"A turnover machine"

While watching ESPN's Monday Night Countdown last night, I couldn't help but notice the negative trend of comments regarding Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Michael Vick. According to these commentators, Vick's middle name might as well be Mr. Turnover. Cris Carter even called him a "turnover machine." Having researched these numbers previously, I thought I'd re-examine the analysts' claims. Here's what I found... For current starting quarterbacks who have played at least 30 games (including Jay Cutler and Drew Brees, who will be back in the next week or two from injury), here's how their turnover numbers stack up (all stats courtesy of NFL.com):

1) Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay): 57 INTs, 17 lost fumbles in 113 games = 0.65 to/gm

2) Russell Wilson (Seattle): 28 INTs, 8 lost fumbles in 51 games = 0.71 to/gm

3) Colin Kaepernick (San Francisco): 25 INTs, 12 lost fumbles in 51 games = 0.73 to/gm

4) Tom Brady (New England): 143 INTs, 41 lost fumbles in 212 games = 0.87 to/gm

5) Nick Foles (St. Louis): 18 INTs, 10 lost fumbles in 31 games = 0.90 to/gm

5) Alex Smith (Kansas City): 79 INTs, 23 lost fumbles in 113 games = 0.90 to/gm

7) Michael Vick (Pittsburgh): 87 INTs, 43 lost fumbles in 140 games = 0.93 to/gm

8) Matt Ryan (Atlanta): 93 INTs, 17 lost fumbles in 113 games = 0.97 to/gm

9) Joe Flacco (Baltimore): 94 INTs, 20 lost fumbles in 115 games = 0.99 to/gm

10) Peyton Manning (Denver): 237 INTs, 28 lost fumbles in 259 games = 1.02 to/gm

11) Cam Newton (Carolina): 56 INTs, 11 lost fumbles in 65 games = 1.03 to/gm

12) Sam Bradford (Philadelphia): 42 INTs, 12 lost fumbles in 52 games = 1.04 to/gm

13) Brandon Weeden (Dallas): 29 INTs, 3 lost fumbles in 30 games = 1.07 to/gm

14) Philip Rivers (San Diego): 126 INTs, 37 lost fumbles in 151 games = 1.08 to/gm

15) Drew Brees (New Orleans): 196 INTs, 33 lost fumbles in 204 games = 1.12 to/gm

15) Ryan Tannehill (Miami): 45 INTs, 12 lost fumbles in 51 games = 1.12 to/gm

17) Josh McCown (Cleveland): 60 INTs, 20 lost fumbles in 71 games = 1.13 to/gm

18) Andy Dalton (Cincinnati): 67 INTs, 12 lost fumbles in 67 games = 1.18 to/gm

19) Andrew Luck (Indianapolis): 50 INTs, 14 lost fumbles in 51 games = 1.25 to/gm

19) Carson Palmer (Arizona): 157 INTs, 27 lost fumbles in 147 games = 1.25 to/gm

21) Ryan Fitzpatrick (NY Jets): 106 INTs, 24 lost fumbles in 100 games = 1.30 to/gm

21) Eli Manning (NY Giants): 185 INTs, 39 lost fumbles in 172 games = 1.30 to/gm

23) Matthew Stafford (Detroit): 90 INTs, 15 lost fumbles in 80 games = 1.31 to/gm

24) Jay Cutler (Chicago): 132 INTs, 31 lost fumbles in 121 games = 1.35 to/gm

25) Kirk Cousins (Washington): 23 INTs, 4 lost fumbles in 17 games = 1.59 to/gm


Here are the turnover stats for the seven starting quarterbacks who have played in fewer than 30 games in their NFL careers to this point:

1) Tyrod Taylor (Buffalo): 5 INTs, 0 lost fumbles in 17 games = 0.29 to/gm

2) Ryan Mallett (Houston): 5 INTs, 0 lost fumbles in 10 games = 0.50 to/gm

3) Teddy Bridgewater (Minnesota): 14 INTs, 0 lost fumbles in 16 games = 0.88 to/gm

4) Derek Carr (Oakland): 13 INTs, 4 lost fumbles in 19 games = 0.89 to/gm

5) Blake Bortles (Jacksonville): 20 INTs, 1 lost fumble in 17 games = 1.24 to/gm

6) Marcus Mariota (Tennessee): 2 INTs, 2 lost fumbles in 3 games = 1.33 to/gm

6) Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay): 3 INTs, 1 lost fumble in 3 games = 1.33 to/gm

So, there you have it; of the 25 current starting quarterbacks who have played in at least 30 NFL games, Michael Vick has turned the ball over the 7th fewest, behind only: Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Tom Brady, Nick Foles, and Alex Smith. If Cris Carter and company want to label any NFL quarterback as a "turnover machine," they may want to direct their attention to one of the following names: Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford, Jay Cutler, and more than any other, Kirk Cousins.