Offseason Review: The QB Situation

Don’t miss Nate’s bold prediction just below this post!

There has been no bigger controversy this offseason than the choices made about the quarterback position for the Seattle Seahawks. Lets review:

• The Seahawks could not get Matt Hasselbeck re-signed before the start of the lockout.
• The Seahawks did not choose a quarterback in the April draft.
• Within hours of the lockout being lifted, the Seahawks informed Hasselbeck that he wasn’t going to be brought in, and instead signed Tarvaris Jackson to be the starter.
• Jackson struggled throughout most of the preseason, while backup Charlie Whitehurt played fairly well, leading to there being a large group of vocal fans wanting Whitehurst to be named the starter. Despite this, Jackson remains atop the depth chart.

So here we are with Tarvaris Jackson as the starting Quarterback going into the season opener against the 49ers. Doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence does it? It should be noted, though,  that the players voted on team captains this week, and that Jackson was voted in as captain. Perhaps the team really does believe in Jackson to be the starter after all. Personally, I can’t say I have much faith in him at this point.

I do want to point out that I actually agree with the team’s choice not to draft a QB. No, that isn’t a vote of confidence for either Whitehurt or Jackson. It’s simply my take on the QB class from the 2011 draft. I don’t believe that any of them ever before a franchise QB, which the lone exception beings Cam Newton.

The thing is, QB is the only position in football where good simply isn’t good enough. Let me explain: You can’t have all-pros at every position, some of any team’s starters must be good to average players. The salary cap dictates this. The thing is, a team can get by with an average guard, or linebacker, or safety, or halfback. Sure, having Adrian Peterson instead of Justin Forsett at HB is a huge plus. I’m not saying it’s not, it’s just that you can get by with a lesser player at just about any position as long as there’s talent around player to make up for it.

That isn’t true at QB. There is no incremental improvement at the QB position. The player is either good enough, or they’re not. Picking up a QB simply because they’re the “best available” makes no sense at all. You either believe that the QB can be a franchise QB who can lead your team to the playoffs, or you don’t. And when it comes to this year crop of QB, I just don’t believe any of them are good enough.

Andy Dalton’s arm makes Chad Pennington’s arm look like a rocket launcher; Colin Kaepernick’s arm isn’t much better, and he comes from an offense that is about as far from a pro-style offense as possible; Ryan Mallet needs a brain transplant before he’d ever be my starting QB; and on and on. Every QB that might have been available has serious flaws and question marks. Like I said before, I don’t think any of them will ever be a franchise quarterback. Drafting any of them is drafting a QB that will ultimately be no better than Trent Dilfer.

Right now, you might be thinking “I’d much rather have Dilfer than Jackson.” I wont argue with you much there, but please look at the bigger picture. Drafting a fairly “meh” QB this year likely means that the team is stuck with that QB for a few years. By passing and giving Jackson a shot, the team still has the option of drafting a real franchise QB next year.

So drafting a QB like Dalton in first round just because he’s the best available is a stupid move. The team was much better off passing on a QB and drafting a player who’s actually capable of helping the team win.  Perhaps I’m wrong on Dalton, or any of the other QB the Seahawks passed on.