There are a number of interesting ways to look at the history of a football team. Some ways give insight into why a team has been particularly successful or unsuccessful over the years and other ways are just entertaining or informative. Looking at a team’s history at the quarterback position can remind us of some of the players we may have forgotten about over time. Quarterbacks are an important part of a team’s make up though, so the history of who has played for the team at that position is usually tied somewhat directly to how that team performed on the field.

Here is a look at the quarterbacks of the New York Jets… through the years.

The 1960s
As a charter member of the American Football League, the New York Jets would play their first season in 1960. At the time, the team was known as the New York Titans and they were coached by one of the more famous ex-quarterbacks of the time, the great Sammy Baugh. The teams was not successful in its first few seasons and would rename itself the New York Jets in 1962. Al Dorow was the team’s first starting quarterback and in 1960 he did something few other quarterbacks ever have, he led his team in passing yards as well as rushing yards. Dorow went 6-7 in the 13 games he started that season, the Jets also won the one game he didn’t start when backup quarterback Dick Jamieson helmed the team. 1961 saw Dorow go 7-7 in his final year with the team. The revamped quarterback position in 1962 featured Johnny Green, who had quarterbacked the Buffalo Bills in 1960 and 1961, as the primary starter. His backups were Lee Grosscup and Butch Songin, and they both saw limited time as a starter as well. The Jets would show some consistency in 1963 and 1964 with Dick Wood as the main starter for the team. Interestingly, Wood’s backup in 1963 was future college football coach and pro football assistant coach, Galen Hall. Wood would quarterback in Oakland in 1965 and in Miami in 1966 before finding his way out of football after that. 1965 would see the Jets begin their first real run of consistency at the quarterback position following the drafting of future Pro Football Hall of Fame member Joe Namath. Namath’s backup during his first three years with the team was Mike Taliaferro, while his backup at the end of the decade, including the Super Bowl winning season of 1968 would be former Patriots quarterback Babe Parilli in his final two seasons in pro football. Namath wound up leading the entire AFL in passing attempts, pass completions, passing yards, and passing yards per game in both 1966 and 1967.

The 1970s
The 1970s saw the Jets stay with Joe Namath as their primary starting quarterback, although due to injuries he would only start all 14 games of the season one time between 1970 and 1976. Due to those injuries to Namath, Al Woodall would be the main starter for the Jets in 1970 and Bob Davis would handle half the team’s starts in 1971. Namath would start 13 of the 14 games during the 1972 season with Davis again as the main backup, but Woodall would return as the quarterback with the most starts in 1973 thanks again to Namath’s injuries. 1974 would be Namath’s last year starting every game of the year and he would remain somewhat healthy in 1975 and 1976. Rookie quarterback Richard Todd would start six games in 1976 and the next season would see him firmly entrenched as the starter and Joe Namath would be spending the final year of his NFL career on the entire opposite side of the country playing for the Los Angeles Rams. Todd would remain the primary starter to finish out the decade. The team would be exciting to watch during this run, but they would not be very successful. Backing up Richard Todd during the late 1970s were Matt Robinson Marty Domres, and Pat Ryan.

The 1980s
The 1980s started the way the 1970s ended for the Jets, with Richard Todd at quarterback. In fact, Todd would start every game for the Jets during the 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983 seasons. Pat Ryan remained as his main backup during those years, but Todd was traded to the New Orleans Saints in 1984 and Ryan took over as the starting quarterback the next season, but would soon give way to newly drafted Ken O’Brien. O’Brien had some very successful seasons in New York including 1985 and 1986 when he helped the team achieve records of 11-5 and 10-6 respectively. Ken O’Brien’s favorite target during those seasons was Al Toon and together they teamed up to form a fairly successful duo. He would remain the starter through the end of the 1980s, though the team’s record would begin to go south starting in 1987. The main backup quarterback during this era was again Pat Ryan, though David Norrie did get a chance to start two games in 1987. In 1989, the Jets had a number of backups see action including Ryan, Tony Eason, Kyle Mackey, and Mark Malone.

The 1990s
Ken O’Brien was still the New York Jets starting quarterback when the 1990s came around, but the team’s record did not improve. In 1992, the Jets turned the starting quarterback position over to second year quarterback Browning Nagle. O’Brien would backup Nagle that season and then play one final season with the Philadelphia Eagles before calling it a career. Also on the Jets roster as a backup during those days was an unknown quarterback out of East Carolina who would go on to star for a few seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, Jeff Blake. The Nagle led Jets didn’t fare any better, posting a record of 4-12, and the following season the Jets brought in former Bengals quarterback and hometown boy Boomer Esiason. Esiason brought immediate credibility to the Jets passing game but still couldn’t get the team to put up an above .500 record, he would go 8-8 in 1993, 6-10 in 1994, and 3-13 in 1995. Esiason’s backups during these years included Nagle, Glenn Foley, Jack Trudeau, and Bubby Brister. 1996 would see the beginning of a long stretch of inconsistent leadership from the quarterback position in New York. That year Frank Reich would start seven games, Neil O’Donnell six games, and Glenn Foley three games. O’Donnell would emerge as the main starter for the 1997 season, but in 1998 the team would be turned over to Vinny Testaverde with Foley and Ray Lucas serving as backups. Testaverde would help the team to a 12-4 record that year, their first winning season in quite some time. He would get injured in the first game of the 1999 season though and the remaining games would be split between Ray Lucas and Rick Mirer at the starting quarterback position.

The 2000s
Vinny Testaverde would remain the starter in 2000 and 2001 and the Jets would finish above .500 and be a team that other teams had to worry about. Chad Pennington had come to the Jets via the draft in 2000, and after watching on the sidelines for two seasons, ended up splitting the quarterback duties with Testaverde in 2002 and 2003. Testaverde moved on to the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 and would return for one final season with the Jets in 2005. Other than the 2005 season when injuries would relegate Pennington to spectator for much of the season as the starting quarterback position was turned over to Brooks Bollinger and Testaverde, Pennington would remain the primary starter at quarterback for the team through the 2007 season. His backups during this time included Bollinger, Testaverde, Quincy Carter, Kellen Clemens, and Patrick Ramsey. Pennington moved on to the Miami Dolphins in 2008 and was replaced at quarterback by the legendary Brett Favre. Favre’s one season in New York was successful, though not as successful as many people had hoped it would be. The team went 9-7 in a year where Favre was banged up and hurting by the end, although he did manage to start all 16 games. The New York Jets would pull off a draft day trade in 2009 that saw them move up to the fifth overall pick where they chose University of Southern California standout quarterback Mark Sanchez. Sanchez was the starter all year long and though he struggled some, he was aided by the number one rushing game in the league and the league’s number one defense, and at 9-7 the team made the playoffs. The backup quarterback during Favre’s one season in New York and the first season for Sanchez was Kellen Clemens.

The New York Jets have had good times and bad times over the years. Their best seasons seem to have come though during times when they get consistent play or some sense of consistency from the quarterback position. From Al Dorrow to Mark Sanchez, and everyone in between, the quarterbacks of the New York Jets have played a large role in how the team has done and the identity the team claimed for itself.

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The 1930s
The Detroit Lions were founded in 1930 and played their first four seasons as the Portsmouth Spartans. The game was played vastly differently in the early days of professional football with no player serving as a true quarterback in the way that modern football fans would recognize. Through the first seven years of the franchise’s history, including their 1935 NFL Championship, the leading passers on the team were quarterback/tailbacks Dutch Clark, an eventual Hall of Famer, and his backfield mate Glenn Presnell. During that stretch the biggest numbers were put up in 1933 when Presnell passed for 744 yards. Clark would remain a member of the team, but in 1937 Bill Shepherd would be the team’s leading passer. Vern Huffman would lead the team in passing in 1938 and Dwight Sloan would finish off the decade as the Lions’ leading passer in 1939. The Detroit Lions would put up a losing record of 5-6 their first year in the league, 1930, but would be above .500 every other year in that opening decade.

The 1940s
In 1940 the legendary Byron “Whizzer” White would come to the Lions from the Steelers and make an immediate impact. White would lead the league in rushing attempts and rushing yards in 1940, and lead the Lions passing in 1940 and 1941, before changing his career path and eventually ending up on the United States Supreme Court. Harry Hopp would be the team’s leading passer in 1942 before making way for Frankie Sinkwich who would lead the team in 1943 and 1944. The 1940s would end with a number of different players leading the Lions in passing beginning with Chuck Fenenbock in 1945 and Dave Ryan in 1946. 1947 would see the Lions start their first true full-time quarterback, Clyde LeForce, with Ryan Zimmerman as his backup. While LeForce would lead the team in passing in 1947 and play significantly the next season, 1948′s team leader in passing would be Fred Enke. While LeForce and Enke would remain active players in 1949, the team leader in passing attempts, passing yards, and passing touchdowns would be rookie Frank Tripucka. This would be Tripucka’s only season with the Lions as he would eventually move on to the Cardinals and then after 1952 into coaching. He would come out of retirement to join the new American Football League in 1960 as the first starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. For many years the 1940s would have the reputation as the worst years in team history for Detroit. During that decade the Lions would post a winless season, 0-11 in 1942, as well as a one-win and two-win season in 1946 and 1948, respectively. 1944 and 1945 would be the Lions only two winning seasons during the entire decade.

The 1950s
The 1950s would be the most successful decade in Detroit Lions history, thanks in large part to their new quarterback, eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer Bobby Layne. Layne would come to the Lions in 1950 with two years of pro football experience and in his very first year would lead the league in passing attempts, passing yards, and passing yards per game. He didn’t slow down there as in 1951 he would lead the league in pass completions, passing attempts, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and passing yards per game. The solid play of Bobby Layne through the early and mid-1950s combined with the productivity of teammate Doak Walker would help the Detroit Lions win three NFL Championships; in 1952, 1953, and 1957. Layne would be traded away to the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1958 season and the Lions would not see similar success on the football field since then. The primary starting quarterback for most of 1958 would be Tobin Rote, although backup Earl Morrall would be sitting on the bench in the third season of his 21 year career. Rote had been the longtime starting quarterback in Green Bay and after three seasons in Detroit, would finish his career with three years in the upstart AFL on the rosters of the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. 1959 saw Rote and Morrall split time at quarterback with Rote starting more games but Morrall leading in more statistical categories. The Lions would only put up one losing season during the Bobby Layne era, but immediately following his departure the team would finish the decade with consecutive losing seasons.

The 1960s
After enjoying a number of years of stability with Bobby Layne at quarterback in the 1950s, the Lions would return to their pattern of shifting instability at the quarterback position. 1960 and 1961 would see Jim Ninowski as the team’s starting quarterback. Milt Plum would arrive to takeover the quarterback duties in 1962 while backup Earl Morrall would emerge to lead the team in 1963. Though performing well during that year, Morrall would be relegated back to backup duty in 1964 eventually move on and become the starting quarterback for the New York Giants. Plum meanwhile would be the starting quarterback during those years, with George Izo replacing Morrall as his backup in 1965. Karl Sweetan and Milt Plum would split time at starting quarterback in 1966 with Sweetan barely edging Plum in games started eight to six. This formula would stay the same in 1967 with the starting opportunities divided exactly the same. Big changes would greet Lions fans at the start of the 1968 season when Bill Munson would emerge as the new starting quarterback and rookie Greg Landry as the backup. Munson and Landry would remain in these roles to finish the decade off as well.

The 1970s
The new decade would start off with teammates Bill Munson and Greg Landry splitting duty as the starting quarterback. Roles would be somewhat reversed in 1971 and 1972 with Landry starting all fourteen games each season. Munson and Landry would revert back to sharing the starting quarterback position in 1973 with each player starting seven games. Munson would return to the primary starting quarterback role in 1974 while Landry spot started a few games and backed up in others. Interestingly, on this 1974 Detroit Lions roster was another backup quarterback, eventual NFL head coach Sam Wyche. In 1975, the Detroit Lions would acquire quarterback Joe Reed and he would see starting action in eight games that year. The remaining six games would be split between longtime teammates Bill Munson and Greg Landry. 1975 would be Munson’s last with the team and Landry would comeback into the starting role in 1976 with Reed backing him up. Landry would continue in this role in 1977 with Gary Danielson joining Reed in the role of backup quarterback. Danielson would be the primary starter in 1978 with Landry returning to his now familiar role as the backup quarterback and spot starter. The Lions would end the decade by starting a quarterback new to the team, rookie Jeff Komlo. Komlo didn’t fare too well, with the team going 2-12 in his fourteen starts that season. Other quarterbacks seeing action that season were Joe Reed, Scott Hunter, and Jerry Golsteyn. 1970 would see the Lions win ten games, the team would not reach double-digits in victories again until twenty-one years later in 1991.

The 1980s
Following his dismal performance in 1979, Komlo would be demoted to backup quarterback for his next and last three seasons in the league. Rookie quarterback Eric Hipple would join the team in 1980 and over the next several years he would grow to share the starting quarterback duties with Gary Danielson. Danielson would emerge as the team’s leading quarterback in 1980, 1982, and 1984; while Hipple would serve in that role in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1986. Longtime Buffalo Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson would join the team as a backup quarterback in 1985 and 1986. During the Hipple-Danielson era the best record the Lions would put up would be 9-7 in 1980, they would also post two four win seasons and a five win season during that time as well. 1986 would see the Lions attempt to leave all their past quarterback troubles behind them when they would draft Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Chuck Long out of the University of Iowa. Long would spend most of his rookie season backing up Hipple, going 0-2 as a starter, and then have the team turned over to him in 1987. Long would go 3-9 in his first season as a starting quarterback with the Lions going 4-12 overall. His primary backups that season would be Eric Hipple and Todd Hons, this would be Hons’ only season seeing action in the NFL. Rusty Hilger and Chuck Long would end up splitting time at the starting quarterback position in 1988, though it wouldn’t help the Lions improve much as they would again finish with a 4-12 record. 1989 would see big changes once again come to the Detroit Lions franchise as it would be the first full season for new head coach Wayne Fontes and quarterbacks Rodney Peete and Bob Gagliano would join the team. Peete, Gagliano, Hipple, and Long would all see action during the 1989 season, with Gagliano getting most of the starts followed by Peete. This would be Hipple’s last season with the Lions, and in the league in general, and the team would finish with a disappointing 7-9 record.

The 1990s
The 1990s would show the Lions taking advantage of eventual Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders who would provide great stability at his position over the next decade. Sadly, instability at the quarterback position had become standard operating procedure in Detroit and would continue through the new decade as well. 1990 would see Rodney Peete emerge as the main starting quarterback, though Bob Gagliano would also see time at the starting quarterback position. Rookie and Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware would also start one game, but none of these passers could help the Lions finish above .500, ultimately putting up a record of 6-10. The Lions would rebound however in a big way, going 12-4 in 1991 and advancing all the way to NFC Championship Game which they would go on to lose to the Washington Redskins by the score of 41-10. The starting quarterback position would be split during that great 1991 season with both Rodney Peete and newcomer Erik Kramer receiving eight starts, each one going 6-2 as the starter. The yo-yo 1990s theme for the Detroit Lions would show itself off the next season as in 1992 the team dropped back down to a 5-11 record with both Peete and Kramer again sharing the starting quarterback duties. Andre Ware would also return to start three games and because of the team’s 2-1 record in those games, he would be the only Lions quarterback that season to have an above .500 record. No Lions quarterback would have a below .500 record in 1993 as the team would go 10-6 with Peete again serving as the primary starter and Kramer and Ware each starting multiple games as well. 1994 would see the Lions make drastic changes at quarterback with Scott Mitchell and Dave Krieg both joining the team and seeing ample time at the starting position, despite these changes the team would go 9-7 that year. Scott Mitchell would start all 16 games in 1995 and the team would put up a record of 10-6 and return to the playoffs. One of the backup quarterbacks that would appear on the roster that season was former Green Bay Packers quarterback Don Majkowski. Mitchell would remain the starting quarterback through the 1996 and 1997 seasons as well, though after team records of 5-11 and 9-7, the Lions would once again decide to go in a new direction. 1998 would see rookie quarterback Charlie Batch go 5-7 as the starter while backups Scott Mitchell and Frank Reich would each go 0-2. 1998 would also see other big changes as longtime starter and future Hall of Famer Barry Sanders would shockingly announce his retirement. Journeyman quarterback Gus Frerotte would join the Lions in 1999 and end up splitting time with Charlie Batch to end the decade. After advancing all the way to the conference championship game in 1991, the Lions would go on to make the playoffs five more times (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1999), each time losing in the first round.

The 2000s
The new millennium would start out with Charlie Batch again as the starting quarterback and in a season shared by two head coaches, Gary Moeller and Bobby Ross, he would go 8-7 in that role with the one remaining starting opportunity going to Stoney Case. New head coach Marty Mornhinweg would watch Charlie Batch go 0-9 as the starting quarterback in 2001, but only a little bit better were the other quarterbacks to get starting opportunities that season as Ty Detmer would go 1-3 and rookie Mike McMahon would go 1-2. After using the third overall pick on him in the 2002 NFL Draft, the 2002 season would usher in the highly anticipated Joey Harrington era in Detroit. In rookie year with the team he would go 3-9 as a starter while McMahon would go 0-4 in that role. Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci would helm the team in 2003 and stick with the highly touted Harrington for the next two seasons as the Lions put up records of 5-11 and 6-10 with him starting all sixteen games in both years. 2005 would see another head coaching change as Mariucci was let go during the season and replaced by Dick Jauron. Harrington would split starting time this year with Jeff Garcia, but neither quarterback would have a winning record while the Lions team put up an overall record of 5-11. Jon Kitna, who had experience as a starting quarterback both for the Seattle Seahawks and the Cincinnati Bengals would join the team in 2006 and start every game that year. Though he would throw for over 4,000 yards and more than 20 touchdowns, the team would still finish poorly with just a 3-13 record. The team would more than double those wins in 2007 as they rose to 7-9 with Kitna again starting every game and again throwing for more than 4,000 yards. 2008 would see more changes at quarterback in Detroit as Kitna would remain with the team in a more limited role as Dan Orlovsky would see most of the action at starting quarterback with former Minnesota Vikings great Daunte Culpepper also seeing some time. The Lions would put up a dismal record of 0-16 that season and in the following offseason Orlovsky would test the free agent market, Culpepper would discontinue his association with the team, and Kitna would be traded to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Detroit Lions have one of the longest histories of any team currently in the National Football League, in fact very few teams can trace their history back to before the Portsmouth Spartans debuted in 1930. The Lions experienced some limited success early on, winning an NFL title in 1935 and then some massive success during the 1950s when they would win three league championships in six years thanks in large part to the stability at quarterback with Bobby Layne and the talent in the backfield with Doak Walker. Since that time the Lions have shown an amazing ability to continuously change quarterbacks on a regular basis. Since Bobby Layne left the team in 1958, no Detroit Lions quarterback has been the team’s regular starter for five or more consecutive seasons. This constant fluctuation and instability at the starting quarterback position may not be the only reason for more than fifty years of little on-field success, but it probably plays a large role in the problem. When you look back at some of the great teams in NFL history, even most of the teams that have just modest to good rates of success, you start to see a pattern of stability at the quarterback position as well as that of the head coach. Both of these are areas that the Detroit Lions have found challenging, to say the least, to maintain any sense of stability and consistency and that is probably one of their main reasons for not being as successful as they would hope to be.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars are still a relatively young NFL franchise, having just joined the league in 1995, but they have proven to be quite successful in their limited history. Half of their seasons in the NFL have ended with an above .500 record which is unusual for expansion teams. Much of this success can be traced to the fact that they exhibited a decent amount of stability in both the starting quarterback position and the head coaching position. In their short history, the Jaguars have only had three primary starting quarterbacks and just two head coaches. Here is a look at the quarterbacks that Jacksonville has had through the years.

The 1990s
The starting quarterback during the first year of the Jacksonville Jaguars existence was former University of Washington player and backup to Brett Favre, Mark Brunell. Brunell proved to be a great find for Jacksonville early on both with his arm as well as with his quite capable running ability. As a matter of fact in the Jaguars first season, Brunell would finish second on the team in rushing yards just 45 yards behind team leader James Stewart. With his four rushing touchdowns that season, he would however lead the team in rushing touchdowns. Amazingly, in only their second year in the NFL, the Jacksonville Jaguars would make it all the way to the AFC Championship Game only to lose and come one game shy of playing in the Super Bowl. Brunell would remain the starting quarterback of the Jaguars through the end of the 1990s, helping the team make the playoffs each year. Some of the backup quarterbacks that would appear on the roster beneath him during this time were Steve Beuerlein, Rob Johnson, Shane Matthews, Jonathan Quinn, Jamie Martin, and Jay Fiedler.

The 2000s
When the new decade started, Mark Brunell remained the starting quarterback. He would continue with the team, with much less success, through the 2003 season before departing to become quarterback of the Washington Redskins. Jamie Martin and Jonathan Quinn remained as Brunell’s backups during the first two seasons of the new millennium, but in 2002 a new young player would see his name listed on the depth chart, David Garrard. In 2003, Brunell would only start three games and the Jaguars would go 0-3 in those contests, the remaining 13 games of the season were started by rookie Byron Leftwich. 2004 would see Leftwich emerge as the full time starting quarterback and would result in limited success. Due to injuries and inconsistent play, Leftwich and Garrard would split time as the starting quarterbacks during the 2005 and 2006 season, but in 2007 Garrard was given the opportunity to be the full time starter and it proved a quite successful move. Soon Leftwich was gone and the backup quarterback position would be filled with the likes of Quinn Gray and Cleo Lemon. David Garrard would remain the starting quarterback for a third consecutive game when the 2008 season rolled around.

The history of the quarterbacks of the Jacksonville Jaguars is not as long and storied as that of many of the NFL franchises that have existed longer, but there is still a story to be told. The Jaguars, though young as a team, have exhibited great maturity in the handling of their quarterbacks. Many teams change quarterbacks year-to-year, and with these actions comes great instability and poor leadership. The Jaguars have not fallen into this trap and nothing in their short history indicates they will anytime soon.

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The 1960s
The Bengals played their first two seasons of professional football in the AFL, having entered the league two years before the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. The initial head coach of the Bengals would be football legend Paul Brown who was also the owner of the team. On the roster in the position of quarterback that first year was a man that would go on to coach team years later, Sam Wyche. Wyche was primarily a backup quarterback during his career though and ahead of him on the depth chart was Dewey Warren and then starting quarterback John Stofa. Stofa had been a backup for the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and 1967, and following that first season with the Bengals in 1968 he would return to finish his career in 1969 and 1970 as a backup quarterback for the Dolphins. 1969 would see highly drafted rookie Greg Cook take over at quarterback, but due to an undetected rotator cuff injury, that would be his only season as a starting quarterback in the NFL. He attempted a comeback in the early 1970s, but by then it had been too late.

The 1970s
The first sign of stability at the quarterback position for the Bengals would show up at the beginning of the new decade as the primary starting quarterback for both the 1970 and 1971 teams was former Chicago Bears backup quarterback Virgil Carter. 1970 would be Sam Wyche’s last year riding the bench for the Bengals and a new rookie quarterback was added to the team in 1971, Ken Anderson. In 1972, the offense would be turned over to Anderson who would remain in the starting quarterback position for the Bengals for the rest of the 1970s and beyond. The benefits of Anderson at the helm would show up almost immediately as he would lead the league in passing yards and quarterback rating in 1974 and 1975. Anderson was also amazingly durable, missing very few games during this time. The Bengals would put up three ten-win seasons in four years in the mid 1970s before their successes on the field became more rare near the end of the decade. During the 1970s, many quarterbacks would see time as the backup quarterback behind Ken Anderson including Virgil Carter, Greg Cook, Wayne Clark, John Reaves, and Jack Thompson.

The 1980s
To combat the sliding win-loss record, a new head coach with a history of playing on winning teams was brought in. Former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Forrest Gregg was the new head coach of the team in 1980, though the club record of 6-10 was not much of an improvement. The next year however, Ken Anderson would throw for the most yards (3,754) and touchdowns (29) of his career as the Bengals would make it all the way to the Super Bowl, losing to the 49ers by the score of 26-21. Jack Thompson remained the backup behind Anderson during this time, though longtime Bengals backup quarterback Turk Schonert would also appear on the roster in 1981. Gregg would remain the coach for the next two seasons though the team would not remain at the top of the league during that time. 1984 would see many changes come to Cincinnati. First, former backup quarterback Sam Wyche would sign on as the new head coach. Second, this would be the last season that Ken Anderson would be the primary starting quarterback for the team. And third, the main reason for that was the addition of University of Maryland rookie quarterback Boomer Esiason. In 1985, his second season with the team, Esiason would take over as the starting quarterback and in just 14 games throw for 3,443 yards and 27 touchdowns. Ken Anderson would stay with the team through the 1986 season, serving as a valuable experienced backup quarterback for Esiason to rely on. The Bengals would make another Super Bowl appearance following the 1988 season, again losing to the 49ers, this time by the score of 20-16. Esiason would remain one of the statistically better quarterbacks during the rest of the 1980s and some of his backup quarterbacks during this time were Ken Anderson, Turk Schonert, Doug Gaynor, Dave Walter, Adrian Breen, Ben Bennett, and Erik Wilhelm.

The 1990s
The 1990s would start with Esiason still at quarterback and with Schonert retired, Wilhelm would now take over as the primary backup for the Bengals. The 1990 season would also see the Bengals return to the playoffs, beating the Houston Oilers in the wildcard round before falling to the Los Angeles Raiders in the second round. No one knew it at the time, but the Bengals wouldn’t make a return trip to the playoffs for 15 years. 1991 marked Sam Wyche’s last season with the team. Esiason’s production began to slip and after two sub-par seasons he would move on to the New York Jets. The backup quarterbacks during Esiason’s final years with the team were Erik Wilhelm, Todd Philcox, Donald Hollas, and David Klingler. The starting quarterback duties in 1993 were turned over to David Klingler and Jay Schroeder was brought in as a veteran backup. After struggling, Klingler began to share starting quarterback duties with Jeff Blake in 1994 and by 1995 had replaced Hollas as the primary backup behind Blake. The starting quarterback duties would belong to Jeff Blake through much of the late 1990s, even with former Bengals great Boomer Esiason coming back to play one final season with the team in 1997. After a somewhat successful career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then two seasons with the Jets, Neil O’Donnell came in and was the starting quarterback for most of the 1998 season, before the job was turned back over to Jeff Blake in 1999. Paul Justin and Scott Covington would see time at backup quarterback during this time, along with highly drafted prospect Akili Smith.

The 2000s
The new millennium would start out with a mid-season coaching change with the firing of Bruce Coslet and the hiring of Dick LeBeau. The 2000 season would see Akili Smith get the bulk of the starts although backup Scott Mitchell would also see significant time. 2001 would see both of them in the backup quarterback role as former Detroit Lions the next season. 2006 would see Palmer remain as the starter, backed up this time by Anthony Wright. Palmer would remain the primary starter through the rest of the decade, though 2008 would see him miss most of the season due to a season ending injury and the team’s offense would be turned over to Ryan Fitzpatrick who had been a backup quarterback with the St. Louis Rams before coming to the Bengals in 2007.

The Cincinnati Bengals have had an up and down history as a team in the NFL. They have put together some of the best seasons as well as the worst seasons of any team in the league. Other than their two long stints with Ken Anderson and then Boomer Esiason as starting quarterbacks, the quarterback position in Cincinnati has been very inconsistently manned. Like most teams, the most successful times in Bengals history have been when their has been stability at the starting quarterback position. It remains to be seen if that can be achieved when Carson Palmer recovers from this latest injury. True fans of the Cincinnati Bengals are most likely hoping so.

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The 1930s
The Philadelphia Eagles‘ first year in the NFL was 1933 and they would spend the rest of the decade putting up below .500 records each and every season. In the early days of American football many teams did not use a player in what would become the traditional role of a quarterback. The leading passer for the Eagles in their first year was Red Kirkman who in nine games completed 22 passes out of 73 attempts for 354 total yards. In an indication of how the team’s first season went, finishing with a record of 3-5-1, Kirkman finished the season with two touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. 1934 would see the leading passer on the Eagles be tailback Ed Matesic who would also throw two touchdown passes, but only throw five interceptions. Matesic would be the leading passer in 1935 as well. In 1936, fullback Dave Smukler would take over as the team’s leading passer and remain their for three seasons. He would finish those seasons with three touchdown passes in 1936, five touchdown passes in 1937, and seven touchdown passes in 1938. The only time he would lead the league in any passing category was 1937 when his 14 interceptions were tops in the league. 1939 would see Heisman Trophy winner Davey O’Brien come to Philadelphia and immediately set the record for most passing yards in an NFL season with 1,324.

The 1940s
The next decade would start out with continued excitement over the team’s quarterback, and O’Brien would respond leading the league in passing attempts and completions while finishing the season with 1,290 yards. After two seasons in the NFL, O’Brien would leave the team and join the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as an agent. Tommy Thompson would join the team in 1941 and immediately make an impact at the position of quarterback. The team would continue its losing ways at the outset of the 1940s, but in 1943 when playing as the Phil/Pitt Steagles, they would experience their first winning record finishing the season at 5-4-1. 1943 would see Roy Zimmerman see major playing time as primary starting quarterback for the Eagles, he would be the Eagles leading passer through the 1945 season while Thompson moved into a backup role. Also appearing as a backup quarterback for the Eagles during this time was future future head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and New York Giants, Allie Sherman. Through the late 1940s, Zimmerman and Thompson would split duties at starting quarterback with Zimmerman getting the bulk of the starts but Thompson leading the team in most passing categories. This arrangement was very successful with the team appearing in the NFL Championship game in 1947, 1948, and 1949, winning the title in 1948 and 1949.

The 1950s
Tommy Thompson would be the primary starting quarterback at the start of the 1950s, but would end his career before the start of the 1951 season. Adrian Burk would take over the starting quarterback duties in 1952 and though the team would post a winning record (7-5), Burk would lead the league in interceptions thrown with a total of 23. Bobby Thomason joined the team in 1952 and he and Burk would split quarterback duties for much of the rest of the mid 1950s with 1956 being Burks’ last season in the NFL and 1957 being Thomason’s last year. Appearing on the roster as a backup quarterback at this time was Sonny Jurgensen, he would remain in that role throughout the rest of the decade. 1958 would see legendary Rams quarterback Norm Van Brocklin join the Eagles. Van Brocklin would turn the fortunes of the Eagles around, leading the league in completions and attempts in his first year with the team. Of interest here is that with Van Brocklin and Jurgensen on the roster, although they primarily made their names with other teams, the Rams and Redskins respectively, the Eagles would have two future Hall of Famers at the quarterback position.

The 1960s
The Eagles would hit the big time in 1960 with another NFL Championship, and after winning the big game quarterback Norm Van Brocklin would call it a career. Van Brocklin’s retirement opened up a spot for Jurgensen in the starting lineup and he took full advantage, leading the league in completions, passing yards, touchdowns, and yards per game in his first year as a starter. The team would put up a 10-4 record in 1961, but success under Jurgensen wouldn’t last and after an injury filled 1963 season he would be traded to the Washington Redskins for quarterback Norm Snead. Jurgensen would go on to a legendary career in the nation’s capital, and the Eagles wouldn’t see post season play again for almost two decades. Snead would keep the starting quarterback position through the rest of the 1960s and during that stretch the Eagles would only post one winning record. In those seven seasons, Snead would lead the NFL in interceptions three different times.

The 1970s
Snead would be the primary starting quarterback in 1970 and after that one more year of futility he would move on to play a year with the Vikings before ending his career in the mid-70s after stints with the Giants and 49ers. Journeyman quarterback Pete Liske would be the starting quarterback for the Eagles in 1971 and the team would respond with a record of 6-7-1. Liske would split time the next season with John Reaves, and then Reaves would become the backup behind Roman Gabriel, who joined the team following a successful career with the Los Angeles Rams, in 1973. Interestingly, John Reaves would go on to spend time with the Bengals and Oilers before moving on to the USFL‘s Tampa Bay Bandits from 1983-1985. Reaves would come out of retirement in 1987 and start two games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gabriel’s first season with the Rams would see him lead the league in completions, attempts, passing yards, touchdown passes, and passing yards per game. Gabriel led the Eagles in all passing statistice through the 1975 season. Backup quarterback Mike Boryla saw most of the starts during the 1976 season before the team’s starting quarterback job was turned over to Ron Jaworski in 1977. After a subpar 1977 season, the Eagles would play in the post season for the first time since their last championship in 1960 following the 1978 season. Jaworski would lead the team back to respectability at the end of the 1970s though he would never be the type of quarterback that would statisticaly dominate the league.

The 1980s
The new decade started off on the right track with the Eagles making it to the Super Bowl behind the quarterbacking of Ron Jaworski, the running of Wilbert Montgomery, the receiving of Harold Carmichael, and the coaching of Dick Vermeil. The Eagles would make it back to the playoffs in 1981, but that would be the end of playoff appearances with Jaworski as the starting quarterback, though he would remain with the team through the 1986 season. Randall Cunningham began his NFL career as Jaworski’s backup in 1985, and he would start four games that season and five games in 1986 before becoming the full time starter in 1987. Because of the many times that Cunningham would run the ball, he would actually lead the league in times being sacked during the 1986 season even though he only started five games during the season. Behind Cunningham and the improved defense under Buddy Ryan, the Eagles would once again return to respectability with playoff appearances in both 1988 and 1989. The 1987 season would be the first of four consecutive years that quarterback Randall Cunningham would not only lead the team in passing yards, but rushing yards too.

The 1990s
The 90s would agains see Randall Cunningham leading the team at the position of starting quarterback. The Eagles remained one of the most formidable teams in the league in the early 90s, thanks in large part to Reggie White and the rest of their defense. Cunningham would start out the 1991 season with a season ending injury and former Bears starting quarterback Jim McMahon would step in although games were also started that year by Jeff Kemp and Brad Goebel. The rest of the early 1990s would see Cunningham, mainly because of injuries, share starting quarterback duties with, among others Bubby Brister and Rodney Peete before he would leave following the 1996 season to play for the Minnesota Vikings. 1996 saw Ty Detmer emerge as the starting quarterback with Rodney Peete and former Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien as his main backups. The final three seasons of the 1990s would see Ty Detmer, Bobby Hoying, Rodney Peete, Koy Detmer, Doug Pederson, and Donovan McNabb all start games for the Eagles at quarterback.

The 2000s
The new millennium would see Donovan McNabb take over the Eagles starting quarterback job for the rest of the decade, only relinquishing it due to injury. The primary backup quarterbacks during this time were Koy Detmer, A.J. Feeley, Jeff Blake, Mike McMahon, Jeff Garcia, and Kevin Kolb. During this time the Eagles would make it to the NFC Championship Game four consecutive times from 2001 to 2004, including making it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2004 only to lose to the New England Patriots by a score of 24-21.

The Philadelphia Eagles have had many ups and downs during their years in the National Football League. Though it has been a great many years since they were last champions of the league, they have had numerous years when they were near the top and within reach of the championship. Much of the team’s success has happened when they have had quarterbacks that were some of the best in the league at the time running their offense. Quarterbacks like Norm Van Brocklin, Sonny Jurgensen, Ron Jaworski, Randall Cunningham, and Donovan McNabb. The Eagles have one of the longest histories of any team in the NFL and their future, like most teams, will be largely dependent on the success of their quarterback.

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The 1960s
Dick Wood threw for the most yards as a quarterback for the expansion Miami Dolphins in 1966, but the player who started the most games at quarterback was George Wilson, his father George Wilson Sr. was the head coach of the team at the time. 1966 would be the younger Wilson’s only season of professional football. Other quarterbacks to see time that first year were Rick Norton and John Stofa. The quarterback position would look better almost immediately when the very next year the team drafted future Hall of Famer Bob Griese out of Purdue University. Griese would remain the starter for many years to come, including the rest of the 1960s.

The 1970s
With a quarterback the quality of Bob Griese at the helm, it wouldn’t be long before the Dolphins would turn their team around. 1970 would mark the first year after the AFL-NFL merger and the Dolphins ran off a record of 10-4 proving they were a team that couldn’t be taken lightly. In 1972, after a key injury to Griese, veteran (38 years old!) backup quarterback Earl Morrall would step in and help lead the team to a perfect regular season record and a Super Bowl victory. 1973 would see the Dolphins repeat as Super Bowl Champions, this time with Griese starting all but one game. 1973 would also see the Dolphins draft quarterback Don Strock who would remain with the team for 14 years. The Dolphins would finally see their streak of six consecutive seasons with double digit victories come to an end in 1976 when they would post a record of 6-8. The team would then post three consecutive 10+ win seasons to end the decade. 1979 would be the final season with Bob Griese as the primary starting quarterback.

The 1980s
The new decade would see the Dolphins with a new starting quarterback as David Woodley would take over the team and lead them to a 6-5 record his first year with the team, an 11-3-1 record in 1981, and a 7-2 record in the strike-shortened 1982 season. Dolphins legend Bob Griese stayed with the team in 1980 as David Woodley’s backup, but would retire following the season. A new rookie quarterback would show up in Miami in 1983 and it would spell the end of David Woodley’s time with the team. Dan Marino would start nine games during his rookie season and the team would go 7-2 in those games. Following that season, Woodley would move on to play two more years in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers before calling it a career. Marino however would lead the Dolphins back to the Super Bowl following the 1984 season, only to lose it to the San Francisco 49ers. The remaining years of the decade would see Marino not only be solid in his position as the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, but see him join the elite quarterbacks of his day. 1987 would be the last year that longtime backup quarterback Don Strock would be with the team.

The 1990s
The 1990s would begin the way the 1980s ended with Dan Marino as the starting quarterback, being backed up by Scott Secules. In 1992 Scott Mitchell would join the team as the backup and due to an injury to Marino the following season, he would be thrust into the role of starter. Mitchell would make the most of his seven starts at quarterback and leave the following season to become the highly paid starting quarterback of the Detroit Lions. Steve DeBerg would also start games during the 1993 season. Marino would return to the starting quarterback position in 1994. Longtime Cleveland Browns star Bernie Kosar would backup Dan Marino in 1994 and 1995, with Craig Erickson joining him in 1996. Erickson would be Marino’s backup in 1997, followed by Damon Huard to end the decade as the backup in 1998 and 1999. Dan Marino would retire following the 1999 season having put up a career regular season record of 147-93 as the Dolphins starting quarterback. During his career he led the league in completions six times, attempts five times, yards five times, and touchdowns three times.

The 2000s
The new millennium would start out with a whole new look for the Dolphins with Jay Fiedler as the starting quarterback. He would remain in that position for three seasons before splitting time with Brian Griese in 2003 and A.J. Feeley in 2004. During Fiedler’s stretch as the starter some of the people that served as backups included Damon Huard, Ray Lucas, and Sage Rosenfels. Gus Frerotte would be the starting quarterback for the Dolphins in 2005. During the 2006 and 2007 seasons the team saw games started by five different quarterbacks, they are Joey Harrington, Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon, Trent Green, and John Beck. The team would turn the job over to Chad Pennington for the 2008 season.

For a team that had basically three starting quarterbacks (Griese, Woodley and Marino) from 1967 through 1999 to go to having ten different starting quarterbacks in less than a decade, is quite a change. It is obvious to see that the Miami Dolphins experienced their most success when they had stability at the position of starting quarterback. With the change to Pennington for 2008, maybe the Dolphins are embarking on a new era of stability that will bring them back to the top of the league.

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The 1960s
Cotton Davidson was the original starting quarterback for the Dallas Texans when they took the field as part of the AFL in 1960. Davidson had been a first round draft pick of the Baltimore Colts in 1954, but had not lived up to his promise and only saw any real action at the position of punter while with the team. As a matter of fact, while playing the position of quarterback with the Texans, he would also serve as the team’s punter, and would even kick a few extra points too. After a little over two seasons with the team, Davidson would move on to become one of the early quarterbacks of the Oakland Raiders. In the third season of the team’s existence, they would welcome a new starting quarterback into the fold. Len Dawson had been drafted in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers and after spending three seasons as the backup to future hall of famer Bobby Layne, he moved on to Cleveland where he would also see significant time as the second string quarterback. He was brought into lead the Texans in 1962 and immediately paid dividends as the team would win the AFL Championship that season. On an individual level, Dawson would lead the AFL in completion percentage, touchdowns, yards per passing attempt, and quarterback rating that year. The next season saw the Texans become the Kansas City Chiefs and though the team struggled, Dawson would again lead the league in touchdown passes. In fact, Len Dawson led the AFL in touchdown passes in four of his first five seasons in the league (1962, 63, 65, and 66). Dawson would quarterback the team through the rest of the decade, culminating with the Chiefs winning the 1969 Super Bowl. That final season of the 1960s would see quarterback Mike Livingston see significant playing time and actually compile a better win-loss record than Dawson.

The 1970s
The new decade would start out looking largely the same for the Chiefs with reliable Len Dawson starting at the position of quarterback. Though he wouldn’t achieve the same success after the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, Dawson was still one of the better quarterbacks in the league. The 1973 season saw Dawson and Livingston splitting time at the position of starting quarterback and this would continue through for three years until the retirement of Dawson following the 1975 season. In his first four seasons as the backup to Len Dawson, Mike Livingston had gone 9-0 in games he was called on to start, including 6-0 in the 1969 Super Bowl season. Now it was 1976 and the position of starting quarterback was all his. Success would not stay with Livingston as he compiled win-loss records of 5-9, 1-10, and 4-10 as the starting quarterback for the Chiefs in the late 1970s. 1979, his last season in the league would show Livingston going 1-3 as a starter, with the team essentially turned over to rookie quarterback Steve Fuller.

The 1980s
1980 would see Steve Fuller go 6-7 in his second and final year as the primary starter for the Chiefs. The starting quarterback position would be turned over to young Bill Kenney in 1981 and by 1982 Fuller would have moved on to the Chicago Bears. Kenney was the primary starting quarterback of the Chiefs through the rest of the 1980s, although for a time in the middle of the decade he shared the duties with Todd Blackledge. Other quarterbacks who started games for the Chiefs in the 1980s included Matt Stevens, Frank Seurer, and Steve DeBerg. 1988 would see Kenney go 0-5 as the starter and the team would essentially be turned over to DeBerg as Bill Kenney would retire following at season’s end. 1989 would see the Chiefs head coaching duties turned over to Marty Schottenheimer and although both Steve Pelluer and Ron Jaworski would start games at quarterback, DeBerg would remain the primary quarterback with ten starts that season.

The 1990s
The new decade would begin with Steve DeBerg at the helm for the first two seasons before moving on to Tampa Bay and having longtime Seattle Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg come in as the starting quarterback in 1992. Krieg would have a successful season that year, leading the team to a 10-6 record and leading the NFL in the category of most yards gained per pass completion (13.5). The Chiefs would lose in the Wildcard round of the playoffs that year and the writing would be on the wall for Dave Krieg as the team would trade for future hall of famer Joe Montana in the off season. In Montana’s first season with the team he would take them all the way to the AFC Championship game where they would lose to Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills by a score of 30-13. The 1994 season would see Montana lead the Chiefs back to the playoffs, this time losing in the Wildcard round to the Miami Dolphins. Montana would retire after the season and Steve Bono would take over the quarterbacking duties. Bono had been originally drafted in 1985 by the Minnesota Vikings, but in his first nine seasons in the league with the Vikings, Steelers, 49ers and Chiefs he had only started eleven games. The 1995 Chiefs were all his and he took the team to a 13-3 record, including being 10-1 at one time. The Chiefs would again lose in the first round of the playoffs and the following year the team would miss the postseason with Bono going 8-5 as their starter. Bono would move on to spend time backing up in Green Bay, St. Louis, and Carolina to finish out the decade while the Chiefs quarterback position would be turned over to Elvis Grbac and Rich Gannon. The combination of Grbac and Gannon would get Kansas City back to the playoffs in 1997, although it was another disappointing first round loss, this time to the Denver Broncos. During that season Grbac would go 8-2 as the starter while Gannon would go 5-1 in games that he started. 1998 would see Gannon go 5-5 as the starter while Grbac went 2-4 and the Chiefs would miss the playoffs. 1999 would see Rich Gannon leave the team to head to the Oakland Raiders where he would experience a good deal of success. With the starting quarterback job all his, Elvis Grbac would lead the team to a 9-7 record and Kansas City would finish out the 1990s by once again missing the playoffs.

The 2000s
The new millennium would start out with Elvis Grbac as the starting quarterback for the Chiefs once again, and he would lead the team to a record of 7-8 in games that he started. Hall of famer Warren Moon would also see time at the starting quarterback position for Kansas City in the year 2000, going 0-1. 2001 would see new head coach Dick Vermeil bring in a new starting quarterback, Trent Green. After a rough first couple of years with the team, Green would lead the Chiefs to a 13-3 record in 2003 though they would once again lose in the first round of the playoffs. 2005 would be Vermeil’s last season coaching the Chiefs and he and Green would lead the team to a very respectable 10-6 record though they would still miss the playoffs. The 2006 season would see Trent Green start half of the Chiefs games, going 4-4, while Damon Huard started the other half, going 5-3. This would be Trent Green’s last season in Kansas City as he moved on to the Miami Dolphins during the off season. The 2007 Chiefs were a disappointment with Huard going 4-6 as the starter and rookie Brodie Croyle going 0-6.

The Kansas City Chiefs have experienced many ups and downs throughout their history, and will most assuredly be back on top one day soon. The stability of the Chiefs quarterback position during their first decade of professional football resulted in them being one of the better teams at the time. During the next three decades, the team would spend many seasons without having a primary starting quarterback who would consistently start every game of the season year after year. This instability at the quarterback position is what most people attribute the Chiefs’ more difficult seasons to. The Chiefs are definitely one of the more fascinating teams in the National Football League and following their quarterback lineage in the future will be very interesting indeed.

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The 1960s
The Denver Broncos came into existence and their first decade in pro football was less than stellar. During the ten seasons from 1960 through 1969, the Broncos only had one season where they finished with a record of .500 or better. That season was 1962 and their record was 7-7. Part of the reason for these early struggles were the instability at the head coach and quarterback positions. The team went through five different head coaches in their first decade and seven different primary starting quarterbacks. The first quarterback in Broncos history was Frank Tripucka. Tripucka is an interesting story as although he was the Broncos quarterback, he already had pro football head coaching experience as he had held that position while with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before coming to Denver. After Tripucka came Mickey Slaughter, Jacky Lee, John McCormick, Max Choboian, Steve Tensi, and Marlin Briscoe as primary starting quarterbacks before the 1960s ended.

The 1970s
The new decade started with a new quarterback at the helm of the Broncos offense, that man was Pete Liske. Liske would not go down in history with the Broncos fans as that year would be his last with the team. They would however go 5-4 with Liske as the starter. Steve Ramsey would then become the leading passer for the Broncos during the 1971 and 1972 seasons before being demoted to the second string when Charley Johnson became the starter. Ramsey would return as the starting quarterback for the 1975 and 1976 seasons before turning the reins over to Craig Morton who would lead the Broncos to the first real success the team had ever experienced, immediately making the playoffs and then an appearance in the Super Bowl following his first season with the team. Morton would stay as the starting quarterback throughout the rest of the decade.

The 1980s
The 1980s started out right where the 1970s had ended at the quarterback position for the Denver Broncos with Craig Morton leading the way during the first two seasons of the new decade. The next season the offense was turned over to a young Steve DeBerg who led the team to a disappointing 2-7 record during the strike shortened 1982 NFL year. In 1983, the groundwork for great seasons to come was laid when the Broncos traded for rookie quarterback John Elway who had been drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. Elway would payoff almost immediately for the Broncos leading them to Super Bowl appearances following the 1986, 1987, and 1989 seasons. Unfortunately, the Broncos would lose all three of those appearances.

The 1990s
With a future hall of famer like John Elway leading their offense, the 1990s also saw few changes at the starting quarterback position. Elway would lead the team through the 1998 season when he would retire. Before he did though, he would spur them on to Super Victories following the 1997 and 1998 seasons. The last year of the decade, 1999, would see the team’s offense turned over to the highly rated son of another member of pro football’s hall of fame, Brian Griese.

The 2000s
The new century would see Griese show promise at times as well as struggle at other times. Griese would stay as the Broncos’s primary starting quarterback for four seasons before the team went in a different direction by signing highly touted free agent quarterback Jake Plummer. Plummer had experienced moderate team success and great personal success as the quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals and made an immediate impact on the Broncos returning them to the playoffs during the 2003, 2004, and 2005 seasons. During the 2006 season the team would turn its offense over to rooke Jay Cutler who would stay in that position late into the decade.

The Broncos, like most NFL teams, have experienced their greatest success when they have gone through periods of stability at the head coach and quarterback positions. The team has had roughly the same amount of primary starting quarterbacks in the last thirty seasons as they had in their first ten seasons.

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The Dallas Cowboys are known around the NFL as “America’s Team”. They have had their ups and downs as a franchise, but overall have been one of the more successful teams in league history. The quarterback position of the Dallas Cowboys has always been a position that has drawn a lot of attention. That was true when the team began in the 1960s and it is true now. Let’s take a look at the quarterbacks of the Dallas Cowboys.

In The Beginning – The 1960s
The expansion 1960 Dallas Cowboys had brought in Eddie LeBaron, a seven year veteran from the Washington Redskins, as a way of adding some experience to their young team. Also on the roster at the birth of the Cowboys was “Dandy” Don Meredith and Don Heinrich who each started just one game during that first year. LeBaron was still the starting quarterback for the 1961, but by 1962 Meredith had taken over as the primary starting quarterback and LeBaron had made the transition to the backup role. When 1964 rolled around, it was Meredith’s team with LeBaron no longer being on the roster. The new backup quarterback was John Roach who had come over following a few years as a backup in Green Bay. In 1965, Meredith remained the starting quarterback, but two other quarterbacks started games that season, Craig Morton and Jerry Rhome. This combination remained until 1968 when Morton became the one and only primary backup to Meredith. By the end of the decade though Meredith had left the team, becoming a broadcaster with Monday Night Football a year later, and Morton had assumed the role of starter. There was a new second string quarterback on the Cowboys roster though and his name was Roger Staubach.

That Seventies Team – The 1970s
The 1970 Dallas Cowboys team would win the NFC Championship, losing to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V, with Craig Morton starting 11 games and Roger Staubach starting three. The writing was on the wall though and the next year the roles were reversed with Morton only starting four games while Staubach started ten games and led the team to its first Super Bowl victory. The 1972 Cowboys would see Morton return to his starting position, starting every game of the season, but would also see the Cowboys lose to the Redskins in the NFC Championship game ending their chance at defending their Super Bowl title. Dallas would make it to the conference championship game again in 1973, this time losing to the Minnesota Vikings and having Roger Staubach start every game on the schedule and Morton moved to the backup position again. Clint Longley would join the Cowboys as a rookie and backup in 1974 and by 1975 Craig Morton had moved on to the New York Giants. Longley would remain the backup during 1975 as Staubach again led the team to the Super Bowl, this time they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. 1976 would see Longley replaced in the backup role by young Danny White who was also the team’s punter as Staubach continued to be one of the more effective quarterbacks in the league. In 1977, Staubach would lead the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl and this time they would be victorious over the Denver Broncos, coincidentally the Broncos quarterback at this time was former Cowboy Craig Morton. In 1978, the Cowboys went back to the Super Bowl but were again beaten by the Pittsburgh Steelers. 1979 was the last season that Danny White was the backup for Staubach as the Cowboy great would retire following that season.

The End Of An Era – The 1980s
With Roger Staubach gone, Danny White would move into the starting quarterback role and the Cowboys remained successful going to the NFC Championship Game on more than one occasion in the early 1980s, White’s backup the first couple of years in this new decade was Glenn Carano who in 1982 would be replaced by Gary Hogeboom. This configuration would remain constant for a couple of years, but by 1984 Hogeboom was seeing more time as the starter than White, having started ten games to White’s six. White reclaimed his starting position for the 1985 season and by 1986, Hogeboom was gone having moved on to become a part time starter with the Indianapolis Colts. 1986 saw Steve Pelleur come to the Cowboys and that year he actually started more games than longtime Cowboy Danny White. This would be reversed in 1987 when White would once again takeover the starting quarterback role as Pelleur went to the bench which now would also include Kevin Sweeney and Loren Snyder as backups. Steve Pelleur would be the starting quarterback when the 1988 season came around while Sweeney and White would serve as his backups. 1989 would see one of the most dramatic changes to the Cowboys when new ownership removed original head coach Tom Landry and replaced him with new head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys would go 1-15 that year as they bottomed out at the end of the decade, but the future looked bright with rookie quarterback Troy Aikman at the helm and highly touted Steve Walsh as the backup.

Birth Of A Dynasty – The 1990s
With a new head coach and a new starting quarterback, the Cowboys would rebuild themselves into one of the most dominant teams in NFL history. Emmitt Smith was added to the backfield and Michael Irvin and others were added so that Aikman would have quality players to throw the ball to. The Cowboys would focus on strengthening their offensive line and defense as well. That 1990 season would see the Cowboys go 7-9 with Aikman still at the helm and Walsh in a backup role along with Babe Laufenberg. 1991 would see the Cowboys go 11-5 and return to the playoffs, Walsh and Laufenberg were now gone and Steve Beuerlein would be Aikman’s primary backup and also get to start four games too. Though Beuerlein was still the backup the next year, 1992 would see Aikman start all 16 games and eventually lead the Cowboys to a 52-17 Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills. The Cowboys would repeat as Super Bowl champions in 1993, again defeating the Bills for the championship with Aikman leading the way. Backing up Aikman that season was longtime Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar and newcomer Jason Garrett. 1994 saw the Cowboys come one game away from making it to the Super Bowl again, falling to the 49ers in the conference championship game, and while Jason Garrett remained on the team as one of Aikman’s backups, Kosar was gone and Rodney Peete was there. A third Super Bowl victory in the 1990s was added to the Cowboys mantle in 1995 when they defeated the Neil O’Donnell led Steelers in the big game. Garrett again remained there as Aikman’s backup, but this year longtime veteran Wade Wilson was added to the roster. This setup would remain the same as far as Cowboys quarterbacks go through 1996 and 1997, but by 1998 Wilson had been replaced with newcomer Mike Quinn while Jason Garrett would not only remain the primary backup but find himself in the starting role for five games that season. Quinn would be gone the next season as Aikman and Garrett would be the only two quarterbacks on the roster that year.

The New Millennium – The 2000s
the year 2000 saw Aikman remain on as the starting quarterback while his backups were now former Eagles star Randall Cunningham, Anthony Wright, and Clint Stoerner. The Cowboys would go 5-11 that season. Another end of an era, as far as Cowboys fans were concerned, came following the 2000 season when Troy Aikman announced his retirement. When the 2001 season came about there was a lot of confusion when it came to who the starting quarterback for the Cowboys would be. Quincy Carter started half the games that year, but also seeing time at the starting quarterback position were Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf, and Clint Stoerner. It was no surprise when the Cowboys followed one 5-11 season with another one that year. The 2002 season would start with a bad omen when the Cowboys would lose the first game of the year to the expansion Houston Texans. The Cowboys would finish the year with their third consecutive 5-11 season behind the quarterbacking of Chad Hutchinson and Quincy Carter. Bill Parcells would come to the Cowboys in 2003 and he would immediately have an impact by making Carter his starter for all 16 games and leading the Cowboys back to the playoffs with a 10-6 record. Veteran quarterback Vinny Testaverde would start 15 games for the Cowboys in 2004, Drew Henson started the other one, but the Cowboys would invert their previous season record by going 6-10. The Cowboys would replace one veteran starting quarterback with another in 2005 when Drew Bledsoe would come to town and start all 16 games and go 9-7. After Bledsoe started Parcells’ fourth season with the Cowboys putting up a 3-3 record, the move was made to go with young Tony Romo. In 2006, Romo would go 6-4 as a starter and the Cowboys would again establish a 9-7 record. The 2007 season saw the franchise starting over at head coach with the addition of Wade Phillips, but Tony Romo had moved to the full time starter and went 13-3 and returned the Cowboys to the playoffs with Brad Johnson as his backup.

The Dallas Cowboys are one of the most popular teams in the NFL, and with good reason. They have had some of the most successful teams and some of the game’s best and most popular players. The quarterbacks of the Dallas Cowboys have always drawn some of the most attention of any players in the league and in the cases of Don Meredith, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, and now Tony Romo, it looks like it is well deserved. The popularity of the Cowboys shows no sign of going away anytime soon and fans of the team have a great deal to be proud of. The quarterbacks of “America’s Team” have a unique place in professional football history as they have come to be known as the face and leadership of one of the best teams in the NFL.

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• Cardinals kicker Jim Bakken was named to both the 1960s and the 1970s NFL All-Decade Team.
• Roger Staubach (from the 1970s team) and Ed Sprinkle (from the 1940s team), both graduates of Navy, are the only two graduates of military academies to be eventually named to an NFL All-Decade Team.
• Mel Gray is the only player named to the All-Decade Team in two different positions, both kick-returner and punt-returner on the 1990s team.
• The team that has put the most players on teams of the decade is the Green Bay Packers with 41.
• Through the 2007 season every team except one has had multiple players named to various All-Decade teams through the years. The only exception is the Cincinnati Bengals who are the only team to have only one player ever named to the All-Decade Team (Anthony Munoz).

A look at the NFL All-Decade Teams through the years is a fascinating look at the flow of the great players through time.

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