NFL Week 1: No Experience Necessary (At Quarterback)

Four quarterbacks all made their debuts during a wild opening weekend and did so in exceptional fashion. Or did they? NFL Week 1 is lying to you.

The NFL can now apparently be tag-lined “No Experience Necessary.” Four teams were led in Week 1 by quarterbacks with little to no regular season experience. And all but one came away with a victory. More to the point, only one of those quarterbacks threw an interception—and his team won.

Is this the new trend of the league? Or is NFL Week 1 merely fool’s gold?

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, discuss NFL Week 1 in Tuesday’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

I hate to overreact to the outcomes from NFL Week 1, but we had a few micro-examples that proved a pretty drastic macro-point right out of the gate. Having no experience at the quarterback position is no longer an issue for football teams.

Whereas years ago, teams felt that QB’s had to sit on the sidelines for years to learn how to play at the professional level, those same guys are now entering their first starts ready to play and contribute. This is partially due to the advancement of high school and college offenses. Younger players are just better at playing quarterback than they ever were before. I compare it to the rookies that come into Major League Baseball and seem like stars at 20 and 21 years old. Maybe it’s a coincidence or cyclical, or maybe it is the new trend.

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Trevor Siemian started things off Thursday night for the Denver Broncos. He was followed by Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott and Jimmy Garoppolo. Prior to NFL Week 1, this foursome had combined for 31 career pass attempts. All 31 belonged to Garoppolo.

Siemian led multiple fourth-quarter scoring drives on Denver’s way to beating the Panthers. Wentz led the biggest victory of Week 1 as Philadelphia dismantled the Browns. Prescott was incredibly efficient against New York, falling by one point as his receiver forgot to get out of bounds as time expired. And Garoppolo completed 73 percent of his passes while also leading a game-winning drive with just six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to defeat Arizona.

Now I’m not saying these brand new starting quarterbacks are great. They aren’t, but they are overwhelmingly fine. They are able to run their offenses, make plays and not kill their own team. And don’t take this solid play from day one as a sign that everyone is going to develop into a Pro Bowler.

On the contrary, these guys are coming into the league more ready but that doesn’t raise their ceilings. They may never become great. It is just that their level of competency is higher than it ever was in the past, and they are arriving at that level. It is rather astounding.

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Or, am I overreacting to the outcomes from Week 1? I feel like I’m not, since I am not as much concerned with the wins or the stats compared to the unavoidably apparent competence of these newbies.

Sep 11, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) scrambles away from New York Giants cornerback D. Rodgers-Cromartie (41) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports /

Dan Salem:

You’re completely overreacting to the solid play of the fearsome foursome of NFL inexperience. Two major factors helped all four players look good in their debuts. It’s also worth noting that Siemian tossed two interceptions, while Prescott, Wentz and Garoppolo had none.

The first factor is often overlooked, but these quarterbacks have been preparing for NFL Week 1 for nearly a month. They will never have this much time all season to gameplan for their opponent, dissect the holes in the defense, and get comfortable with a few key plays. Never again will they feel so comfortable or excited entering a football game.

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Furthermore, these quarterbacks’ opponents had essentially zero regular season game tape of these guys to prepare themselves for (excluding Garoppolo’s 31 attempts). It was a clean slate and opposing defenses did not know their tendencies, nor did they know which plays would be favored and which plays each guy would excel at. Going forward opposing defenses will know all of those things. They will exploit such weaknesses and force ‘rookie’ mistakes. That is inevitable.

The second major factor is defense. All four quarterbacks had the advantage of playing with superior defense. Now I know what you’re thinking, Philadelphia and Dallas don’t necessarily have great defenses. Everyone knows that New England and Denver both have incredible units, but the Eagles defense is infinitely better than what Cleveland trotted out on offense. Plus, it was a highly touted unit entering the season. Philly’s defense might be great. In addition, the Cowboys’ defense was also very good against a questionably strong New York Giants’ offense. All four quarterbacks were afforded strong defensive play, keeping the game within reach and momentum on their side.

I can’t deny that it was unexpected to see all four quarterbacks excel, more or less. Yet taking it one game at a time, it’s not surprising in the least. I’m not surprised Bill Belichick had Garoppolo well prepared. They won by two points. I’m not surprised Gary Kubiak had his guy prepared. They won by one point. I’m not surprised Jason Garrett had his guy prepared. They lost by one point. I’m not surprised that the Eagles destroyed the Cleveland Browns, whether Wentz was playing or not.

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Its fun to overreact to week one of the NFL season, but lets all take a deep breath. However, the number of super close games is the epitome of weeks of preparation. So we still have no idea who’s really good and who was just really well prepared to start the season.

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