SI: As the Quaterbacks Turn (King)

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As the quarterbacks turn

Peter King, SI.com

In this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, senior writer Peter King examines several quarterback battles brewing around the NFL, including the situation in Oakland, where a healthy Rich Gannon hopes to hold off Kerry Collins. SI.com caught up with King to discuss the Raiders and several other teams with uncertain quarterback situations.

SI.com: Do you think Rich Gannon will ever be the same quarterback he was in 2002?

Peter King: The real key to Gannon is whether his arm can hold up after having significant surgery. He didn't totally tear his labrum. There was a tear in it, but it wasn't torn all the way through. The surgery he underwent last October wasn't as serious as it might have been if he had torn it in two. That's why he's able to throw better these days than people in the outside world realize. I think if Gannon's healthy and he gets some help from a no-name receiver named Doug Gabriel -- who the Raiders are really counting on, maybe even to be their No. 2 behind Jerry Porter. If things fall into place, he can be good enough to be a top-10 NFL quarterback again. Now, those are a lot of ifs, which is why I still don't think you can guarantee that Gannon is the opening day quarterback for this team. If you ask me my gut feeling, I think he will be, but I wouldn't bet the mortgage on it.

SI.com: What will be the fate of Jerry Rice and Tim Brown in Oakland?

King: My feeling is that Rice probably will be good enough to win the No. 3 job. And he might even start, especially early. I would be surprised if the Raiders kept Tim Brown. I wouldn't be shocked, but I'd be surprised. I think they're trying to retool and get a little faster at wide receiver.

SI.com: Did quarterback Kerry Collins know what he was getting into when he signed with the Raiders?

King: I think he did. Collins probably looks at this as a long-term deal. Someone close to Collins told me last week that if Kerry is in Oakland for six years and plays for five, it will be a great situation. You never can tell in today's football. Maybe Collins will be in Oakland for just one year. The NFL's a weird place these days, especially for quarterbacks.

SI.com: Who do you think fits new Raiders coach Norv Turner's offensive scheme better, Collins or Gannon?

King: Long-term, Collins fits it better. Short term, Gannon -- assuming he can throw accurately 20 to 30 yards down the field. First of all, Gannon has a tremendous head start in this offense. He's been around Turner about four months longer than Collins has. Unless it's a physical ailment that causes Gannon not to win the job, it's his. Collins has been around for three weeks, and it's a complex offense. That puts him at too big a disadvantage, particularly against a smart veteran who right now looks like he's healthy.

SI.com: Do you think Eli Manning will sit on the bench with the Giants like last year's No. 1 overall pick, Carson Palmer, did with the Bengals in 2003?

King: If Kurt Warner plays as well as Jon Kitna did last year in Cincinnati, Warner could be the quarterback for 16 weeks. People forget that Kitna was an excellent QB last year. He had better numbers across the board than Tom Brady did. When people look at Kitna, they look at his weaknesses. He's not real good throwing the ball 35 yards down the field. He's not consistently accurate at that distance. There aren't a lot of guys in the NFL who are. If that were a minimal requirement for NFL quarterbacks, than Donovan McNabb would be a second-stringer. In New York, it's all dependent on whether Warner is going to be the quarterback he was a few years ago, or if he's going to be the injured, unconfident, very marginal backup quarterback.

SI.com: Have you heard anything about Warner's hand?

King: The Giants have told me in no uncertain terms that Warner has passed every physical exam on his hand with no problem. Then again, I think the Rams wouldn't have released him if they thought his hand was not a problem. Sometimes arthritic conditions in the hand get worse over time. Arthritis -- if indeed that's what he has -- is an odd ailment because it can flare up at odd times. But it is a progressive malady. We're just going to have to wait and see. Anybody who tells you right now that they know Warner is going to be healthy and is going to play well this year is lying. It's all a guess. Nobody knows for sure whether Warner can regain his form. Warner hasn't played a great game in 2 ? years. You just don't snap your fingers and say "I'm back." I think the Giants' QB situation is the most interesting in all of football right now, because it looked like Warner was going to be the second coming of John Unitas, which for a while with that great back story of going from a shelf-stocker at a grocery store to a two-time MVP. Now he's back in the prove-it stage. He's trying to beat out the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. Manning comes from the greatest quarterbacking family in NFL history. It's going to be an interesting story to watch all year in New York.

SI.com: Will Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt feel pressured to play A.J. Feeley after they gave up a third-round draft pick for the former Eagles third-string QB?

King: By the way they practice and by the number of snaps they give to a guy, coaches are able to create an unlevel playing field when it comes to who they want to win a starting job. I would be very surprised if Feeley doesn't win it, just because so much of what Wannstedt and [general manager] Rick Spielman did this offseason, in terms of trading the pick for a quarterback whom they were sure would be a starter when they traded for him. Even though the Dolphins have said all the right things about it being an open competition, make no mistake, this is Feeley's job to lose.

SI.com: In your article on the quarterback battles, you wrote that Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden will keep an eye on the waiver wire. Is it possible the Buccaneers will pick up another veteran quarterback to challenge starter Brad Johnson before the season starts?

King: The only veteran quarterback he would pick is Gannon. That is if Gannon struggles or the Raiders don't think he's going to be healthy enough and cut him. If that whole scenario plays out, I wouldn't be surprised if Gruden picks up Gannon. The Bucs see too many advantages in Gannon; he knows that offense and how to play at a very high level. Obviously right now Johnson is the man to do that. It is quite likely Johnson will be Tampa Bay's quarterback on opening day. The only thing I'm saying is that when a coach has shown so much propensity to look at other quarterbacks in the offseason when he's got one under contract, it's sort of obvious that despite what he says, he's not averse to making a big change at the position. Even at this late time. Or even sometime in July if he has to.

SI.com: Do you think Dallas' Vinny Testaverde has enough gas left in the tank to be an effective NFL starter?

King: We have no idea right now. That's going to be one of those things where [coach Bill] Parcells will truly have an open mind in training camp. I've heard Parcells say 1,000 times, "I go by what I see." I watched a Jets practice last year in training camp, where I saw Testaverde throw a ball 30, 45, 50 yards down field through the course of a long practice. This guy still has a great -- not just good -- arm. I believe that if Testaverde's better at throwing the intermediate and deep ball than Quincy Carter, Parcells isn't going to start Carter just because he's younger. It's just a gut feeling on my part, but I think Vinny's going to win the job.

SI.com: Speaking of gut feelings, who will be starting at QB Week 1 in San Diego, Philip Rivers or Drew Brees?

King: Rivers, unless he really struggles the first half of training camp. What really works to his advantage, versus a lot of the guys who are drafted in the first round is that he has started 51 college games. No quarterback in college football history has started that many football games. If you look at a guy who's most ready to start right now, it's not Eli Manning, it's Philip Rivers. He's had more big-game experience than anyone in college football. Does that guarantee he'll start? No. I just know that the Chargers really like Rivers. Especially Cam Cameron, the offensive coordinator, and general manager A.J. Smith -- they really, really like this guy. It would be foolhardy to think that they're going to stand on ceremony until this [Rivers] knows everything perfectly about the offense. If he knows it well enough, he'll start. Rivers started his first game as a true freshman at North Carolina State, two months after his high school graduation. For this kid no task istoo daunting. I think by the time late August rolls around, Rivers is going to be the best quarterback on the Chargers.

Updated on Friday, Jun 18, 2004 10:51 am EDT