|
AFC NEWS ‘N’ NOTES
YOUNG NFL QBs LEADING TEAMS IN A STADIUM NEAR YOU When 120 million fans watch NFL games each week, they focus on one man at the start of every play: the quarterback. And this week, there’s a good chance that quarterback will be 25 years old or younger. Ten of the 14 games in Week 3 can feature at least one starting quarterback 25 or younger:
“A lot of young quarterbacks play in a passing system in college now, which helps them when they turn professional,” says former NFL quarterback and current Jacksonville Jaguars wide receivers coach KEN ANDERSON. Anderson became the Cincinnati Bengals’ starting quarterback at 23 in 1972 and led the team to the playoffs the next season with a 10-4 (.714) record. He was a four-time NFL All-Star and led the league in passing yards four times. Asked if there is a specific point in a young quarterback’s career at which the game “slows down” for him, Anderson says that process takes place over time. “I don’t know if there is a specific moment where the game ‘slows down’ for young quarterbacks,” he says. “Sometimes I got in a game where everything went my way and you feel pretty comfortable with it for a while. Then all of a sudden the Pittsburgh Steelers came up the next week, and you didn’t feel quite as comfortable. “It’s that gradual process you go through as a young quarterback.” Below is a look at the 17 times a quarterback aged 25 or younger has led his team to the playoffs in the past 10 seasons (minimum of eight regular season starts and one playoff start in same season):
NFC NEWS ‘N’ NOTES
CLASSIC QB MATCHUP FEATURES FAVRE vs. MANNINGAS GREEN BAY HEADS TO INDYFavre vs. Manning. Will the dome be rocking! Two teams with Super Bowl aspirations, the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, meet at the RCA Dome this Sunday. Each club is led by a marquee quarterback expected to cap his career in Canton, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame – BRETT FAVRE of the Packers and PEYTON MANNING of the Colts. Manning threw for two touchdowns in an impressive 31-17 win at Tennessee last week, while Favre and Green Bay aim to rebound after a 21-10 home loss to Chicago. Favre and Manning not only have a reputation for excellence, but also for consistency. Favre has started 191 consecutive games, the most in NFL history by a quarterback. Manning, with 98 consecutive starts, is fourth in NFL annals and rapidly approaching his milestone 100th start in a row. The five quarterbacks with the most career consecutive starts:
Favre is working on another “consecutive game” streak -- for touchdown passes. The Kiln, Mississippi native has a TD pass in 27 consecutive games, tied with Manning and CHRIS CHANDLER for the fourth longest streak all-time. Following are the longest streaks of consecutive games with a TD pass:
While these quarterbacks are at the top of their games, their presence also presents an opportunity for defenses to rise to the occasion. Both teams have top young defenders eagerly awaiting the challenge. “As a defensive player, you always get excited to play against someone of his talent,” says Packers second-year linebacker NICK BARNETT of Manning. “Peyton works as hard as anyone in the league. He’s successful because he knows how to read every situation. It’s a challenge for us and it can only make us better.” -- NFC -- MOVING IN MOTOWN: The Detroit Lions are aiming for their first 3-0 start since 1980. Standing in their way are the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles, who travel to the Motor City for the first time since 1984. “It’s nice to be 2-0,” says Lions head coach STEVE MARIUCCI. “We’ve had some things happen that are encouraging. I like the resiliency of this team. We don’t seem to blink when something bad happens. We’re looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||