1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Tuesday “NFL Quarterbacks-Brilliant-Brutal”
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“NFL-QB-BRILLIANT-BRUTAL”
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2023 will go down as the Year of the QB in the NFL.
Brilliant seasons from Lamar Jackson (Baltimore)..Brock Purdy (SF)..Josh Allen (Buffalo)..Jalen Hurts (Eagles)..they are completing torrid-record performance seasons.
But the great seasons have been offset by a horrific siege of injuries virtually everywhere else.
On the out of town scoreboard, this weekend, the Steelers will start Mason Rudolph at quarterback, the third different starter for this year. It’s worse in other places, Joe Flacco, having success in Cleveland is the Browns fourth different starter.
The bottom line, if you are keeping score at home, as of this weekend, 20 of the 32-starting quarterbacks in the league have suffered major injuries. And in some cases, backups have gone down.
By Sunday, when Rudolph throws his first pass, there will have been 55-different starting quarterbacks this year in the NFL covering 15-weeks on the schedule for the 32-teams.
A brief look at the fatality rate of QBs, some on big hits, some on fluke plays.
CHARGERS..Justin Herbert fractured both index fingers.
RAIDERS..Jim Garoppolo concussion and bruised back
ARIZONA..Kyler Murray missing half the season rehabbing knee surgery
CHICAGO..Justin Fields thumb ligament damage
CINCINNATI..Joe Burrow torn wrist ligament
HOUSTON..CJ Stroud late season concussion
COLTS..Anthony Richardson 3-different injuries in 4-weeks
JAGUARS..Trevor Lawrence late season concussion and ankle
VIKINGS…Kirk Cousins ruptured achilles
SAINTS..Derek Carr late season concussion
GIANTS..Daniel Jones neck injury
JETS..Aaron Rodgers-achilles and Zach Wilson multiple concussions
STEELERS..Ken Pickett ankle surgery
RAMS..Matt Stafford back injury
SEATTLE..Geno Smith groin
TITANS..Ryan Tannehill multiple injuries
Add in the misery that happens when a team like Cleveland, for example, lost both of its backups including Dorian Thompson-Robinson and XFL refugee PJ Walker with injuries.
It’s gotten so bad Joe Flacco came off his couch and has led the Browns to come from behind wins over the last 3-weeks, when most thought he was retired, done, shell shocked, injured.
And then there was the catastrophe in Minnesota, where they traded for Josh Dobbs, who led them to a wild win without even practicing. But 3-weeks later he was benched in the wake of a 4-turnover game and 5-sack game on back to back weeks.
It’s not so much heavy hits, but it is incidents on plays. Herbert hit his hand on a shoulder pad-end of the Chargers season. Joe Burrough hit a player’s hand, wrecking his Bengals season. Rodgers pivoted on a roll out, blew out his ankle on the turf, and the Jets mess began. Richardson got crushed running the ball as a Colts rookie.
The Flacco comeback is surpassed by Jake Browning, a refugee who bounced around without much success, and then had to play and how well he’s played in Cincinnati.
The NFL has done so much to protect quarterbacks, but little has worked to make the job better and safer for the most important and highest paid player on any football field on Sundays.
NFL quarterbacks, some brilliant, some brutal ends to the season. A record setting season at the QB spot, for many of the wrong reasons.
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Look to the NFLPA bargaining agreement. Offensive linemen who need the physical practices in pads are hobbled with rules preventing them from developing. Add to it that the product coming out of college is nowhere near the same quality as linemen in the past. If you want healthy QBs,then you have to unlock the shackles that hold back their ability to become great technicians.
P.S. Derek Carr – broken ribs, shoulder, and concussion…