This NFL season has been filled with young quarterbacks who have both stepped up and lived up to the high expectations. That’s no easy thing to do. The successful quarterbacks in the NFL usually sit out a couple of years and learn from proven starters.
Look at Aaron Rodgers who learned from Brett Farve, Philip Rivers who was groomed by Drew Brees and Tom Brady who took the ropes from Drew Bledsoe.
This is why it is so surprising that younger quarterbacks such as Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Mathew Stafford and even Josh Freeman have had such great seasons so far. All of these players were thrown into the starting role and it looks like they will be there for a while. Newton, the first pick of the 2011 draft, has had a tremendous season so far. Although the Panthers are 1-4, Newton has excelled. In five games, he has thrown for over 1,600 yards and has a total of seven touchdowns.
Newton has also thrown for over 400 twice this season including his first ever game as a professional quarterback. He ranks fourth in the league in passing and he also has the 14th most passing touchdowns out of the NFL quarterbacks.
Not only can Newton pass, he can run the ball like a freight train. He has 160 rushing yards along with five touchdowns on the ground. Newton is an all-around player and is very reminiscent of Donavon McNabb in his prime.
Dalton is probably the most surprising player in the NFL. Everyone thought that the Bengals were going to be garbage this season, but the opposite has occurred. The main reason is Dalton.
He was just thrown into the starting role when Carson Palmer decided that he would rather retire than play for the Bengals. It is very surprising that he has been this successful without a mentor or a normal preseason.
Cincinnati sits at second place in the AFC North with a 3-2 record. Dalton has 1,047 yards this season with six touchdowns. The rookie out of Texas Christian has helped the Bengal fans forget about the Palmer drama, and if he continues to play like this, Cincinnati may not have to consider this season a transition year.
The next standout young quarterback is third year star Matt Stafford. His first two seasons were a wash due to injuries, but this season has been a complete turnaround. He has led his team to a 5-0 record. This is the first time that Detroit started the season 5-0 since 1956.
Stafford has 1,217 passing yards with 11 touchdowns. He has become the face of the Lions and it looks like they are for real this season. This team has come a long way since they went 0-16 four seasons ago. There has not been this much hype about the Lions in over ten years.
Josh Freeman is in his third season and is bona fide franchise quarterback for Tampa Bay. Freeman took the starting reigns three seasons ago and he has not looked back since. Freeman did not have a star quarterback that trained him and showed him the ropes. This is probably the best example of a quarterback that has been able to thrive under the pressure of the NFL.
Freeman may have played horrible on Sunday, but that does not take away from the great job that he has done this season. Tampa is in second place in the NFC South and the chances of them making the playoffs are very high.
He was a great pick by the organization in 2009 and from that day, he has become a leader.Whether it was during the off season when he organized player practices or during regular season games when he leads the team to a come-from-behind victory, Freeman has become one of the best young quarterbacks in the game.
It seems as if college quarterbacks do not need to have a proven quarterback train them into a successful NFL quarterback anymore. This is mainly because college systems are becoming very similar to pro ball.
Sure, the speed of the game is not as quick in college, but the play is becoming more and more competitive. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues as the season progresses.
Joe Beaudoin can be reached at jbeaudoin@spartans.ut.edu.