Jumping into the fire: Why rookie QBs need to start from day 1

Alright, so I'm on the ESPN website reading some polls. A recent one I participated in was asking the country which rookies would be the most successful this season, which position is the hardest to adjust to in the pros, etc. It was actually a bit harder for me to decide on who was going to have the best season. This past draft was one of the deepest in recent memory, especially in the first round. Guys like Calvin Johnson, LaRon Landry, Adrian Peterson, Jamarcus Russell, Joe Thomas, and Patrick Willis all seemed poised to have great careers in the NFL and should make immediate impacts with their new teams. Oh, you mean I forgot to mention everyone's favorite golden boy, Brady Quinn, and Ohio State's human blur Ted Ginn Jr.? I'll get to them later in my rant....

The poll had some pretty interesting numbers, the general consensus was that Lions receiver Calvin Johnson would have the most success on the offensive side of the ball, while Patrick Willis would handle his own for the 49ers on the defensive side. I can definitely see Willis, who's physical skills will be a welcome addition to the Niners, and could be just enough to push them into the 5th or 6th spot in the NFC playoffs. While Johnson is a complete freak, and I think he could be staring a potential Hall of Fame career in the face, the fact that slinger Jon Kitna has to feed the ball to Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, and Kevin Jones may not help his cause right out of the gate. I personally feel that Marshaun Lynch of the Bills is going to have a solid season and will be near the top of the Offensive Rookie of the year voting.

Don't worry.... I'm getting to my point. Later in the poll, the nation had the overwhelming belief that quarterback is the most difficult position to grow into (which I completely agree with), but nearly three-fourths of the 75,000+ people that voted said the best way to have the quarterback learn and grow is to have him ride the bench for a few years, learn the offense through observation, and finally jump into the fire when the time is right.

WHAT!!!?!?! Are you kidding me? Firstly... think about what you were asked. If the quarterback is the hardest position to make the transition to, what good is it going to do somebody to sit for two years, take 25% of the snaps in practice, and just look at film, and then get handed the keys to the Corvette and have the coach say, "There you go, have fun."

I've never understood this reasoning, for a few key reasons. First, you have to consider the fact that most teams that are drafting quarterbacks (especially in high rounds) are doing so in order to build their franchise. Take the 2005 draft, for example. The Niners drafted Alex Smith, and didn't make it a big secret that he was going to be starting right away. But hey, that makes a lot of sense. Are you paying the guy 50 million dollars to ride the bench, or to win your team games? Sure, when a guy's a rookie, you can't expect a Ben Rothelesberger season. But again, your team is probably sitting in the cellar of your division and doesn't have too much of a chance to win 12 games and charge straight to a conference title game. What do you have to lose? Again, do you really have that much faith in your back-up.

Think about the Bengals a few years ago when the took Carson Palmer first overall. Do you really expect Jon Kitna, their starter at the time, to pass for 4,000 yards and tip toe his way into the post season? Highly doubtful. This is exactly why I applaud the Raiders for making it clear to both their players that number one pick JaMarcus Russell would be handed the torch and start in Week 1. What I like about this decision is that the team isn't being thrown any curveballs. They know right away who's gonna be the captain. There won't be some stupid quarterback controversy that consumes the entire training camp. Players can concentrate on getting better, and preparing for the season, instead of answering questions everyday about who they think will start. Plus, think about this.... is Andrew Walter the quarterback you want to represent your team? No knock against Walter, but I think his skills can't touch Russell's potential and it really doesn't seem too far fetched for Russell to have a solid rookie campaign.

Now, I know you're thinking "Well, earlier you said that players like Rothelessberger are 1 in a million and rarely happen. So why would a team pretty much concede an entire season in order for ONE player to get better. Isn't that a bit selfish?" I do understand that your chances of winning double digit games is pretty slim. Sure, fans might be impatient, the team execs might want the coach to ruffle some feathers and keep things the way the used to be, but I still cannot see how a player gets better by sitting on the bench. The old saying goes "Practice makes perfect," not "Riding the bench and doing nothing makes perfect." Plus, you simply cannot win in the NFL without a strong quarterback. Sure, every successful team doesn't have a Tom Brady or Joe Montana behind the helm, but it's pretty safe to assume that no team has much of a chance with Jim Druckenmiller or Todd Maranovich taking snaps.

Oh, and here's a nice little tid-bit to digest: what do Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, John Elway, Troy Aikman and Ben Roethelessberger have in common? Not only did they ALL win Super Bowls, but the one that might be a little less obvious is they all played as rookies. Sure, their numbers might not be the kind of lights up, stat page busting numbers we expect from those names, but it was a start. And you know what, a guy can't win you games on the bench.