So who's better?

Well, you're basically splitting hairs as both have had their chance to shine, but failed.

The lesser of two evils, pick your poison, or whatever cliche you want to use here.

Now, although both have been skeptical, the starting QB in front of them isn't much to talk about either.

Ahead of Edwards is Jason Campbell (bust?), and in front of McCown is Alex Smith (another bust?).

But as for now, I'm giving Trent Edwards the nod in this one, as he's at least managed to stay in the NFL, whereas McCown hasn't taken a snap in the league since 2008.

However, don't be surprised if both have a opportunity to start, as their starters aren't very consistent either.

Be sure to check out John on Bleacher Report.

And, you can follow him on Twitter @ Sportswriter27.