Throwdowns > Closed

Gruden said 06/22, 04:33 PM
For my first choice, I'll take a guy with over a 64% win record, over 20,000 passing yards, 149 career touchdowns and a season last year that that was actually statistically #1 in the NFL....yet he still missed the playoffs.

No quarterback has more headlines and publicity with so very little to show for it. He dates famous people, married Ms Missouri, and is constantly listed in the top whatever in the NFL when you list the best quarterbacks. He has done it all, it would seem.

Yet with all of this success, he has exactly one playoff win to his credit. And many playoff games where he was the scapegoat for his team's losing. Maybe he fumbled a snap on a kick, maybe he fumbled the ball trying to run it into the end zone, maybe he threw an interception. Whatever happened, he lost the game.

This guy has skill. He has more raw ability than nearly every other quarterback in the NFL. His team is consistently solid. But for some reason they lose when it matters. And until he wins a Super Bowl, he will always be considered an underachiever.

Obviously, my first choice for a quarterback under the most pressure THIS SEASON, is Tony Romo.

Gruden said 06/24, 04:14 PM
My second choice is a quarterback that needs to win as much for his team and fan pressure as he does for his own personal legacy.

Peyton Manning is one of the best statistical quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. He holds records others could only dream of. But that's regular season. Winning 11 or more games every year and making the playoffs is just second nature to him. But in those playoffs, he has a 9-10 record, and 4 of those wins were in the one Super Bowl winning year. Beyond that he's 5-10 in the playoffs.

Yet Denver still gave him $18 million this year, and nearly $100 million over next 5 ($58 million GUARANTEED), to replace one of Denver's most loved players and lead them to the title. In Indy, Peyton had a loving audience who was just as happy with a ring as not. In Denver, he'll find the fans aren't so forgiving. They cheered the departure of Tim Tebow, and they loved him! But they cheered because Peyton was coming to down. And he'll be expected to win immediately.

John Elway expects it to, so he can prove to the fans how great of a manager he is.

The pressure is on no quarterback like it is on Manning in 2012.

Gruden said 06/25, 09:46 AM
here is no quarterback in the NFL under more pressure to win, and win it all, than Michael Vick.

Either he is as great as some say he is, or he is as bad as others say he is. The only person in the league that can answer this is Michael Vick himself.

Now I realize the risk of this pick, since most people don't want him to win. But that's not my argument here. He served his time. He completed all aspects of his punishment. But none of that means anything to Eagles fans if he doesn't win.

He was supposed to win last season, but the team fell off the rails rather quickly, and never got back on.

Now this season the had what can only be described as an "A" on their draft. They made great moves AGAIN in free agency. So it all comes down to this:

Either Michael Vick is a superstar or a failure at QB. The only way he can answer this is to win...NOW.