Which QB is under the most pressure this year?

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

The popular answer for that question will probably be Rex Grossman and for good reason. Other picks would be for guys like Jay Cutler, Tony Romo and Eli Manning.

I'm going to go with the guy that I'll hear the most about with me living in southeast Texas, Matt Schaub.

Rewind a year and a half. Carr and the Texans are coming off another disappointing season and fans are getting restless. The popular pick all along was Reggie Bush but the Vince Young bandwagon was quickly gaining steam. Young and the hometown Texans would have been perfect for each other much like Lebron James and Cleveland. Fans were actually calling in on sports radio shows saying they would be happy to sit through more losing seasons just to watch Vince Young develop and see the team built around him. They decided though to activate the rest of Carr's contract and draft Mario Williams.

(I'll never say taking Williams over Bush was a mistake. I doubt Bush would have added a single win to their total last season and Williams wasn't exactly terrible while playing hurt for half the season. He might turn it on this year. But for the reasons I mentioned, passing on Young might be questioned very much in the future.)

Now they've let Carr go and traded a 2008 2nd rounder for Schaub. I think he will have to show fans very quickly that he can lead the team to better things. While it's not this cut and dry, I think a lot of fans will look at it as the Texans chose Schaub over Vince Young. That's not fair to Matt but that's the way it is.

 

[Rob0729]

I'm sorry I will go with Rex Grossman. He is the popular answer because he is under a lot of pressure. The Bears fans expect to go back to the Super Bowl this year and even win it. Grossman is considered the reason they lost it last year and he is already playing like a player struggling under the pressure tonight.

Schaub is going to have a grace period in Houston. The Texans have been a horrible team since it's inception. Even modest progress on offense will be a step in the right direction. Expectations in Houston are far lower than Chicago.

Grossman is responsible for getting his team back to a Super Bowl. Schaub is responsible for making the offense better than it was under Carr and provide hope for 2008 being a playoff year for the Texans.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Thank God Brady isn't married to Bridget otherwise it'd be him... nothing can frazzle an elite QB quicker than dealing with a screaming baby and getting 2 hours of sleep a night for months at a time.

 

[mojocaster.com]

Mike Vick

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

Rex is a no-brainer, he's gonna get benched in wk3 or 4 of the reg season.

As for who "is on the hot seat"? My vote would go to Tony Romo. Yes, he's played very solidly this preseason(and this despite Glenn being injured and Owens playing sparingly)-but it's nonetheless put up or shut up time for him.

He went from being the toast of the national sports media to being just that-toast in a very short span. Dallas has a very good team this year, but he's going to have to step it up and stay focused consistently. The kid has alot of potential.

 

[broadwayjoe]

Well I'm going to say Eli Manning because he's in the Big Apple and also being the #1 pick in the draft and the Giants gave up a lot to get him and most fans know what happened on the trade from San Diego to New York. With Big Ben and Phillip Rivers quarterbacks from that same draft having already stepped up the pressure is on Eli to produce now and also with the loss of Tiki Barber the guy has to step up this year.

 

[Seven Nation Army]

Mike Vick

l

ten characters

 

[drakesta101]

I think this is a make or break year for Byron Leftwich

 

[Michigan Dave]

Things could get really bad for Eli in NY if he doesn't put up this season...

 

[zarakotas5]

There are less QBs that won't face merciless scrutiny than those that will.

Manning III has the wolves of New York, et al. Delhomme and the others further south in Miami will be feeling heat. Even somebody like Losman, who has seemed to progress well and fly under the veil of obsurd expectation is now tapped to be a dark horse star in the making. Then you have KC, ATL, etc...

My vote goes with Schaub, too. He's always been highly regarded, despite any proven, tangible reason to expect results. Combine the Bush/Young frenzy, as you said, with the debacle of the Texans' absense of any inkling of intuition....salary, compensation, stagnation, indirection, lack of conspiratorial talent....

 

[He Ban Me]

Schaub?? What kind of pressure does he have?? First year with a new team, not expected to go anywhere. Are you kidding? Schaub?? Maybe the idiots that make the draft day decisions are feeling it, but not Schaub.

Rex has the most pressure by far. He's got an able bodied 10 year vet with starting exoerience breathing down his neck, AND, they (Bears) are the odds on to return (to the SB) for the NFC.

 

[QuiGon]

The popular answer for that question will probably be Rex Grossman and for good reason. Other picks would be for guys like Jay Cutler, Tony Romo and Eli Manning.

I'm going to go with the guy that I'll hear the most about with me living in southeast Texas, Matt Schaub.

I think it is one of the guys in your first paragraph: Eli Manning... Schaub will have a little bit of a honeymoon period and, let's face it, he ain't exactly going to a team with a history of winning. The fans will gladly take anyone not name David Carr. Nobody is going to complain if he had some growing pains in what will be his first season as a starter.

But if Eli plays lousy en route to a 6-10 season, he's in a lot of trouble... especially if the players SD got for Manning (Rivers and Merriman) continue to excel...

 

[He Ban Me]

Jake Delhomme is another one. Guy single handedly blew more than a couple games last season. They ARE a pretty fairweather bunch in Charlotte though, and not lifelong Panther fans, so I think he is afforded a longer leash in that town.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

Jake Delhomme is another one. Guy single handedly blew more than a couple games last season. They ARE a pretty fairweather bunch in Charlotte though, and not lifelong Panther fans, so I think he is afforded a longer leash in that town.

Jake is not the problem-the OL is, it stinks.(their run game blows b/c of it) Jon Fox has largely signed former Pro Bowlers on the wrong side of 30, instead of investing in the draft.

 

[He Ban Me]

Jake is not the problem-the OL is, it stinks.(their run game blows b/c of it) Jon Fox has largely signed former Pro Bowlers on the wrong side of 30, instead of investing in the draft.

Those picks he threw at the end of games, in FG range to tie or win were NOT the fault of the O-line.

 

[zarakotas5]

Schaub?? What kind of pressure does he have?? First year with a new team, not expected to go anywhere. Are you kidding? Schaub?? Maybe the idiots that make the draft day decisions are feeling it, but not Schaub.

You're right. Being the choice over a #1 pick (Carr), the de-facto result of another #1 choice (Bush/Young), in a city that was stripped of a franchise deep in the heart of a state that defines itself by football carries no pressure.
Particularly when a valuable draft pick and a huge contract was parlayed for the favor of merely inhabiting the roster spot until another warm body can occupy it. Oh, and lastly being coveted as a commodity despite any real proof prior and then being thrust into a situation where he has to prove himself as a savior surely wouldn't be called a pressure situation for a young man new to any job.

If Schaub is lucky, he will parlay his opportunity for a couple years to finalize his financial security. If he is good, he will avoid being another in a long line of scapegoats in the eyes of the average Houston fan.

 

[mgteich]

Romo and Grossman

 

[Flying Fungi]

no McNabb on this list? what about Farvrvevrve?

Does anyone else think that Kitna is going to wallow in mediocrity?

Pennington?

 

[ironwasp]

To me there are two groups. Those who have a year and those who have single digit games.

I think top is Eli. He's been or borrowed time in NY for at least 12 months and now is put up or shut up time. Leftwich is another. Grossman another. Delhomme. These guys will be under huge pressure by week two if they are not delivering.

Then there is a whole bunch that have probably one year's grace to get themselves together. That probably includes Jason Campbell, Tarvaris Jackson, perhaps Alex Smith, Losman.

 

[PatsFan37]

To me there are two groups. Those who have a year and those who have single digit games.

I think top is Eli. He's been or borrowed time in NY for at least 12 months and now is put up or shut up time. Leftwich is another. Grossman another. Delhomme. These guys will be under huge pressure by week two if they are not delivering.

Then there is a whole bunch that have probably one year's grace to get themselves together. That probably includes Jason Campbell, Tarvaris Jackson, perhaps Alex Smith, Losman.

Good way to split it out. At the top of the list, I'd put Grossman first, then Eli. The Giants have a lot of injuries so some of the talk will be about that.

Grossman is playing on a very good team and he is the weakest link. Also, it'll be a long time before Chicago forgives him for his superbowl performance.