A season without your starting QB...how would others have coped ?

[PaulThePat]

As we all know the Patriots have just played an entire season with a backup QB who was drafted in the 7th round having not started a single game in college. Due to the kids natural talent, the supporting crew on offence and the excellent coaching he was able to guide us to a record which in most seasons would have seen us in the play-offs.

This lead me to wonder how other teams would have coped with their franchise QB biting the dust in the opening minutes of the season. I’m really just thinking of play-off level teams where there would normally be a noticeable drop off from starter to backup ie the likes of Indy, Steelers, Giants etc. How many games would the Colts have won with Sorgi behind centre, would the Giants be tipped for a repeat with David Carr at the controls ? Would the Steelers be a good bet for the Superbowl with Big Ben on IR ?

Which teams if any of the contenders would have coped as well as the Patriots did ?

 

[memento]

bengals are a pretty good example of what you expect when the franchise qb goes down, i think they'd flirt with contention if palmer were healthy.

titans are basically on top of the league with their veteran backup qb kerry collins. i never thought theyd make it this far without vince young.

i always thought of jim sorgi as the matt cassel of the colts, so i figure the colts would do somewhat alright with him. but without manning we win the colts game and i think the colts miss the playoffs, sorgi threw a pic and no touchdowns in the only game he played this year.

byron leftwich didnt screw things up for the steelers when he was in this year. i see him as a game manager on par with david garrard since they were competing for the jag job for a while. after the 2007 season i'd say garrard is pretty good, but i can't say that after this season steelers either miss the playoffs or sneak a wildcard spot with leftwich.

San Diego barely deserves to be in the playoffs with philip rivers, let alone whoever his backup is. Same with Arizona and Kurt Warner.