[CBFF] Scouts Position Rankings: QB

[Jerry Madsen]

QB rankings: Teams 11-32

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15. Green Bay Packers
Brett Favre comes back for his 16th season as the Packers' QB and is
hoping to have better results than he did a year ago. A combination of
receivers' dropping passes and Favre's forcing the ball into coverage
led to a lot of interceptions and bad plays last season. Also, playing
from behind much of the time forced Favre to take chances, and that
got him in trouble a lot. He still has great arm strength and his
leadership and toughness are off the charts. Despite his flaws, he can
still play at a very high level. Backup Aaron Rodgers was a
first-round draft pick two years ago, but he hasn't shown enough for
the Packers to feel comfortable about making him the heir apparent to
Favre. Ingle Martin owns the No. 3 job. He's young and raw but has
some developmental qualities.

21. Chicago Bears
Rex Grossman enters the final year of his contract with a lot of
questions about whether he is the future of this franchise. He can
look great at times, picking apart defenses with accuracy and making
some great deep throws (especially the seam route) as evidenced by his
23 TD passes in 2006. However, he can look like a totally different
player when pressured. He'll make horrible decisions and use poor
mechanics, as evidenced by his 20 interceptions last season. He must
take better care of the football and play better under pressure if he
wants to keep his job. Backup Brian Griese has a lot of starting
experience, knows the offense and takes care of the football. He could
easily take over the starting job. Young Kyle Orton has starting
experience and excellent physical skills. He is probably better than a
No. 3 QB, but for now he's stuck in Chicago.

22. Detroit Lions
Although his skills may be in decline, Jon Kitna can still put up big
numbers in this QB-friendly offense, and offensive coordinator Mike
Martz still believes in him. Kitna has excellent composure and
leadership skills, is a student of the game and his preparation,
including his attention to detail, is outstanding. A lot of his bad
throws in 2006 were the result of his receivers' not being in the
right place, but another offseason should help everybody get on the
same page. His backup is untested Dan Orlovsky, who has a strong arm,
but has not yet shown that he can run this complicated offense. Rookie
second-round draft pick Drew Stanton may be the future, but it will
take him a couple of years to get ready, so the Lions need to keep
Kitna healthy and upright in 2007.

31. Minnesota Vikings
Tarvaris Jackson was hand-picked by coach Brad Childress to win this
job in 2007, but in only his second season, he has a long way to go.
All the physical skills are there, but his ability to read
sophisticated defenses and make smart and accurate throws is something
he's still working on. Brooks Bollinger will likely be the backup, and
while he knows Childress' offense well, his arm strength and physical
skills are not overly exciting. He is not really a guy you want
starting if Jackson falters. Drew Henson will get a long look in
training camp and the well-travelled veteran could be an interesting
guy in the mix if he shows any skills. He could compete with Bollinger
for the No. 2 job. This is not a real stable position for a veteran
team and Childress is under a lot of pressure to quickly develop
Jackson.


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