2012 Preseason Report Quarterbacks Week 1: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not?
By cowgirlcas
This is the first of a weekly series I will be doing throughout the preseason. Most football fans (and the media) seem to base wins and losses on the performance of the quarterback. So, I decided to do a weekly report on the efficiency of the quarterbacks in the NFL. I will list the best and the worst performances of the starters. Week one proved to be shocking to say the least. One thing to note, after you read this, compare QB efficiency to wins and losses. It doesn’t always matter how well the QB played.
Week One’s Worst Performances
You will probably find this a bit unbelievable, but Aaron Rogers had the worst game in the entire NFL. In fact, I don’t think I ever saw an NFL starting QB rack up a passer rating of (0), yup, a big fat zero. (Ya that’s what I thought.) In 2011, Aaron Rogers completed 343 of 502 passes (68.3%) for 45 TDs and only 6 INTs, netting a passer rating of 122.4 for the season.
If this 1st game is any indication of how his season will turn out, Green Bay may be in trouble. The question becomes: was it rust, or a lack of offseason work? Only time will tell. However, for the Packers’ sake, let’s just hope it was rust.
He completed 2/8 passes(25%) for 16 yds and an interception, compiling a passer rating of zero.
The team’s overall passer rating was only (59.0) “OUCH”! The Packers OL allowed 2 sacks (Rogers took none of them) and their defense netted 2 sacks.
(Kevin Kolb of the Arizona Cardinals also had a zero passer rating, but I am not including it because Arizona hasn’t named who the starter is yet. It’s a battle between him and John Skelton. However, Skelton is showing that he is the front runner in the competition. This is a bad thing for Arizona who sold the farm last year to acquire Kolb in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. It appears as though their QB woes are continuing. The worst part is, the team’s overall passer rating for week 1 was a horrendous 43.2.)
Ok, Ok, I know that Tim Tebow isn’t a starter right now, but with all the hype and media coverage of him supposedly being outstanding in his debut with the Jets, I just had to put him on the list. Mr.Wonderful once again was an epic failure. I really don’t understand how this guy made the list of the top 100 players in the NFL, especially when I look at his numbers from 2011. He was 126 for 271, completed a pathetic 46.5% of his passes with only 12 TD’s and 6 INT’ for a passer rating of 72.9. Hardly what I would call stellar play, let alone worthy of a spot among the top 100 players in the NFL.
In his debut with the Jets he was 4/8 (50%) for a lousy 27 yds, (yup only 3.4 yds per attempt), with O TDs and 1 INT for a passer rating of 18.2. Sorry folks, I just can’t find it within myself to jump on this media bandwagon of supporting the guy who ranked at the bottom of the league in almost all categories as a QB in the NFL in 2011. Especially when a media scapegoat like Blaine Gabbert came out and torched the world champion Giants’ 1st team defense and had a 102.9 passer rating.
I have to say that I find this next performance quite amusing given all of the media hype coming into the 2012 season about the return of Peyton Manning. In 2010, he completed 450 of 679 passes (66.3%) for 33 TD’s and a whopping 17 INT’s, netting a passer rating of 91.9 for the season. Due to complications resulting from neck surgery, he missed the entire 2011 season. With that being said, we can give him a pass in week one because he needs time to knock the rust off, but at 36 years of age, will the veteran ever be able to return to form? Only time will tell. Manning completed 4/7 passes (57.1%) for 44 yds, zero TDs,and 1 INT for a passer rating of 36.3. The team’s overall passer rating was 78.2. The OL allowed 3 sacks (Manning took none of them), but the defense racked up an incredible 6 sacks. If nothing else, the defense may be able to make up for Manning’s shortcomings in the weeks to come.
It just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t include the media’s other poster boy, Mr. Cam Newton. He was out performed by both of his backups. Newton only completed 2/6 passes for 17 yds (33.3%) for a passer rating of 42.4. Jimmy Clausen led the team by completing 3/6 passes (50%) for 24 yds (in spite of taking 5 sacks) for a passer rating of 60.4.
In 2011 Cam put up decent numbers for a rookie as he completed 310/517 passes (60%) for 4,051 yds and 21 TDs. What most people fail to realize is his interception percentage. He threw 17 picks to those 21 TDs. I believe that was a major factor in Carolina’s losing record. Turnovers will kill you. If he can increase his accuracy, he will be a force to be reckoned with in the NFL.