The Odd Stat of the Week

Issue: NFL Conference Championships are this weekend - what makes these games different?

Short Answer: I have an interesting little tidbit.

Reasoning: To draft a quarterback in the first round is to do so at your own peril.  Trust me, I'm a Bengals fan.  David Klingler?  Akili Smith?  Alright, maybe this is more about the Bengals front office (or lack thereof) than anything, but you catch my drift.  History is full of quarterbacks drafted in the first round who never amount to much.  Aside from the two I just mentioned, Rick Mirer, Heath Schuler, Jim Drunkenmiller, Ryan Leaf (you knew that one was coming), Tim Couch, Cade McNown, Joey Harrington, David Carr, Byron Leftwich, Rex Grossman (he did go to a Super Bowl!), Brady Quinn, Patrick Ramsey, J.P. Losman, JaMarcus Russell, and Alex Smith were all first round selections in the NFL draft.  Obviously there is no science to these picks and a team might as well play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey when picking a quarterback in the first round.

This weekend's Conference Championship games will mark the first time since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 that all four quarterbacks playing were former first round picks.  This stat lends credence to the fact that a first round quarterback is a shot-in-the-dark.  Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets (5th overall in 2009) was the highest draft pick of the four, a fact that is laughable at best.  But, he is in the AFC Championship game and I am writing about him in an average-at-best blog, so I think he gets the last laugh.  His opponent, Ben Roethlisberger, was the 11th pick in 2004, a quarterback draft that may one day compete with those quarterbacks taken in 1983.  Roethlisberger was drafted after Philip Rivers and Eli Manning but before J.P. Losman.  Whoops.  Maybe 1983 will continue to reign.  Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears was the 11th pick in the 2006 draft by the Denver Broncos, behind Vince Young and Matt Leinart.  Even though Cutler is no longer with the Broncos, at least they didn't draft Vince Young or Matt Leinart.  His opponent, Aaron Rodgers, was the 24th pick in 2005.  The lowest draft position of the 4, but perhaps the biggest upside of the 4.  He has shined this postseason, and it wouldn't shock me to see him hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy this year as a Super Bowl Champ.

Remember folks, defense wins championships, and all four of these teams have top 10 defenses this year, so we know what is going to win these games.  But these four guys should make it plenty more interesting to watch.  Happy football watching.