Starting From Scratch at QB

[DanoooME]

Let's say you are running a team called the Jests and the only QB options available to you are the following list.  The rest of your team is somewhere between average and below average.  Who would you trust to lead your team for next season?  This ignores contract status (even though all of these guys are dreadfully overpaid right now), as well as your draft status and just picking a college kid and running with him.  I just want to know who you'd take FROM THIS LIST ONLY given their perceived talent level, experience, etc. to quarterback your team for a year.
 
We've heard a lot about the failures of Kaepernick in SF, the ups and downs of Dalton in Cincy, the mostly downs of the last two years of Eli, the mess Jay Cutler has turned into in Chicago, and the struggles of the Detroit offense under Stafford despite a ton of weapons there.
 
 
If it was me, I'd want them in this order.
 
1. Stafford - Megatron being out hasn't helped him, but at least he isn't a turnover factory like some of these guys.
2. Kaepernick - You'd have to gamble that he's just in a funk because the team is in a funk.  Maybe a change of scenery helps his game.  He's got the talent, but you have to wonder about his decision making.
3. Eli - His O-line has fallen apart and he has only one real weapon right now in Beckham.
4. Cutler - He's not anything great, but he's not so bad he needs to be benched.
5. Dalton - The most overrated guy in the league right now.  The Bengals are winning despite him.  He's got the lowest passer rating of the group.  The Bengals have a very good running game and plenty of weapons in the passing game.  The guys all above him on this list would kill to have Dalton's offense.

 

[SawxSince67]

More than any of those guys, I "think" that Eli has been betrayed by his team re; new offensive approach/coordinator, huge turnover in his O line, mediocrity as running backs and one viable option at wideout. Thus, I feel like he is the most salvageable. Even with an average group.


Edit: I admit that "betrayed" may be a bit over the top!

 

[The Talented Allen Ripley]

I don't think anyone's overrating Dalton at all.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

So I'm only taking the guy for one year and my goal is to win the most games that year with an otherwise mediocre team?
 
I'll take Eli as long as I have a couple decent receiving options and a non-porous OL.  He actually hasn't been that bad this year overall, especially if you look past the one massive stinker against SF.   Stafford also deserves consideration but I'm not really convinced that he's better than Eli in the pocket passer category.  I'm pretty down on Kaepernick but he might also deserve consideration depending on the nature of the surrounding offensive talent.  I can see some situations where if all you want to do is finish 8-8 with a certain constellation of mediocre offensive talent, its better to have Kaep out there running the pistol then trotting out a classic pocket QB who has nobody to throw the ball and no time to do it.

 

[MalzoneExpress]

I think Stafford would do the best under the conditions: "The rest of your team is somewhere between average and below average." Other than Megatron, isn't that what Stafford has been working with?  Kaepernick, Cutler and Manning have shown less when their supporting casts have been average or below. Dalton would crumble with on a team somewhere between average and below average.

 

[crystalline]

Agreed with MMS. We've witnessed the return of the pocket passer this year, as the shine has come off of Kaepernick and RG3 (and prospects like Geno and EJ Manuel). I don't think Kaepernick can get you to the promised land as I think he doesn't have the pocket skills. I realize injury luck is half the battle in the NFL and the 49ers have lost a lot of key guys, so it may just be that- Brady looks like trash in the pocket when the OL is bad too. But starting with the Super Bowl he lost I have never seen any poise from Kaepernick. Maybe I havent watched the right games.

People are overrating Cutler, he should be easily last. As soon as the game is close he starts taking terrible risks and word is he has no rapport with his team. He's got a big arm and that's about it. The Bears are screwed.

 

[TheYaz67]

I was sure this was going to be a thread about the Redskins.....  :smith: 

 

[Phragle]

I've can't figure out Eli, but he's better than Cutler and Dalton. Those two are the worst. Stafford and Kaepernick still have some potential, but I can't shake the feeling that Stafford doesn't give a shit. Like he's more Cutler than Roethlisberger. I think Kaepernick can QB a successful team in the right scenario.

1. Kaepernick
2. Manning
3. Stafford
4. Cutler
5. Dalton

 

[Jnai]

I think Kaepernick is a no brainer here. He has all the athleticism in the world and the ability to succeed in a system he's familiar with. Put him with a coach/organization who isn't having some sort of emo quasi-meltdown and let him win games.
 
Stafford is a solid choice at #2, but seems to under perform in winnable games at a frightening rate.
 
Dalton is meh. Dalton as your choice for franchise QB is like having people over for dinner and serving peanut butter sandwiches.
 
Manning is too old to start over with. Cutler is just bad at his job.

 

[Al Zarilla]

 
I've can't figure out Eli, but he's better than Cutler and Dalton. Those two are the worst. Stafford and Kaepernick still have some potential, but I can't shake the feeling that Stafford doesn't give a shit. Like he's more Cutler than Roethlisberger. I think Kaepernick can QB a successful team in the right scenario.

1. Kaepernick
2. Manning
3. Stafford
4. Cutler
5. Dalton

 

Kaepernick has a good squadron of receivers in Boldin, Crabtree, Davis and Stevie Johnson, and a former NFL QB as a coach. What else could he ask for? His O-line was injured too much, so protection was a problem. To me, right now, he's the football equivalent of Clay Buchholz. Who knows what you're going to get. Clay of course has the health uncertainty, whereas who knows what Kap's problem is. 
 
Stafford
Manning
Kaepernick
Cutler
Dalton.
 
Probably a space after Stafford and before Manning. 

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Stafford is a weird case, both because he has had the benefit of playing with Megatron and because his statistical production is very open to interpretation.  By conventional statistics, everything outside his huge 2011 has been pretty uninspiring.  He's never finished with a passer rating above 85.  In QBR he has ranked 26, 13, 17, and (this year) 17.  And you can see it pretty easily in the component stats - his career completion percentage is below 60%, his Y/A is a not horrible but not great 7.0, and he doesn't actually throw that many TDs (outside 2011).  But the advanced statistics from Football Outsiders tend to love him.  For whatever reason he has ranked in the Top 10 in DYAR a bunch of years.
 
Eli is basically the polar opposite.  He has the edge on Stafford in almost every conventional metric, but DYAR and DVOA consistently rank him lower.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Eli is the no-brainer in that group. Kaep simply can't recognize defenses and not sure if he ever will. Here's my "top" 10:

1. Eli Manning
2. Matthew Stafford
3. Colin Kaepernick
4. Ummm...
5. I guess...
6. If I must...
7. Srlsly?
8. God damn it DanoooMe you Seahawks fan...
9. Jay Cutler
10. Andy Dalton

 

[Jungleland]

I would take Eli if I was trying to win this year. On this list I think he is the only guy who could make the 2015 Je(s)ts relevant, although I would give some thought to Stafford or pre 2014 Jay Cutler. He's had a maddeningly inconsistent career, but career-year Eli has before and conceivably could again take an average team to the promised land.
 
That said, if I'm building and this is a long term signing (not the question, I know) I'm taking Stafford or Kaepernick as I feel they're the only ones who still really have upside. Ignoring draft prospects and admitting that you are likely to be uncompetitive in 2015, you have to go with the raw tools and hope that your coaching is enough to elevate these guys (back to, in CK's case) contender status. 
 
I'm a bit of a Dalton-pologist but he strikes me as the worst choice here for either scenario - not currently good enough to give a mediocre team a shot in the dark, and not likely to improve beyond his current level to warrant building around. The real life Bengals are basically the perfect fit for him, as the roster is great and the presence of Green gives him an easier route to playing over his head.

 

[luckiestman]

I like Eli but I've liked him since he was at Ole Miss so I might be biased. I really want the brewsters millions selection of none of the above. I'd rather they focus on getting a dominant oline before slotting in a qb