*FAN SUBMISSION by Jake Cambron from Columbia, South Carolina. Follow him on Twitter: @JakeCambron.*
Historically, teams that miss the playoffs often feature new management, first-year coaches, and rookie quarterbacks. There’s been a huge reverse in this trend recently as three out of the four notable rookie quarterbacks have lead their teams into the post-season; two of them with relative ease. Minus Ryan Tannehill, who had a noticeably lower level of talent around him, these quarterbacks were not only able to win games, but were able to become the flat-out leaders and faces of their franchises.
Courtesy: ESPN
You might describe these guys as anti-Ryan Leaf. Remember Mr. Leaf before the 1998 draft?; his rocket arm, great size, and immense potential had him neck and neck with Peyton Manning for the number one overall pick. Although many could argue that Leaf had more potential and raw talent than Manning, the Colts smartly chose Manning as the first pick based on his professional pedigree and personality. Even though Manning didn’t have the instant success in his rookie season compared to what these 2012 rookies are having, he quickly developed into an MVP within the next few seasons, while Leaf’s career was spiraling out of control. Their personalities are precisely what sent them on their diverging career paths.
Manning hunkered down and earned the respect of his teammates with a quiet confidence, leading them to an AFC east title in his sophomore year. Leaf, on the other hand, was off alienating his entire team with his antics and blowing-off film study to play gold. If there was ever a perfect example of how personality can affect talent, this is and will always be the standard for this discussion.
As Manning was beginning his career, the rookies of this year were tweens playing Pop-Warner football, just starting to develop the skills that would one day make them NFL quarterbacks. As fans of professional football, there’s no doubt that these future rookies looked-up to Manning as a role model and blueprint for their dream of making it in the NFL. Every rookie must now realize that beyond talent, the one thing that can make a quarterback have instant success is a great attitude and the ability to lead men with more experience.
In today’s NFL, the personality of a starting quarterback is scrutinized more than ever. Even when a guy like Jay Cutler leads his team to a 10-6 record, it’s always his gloomy expression on the sideline, and interaction with his teammates that get the brunt of the attention. The personalities of these 2012 rookies are entirely derivative of Manning’s, and that is why they have enjoyed early success that even surpasses what Peyton did in his first season.
Courtesy: LA Times
They are expanding on the standard set by Manning, in which a rookie can be such a natural leader, and can bypass the two to three year development process of most highly-touted young quarterbacks, and immediately lead his team to a Super Bowl. Who knows if a rookie quarterback will ever lead his team to an NFL championship? However, this year’s class has set the bar higher than any other in recent memory; there’s no telling of how high the bar will be set next.
