Last year, I wrote that Byron Leftwich wasn’t getting a fair chance to be an NFL starting quarterback, and that NFL people were concentrating too much on his deficiencies instead of his winning record (24-20) as a starter. A lot of NFL owners, general managers and coaches prefer style over substance, and they’d rather have a player who has what they believe to be the necessities to be a good quarterback (height, arm strength, mobility, etc.) than someone who is great at winning football games.
Another example of this – NFL people putting a higher priority on style than substance – was Doug Flutie, who if he were given a fair chance would have been a very good NFL starting quarterback for 15 years. Still another example was Trent Dilfer, who was the starting quarterback during the 2000 season for the Baltimore Ravens who won the Super Bowl. Dilfer was 58-53 for his career, and he didn’t play on many good teams other than the 2000 Ravens. For that 10-1 record and Super Bowl championship, Dilfer got kicked out of the door in favor of Elvis Grbac and then Kyle Boller, the poster boy for the first round draft choice who doesn’t work out.
(At least Boller started for a few seasons. Top 3 overall draft picks Tim Couch, Ryan Leaf, and Akili Smith were all out of the league after a few seasons). I guess it’s high risk/high reward, like stocks. A good veteran quarterback (value stock) who can lead you to winning seasons is often passed over for a younger quarterback (more volatile, aggressive stock) who fits the mold but ultimately may not become a winner, but at least seems to have more potential.
I was reminded of this oddity – how NFL teams don’t always like winners – when Denver Broncos QB Jay Cutler was in the news lately. Not because of Cutler’s anger at almost being traded, but because it made me remember that Cutler’s predecessor, Jake Plummer, went 40-18 with three playoff appearances with Denver. Plummer was 7-4 in 2006 when he was replaced by Cutler, who lost 3 of the final 5 games of the season for the Broncos. Denver failed to make the playoffs that year. Ok, so you say the Broncos had to sacrifice a year for the future.
But Cutler’s record as a starter is 17-20 with no playoff appearances. Denver coach Mike Shanahan replaced Plummer with Cutler at the time because Plummer hadn’t played well in the playoffs, but he missed the point. First you have to get there, and once you get there, you have an excellent chance to win it all. The point is putting yourself in a position to win, which Plummer did. Look at the Cardinals this year, the Giants last year, and the Steelers three years ago. Each team barely made the playoffs but won or made it to the Super Bowl. You have to get to the playoffs – after that, there is some luck involved.
There are two sides to every story, and Plummer did make too many mistakes, while Cutler has a very strong arm and will probably have success one day. But at some point, production – wins – should matter. Substance should matter over style. Unfortunately, too often in the NFL, it doesn’t.
Tags: Byron Leftwich, Denver Broncos, Doug Flutie, Jake Plummer, Jay Cutler, Mike Shanahan, NFL, Quarterbacks, Super Bowl, Trent Dilfer
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