NFL Week 5 Report Cards: Breaking Down The Stars and Duds At QB
Another Sunday has come and gone. Now all that is left is an imprint on the sofa where my butt has been all day. As I clean up the beer bottles and sad lonely remnants of Cheetos, I delve into the winners and losers at the quarterback position.
There were bad games from good quarterbacks as well as surprisingly effective games from backups. So, let's sort it all out and make some fans mad along the way.
Ryan Fitzpatrick: Buffalo Bills
1 of 26
Ryan Fitzpatrick’s performance is the lone bright spot on a horrible season. He was precise with his passes and confident enough with his checkdowns. He did all he could do to will his team to a victory. It just so happens he plays for a very bad team.
Grade: A-
20/30 / 220 yards / 3 TD / 0 INT / 121.5 Rating
David Garrard: Jacksonville Jaguars
2 of 26
David Garrard had himself a nice little fantasy day. I wish I could say you can expect this from him on a weekly basis. But sadly, the Jaguars will not be playing the Bills on a weekly basis.
Grade: B+
16/20 / 178 yards / 3 TD / 1 INT / 122.5 Rating
Josh Freeman: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3 of 26
A just passing grade is fitting for a QB that just barely beat his opponent. The Bucs actually had to rely on their kicker late to get the win. His performance barely eeked out the poor showing of Carson Palmer. This match-up was an exercise in what not to do after taking the snap.
Grade: C-
20/33 / 280 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT / 85.4 Rating
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Carson Palmer: Cincinnati Bengals
4 of 26
There really is no excuse to be this bad when you tout one of the better receiving cores in the game. The job of QB is to get you guys the ball and keep it away from the other team. Palmer may have confused that a bit today.
Grade: D
21/36 / 209 yards / 2 TD / 3 INT / 58.7 Rating
Matt Ryan: Atlanta Falcons
5 of 26
Matt Ryan did his job. But he should be made very aware that he will be facing soft defenses like Cleveland’s on a weekly basis. The Falcons win today was helped a great deal by their running front of Turner and Snelling.
Ryan took care of the ball for the most part but he will need to improve if the Falcons have any visions of post season grandeur.
Grade: C+
16/28 / 187 yards / 1 TD / 0 INT / 89.4 Rating
Seneca Wallace/Jake Delhomme: Cleveland Browns
6 of 26
Seneca Wallace was feeling it today. The Browns offense was moving and it looked like a good day for Cleveland fans. Then Wallace had to go and get hurt. Enter...
Grade: B+
11/15 / 139 yards / 1 TD / 0 INT / 124 Rating
Jake Delhomme replaced an injured Seneca Wallace. It is your hope as an NFL coach that your backup QB can keep your team afloat. Delhomme came in and completely trashed any thoughts of maintaining the games sanctity. He gave up two picks, including one that was converted immediately into a TD.
Grade: F
13/23 / 97 yards / 0 TD / 2 INT / 30.5 Rating
Shaun Hill: Detroit Lions
7 of 26
I would actually knock down a player a grade or two for picking on a poor team but the Lions were actually supposed to lose this game. Enter backup QB Shaun Hill. He looked more phenom than a healthy Matthew Stafford. He picked apart the Rams secondary. If there are any more games like this in him, the Lions may want to sideline Stafford a bit longer
Grade: A+
21/32 / 227 yards / 3 TD / 0 INT / 117.6 Rating
Sam Bradford: St. Louis Rams
8 of 26
There will be growing pains as a starting rookie QB. Sunday was a bunch of lessons all rolled into one. I can’t even give extra credit for throwing over 200 yards when your passing against the Lions defense. Bradford will be fine. There will plenty of weeks like this when your line and receivers are not among the best in the league. But as for Sunday, Bradford failed miserably.
Grade: F
23/45 / 215 yards / 0 TD / 2 INT / 46.1 Rating
Peyton Manning: Indianapolis Colts
9 of 26
Peyton Manning was not himself today. I believe there was an impostor out there under center. How else can you describe his horrid play. The only reason I passed him at all is that he drove the team far enough up the field to kick field goals.
Grade: C-
26/44 / 244 yards / 0 TD / 1 INT / 65 Rating
Matt Cassel: Kansas City Chiefs
10 of 26
Much like the lackluster performance of Peyton Manning, Matt Cassel failed to impress. The Chiefs QB was under pressure for most of the game and like Manning was unable to sniff the red zone. Cassel has been serviceable this season so I look for a quick bounce back next week.
Grade: C-
16/29 / 156 yards / 0 TD / 0 INT / 70.5 Rating
Donovan McNabb: Washington Redskins
11 of 26
This was a tooth and nail kind of game. Two good defenses forced each QB to get creative. McNabb many times relied on his elusiveness to find open receivers. He did enough to keep the Redskins in the game long enough to tie them in the remaining moments. From there his poise took them within field goal range, and then to victory.
Grade: C+
26/49 / 357 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT / 75 Rating
Aaron Rodgers: Green Bay Packers
12 of 26
Imagine Aaron Rodgers with a phenomenal offensive line. Having a QB with his where with all getting longer then four seconds would be insane. But as it is, Rodgers spent a god portion of Sunday on the ground and subsequently with a concussion.
Please find this guy some help Green Bay. Your franchise depends on it.
Grade: C+
27/46 / 293 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT / 75.7 Rating
Jimmy Clausen: Carolina Panthers
13 of 26
The only weapon the Bears had today was their running back Matt Forte. Yet they still put up enough points to trounce the Panthers. The reason being is that Carolina had a very young, very inexperienced quarterback in the game.
Clausen threw up one of his worst starts of his young career. That is saying something because he isn't exactly tearing it up this year.
Grade: F
9/22 / 61 yards / 0 TD / 1 INT / 29.7 Rating
Todd Collins: Chicago Bears
14 of 26
If Clausen was bad, Collins was down right awful. He did everything in his power to give this game away. He should go confess the sins he committed against all quarterbacks before him. Incidentally you get a 6.2 rating by simply showing up and putting a uniform on. This is essentially what Collins did today.
If I could I would give Collins a lower grade if one existed. Actually, to hell with it
Grade: Z
6/16 / 32 yards / 0 TD / 4 INT / 6.2 Rating
Joe Flacco: Baltimore Ravens
15 of 26
Having to pick between Flacco and your other fantasy quarterback every week is an exercise in futility. If I play him he completes a couple passes and looks bored the whole game. If I sit him he goes off like the Flacco I know I drafted. Well today was a win-win because he had a ho-hum game. Nothing too flashy. He did just enough to get Ray Rice into position to shine.
Grade: B-
14/25 / 196 yards / 0 TD / 0 INT / 81.4 Rating
Kyle Orton: Denver Broncos
16 of 26
Kyle Orton just fits in Denver. The consummate professional went out and had a great game again. He quietly put together one of the better games this Sunday. It will go unheralded because the Denver defense allowed Ray Rice to run all over them.
Grade: A-
23/38 / 314 yards / 2 TD / 0 INT / 104.5 Rating
Eli Manning: New York Giants
17 of 26
It really must be hard for the Manning parents to figure out which son they love most on this Sunday. Both sons tried their best to give the game away. Well what we know this deep in the season is that brother Eli likes to throw touchdowns, and when he is done doing that he will throw some interceptions for a while.
Grade: D+
27/42 / 297 yards / 3 TD / 2 INT / 89.1 Rating
Matt Schaub: Houston Texans
18 of 26
Remember when I said Manning tried to give the game away? Well he was largely unsuccessful because Schaub was on the other side of the field successfully giving the game away.
The Texans were stalled all day and that was due in part to Matt Schaub’s ineffectiveness.
Grade: D-
16/34 / 196 yards / 0 TD / 1 INT / 53.1 Rating
Drew Brees: New Orleans Saints
19 of 26
Today was not the day of the quarterback. As with other elite QB’s on the day, Drew Brees failed to impress. Known for his presence on the field, Brees was all over the place. It seems that the Saints are missing the versatility of Reggie Bush now more than ever.
Grade: D+
24/39 / 279 yards / 2 TD / 3 INT / 68.2 Rating
Max Hall: Arizona Cardinals
20 of 26
Nowhere near a good game, I bumped Hall’s grade above Drew Brees’ because Hall did enough to get the Cardinals an upset win. By enough I mean he threw to Larry Fitzgerald seven times for seven completions. So I guess his C- should go to his receiver instead.
Grade: C-
17/27 / 168 yards / 0 TD / 1 INT / 65 Rating
Jason Campbell: Oakland Raiders
21 of 26
I am sure there were a great deal of sighs when Jason Campbell took over for the injured Bruce Gradkowski earlier today. His most recent efforts were less than stellar. However, Campbell was surprisingly efficient today. The Raider victory could easily be attributed to his production.
Grade: B+
13/18 / 159 yards / 1 TD / 0 INT / 117.6 Rating
Phillip Rivers: San Diego Chargers
22 of 26
If you look at his line today, you would think that Rivers and company had their way in Oakland. Unfortunately for Chargers fans, their special teams gave yet another one away today. The Chargers seem to be wasting what few fantastic years they have left in Phillip Rivers to mediocrity throughout the rest of the roster.
Grade: A-
27/42 / 431 yards / 2 TD / 0 INT / 114.3 Rating
Vince Young: Tennessee Titans
23 of 26
It wasn't too long ago that people were questing whether Young would make even a serviceable QB in the NFL. This season has been a revelation as to the amount of talent this still young quarterback has.
Grade: B+
12/25 / 173 yards / 2 TD / 0 INT / 97.6 Rating
Tony Romo: Dallas Cowboys
24 of 26
The Cowboys are floundering. Romo’s day typifies just what kind of team the Cowboys are. He is sometimes brilliant and sometimes frustrating. He throws for over 400 yards and still manages a loss. How very Cowboy of him.
Grade: B-
31/46 / 406 yards / 3 TD / 3 INT / 89.6 Rating
Alex Smith: San Francisco 49ers
25 of 26
The 2010 49ers could very well be one of the best 0-5 teams ever. They just make crucial mistakes late in games. Just as Alex Smith was forming a comeback tonight he coughed up the ball.
On the whole there was a lot to like from Smith’s game today. He had the 49ers moving for the most part. He just needs to reduce the turnovers for this team to get out and get a win.
Grade: C+
25/39 / 309 yards / 3 TD / 2 INT / 92.8 Rating
Kevin Kolb: Philadelphia Eagles
26 of 26
Kevin Kolb had one of the best games by a QB today. It is even more special against the back drop of the Eagles QB scenario.
Kolb was the starter, then he wasn't. Then Mike Vick gets hurt so he is back in the good graces of Andy Reid. But after a game like this, you have to wonder if Andy Reid will have any more hair left as he has to decide what to do when Vick gets healthy.
Grade: A+
21/31 / 253 yards / 1 TD / 0 INT / 103.3 Rating
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