Three QBs, Three Different Paths

Wednesday, October 4, 2006
By BOB LABRIOLA
Steelers.com
It was April 2004, and personnel people on teams looking for quarterbacks in the upcoming draft were trying to get a handle on the top three prospects.
Eli Manning was supposed to be the guy who combined the physical skills with an advanced understanding of football that would come from having a father and an older brother preceding him as NFL quarterbacks.
Ben Roethlisberger was supposed to be the guy who had the best combination of physical tools but would need time to learn the position at the professional level.
Philip Rivers was supposed to be the guy who was most ready to play in the NFL, even though his mobility was limited and his throwing motion was something less than classic.
It's now October 2006, and the guy who supposedly had it all going for him is 13-14 as a starter with almost as many interceptions as touchdown passes; the guy who needed the time to develop has a 27-6 record as a starter and a Super Bowl ring; and the guy who was most ready to play will be making his fifth career NFL start on Sunday night.
Such is life in the NFL, where what you think you see isn't necessarily what you get.
Roethlisberger vs. Manning took place in late 2004, and on Sunday night at Qualcomm Stadium it'll be the first installment of Roethlisberger vs. Rivers. And suffice it to say that each team is pleased with the quarterback it selected.
"Philip Rivers, Eli Manning and Ben were the top three quarterbacks, and they all had their strengths," said Coach Bill Cowher during his Tuesday news conference at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex. "Philip is a guy that came off a very productive college career, a charismatic kid and a good leader.
"Being out in that system now that he has taken over, I think he has performed well to this point. The more they open things up, the more comfortable they will become with him and as the game dictates, too. The guy has a strong arm, he has a good feel for moving in the pocket, he is a good athlete, sees the field very well and I am very impressed with him and have a lot of respect for him."
On the day each of these three guys was picked, not one of the teams planned on throwing a young quarterback onto the field for the start of the season. The New York Giants wanted Manning to learn from Kurt Warner; the San Diego Chargers had Drew Brees returning; and the Steelers believed Tommy Maddox still was a starting-caliber NFL quarterback.
A training camp injury to Charlie Batch first made Roethlisberger the backup, and then Maddox's arm injury in the season's second game, at Baltimore, forced Cowher's hand and made the rookie the starter. In New York, Warner's bumbling eventually enticed Coach Tom Coughlin to try Manning in the second half of a 2004 season going nowhere.
But in San Diego, Rivers hurt himself when he missed all of his first training camp trying to get a contract done, and Brees took advantage of the opening. In 2004-05, Brees quarterbacked the Chargers to a 21-11 record and one division title, and Rivers got stuck watching it all.
And so it happened that the guy judged most ready to play in the NFL has had to wait the longest to get his chance.
But as to what is the best way to bring along a young quarterback – play him or sit him – well, there is no definitive answer. It's worked both ways, and it has failed both ways.
"It's so subjective," said Cowher. "You look at the situation right now around the league, with (Matt) Leinart and (Vince) Young, they are both now going to become starters in week five. I don't know if there's any real plan that you can say is the right way of doing it. It has to be what's best for your football team, because if you try to do it at the expense of the football team, you won't have the proper support.
"You have to be very careful. It varies on where the team is and the situation that the individual has been put into. Again, it has to go back to what gives the football team the best chance to win. You never want to prioritize one person's development at the expense of the team, regardless of what the record is.
"You have too many people out there you're asking to play week-to-week and sacrifice a lot to prioritize one's person's development. To do it any other way is sending the wrong message. It is my opinion, if a guy gives you the best chances of winning that particular week, then play him."