Ok, so it's started already. Bucs fans expressing the hope that the team will tank the rest of its season and get its pick between Michael Mariota and James Winston. So let's take a look, however, briefly at the science of drafting quarterbacks. Case #1, RG II. such a sure prospect that the Redskins traded their future for him. What's he given back. A one-year wonder who likely will not return as starting quarterback for the Redskins. He looks already to have broken down and his game was largely based on mobility. Damaged goods who will be on the Free Agent Market in a year or two.Case #2, Andrew Luck. I know I'll get a lot of blow-back here, but that look at the data. He caused his team losses in the first two games. A fumble near the goal line against Denver and an interception that gave Philadelphia the chance to win on Monday Night. If he hadn't been playing in the weakest division in football the past two years, I doubt that he would have been so widely praised. I mean, hey, Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Houston. Please. Yes, I'd like to have him, but I don't see him taking his team to the playoffs this year or to the Super Bowl anytime soon.Case# 3, Matthew Stafford. Give me a break. Big arm and the best receiving corps in football and what do you get. He'll play out this contract and disappear. Great arm; bad head.Case#4. Jake Locker. Ughhhh. And the beat goes on.Case #5 Geno Smith. Need I say more.Case#6 Cam Newton. Some people love him. I think he's very average. He's not an accurate thrower. He has a great body, but what is going to happen when he gets a few more hits? Big arm, yes. Precise passer, no. Take away that great defense and he's not going to win games for you.Sure, there are exceptions, but my point is that measuring the potential of a quarterback is terribly difficult. With Colleges spreading their offense, the thought was that the transfer to the pro game was no longer a big deal. The evidence to back up that claim is weak. None of this year's high draft picks were deemed ready to start immediately except Carr and he's looked horrible. Oakland had no choice. Of course, there's always Peyton Manning (though he's won only one super bowl), the poster boy for sure-bet draft picks. Took him several years to become a winner, but the team had little success until Dungy came in and coached the defense. Yes, Russell Wilson looks like a keeper, though he also entered a win-ready team with a great defense. But let's look at the real keepers. Aaron Rogers. He sat for 2 or 3 years behind Brett Farve. Drew Brees, he was deemed a risk in his fourth year when he was a Free Agent. Developed in his fourth year. The other Manning, who has more super bowl rings than the rest. He's shown that he can be a good quarterback, when he has a running game and a good defense.Everybody focuses on the quarterback, and yes, you're not going to win a lot of games without a decent one, but football is a team game and a NFL defenses offer a tremendous challenge to guys coming into the league. The quarterback will get you over the top, see Joe Flacco and Brad Johnson, but they won't provide a quick fix for an average or poor team.The obsessive focus on the quarterback is misplaced. The Buccaneers are 0-2 and I offer no apologies or defense for McCown's poor decisions. But those games are not totally on him by any means. Our defense let two unproven quarterbacks look like pro bowl players. Fans should be screaming their outrage at the play of the secondary, the defensive line, and even the linebackers--as well as special teams. At crunch time, we didn't make the plays. We couldn't stop the Rams who started on their own 9 yard line, and we didn't come up with a pick-six interception thrown right to our safety. We had plenty of time and lots of momentum against Carolina, and what happened? Rainey fumbled. McCown didn't fumble that ball, Rainey did. Game over. So let's get over the GROUPTHINK. 80% of NFL games come down to two or three critical plays and turnovers. That's the way it is and it's not going to change.
