NFL QB Article

[manifest]

This article was written by my good friend, he asked me for some input on his journalism skills. I Figured I would post it here for some people to read.

Critique his writing skills if you want, he's considering persuing a career in sports writing. He wants to know if he has potential.

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“Who’s the best QB in the NFL today??”

The question has plagued discussions every NFL season, and with the rise of Tom Brady and the Patriots the question seems to have an answer. However, a few fan groups would make their case that there are at least a few other guys who can turn heads as well. After all, is greatness always measured with numbers? Today we’re going to analyze the question and consider the options we have. I think you’ll find that there’s more to this than meets the eye.

Since everyone is ranting and raving about Tom Brady, I found it fit to start with the Patriot “field general” himself. The numbers don’t lie. So far this season, Tom Brady has managed to pile up a remarkable 38 touch downs while only giving up a stingy 4 interceptions. Brady has soared over the 3,000 yard passing mark already, and that still seems low for the amount of touchdowns and completions he has registered. You’ve got to believe this seemingly low yardage point is due in part to the Patriots excellent defensive and special teams performances this year giving them very favourable field position consistently. Take into account that the NFL record for single season passing yardage is 5084 set by Dan Marino in 1984. With all the records Brady is on pace to shatter, this one seems the most daunting task with only 6 remaining games. In those 6 Brady faces three superb defensive units in the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New York “football” Giants. Brady is going to have to average close to 340 yards passing per game to tie Marino. There are, however, two records that Tom Brady seems likely to take over at the end of the season. Both records are currently held by the Indianapolis Colts lead hand, Peyton Manning. Brady’s current season total passer rating is a blasphemous 134.0, the record stands at 121.1 set in 2004. Ironically not the season the Colts won the super bowl. The record Brady seems most likely to obliterate is the single season touchdown record which currently sits at 49, set in 2004 as well. Okay, so Brady is carving up defences in a big way this year and a number of people are claiming this is due to the three astounding wide receivers the Patriots acquired in the off season. This is neither true nor false and I’ll show you why. You could make the case that it’s true because Brady has never had a single season in his career with a passer rating above 92.8 and he has also never thrown for a season total of more than 28 touchdown passes. This is a sure decisive factor right? Wrong! Without those three show stoppers Brady has almost filled his hand with super bowl rings (he has three to be exact). And quite remarkably, Brady never had any big name receivers to make one handed grabs in triple coverage up until this season. Are they putting up crazy numbers solely because Randy Moss will always come down with the ball? The answer is no. Tom Brady has, and always will be a great quarterback.

The fans of Indianapolis are screaming at the television every single time this debate is brought forth, and mostly for good reason! Peyton Manning is a very admirable player to say the very least. Descending from a history of football, Manning has seemed to take the teachings of Archie Manning and turned them into a science. I don’t know of a quarterback who knows more about the game of football than Peyton Manning. Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore, who is shrouded with 44 years of coaching experience and has had much success in that time, stands idle to Manning. Do you have any idea how good you have to be at your job to have your bosses and supervisors give you authority to call whatever actions or plays you feel are necessary with no consequence or punishment? Pretty damn good. Manning calls his own plays, his own audibles, and runs all his own drills in practice. Occasionally he will humour Moore and ask for suggestions. Don’t forget about the 7 hours per day of official film he watches on his opponents. As mentioned briefly above, Manning holds several NFL records already. One of the most under rated of Manning’s achievements is his 10 straight consecutive seasons without missing a single game, only second to Brett Favre in the iron man race. A lot of great people are commenting on how the Colts are struggling since their loss to the Patriots in week 9. But don’t be foolish to over look the key players that were injured in that game! There were three starting offensive lineman sidelined, as well key receivers Marvin Harrison and Dallas Clarke. Manning, I believe, is just feeling a little rattled. Like a baby without his security blanket. Don’t believe for a second Manning isn’t great without them.

I know some Steelers fans who are absolutely dumbfounded and baffled when they don’t hear the name Ben Roethlisberger mentioned amongst the current NFL greats. I think they have a solid case here. With a mere 4 NFL seasons under his belt, Roethlisberger already has a ring on his finger. What else you might ask? Well he’s only had one single season so far with a rating under 98.0! The current NFL record set by Steve Young for a career passer rating is 96.8. Guess what, if Ben keeps getting better Steve’s record is on pace to be shattered. So far this season he has managed to toss 23 strikes and give up only 8 takeaways with an impressive season rating of 107.5. What’s more impressive, is how he’s managed such numbers with only 2,200 yards through the air. One can only conclude that whenever he does throw the ball, he throws it well. Did anyone really wonder where the nick name “Big Ben” came from? I don’t think so. Just look at him. He’s a monster, and when he takes off to run not many defences have been able to build a plan of attack to shut him down. Big Ben is a very versatile quarterback who I feel is only going to get better with time. Don’t sleep on Ben!

In the heart of America, there’s one young man who has taken on the daunting task of leading America’s team back to greatness. Two seasons ago you probably had never even heard of him. Tony Romo has jumped out of the shadows with his jumper cables to jump start the dead horse than was recently known as the Dallas Cowboys offense. Since Troy Aikmans retirement, many have come and gone, and many have failed miserably to live up to the greatness Aikman brought to the team. Romo has been electrifying this year to say the least. Posting up 29 touchdowns with a competitive 13 interceptions and a 105.3 quarterback rating, Romo has been doing a little better than good I’d say. Well what about Terrell Owens? Well in case you didn’t know, Owens was there last year, too. Granted his fingers weren’t in 100% shape for the greater part of the year, Owens making ridiculous catches this year isn’t what is making Romo great. With only two years as a starting quarterback Romo is showing some of the best decision making and field reading ability any young quarterback has done to date. Is he the greatest now? Well experience wise it’s too early to tell. But he sure looks great, and he’s fun to watch. Cheers Tony.

After mentioning all these great players, could you believe there’s still one more left to discuss? With the league’s youngest roster, and also the league’s second-to-last ranked run game, the Green Bay Packers have a wily old man who has lead them to their best start since the great Vince Lombardi’s team in 1964. The man needs no introduction or long winded speech. Brett Favre is a true legend. At the young age of 38, Favre is having his personal best season in his illustrious 17 year career. As some may be aware, Favre holds a number of records by now, 6 that I’m aware of. This season he passed Dan Marino for the most touchdown passes in a career, and also took the title of most victorious quarterback of all time with 152 games won. The most impressive record Brett holds, and quite possibly most admirable to all fans, is his iron man streak. Since being traded from the Atlanta Falcons in 1992 and entering as starter for the injured Dan Majkowski, Brett Favre has never missed a single game. He holds the iron man record amongst quarterbacks with 250-some odd starts in a row (not including post-season). That streak is second in NFL history to only Jim Marshall, a defensive end, who totalled 282 consecutive starts. But we all know defence dishes the hits while the offense takes the hits. For a quarterback to have started that many games it’s astonishing. Some critics could argue that Favre’s flaw preventing “best of all time” status is his ability to throw the interception. Everyone who has seen a past game of Favre has seen him throw up some balls into double or triple coverage. Some throws that just made people scratch their heads. Favre indeed holds the NFL record for most interceptions in a single career, another stolen from Dolphins great Dan Marino. To those of you who raise that point, how do you explain this season’s numbers? Favre has put up 22 touchdowns while only giving up 8 interceptions. He’s thrown for 3,356 yards already with a career best passer rating of 101.5, all with a very inexperienced offense. The only familiar face is Donald Driver. But unlike any quarterback that I’ve seen play the game, young or old, great or not, Favre enjoys playing the game to the extent compared to a little kid in a candy shop. Favre has uplifted the rookie-based Packer team and has injected green and gold so far into the roots of cheese heads across the globe that it would be impossible for us to forget him. So long as Favre is walking he will be out there breaking his receivers fingers. We love you Brett.

I believe that I have brought one critical piece of evidence to the table. Each quarterback has his own claims to fame. To say that one is the greatest is a sham and direct slap to the face of many great legacies. There is no best, let the answer be heard and the question never be asked again.

[THAY3R]

I stopped reading after awhile, but it seems like a 7th grader descriptive essay.

Way too many adjectives/analogies.

[manifest]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I got through the entire thing but I was getting pretty annoyed with the analogies.

"Favre has uplifted the rookie-based Packer team and has injected green and gold so far into the roots of cheese heads across the globe that it would be impossible for us to forget him. So long as Favre is walking he will be out there breaking his receivers fingers. We love you Brett."

lol, I love that one though.

[Pudge714]

I agree with Thay3r in regards to the writing. The conclusion is pretty poor as well you would have to be really stupid too legitimately think Favre, Romo or Roethlisberger > Manning or Brady

[ClarkNasty]

Ugh. Start with more paragraphs, but it's not very good.

Why are we being subjected to this again?

[RacersEdge]

Agree with above - overly descriptive without substance. Maybe he watches ESPN a lot.

Also, it would pack more punch if he was taking a position instead of saying there is no position to take.

[bustowithnobra]

jesus christ, somebody call the whambulance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_138p6uzhUk

[T-God]

This is where my love for the semicolon really pays off!

Also, you don't use jumper cables on a horse.

I honestly think this article is near-unreadable. There are sentence fragments everywhere, he jumps around all over the place, and really doesn't offer anything we haven't all heard 100 times before.

Tell your friend to take some english classes to improve his skillz.

[Triumph36]

given the drivel that sports writers typically write, he's got a head-start.

nah there's several problems, namely the use of first person (who does he think he is, tony kornheiser?), use of rhetorical questions and similar filler - there's all sorts of words that are superfluous, and in journalism that's a killer - space is of the essence. The 'article' could likely convey all the same information in half the space.

[ClarkNasty]

ok, that's enough free advice.