Rookie Quarterbacks: It’s About Time
September 30, 2014 | Sports,
By Jonathan Janas, KCOU Sports
Five quarterbacks were drafted in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, and only one of was given the starting nod in the first three weeks of the season. This was Derek Carr from the Oakland Raiders. The general public of NFL fans has been itching for the day to finally come where we get to see these exciting young stars on the big stage. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that time is here. Week 4 of the regular season saw three rookies under center.
The Minnesota Vikings placed veteran starter Matt Cassel on the IR after breaking several bones in his foot during last week’s matchup with The New Orleans Saints. That meant Teddy Time.
Louisville alum Teddy Bridgewater made his first NFL start this week against the 2-1 Atlanta Falcons. Whether or not Cassel can return later in the season, Teddy is likely to remain starter for all of the 2014-15 campaign. Bridgewater took his first NFL snaps last week and while he was unable to find the endzone, he showed his ability to be elusive in the backfield, and accurate when throwing the ball.
The situation still isn’t ideal for Bridgewater as he will be now in charge of an Adrian Peterson and Kyle Rudolph-less offense. Starting guard Brandon Fusco was also placed on the injured reserve meaning we might be seeing Teddy use his feet a lot more.
While putting Bridgewater under center will probably not instantly turn things around for the Vikings, Teddy’s mobility will add a whole new dimension the Vikings offense that could bring some positive changes.
Having been outscored 105-10 in eight quarters since halftime of the season opener, the Jacksonville Jaguars gave Blake Bortles an opportunity to prove why he should’ve been the first quarterback taken in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Bortles was given 2 quarters of play and was able to string together two touchdown drives and 223 yards passing. Bortles also had two interceptions to blemish his NFL debut but its not like we were expecting the Jaguars to be suddenly perfect anyway.
Bortles will be given the starting nod this week against the undefeated San Diego Chargers. While this might be a sign that the Jags have already given up on this season and are just trying to get this rookie some experience, expect Bortles to provide a spark to the Jacksonville offense. Maybe even a win?
The fourth pick of the second round brought a new starter to Oakland as Derek Carr will continue as the Raiders’’ quarterback. Carr has thrown for three touchdowns and three interceptions through three weeks of football. Carr will hope to break that string of three’s in week 4 against The Miami Dolphins in London this weekend.
Obviously a discussion about rookie quarterbacks wouldn’t be complete without JOHNNY FOOTBALL. Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was spotted hauling in a 40-yard bomb against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday. Sadly, that play was called back because of an illegal shift penalty but fans still got what they wanted for 13 seconds, and that was seeing the electrifying, play-making, headline-magnet that is Johnny Manziel.
Sadly for Johnny Football fans, starting quarterback Brian Hoyer is doing a pretty good job. Hoyer has thrown three touchdowns and turned the ball over zero times so far and while they’ve only won one game, it was against the Saints.
It won’t be long before Hoyer has a bad outing and the “Dawg Pound” is screaming for Manziel to take over and lead them into the promised land, but until then we can still expect to see Johnny fake arguments with coaches only to turn around and spark create some trickery for the Browns.
None of these quarterbacks are in ideal situations, but they all got their shot to take this league by storm. Bridgewater delivered in a big win for the Vikings, but both Bortles and Carr lost their respective contests.