Collins' debut a bust, but '91 Eagles, '08 Pats both found ways
to win games with bad or little-used backup QBs
APWhen Matt Cassel took over for Tom Brady in 2008, the Patriots didn't suffer too much. Does that apply to the Colts? Mike Tanier takes a look.
ANALYSIS
updated 6:55 p.m. ET Sept. 13, 2011
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Peyton Manning is out for at least two months, maybe more. Kerry Collins looked like Wilfred Brimley trying to run the offense. If younger backup Curtis Painter were a legitimate stating option, the team would never have lured Collins out of retirement with $4-million worth of catnip.
But take heart, Colts fans -- when a good team loses a franchise quarterback for the year, it doesn?t mean the end of the world. Just the opposite.
Many teams have lost superstar quarterbacks in the preseason or first few weeks of the year, yet rebounded to post winning records, reach the playoffs, or even get to the Super Bowl.
Now, none of the quarterbacks on the list below carried their team quite the way Manning carried the Colts. You have to go back to Sid Luckman and the 1940s Bears to find another team whose entire philosophy is based so completely upon the talents of one player. But Randall Cunningham and Tom Brady were pretty darn important to their teams when they got hurt, too, and the Eagles and Patriots managed to have very competitive seasons without them.
The list below is organized by ?Colts resemblance:? similarity to the current Colts situation. All of the injured quarterbacks on the list were Pro Bowlers before getting hurt; all are either Hall of Famers or pretty close. All were lost so early in the season that their team barely benefited from their services. Some were replaced by Collins-like geezers, others by young prospects or a cast of thousands; the "First Start after Disaster" compares the backups? numbers to Collins?, which weren?t that terrible when the smoke cleared (16-of-31, 197 yards, 1 touchdown, no interceptions).
All of these teams provide a valuable lesson: Backups can step up, the defense can clamp down, and losing a Hall of Fame quarterback does not doom a team to an 0-16 season.
Randall Cunningham, 1991 Eagles
Background: Cunningham was a three-time Pro Bowl player and one of the biggest stars in the NFL when Packers linebacker Bryce Paup slammed into his knee in the 1991 season opener, ending the year for The Ultimate Weapon. Rickety Jim McMahon took over, but with so much of the offense based upon Cunningham?s scrambling, the team seemed sunk.
First Start after Disaster: McMahon led the Eagles to a win over the Packers, then laid an egg against the Cardinals, going 19-of-34 for 173 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions in a 26-13 loss. McMahon rebounded to win a few games before getting hurt himself in Week 5, sending the Eagles on one of the strangest quarterback odysseys in NFL history.
The Results: The Eagles needed Pat Ryan, Brad Goebel, Jeff Kemp and David Archer to get them through the 1991 season at quarterback, yet still posted a 10-6 record and nearly made the playoffs. McMahon was good when healthy; the others were helped by a Reggie White-led defense that produced 55 sacks. Cunningham was back the next year, scamblin?.
Colts Resemblance? High. The Eagles were a perennial playoff team whose entire offensive identity was wrapped up in Cunningham. On the other hand, the current Colts defense looks nothing like the one Buddy Ryan built and Bud Carson coached to greatness in 1991.
Tom Brady, 2008 Patriots
Background: Brady was a three-time Super Bowl champion coming off an undefeated 2007 regular season when Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard slammed into his knee in the first quarter of the 2008 opener. Matt Cassel, an unknown outside of New England with a reputation for scrambling at the first sign of trouble during preseason games, replaced Brady.
First Start after Disaster: Cassel went 16-of-23 for 165 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions in a 19-10 win over the Jets. It was not a bad outing, but remember that the Patriots were used to beating opponents by 30 points back then.
The Results: The Patriots finished 11-5, but missed the playoffs. Cassel became a decent starter for the Chiefs. Brady and the Patriots are still Brady and the Patriots.
Colts Resemblance? Medium-high. After 2007, the Patriots were thought of in much the same way that the Manning's Colts are ? an offensive juggernaut with a defense that had seen better days. Reactions after the Patriots? 38-13 loss to the Dolphins in Week 3 of 2008 (the ?Birth of the Wildcat? game) were similar to the hand-wringing we are now seeing over the Colts loss.
Johnny Unitas, 1968 Colts
Background: Unitas was a living legend by 1968, but with his elbow bothering him before the start of the season, Colts coach Don Shula acquired Earl Morrall, a 34-year old career backup. Morrall ended up starting the entire season.
First Start after Disaster: Morrall went 16-of-31 for 198 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in a 27-10 win over the 49ers. Those numbers were very good for that era.
The Results: Morrall led the Colts to a 13-1 record and a loss in Super Bowl III. Unitas came back for a few more seasons of gritty leadership and a Super Bowl V victory. Morrall won some games for the undefeated 1972 Dolphins and is considered the game's greatest backup quarterback.
Colts Resemblance? Medium. They were the Colts, of course. Unitas was a legend, and Morrall had a very Collins-like background. But the 1968 Colts were an exceptional top-to-bottom team who could get by with a journeyman at quarterback. These Colts are built around Manning.
Sonny Jurgensen, 1971 Redskins
Background: Jurgensen has been to five Pro Bowls entering the 1971 season, but the 37-year old broke his shoulder while trying to make a tackle after an interception in a preseason game (bad idea). Prior to the season, new Redskins coach George Allen had acquired Billy Kilmer, a 32-year old who had an undistinguished career with the Niners and Saints, as Jurgensen?s backup and possible successor.
First Start after Disaster: Kilmer completed 6-of-17 passes for 65 yards and one touchdown in a 24-17 win over the Cardinals. The Redskins' defense intercepted four passes and recovered three fumbles in the game.
The Results: The Redskins reached the playoffs with a 9-4-1 record, thanks in large part to a defense that produced 53 takeaways in 14 games. Jurgensen and Kilmer shared the Redskins starting job for a few years.
Colts Resemblance? Medium. Jurgensen was one of the most prolific passers of his generation, but his Redskins were never very good, and new coach Allen was looking for an excuse to give Kilmer the starting job. Kilmer kept the starting job when Jurgensen was cleared to play in 1971. That won?t happen with Manning.
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