Are NFL Franchises Finally Trying To Win Now?

Is this the year when NFL franchises actually want to win now and not build for later?

In past years, we've seen teams like the Ravens and Bears, who have had great teams throw seasons down the drain by playing young, "developing," quarterbacks like Kyle Boller and Rex Grossman when they could have easily gotten a capable veteran.

These teams wasted their opportunities for a Super Bowl championship in order to develop their young quarterbacks. But the worst part is that most of the time, these “developing players” never developed into anything more than mediocre quarterbacks.

Kyle Boller never improved much and got benched for Steve McNair in 2006. He hasn't gotten his spot back.

Rex Grossman also didn’t improve much, and got benched for Brian Griese last year. Now he is backing up Kyle Orton.

This year, former first-round picks Vince Young and Matt Leinart, as well as former second-round pick Tarvaris Jackson, have all been benched for veteran players that their teams think are going to help them win now.

Vince Young getting injured was a blessing in disguise for the Titans. The Titans have a great defense and running game, and Young was the one inconsistent part of their team, besides their receiving corp.

Young had a quarterback rating of 71.1 last season and didn't look like he was going to improve this year after having a quarterback rating of 46.1 in the Titans' opening-day loss.

The Titans are 2-0 with Kerry Collins at the helm, averaging 26.5 points per game, and they actually have a chance of being championship contenders this year.

Even though Vince Young technically lost his job to injury, Coach Jeff Fisher implied that Collins would continue to be the Titans' starter unless he falters, even after Vince Young comes back.

Just like the Titans, in order for Kurt Warner to become the starter over Leinart, the Cardinals needed a little bit of luck.

The Cardinals aren't the same developing team they once were and now have a much-improved defense and offensive line to go along with their tandem of Pro Bowl wide receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

Because of the Cardinals' talent, they are in a position they haven’t been in for years. It was obvious to anyone who watched Leinart or Warner play last year that if the Cardinals wanted to win this season, Warner was the only real choice.

The Cardinals got lucky and Matt Leinart ended up playing so badly this preseason that the job was given to Warner by default.

It was obvious that Coach Ken Whisenhunt wanted to name Leinart the starter but couldn't.  If Leinart was named the starter and played at the same level he played in the preseason, Whisenhunt would have taken some serious heat from the fans and media.

Warner has a quarterback rating of 111.7 this year, and the Cardinals are 2-1 with him at the helm and finally have a chance of having a successful season.

The Vikings didn’t get lucky, like the Cardinals and Titans, but rather wised up and realized that their season was going down the drain and they needed to play a veteran like Gus Frerotte in order to save it.

The Vikings were actually in a very similar situation to the Titans. They have a great running game and defense and Tarvaris Jackson, just like Young, was the one inconsistent part of their team besides their receiving corps.

It was obvious to a lot of people before the season that Jackson was still a developing player and that he would only hold the Vikings' talented team back.

However, Brad Childress and the Vikings' coaching staff thought they knew better and started off the season losing two very winnable games.

The Vikings' coaching staff finally wised up and started Frerotte in Week Three against Carolina.

Not surprisingly, the team won their first game of the season, 20-10. With Frerotte at the helm, the Vikings have a chance of being a serious contender this year.

Giving time for young players to develop can be a good thing if a team is rebuilding.

However, if a team is in a position to win now, it's important for them to have stability at the quarterback position.

How many times does a franchise finally get the chance to make a serious run at the Super Bowl?

The Titans haven't won a playoff game since the 2003 season.

The Vikings haven't made the playoffs since 2004, and the Cardinals haven't had a winning season since 1998.

None of these franchises have ever won a Super Bowl.

Once a team finally gets enough talent to be a serious contender, it's important for them not to waste their chance in order to develop young quarterbacks.

Hopefully the Titans, Cardinals, and Vikings are starting a trend that NFL teams will follow in the future so that teams won't waste seasons of potential promise.