Tim Tebow, Mike Kafka and 10 NFL QBs Who Fit Team Better Than Starters

Week 5 of the NFL season is nearly in the books and several teams are already finding themselves in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs. 

Who is to blame? Perception says the starting quarterback.

Teams that are under .500 are desperately searching for answers to turn their seasons around. It is time for those organizations to throw the kitchen sink out there to prevent becoming a weekly laughingstock.

For most fans of bad teams, the best player on the field is the second-string quarterback. Why not give the man with the clipboard a shot at a miracle?

At best, the backup steps in and leads his team to the promise land.

At worst, the backup cements his team's contention in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.

Here are 10 quarterbacks on the bench that, if given the opportunity, are better fits behind center.  

Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are 1-4 this season.

Their lone victory? Sunday's 34-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals. 

Donovan McNabb's line for that game? Just 10-of-21 passing for 169 yards and zero touchdowns.

Even when the Vikings win convincingly, McNabb's play is a liability to the offense. Adrian Peterson is going to get his impressive numbers regardless of who is under center.

It is time to get the first-round pick Christian Ponder on the field for Minnesota. With Peterson in his prime, Ponder will have a better chance to succeed against eight, nine men in the box.

Most importantly, it gives fans something to cheer for on the field—Minnesota's future. 

Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos

Seemingly every time Tim Tebow takes a snap for the Broncos, the entire offense comes to life. 

No, the numbers are not impressive and probably will never be for Tebow.

But, he keeps the Broncos in the football game, and seems to light a fire under his playmakers. Even underachiever Knowshon Moreno scored a touchdown while Tebow was in the game. 

Tebow completed four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers. He gave his team a chance to win against a far superior team, validating the cries from Denver fans to start the University of Florida product.

His mechanics are flawed. His numbers are ordinary at best. Nonetheless, starting Tebow will satisfy the Bronco fanbase and give the Broncos the best chance at winning games from here on out.  

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers

What has Alex Smith ever done to showcase himself as a leader capable of taking the 49ers deep into the NFL playoffs?

Yes, the 49ers are 4-1, including a 48-3 romp over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With 48 points, the line for Smith was still an ordinary 11-of-19 passing with 170 yards. 

Unquestionably, Smith is off to the best start of his career. Take a look at the schedule. Do the defenses of the Seahawks, Bengals, Eagles or Bucs scare you? 

Put Kaepernick in the starting lineup, and the 49ers instantly have a chance to have a weapon behind center rather than a liability.

The season comes down to this for the Niners: Alex Smith can lead his team to the playoffs in a weak division. But can he win a playoff game? His history says no.

The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl, and Kaepernick is the best hope for the 49ers. 

Mike Kafka, Philadelphia Eagles

The reason the Philadelphia Eagles are losing is not due to the talent on their roster. 

And let's face it, Michael Vick has plenty of talent.

However, turnovers are destroying the Eagles to this point in the season. The Eagles had five turnovers against the Buffalo Bills, including four interceptions by Vick.

The Eagles are last in turnover margin at minus-10.

No, Mike Kafka cannot run for 100 yards and throw for 400 more. However, he is adequate in distributing the ball to the playmakers on offense without turning the ball over. He is adept at taking what the defense gives him, something Vick has yet to learn.

At this point, what do the Eagles have to lose this season? 

Mark Brunell, New York Jets

The New York Jets are an aging team with a diminishing Super Bowl window.

Mark Brunell is an aging quarterback with a diminishing career.

Sounds like a match to me.

Count me a non-believer of Sanchez. The young quarterback has proven to be a liability to his club. In 2011, the Jets are passing the ball more. The result? A 2-3 record to start the season.

The progression of Sanchez is taking longer than expected for the Jets. With an aging roster and an impatient fanbase, the Jets have to win now. Brunell is a cagey veteran who can avoid interceptions by reading through the confusion that defenses confront Sanchez with on a weekly basis.

Sanchez is the future. As for the present, start Brunell and try to salvage the season.

 

Tyler Palko, Kansas City Chiefs

Do not confuse the two-game win streak of the Kansas City Chiefs as being a sign of things to come.

The wins were over the Minnesota Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts.

Matt Cassel is an adequate signal-caller at best. He is certainly not the long-term answer.

Without Charlie Weis as the offensive coordinator, Cassel and the Chiefs have looked lost on offense. The Chiefs rank No. 30 in passing yards per game at 176.2. 

Palko is a feel-good story, entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2007 with the New Orleans Saints. He also spent some time in the Canadian Football League.

Putting Palko at quarterback gives the Chiefs a good shot in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. And that is the best thing that can come out of this season for Kansas City. 

Luke McCown, Jacksonville Jaguars

The lone win for the Jacksonville Jaguars came with Luke McCown under center. The Jags defeated the 3-2 Tennessee Titans on opening weekend.

Blaine Gabbert simply is not ready at the NFL level.

Gabbert has completed only 49.5 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns in three starts. He went a dismal 16-of-42 against the New Orleans Saints, a team prone to allow big passing performances.

Jack Del Rio is trying to save his job. Starting Gabbert temporarily pleases the fanbase and owners.

However, for the benefit of Gabbert's future and Jacksonville's season, Luke McCown is the best option. 

Charlie Whitehurst, Seattle Seahawks

When starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson left the game with an injury in the third quarter, the Seahawks were trailing and looked to be en route to a loss.

However, Charlie Whitehurst came through for the struggling Seahawks, leading a fourth-quarter comeback on the road in a hostile environment.

Winning on the East Coast is never easy for any West Coast team. Seattle had been struggling to win games anywhere prior to Sunday's win.

It would behoove Pete Carroll's team to ride the Whitehurst wave as far as it will carry them. With the bye week coming, now would be the time to make the change.

Seneca Wallace, Cleveland Browns

Seneca Wallace has underrated numbers as a starter in the National Football League. 

Wallace has a career completion percentage of 60.4 with a quarterback rating of 83.9.

On the other hand, Colt McCoy has struggled to a quarterback rating of 76.3 with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Like the aforementioned Blaine Gabbert, McCoy is the future of the Cleveland franchise. However, for the purpose of winning this season, Wallace is the better choice.

Wallace is a mobile quarterback that can better escape the quick pass-rushers that play in the AFC North. More importantly, Wallace is less apt to turn the ball over at this stage in his career than McCoy.

Implementing Wallace under center is the right option, starting against Oakland on Sunday. 

David Garrard, Miami Dolphins

The fact that no one has signed David Garrard to play quarterback makes me a believer in the fact that teams are tanking the season to get Andrew Luck.

A perfect example is the Miami Dolphins. With the injury to Chad Henne, the starting quarterback in Miami is now Matt Moore.

Yes. Matt Moore.

For a coach who is fighting for his job in Tony Sparano, this would be the ideal move to salvage the season. Garrard is a capable fill in, and is certainly a better choice than Moore.

No, Garrard is not on the Dolphins depth chart. However, he is included on this list because it just makes too much sense not to happen.