The NFL saw an unusual flurry of quarterbacking activity just before the start of the 2008 season – and the results so far prove a triumph of substance over style and of Cold, Hard Football Fact over hype.
Remember how the quarterbacking situation unfolded for three teams in August:
Brett Favre came out of retirement. The Packers rebuffed his advances. The Jets gobbled him up. They sent Chad Pennington to Miami. Green Bay stood by untested Aaron Rodgers.
So a lot changed in a few days in August.
That's all well and good. Change is a constant in the NFL.
But the question remains today: Who got the best of this quarterbacking shell game?
The answer is Bill Parcells, Tony Sparano and the Dolphins. It's a surprise to anyone but loyal readers of the Cold, Hard Football Facts (Hi Cousin Cooter!).
And so far, he's provided the biggest boost to any of the teams who played the shell game this summer.
Compare how each team performed in the passing game last year, and how they've performed this year with a new signal-caller taking the snaps.
GREEN BAY – The 2007 Packers averaged 7.26 yards per attempt, 3rd in the NFL, with Favre at QB; the 2008 Packers
average 6.68 yards per attempt (12th). They've declined in this category with Rodgers at the helm from near the top to near the middle.
NY JETS – The 2007 Jets averaged 5.33 yards per attempt, 26th in the NFL, with Pennington and Kellen Clemens sharing duties; the 2008 Jets
average 6.03 yards per attempt (17th). They've improved by 0.70 yards per attempt with Favre at the helm and have climbed from near the bottom to the middle of the passing pack.
MIAMI – The 2007 Dolphins averaged 5.05 yards per attempt, 31st in the NFL, with a trio of different quarterbacks; the 2008 Dolphins
average 7.13 yards per attempt (6th). They've improved by better than 2.0 yards per attempt – a dramatic leap forward – and they've rocketed up the rankings from near the bottom to near the top.
It should come as no surprise that the Dolphins have improved so dramatically in the passing game.
After all, it was the Dolphins, not the Jets, who picked up the most efficient passer of the group. Remember, Pennington entered the 2008 season with the 7th best passer rating in NFL history (88.89 rating) and as the single most accurate passer in NFL history (65.61 percent), well ahead of Favre in both efficiency numbers.
He's only improved in both categories here in 2008 while leading the upstart Dolphins.
Pennington has completed an outstanding 94 of 137 passes this season (68.6 percent) with 98.8 passer rating (and a personal best 8.0 YPA, which is different than the team-wide number, which accounts for sacks).
His career record completion percentage has improved in the process to 65.81 percent, and his career passer rating now stands at a lofty 89.55 – among the very best ever (
8th all time).
Compare those career numbers to his replacement with the Jets, Brett Favre: 61.6 percent completions and 86.01 passer rating (
16th all time).
The numbers are all well and good ... but at the end of the day winning is all that matters. In this respect, both teams seem to have improved this year.
But clearly the improvements have been most dramatic in Miami. After a dreadful 1-15 season, the Dolphins are 2-3 and far more competitive than they were in 2008. Their two wins came against last year's AFC title-game contenders and they've scored 107 points while surrendering 103. Last year they were outscored by 170 points, or more than 10 points per game.
None of this makes Pennington a better quarterback than Favre (who, it should be noted, is on pace for a career high 103.0 passer rating with the Jets this year.)
And, of course, there have been many other changes to the Dolphins roster that have helped lift the team.
But it does make Pennington and the Dolphins the early winners in the quarterbacking shell game.
