I love how fickle and hyperbolic many fans and analysts are. I also love how quarterbacks seem to be the epitome of the false dilemma informal fallacy. They're either the savior or the scapegoat. There's seemingly nothing in-between, even though there obviously is.
This has happened in Denver in recent weeks. After inserting Tim Tebow at quarterback, the Broncos are 4-1 and a game back of AFC West-leading Oakland. So, it's therefore obvious that Tebow is the sole reason for the Broncos rise in the standings, right? Last night, Vince Young led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 17-10 victory against the New York Giants to bring them within two games of NFC East-leading New York and Dallas. He must be the reason for the big win last night, right? Sorry, wrong in both cases.
Outside of their 38-point effort against the Oakland Raiders, the Broncos have scored the following point totals in Tebow's other four outings: 10, 17, 17 and 18. That's right. In four of their five games with him as starter, the Broncos have scored a total of 62 points or an average of 15.5 per game. They are 3-1 in those contests. At 15.5 points a game, Denver would place 29th in the NFL (out of 32 teams) in points per game., ahead of only Cleveland (14.5), Indianapolis (13.1), Jacksonville (12.5) and St. Louis (12.0). For the record, these four teams are a combined 9-31 (.225) on the season. Even if we include that 38-point game against the Raiders, the Broncos are averaging only 20.0 points a game with Tebow at the helm and that would rank them 22nd in the league (out of 32), tied with Minnesota. In the four wins with Tebow at quarterback, the Broncos have allowed 62 points (15.5 per). This would rank them second, just being San Francisco (14.5). Do we still really want to make the claim that Tebow is the reason for the Broncos' success, when the team has ranked near the very bottom in the league in points scored while he's been the starting quarterback and the defense has allowed the second fewest points in their four victories with Tebow? I don't think so.
In last night's game, the Eagles only scored 17 points. Young was intercepted three times, once in the end zone and if not for an Andy Reid-challenge, would have ended up with four interceptions for the game. The guy has thrown 37 passes this year and has been picked off 4 times, which is about 1 every 9 pass attempts (10.8%). Even with Vick having an off-year in terms of interceptions, as he has thrown 11 to this point in the season, he has thrown 300 passes, so that equates to being picked off 3.7% of the time, far less than Young's 10.8%. In 8 of the 9 games where Vick has started for the Eagles, the team has scored at least 17 points, scoring more than that total in 7 of 9, including 31 against St. Louis and Atlanta, 34 versus Dallas, 24 against Chicago and Buffalo (when they were playing well) and 23 against the top defense in the league in San Francisco. The Eagles have led going into the 4th quarter in 9 of 10 games this year. Sure, the blame will rest on Vick's shoulders for not bringing the team back when they lost the lead, but who's fault is it mainly that the team lost their leads in the first place? The defense. With Vick as starter, Philadelphia allowed 35 points to Atlanta, 29 to the Giants, 24 to San Francisco, 31 to Buffalo and 30 to Chicago, all five games ending in losses. Last night? Outside of their 34-7 win over Dallas three weeks prior, the Eagles' defense allowed the fewest points they have all season, against the explosive Giants offense. It's much easier to win games when your opponent scores 10 points as opposed to 24+.
It all comes down to defense. The Eagles would likely be in first place in the NFC East if they played better defensively this year. The Broncos would be looking at a top 5 draft pick if their defense didn't play so well these past few weeks. It doesn't matter who starts for the Philadelphia Eagles if their defense allows 30 points. However, given that possibility, Vince Young can't lead the team to enough points to counter a poor defensive effort like Michael Vick can. Vick is a much more effective runner than Young, has better throwing mechanics, a stronger arm and with all of that, more accuracy throwing the football. He had a rotten game in Philly's 21-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but then again, he played all but two plays of the game with a pair of broken ribs. If he's healthy next Sunday, there's no question about it - Andy Reid should start Vick over Young, and if the defensive continues to play like they did last night, the Eagles could make what seemed like a virtually impossible push to the playoffs. In the meantime, let's cut it out with the quarterback false dilemma and hyperbolic language. It's about protecting the quarterback and playing solid defense.
This has happened in Denver in recent weeks. After inserting Tim Tebow at quarterback, the Broncos are 4-1 and a game back of AFC West-leading Oakland. So, it's therefore obvious that Tebow is the sole reason for the Broncos rise in the standings, right? Last night, Vince Young led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 17-10 victory against the New York Giants to bring them within two games of NFC East-leading New York and Dallas. He must be the reason for the big win last night, right? Sorry, wrong in both cases.
Outside of their 38-point effort against the Oakland Raiders, the Broncos have scored the following point totals in Tebow's other four outings: 10, 17, 17 and 18. That's right. In four of their five games with him as starter, the Broncos have scored a total of 62 points or an average of 15.5 per game. They are 3-1 in those contests. At 15.5 points a game, Denver would place 29th in the NFL (out of 32 teams) in points per game., ahead of only Cleveland (14.5), Indianapolis (13.1), Jacksonville (12.5) and St. Louis (12.0). For the record, these four teams are a combined 9-31 (.225) on the season. Even if we include that 38-point game against the Raiders, the Broncos are averaging only 20.0 points a game with Tebow at the helm and that would rank them 22nd in the league (out of 32), tied with Minnesota. In the four wins with Tebow at quarterback, the Broncos have allowed 62 points (15.5 per). This would rank them second, just being San Francisco (14.5). Do we still really want to make the claim that Tebow is the reason for the Broncos' success, when the team has ranked near the very bottom in the league in points scored while he's been the starting quarterback and the defense has allowed the second fewest points in their four victories with Tebow? I don't think so.
In last night's game, the Eagles only scored 17 points. Young was intercepted three times, once in the end zone and if not for an Andy Reid-challenge, would have ended up with four interceptions for the game. The guy has thrown 37 passes this year and has been picked off 4 times, which is about 1 every 9 pass attempts (10.8%). Even with Vick having an off-year in terms of interceptions, as he has thrown 11 to this point in the season, he has thrown 300 passes, so that equates to being picked off 3.7% of the time, far less than Young's 10.8%. In 8 of the 9 games where Vick has started for the Eagles, the team has scored at least 17 points, scoring more than that total in 7 of 9, including 31 against St. Louis and Atlanta, 34 versus Dallas, 24 against Chicago and Buffalo (when they were playing well) and 23 against the top defense in the league in San Francisco. The Eagles have led going into the 4th quarter in 9 of 10 games this year. Sure, the blame will rest on Vick's shoulders for not bringing the team back when they lost the lead, but who's fault is it mainly that the team lost their leads in the first place? The defense. With Vick as starter, Philadelphia allowed 35 points to Atlanta, 29 to the Giants, 24 to San Francisco, 31 to Buffalo and 30 to Chicago, all five games ending in losses. Last night? Outside of their 34-7 win over Dallas three weeks prior, the Eagles' defense allowed the fewest points they have all season, against the explosive Giants offense. It's much easier to win games when your opponent scores 10 points as opposed to 24+.
It all comes down to defense. The Eagles would likely be in first place in the NFC East if they played better defensively this year. The Broncos would be looking at a top 5 draft pick if their defense didn't play so well these past few weeks. It doesn't matter who starts for the Philadelphia Eagles if their defense allows 30 points. However, given that possibility, Vince Young can't lead the team to enough points to counter a poor defensive effort like Michael Vick can. Vick is a much more effective runner than Young, has better throwing mechanics, a stronger arm and with all of that, more accuracy throwing the football. He had a rotten game in Philly's 21-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but then again, he played all but two plays of the game with a pair of broken ribs. If he's healthy next Sunday, there's no question about it - Andy Reid should start Vick over Young, and if the defensive continues to play like they did last night, the Eagles could make what seemed like a virtually impossible push to the playoffs. In the meantime, let's cut it out with the quarterback false dilemma and hyperbolic language. It's about protecting the quarterback and playing solid defense.
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