back to Niagara Falls Reporter main page

back to Niagara Falls Reporter archive

DILEMMA: JOHNSON, VAN PELT OR NEITHER?

By David Staba

A great team, the pro football adage says, needs a great quarterback.

So much for adages.

First off, parity rendered the word "great" in relation to National Football League teams as obsolete as the single-wing formation. "Pretty good" would represent a major step up for most.

The Buffalo Bills, who embodied the above bromide through the late 1980s and early '90s, would settle for "not horrible." Particularly after their pathetic showing Sunday night in San Francisco.

Then you look at the guys throwing the passes. Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning come closest, but even they have turned into interception machines the last few weeks. Fans and general managers alike salivate at the thought of drafting a prototypical quarterback like Manning. But more and more, the top passers take Warner's more circuitous route to stardom.

With the Bills one of at least a half-dozen teams facing a decision on their future at the position, here's a look at where relatively successful franchises got theirs. The starting quarterbacks for 18 teams with a .500 or better record heading into last weekend fall into three categories:

  1. HOMEGROWN (starting for the team that drafted them to be The Man): Tim Couch (Cleveland), Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia), Kordell Stewart (Pittsburgh), Brian Griese (Denver).
  2. BIG PURCHASE (starting for a team that either swapped a high draft pick to get them or signed them as a free agent to take the top job): Elvis Grbac (Baltimore), Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle), Brett Favre (Green Bay), Brad Johnson (Tampa Bay), Aaron Brooks (New Orleans).
  3. DISCOUNT BIN (washed out elsewhere, drafted as a backup or plucked from a league other than the NFL to compete for a roster spot): Jay Fiedler (Miami), Vinny Testaverde (New York Jets), Tom Brady (New England), Rich Gannon (Oakland), Tony Banks (Washington), Jim Miller (Chicago), Kurt Warner (St. Louis), Jeff Garcia (San Francisco), Chris Chandler (Atlanta).

In other words, half the quarterbacks of non-losing teams weren't meant to get the gig in the first place. And only four drafted to lead a team to a championship have a shot at coming close. Having been acquired via trade for first- and fourth-round picks, Rob Johnson falls into the second category. Alex Van Pelt, a late-season signee in 1994 after spending time on Kansas City's practice squad, qualifies in classification No. 3.

The biggest of many questions facing Bills president/general manager Tom Donahoe and coach Gregg Williams when the season comes to a merciful close in January -- which one do you keep? Or both? Or neither?

When Donahoe and Williams picked Johnson over Doug Flutie last winter, they did so for a simple reason. At 38, Flutie wasn't going to get any better. Johnson, the thinking went, could and would operate in a new system behind an improved offensive line.

It didn't quite work out that way -- a devastating barrage of injuries forced lineup shuffling from week to week, turning practice-squad quality linemen into starting tackles. Buffalo's up-front inadequacies prevented Buffalo from mounting a consistent running game in most games, further exposing Johnson to all-out pass rushes.

You can blame the offensive line for most of Buffalo's offensive struggles this year, as well as a majority of Johnson's bruises and bandages, but not for the injury that ultimately ended his season.

Trying to get something going in the fourth quarter against New England on Nov. 11, Johnson rolled right. So far, so good -- the Patriots' inevitable blitz was coming from his left, in the form of cornerback Terrell Buckley.

But instead of using the extra seconds afforded him by the roll-out to get the ball in the air, Johnson drifted and waited, drifted and waited. Finally, any chance of a completion was long gone, with his only receiver almost out of bounds. And still Johnson held the ball. Then Buckley finally caught up to the play.

One splintered clavicle later, Johnson's day, season, and possibly time in Western New York were over.

After Van Pelt threw for 300 yards (one of football's most empty milestones) in each of his first two starts, some considered him an acceptable season-long starter. Hope they stayed up late enough to see his four-interception masterpiece in San Francisco's 35-0 disemboweling of the Bills.

If it weren't for the salary cap, the Bills wouldn't have a decision to make. Keep both guys, figuring the offensive line almost has to get better. And that no free agent or rookie is going to step in and play significantly better.

But Johnson's cap figure in 2002 -- $11.2 million -- guarantees that he won't be around unless his contract is restructured. That means adding years to the deal, which expires at the end of next season. It also means sticking with him as the starter for the life of the new contract.

For all the potential he's shown, along with a handful of games in which he's done everything you expect of a quarterback (against San Francisco in 1998, Indianapolis in 1999 and Jacksonville and San Diego this year), Johnson simply hasn't justified that kind of investment.

That's the maddening thing about Johnson -- you know he has the arm and the feet to be one of the best at the position. Which, in modern-day terms, amounts to pretty good. It's just that he doesn't do it often enough.

Like any business decision, the Bills' choice comes down to risk and benefit. Extending Johnson's deal amounts to betting on a heavily favored horse -- you have to spend too much to have a chance at gaining too little.

Especially at a time when, as seen above, pretty good can be had much, much cheaper.


David Staba is the sports editor of the Niagara Falls Reporter and the editor of the BuffaloPOST. He welcomes email at editor@buffalopost.com.