I’m sitting here watching Tom Brady just absolutely dismantle Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets. With the lopsided lead comes the heaping piles of praise for Brady for what he’s accomplished tonight and for his career. It’s well deserved, but it made me think about how either of the two quarterbacks got their shot to be starters in the first place.
Sanchez was a blue-chip prospect coming out of USC and the Jets traded up in the 2009 draft to make sure that they had a chance to select him and make him a pivotal piece for the future. Since the franchise used their first round pick on him, every opportunity was given to him to succeed right away as he was given the keys to the offence in his rookie season.
On the other side, Tom Brady was a name quarterback coming out of Michigan, but nothing was really expected of his career as a 6th-round selection of the New England Patriots. At the time, the quarterback position was clearly in the hands of Drew Bledsoe and barring injury, Brady was going to be stuck waiting for his shot. Luckily for him, he was able to get his chance and because Brady was so good, Bledsoe never got his spot back and was never the same quarterback again.
In reading about Brett Favre possibly playing Sunday after sustaining a shoulder injury that knocked him out of Sunday’s game, I couldn’t help but feel awful for Tavaris Jackson. Here’s a guy that has had to wait for so many years behind various quarterbacks and may never get his chance to be the guy in Minnesota.
We all know that Brett Favre would have to be bed-ridden or paralyzed before he would give up his iron man streak. Owner Zygi Wilf paid him 16 million dollars this year to be the quarterback and believes that he gives the Vikings the best opportunity to win. Until the Vikings are mathematically eliminated, the Vikings will rightly think about trying to make the playoffs.
Let’s also remember that interim head coach Leslie Frazier is looking to do everything possible to keep his job into next year and will be unwilling to rock the boat when he’s in such a precarious position of having to think of himself first and the team/players second.
Most people will say that if Tavaris Jackson were to get that ultimate chance and become a full-time starter for the Minnesota Vikings, he would ultimately fail because of a lack of passing skills and football IQ. I happen to be one of those people, but I’m beginning to think that the Vikings really need to give this guy a chance just to make sure that they don’t have a diamond in the rough.
The best example this season of someone grabbing hold of a spot when called upon is Michael Vick. By now, everyone knows the story about he had the world in the palm of his hand as he was making millions being the mega-star for the Atlanta Falcons, only to give it away because of being involved in a dog-fighting business.
When he came back last year, he was stuck as the third-stringer behind Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb and would only make appearances when the Eagles were in third and long situations or in a Wildcat formation. He looked like a shell of his former self whenever he did attempt a pass and the thought was that his career would never be the same.
However, after Kevin Kolb was knocked out of a game against Green Bay, Vick entered and as they say, the rest is history. What would have happened if Kolb had never been hurt and Vick was stuck watching as the backup?
It made me think of another quarterback in the NFL right now stuck in a position of being the backup and in need of a chance to show what he’s made of at the NFL level. I’m not saying that he’s guaranteed to be a great quarterback that will change the course of the franchise, but I’m beginning to think that he deserves a chance to show what he can do.
The Josh McDaniels era officially ended Monday in a surprising move by ownership due to the timing. The Broncos are a dismal 3-9 this season and McDaniels year-and-a-half reign of terror included many questioned moves of high-end talent like Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall and a final videotaping scandal when a staffer was caught by NFL officials videotaping a walkthrough ahead of their game in England against the 49ers.
One of the moves that was made under his watch was to move up in the 2010 draft and pick Tim Tebow late in the first round after such an incredible career at the University of Florida. The man could do no wrong as a Gator and now is the owner of many individual collegiate records that will be difficult to overcome, but could he duplicate that kind of performance at the pro level?
The debates raged throughout the summer about his mechanics, football IQ, arm strength, etc., but the biggest question of all was: Would he get a chance to impress? As of now, he’s attempted and completed one pass and has ran in for a touchdown. The problem is that despite the Broncos being so bad, the one bright spot has been Kyle Orton as he’s almost thrown for 4000 yards already and his statistics have him in the mix for a spot in the Pro Bowl. Will Tebow get the chance? Probably not, but I’d love to see what he could do.
Whether be in sports or in life, anyone who feels safe in the cushy position they’re in better realize that plenty of people are looking for you to fail and take the spot away from you. If you allow for that to happen, it’s a spot you may never get back. All those people who are waiting just need a chance. Tom Brady finally got his chance and look what he did with it.