"From Day One:Should Rookie Qb's Start?"

It's the question asked by many draft pundits and experts each year when a quarterback is selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.  Can this guy start from Day One?

The 2009 NFL Draft is no different with 3 Qb's, selected in the first round, making their cases for the starting job. As much as we would love to see them succeed we are also well aware of their chances. Most Qb's selected in the first round don't pan out and the only true way to measure how successful they will be is time.

The old fashioned thinking was that you drafted a Qb and developed him before starting him giving him the best chance to succeed. Rarely did a rookie start unless the team was desperate for some kind of turnaround or didnt have any viable options on their team.

That manner of thinking may have changed due to the recent success of OROY Matt Ryan and his colleague Joe Flacco. Both started as rookies and led their team to the playoffs. But what people fail to remember is that at first Ryan wasn't meant to start until he beat out Chris Redman in training camp. Flacco didn't win the training camp battle with Troy Smith but after Smith succumbed to an illness Flacco was thrust into the starting role and refused to relinquish it.

Other than the aforementioned players most rookie Qb's struggle. The infamous Ryan Leaf was considered a cant miss prospect and after leading his team a 2-0 start people assumed they were right. Well we all know how this story ends. There is also the other end of the spectrum. Tim Couch had a very respectable rookie season, but injuries and inconsistent play lead to him being considered a draft bust.

Now how does it work if you give the QB time to develop? Well the most recent story is that of Aaron Rodgers. After sitting behind Brett Favre for 2 years he took over the team and was a top-10 QB statistically even though his team went 6-10. But for every Aaron Rodgers there is a Rex Grossman. After sitting behind 2 veterans his rookie year he took over and his play after that was deemed as "roller coaster" play ranging from pretty good to terrible.

Now it's not impossible for rookie Qb's to succeed. Peyton Manning has been putting up great numbers since day one and he hasn't slowed down. As we all know selecting a QB in the first round doesn't guarantee success, but when a team needs it they're willing to take the chance. Then next question is "do we start him from day one?"