It’s interesting; Wasn’t the lockout suppose to prevent rookies from competing at a normal rate this year? Wasn’t the missed training camps and lack of opportunity with coaches suppose to seriously deter the progress of this years rookie crop? Weren’t teams suppose to be happier if they were able to acquire a veteran QB instead of putting their hopes in a rookie?

Oh how wrong were we.

The QB carousel was unlike any other this past off season. Yet, of the countless number of QB’s who had a change of address, only one is experiencing any hint of success.  That would be Tennessee’s Matt Hasselbeck. Many believed that the Titans could not compete for a playoff spot with him at the helm, but the Titans are in the thick of things in the scrambled AFC. Donovan McNabb was useless in Minnesota, Tarvaris Jackson was useless (and probably now sleepless) in Seattle, and don’t even get me started on Kevin Kolb, America’s most overrated QB since Matt Cassel.

The rookie QB’s were suppose to come in under-trained, under-educated, and in sub-par shape due to the lack of direct time with coaches. Yet Cam Newton stands 7th in overall passing yards, ahead of Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Michael Vick, and many other household names. We see Andy Dalton standing at 6-3 and 10th in passing TD’s with a receiving corp highlighted by another rookie who was suppose to be unprepared for 2011.

Blaine Gabbert has taken over the starting spot in Jacksonville (although he needs so much help in protection if he’s ever going to see success), Christian Ponder usurped McNabb’s in Minnesota, while Washington, Miami, Arizona, and Seattle are left to play the ‘what if’ game, wondering if they too should have taken in a dip in the 2011 NFL Draft QB Pool.

Its not only the QB’s who have seen “surprising” success.  AJ Green is 13th in receiving yards with 6 TDs, Julio Jones is outperforming the majority of NFL receivers, Denarius Moore and Torrey Smith have emerged as go to receiving options for their respective teams, and Von Miller is near the  top of the league leader board in sacks for the season: also not far behind are Aldon Smith, Ryan Kerrigan, and Brooks Reed.

Oh and don’t forget about DeMarco Murray who has started to look like the future of the Dallas Cowboys backfield and Patrick Peterson who already has 3 Punt returns for TD’s while looking like a tenured pro in the secondary.

So what does all of this mean? It says that while some success may come from the training camps, the practices, and the coaching, a lot of it comes from the dedication players are willing to put in on their own time. NFL players were responsible for themselves this past summer and it is evident who put the work in and who did not. Rookie or non-rookie, the energy and dedication put in to prepare for this season was on them and only them, and the success and non-success of certain players speak to their dedication, motivation, and work ethic.

Photo: Getty

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