The recent items on backup quarterback situations carried confidence ratings on a 100-point scale.
I made these ratings for the NFC West teams without knowing how our other divisional bloggers would rate situations in their divisions. The ratings in the chart below would be different, in other words, if only one of us were providing them for all teams.
It was interesting to see the AFC West's Bill Williamson give the Chargers' Charlie Whitehurst a lower confidence rating than any of the ratings I provided for NFC West teams. That seems right. To be consistent with my relatively low rating for San Francisco, I would have ranked the backup situation in New England lower than James Walker did based on the Patriots' lack of experience behind Tom Brady. But my thinking on that isn't firm.
On with the chart ...
I made these ratings for the NFC West teams without knowing how our other divisional bloggers would rate situations in their divisions. The ratings in the chart below would be different, in other words, if only one of us were providing them for all teams.
It was interesting to see the AFC West's Bill Williamson give the Chargers' Charlie Whitehurst a lower confidence rating than any of the ratings I provided for NFC West teams. That seems right. To be consistent with my relatively low rating for San Francisco, I would have ranked the backup situation in New England lower than James Walker did based on the Patriots' lack of experience behind Tom Brady. But my thinking on that isn't firm.
On with the chart ...
Backup QB Plan
ESPN.com's NFL bloggers assess each team's backup quarterback situation if the starter is injured and misses time. The confidence rating is on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the most confident.
| TEAM | CONFIDENCE LEVEL | ANALYSIS |
|---|---|---|
 | 85 | When Jon Kitna retired at the end of the 2011 season, one of the Cowboys' first free-agent priorities was signing Kyle Orton to a three-year, $10.5 million contract. An expensive insurance policy to say the least, but Orton has started 69 NFL games over the past seven years and is 35-34 in them. -- Dan Graziano |
 | 81 | The Titans feel great about their quarterback situation, because they don't expect the battle for the starting job to be a rout and believe they'll come out of it with a quality guy serving as the backup. -- Paul Kuharsky |
 | 80 | Matt Moore is the incumbent and probably a slight favorite [to start]. But some feel veteran David Garrard may have an inside track because he's more experienced and played in a West Coast offense before. -- James Walker |
 | 75 | Although Chris Redman has played only sparingly in the Matt Ryan years, he's taken thousands of practice snaps and sat through countless meetings. He knows the offense as well as Ryan and has the respect of his teammates. -- Pat Yasinskas |
 | 73 | With a regular-season passer rating of 80.7 over six games, T.J. Yates showed in 2011 that he can be a capable NFL starter. -- Paul Kuharsky |
 | 71 | Few teams have the luxury of going into training camp with two experienced backups like the Steelers. Byron Leftwich is the best insurance policy at quarterback in the AFC North. Charlie Batch is as dependable as you can get. -- Jamison Hensley |
 | 70 | Buffalo feels the team is in position to make a playoff push in 2012 following a flurry of solid offseason moves. That is the primary reason the Bills signed veteran quarterback and former first-round pick Vince Young this offseason. -- James Walker |
 | 70 | Veteran Derek Anderson was the backup last year, but he'll have to go to training camp and again beat out Jimmy Clausen as the backup. -- Pat Yasinskas |
 | 70 | With the beating that Jay Cutler has taken in a Bears uniform and the present state of their offensive line, I commend Chicago for adding Jason Campbell to the mix as one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL. -- Matt Williamson |
 | 70 | Detroit's fantastic passing attack would remain formidable with Shaun Hill behind center, but surely the Lions would increase the percentage of how much they run the football. -- Matt Williamson |
 | 68 | This is one of the most publicized quarterback situations in the NFL. Sanchez is the clear No. 1, but he will be pushed by the popular Tim Tebow throughout the season. -- James Walker |
 | 65 | If there's been one silver lining to a very difficult offseason for the Saints, it's that Chase Daniel has had a chance to get first-team reps in the offseason program. -- Pat Yasinskas |
 | 64 | Chad Henne's got a big arm and a reasonably good résumé (36 games, a 75.7 passer rating) in a league in which many teams are thin at the backup quarterback spot. -- Paul Kuharsky |
 | 63 | The Bengals are very comfortable with Bruce Gradkowski as their backup. Well, at least offensive coordinator Jay Gruden is. Gradkowski played under Gruden for two years when both were in Tampa Bay, so there is a strong familiarity with his offensive system. -- Jamison Hensley |
 | 63 | The Redskins' backup quarterback right now is Rex Grossman, who was their starter last season and is 27-24 as an NFL starter, postseason included. -- Dan Graziano |
 | 61 | The biggest concern with New England's quarterbacks is that Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett have zero career starts combined. -- James Walker |
 | 60 | Kevin Kolb and John Skelton haven't shown quite enough for the Cardinals to install one of them as the starting quarterback just yet. Any team would be happy to have them as backups. -- Mike Sando |
 | 60 | Sage Rosenfels might be the No. 2 quarterback for Minnesota right now, but Joe Webb is far more intriguing. -- Matt Williamson |
 | 60 | The Seahawks won't know their backup situation until they settle on a starter. -- Mike Sando |
 | 55 | Dan Orlovsky is an upgrade over former backup Josh Johnson. Orlovsky is more of a traditional drop-back passer than Johnson, plus he has more experience, coming into the league in 2005. -- Pat Yasinskas |
 | 46 | The Browns will have to determine who their backup is going to be this year, because it's unlikely they'll keep both Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace. -- Jamison Hensley |
 | 43 | Should the unthinkable happen, the best thing the Giants could say about it is that they'd be replacing one former No. 1 overall draft pick with another. David Carr, who was drafted first overall by the Houston Texans in 2002, was 22-53 as the starter for the expansion Texans from 2002-06. -- Dan Graziano |
 | 39 | This may well be the most important backup quarterback situation in the league, because Michael Vick's history clearly indicates that he almost certainly will miss at least one game because of injury. Strangely, however, the Eagles do not seem to have backed him up very well. -- Dan Graziano |
 | 35 | The Chiefs are not yet committed to veteran Brady Quinn as their backup. They have rotated Quinn with 2011 fifth-round pick Ricky Stanzi during OTAs. -- Bill Williamson |
 | 35 | Familiarity is a big deal for backup quarterbacks and that is a strong positive for Matt Leinart. -- Bill Williamson |
 | 35 | Coach Jim Harbaugh liked Colin Kaepernick enough to trade up for him in the draft. We simply haven't seen enough from Kaepernick to feel comfortable about his readiness right now. -- Mike Sando |
 | 30 | Caleb Hanie was a bust in Chicago, but the Broncos believe he fits their system and he can be a solid backup to Peyton Manning this year. -- Bill Williamson |
 | 25 | Backup Kellen Clemens played for new Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer when both were with the New York Jets. Clemens' familiarity with the offense gives him an edge. -- Mike Sando |
 | 18 | Baltimore went from having one of the most experienced and expensive backups in Marc Bulger in 2010 to a rookie, sixth-round pick Tyrod Taylor, last season. -- Jamison Hensley |
 | 15 | Drew Stanton's hardly got the kind of experience you'd like in a veteran who needs to be ready to step in without the benefit of a lot of practice reps, which you want going to the No. 1 pick in the draft. -- Paul Kuharsky |
 | 15 | The Chargers are taking a risk by going with Charlie Whitehurst as Philip Rivers' backup. Whitehurst spent four seasons with the Chargers and was traded to Seattle two years ago. -- Bill Williamson |
 | 10 | Green Bay has Graham Harrell and B.J. Coleman behind Rodgers. That is a far cry from having Matt Flynn and, frankly, they should be keeping their eyes open for another option before training camp starts. -- Matt Williamson |
Mike Sando | email
NFL- NFC West Blogger
- Joined ESPN in 2007
- Lives in the Seattle-Tacoma area with his wife and two sons
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Mike Sando
Sando joined ESPN.com in 2007 after nine seasons covering the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune. He lives in the Seattle-Tacoma area with his wife and two sons.
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