Audition Sunday

Change is the only constant in NFL life and just a few teams in the league have continuity from year to year at head coach and maybe more importantly at quarterback.

There will be 32 different quarterbacks starting Sunday and many of them will not be with their teams next season.

Jay Cutler- Cutler’s issues have been well documented and much of the Bears’ disappointing season has been put on his shoulders. If Chicago does decide to move away from Cutler there will be plenty of teams interested as he has elite arm talent and despite all of his issues he’s still one of the 32 best quarterbacks on the planet.

Connor Shaw/Brian Hoyer- Connor Shaw is an undrafted free agent overachiever who will be looking to put something good on film for the Browns or someone else…..Brian Hoyer is an impending free agent who will compete for a starting job in some city that isn’t Cleveland.

Robert Griffin, III- RG3 and his head coach don’t see eye to eye and as long as Jay Gruden is in Washington there will be a certain level of strife. There’s a better chance that Griffin returns to the nation’s capital next year, but don’t count out a trade as long as Gruden is employed.

Charlie Whitehurst- As awful as this is to say, Charlie Whitehurst might have been Tennessee’s best quarterback this season. Whitehurst has improved enough to be considered a solid backup at this point in his career and there’s a chance he’s the Titans starter next year as they groom a rookie.

Case Keenum- Case Keenum is trying to carve out some type of NFL career and his upside is probably a No. 3 or at best a backup. The more good film he can put together the more chances he’ll get somewhere. Although he’s loved in Houston, it’s highly doubtful that he returns to the Texans as they have Tom Savage and a quarterback that likely isn’t on the roster yet.

Geno Smith- Geno Smith has played more poor games than good games but he still has a chance of turning into a decent starter somewhere. With Rex Ryan about to leave New York, Geno is running out of allies in that organization.

Kyle Orton- Kyle Orton is probably a starting quarterback in the NFL. Unfortunately if Orton is starting for you, you won’t be making the playoffs. Buffalo is wasting time with a very good defense and some potent offensive weaponry with a mediocre quarterback situation.

Mark Sanchez- Mark Sanchez should compete for a starting quarterback job somewhere in the NFL. Unfortunately, his best chance of success is in Philadelphia and he might or might not be better than Nick Foles, who costs less and is younger.

Josh McCown- Josh McCown should have never been a starting quarterback, and won’t be one ever again. McCown is still a capable backup and will receive a contract more in tune with that level.

Logan Thomas- Logan Thomas is a “jar on the shelf” type of quarterback and this Sunday will likely be his last start in quite a while. If things go well, Thomas can work on building his value next season with a good preseason.

Shaun Hill- Shaun Hill is another one of those, “solid backups who is almost a starter, but not quite.” Hill is a valuable backup on any team and he wasn’t quite good enough (or didn’t have the pieces around him) to make a Josh McCown circa 2013 type of run into a new contract.

Davis Fires A Shot At His OC

Offensive linemen are generally the most conspicuous members of a football team. Even some of the best linemen in the league can generally roam the Earth without being noticed for anything more than being some of the larger people in society.

In yet another example of dysfunction in the Bay Area, offensive tackle Anthony Davis scorched his offensive coordinator with a pair of tweets.

“Greg Roman to me when I was 21: ‘You know we can get someone off the street to do what you do,’” Davis tweeted.

Davis then followed up by tweeting, “The irony.”

It appears as if Davis isn’t exactly a fan of Greg Roman’s work, especially lately as the 49ers are ranked 23rd in offense, 26th in scoring offense and 31st in passing offense.

Roman helped craft quarterback Colin Kaepernick from being one of the most exciting young players in football to a blank-firing quarterback who’s suffering from a lack of confidence.

This would be a situation to keep an eye on going forward, but it appears that Greg Roman will only be Anthony Davis’ offensive coordinator for another 60 minutes of game time.

New Faces In the Postseason

via NFL Media

UNPREDICTABLE NFL: With one week remaining in the 2014 regular season, at least four teams will advance to the playoffs after missing the postseason in 2013 – ARIZONA (11-4), DALLAS (11-4), DETROIT (11-4) and PITTSBURGH (10-5). Since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 1990, at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the year before.

Three additional teams that missed the playoffs last season are still in contention for a trip to Super Bowl XLIX – ATLANTA (6-9), BALTIMORE (9-6) and HOUSTON (8-7).

The teams since 1990 to make the playoffs a season after failing to qualify:

SEASON

PLAYOFF TEAMS NOT IN PREVIOUS SEASON’S PLAYOFFS

1990

7 (Cincinnati, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles Raiders, Miami, New Orleans, Washington)

1991

5 (Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, New York Jets)

1992

6 (Miami, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco)

1993

5 (Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Los Angeles Raiders, New York Giants)

1994

5 (Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, New England, San Diego)

1995

4 (Atlanta, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Philadelphia)

1996

5 (Carolina, Denver, Jacksonville, Minnesota, New England)

1997

5 (Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, New York Giants, Tampa Bay)

1998

5 (Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas, New York Jets)

1999

7 (Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington)

2000

6 (Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, New York Giants, Oakland, Philadelphia)

2001

6 (Chicago, Green Bay, New England, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Francisco)

2002

5 (Atlanta, Cleveland, Indianapolis, New York Giants, Tennessee)

2003

8 (Baltimore, Carolina, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, New England, St. Louis, Seattle)

2004

5 (Atlanta, Minnesota, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Diego)

2005

7 (Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Tampa Bay, Washington)

2006

7 (Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York Jets, Philadelphia, San Diego)

2007

6 (Green Bay, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington)

2008

7 (Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, Philadelphia)

2009

6 (Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, New England, New Orleans, New York Jets)

2010

5 (Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Seattle)

2011

6 (Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Houston, New York Giants, San Francisco)

2012

4 (Indianapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, Washington)

2013

5 (Carolina, Kansas City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Diego)

2014

4* (Arizona, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh)