The Kids are Alright

Sunday night I was at the Laker’s game with my friend Vayacondios. As often is the case during Sunday games, our talk turned to football. He wanted to know who in our fantasy football league had picked up Tony Romo off of waivers. Then he started telling me about where he was when Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe as the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback. He was at the gym where they were showing the Cowboys/Giants game. When he saw Bledsoe benched, he actually laughed out loud and figured the ploy would blow up in head coach Bill Parcells’ face.

Well right now it looks like Parcells is getting the last laugh. The Cowboys are 7-4 and primed to make the playoffs behind the play of Romo who threw for 5 touchdowns on Thanksgiving Day versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to lead the Cowboys to there third victory in a row.

Not only was Parcells right about Romo, it seems that he has also inspired a couple of other coaches around the league to ditch their veteran quarterbacks. As I looked around Staples Center, I caught the score for the Carolina Panthers/Washington Redskins game, 17-13 Washington. Given that Carolina needed the win to boost their chances to make the playoffs while the Redskins seem to be out of it after losing Clinton Portis for the season, I was more than surprised by the result. I wondered how the Redskins’ new quarterback Jason Campbell had done.

When I got home after the Lakers victory over the New Jersey Nets, I saw that while he only threw for 118 yards, he did throw two touchdowns and most importantly got the win in his second start for the Redskins. While the Redskins at 4-7 are out of the playoff hunt, it still looks like benching Mark Brunell and playing Campbell was the right choice for head coach Joe Gibbs. Meanwhile in Tennessee, rookie Vince Young rallied the Titans past the New York Giants and in Minnesota, rookie Matt Leinart threw for 405 yards in the Arizona Cardinals’ loss to the Vikings.

Then there are the Denver Broncos. I tuned in on Thanksgiving night to watch the NFL Network air its first live broadcast and was surprised to hear Cris Collinsworth say that the game would probably be the last start for Jake Plummer this season. There had been talk all season regarding the possibility of Plummer getting benched for rookie Jay Cutler, but I never thought it would happen. Despite Plummer’s struggles, the Broncos were still playing fairly well going into their game against the Kansas City Chiefs and looked to be a lock for the playoffs.

Plummer didn’t really play badly, but the Broncos still lost to the Chiefs 19-10 and made head coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to go with Cutler seem a little more sensible. But does it really make that much sense? Sure Plummer has thrown five more interceptions this season than he did all last season and his quarterback rating is down almost 20 points from last years 90.2 rating, but the Broncos were still winning with him.

Apparently winning regular season games and possibly making the playoffs isn’t enough for Shanahan. He wants another Super Bowl ring and doesn’t think Plummer can get him one. I can’t really argue with that but I do wonder whether Cutler will give him a better chance. Sure the kid might have looked good in the preseason, but will he really be ready for the next level after playing last year at Vanderbilt, that well-known football powerhouse. Romo has at least been in the league for four years. This is the second season for Campbell. While Leinart and Young are also both rookies, at least they both played in the BCS National Championship Game last year. Plus, neither the Cardinals nor the Titans have a chance to make the playoffs so their struggles won’t keep their teams out of the post-season.

Can’t say the same about the Broncos. If Cutler struggles, the Broncos will probably miss the playoffs for the first time in four years. So I still wonder whether Shanahan has made the right choice. I guess we’ll all find out this Sunday night when the Broncos take on the Seattle Seahawks.