In today's NFL the quarterback position is arguably the most important position that has a direct link to winning and losing. As I hear former Cowboy coach Jimmy Johnson say nearly every Sunday is that it 's not how many big plays you make, but how many bad plays you don't make. In ranking these quarterbacks that the Cowboys will face this season I looked at their completion percentage, touchdown to interception ratio, and their quarterback rating.
Name, team, completion percentage, TD:INT, rating, highlight video
- Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints, 65.9%, 366:177, 93.1.
- Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins, 62.7%, 36:17, 89.3.
- Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears, 61.0, 155:112, 83.6.
- Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks, 63.6%, 52:19, 100.2.
- Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, 62.5%, 33:7, 97.3.
- Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers, 59.8%, 31:11, 90.1.
- Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals, 62.6%, 213:152, 85.0.
- Eli Manning, New York Giants, 58.5, 229:171, 81.0.
- Jake Locker, Tennessee Titans, 57.2, 22:15, 80.8.
- Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams, 58.6, 59:38, 78.1.
I am ranking Drew Brees as the #1 quarterback the Cowboys defense will face next season. The Saints had the 2nd ranked passing offense in the NFL last season and they are returning their top 3 receivers from last year in Jimmy Graham, Pierre Thomas, and Marques Colston. Plus, they added Brandin Cooks in this year's draft which will definitely add some firepower to their already potent offense.
Robert Griffin III will be more healthy this year after coming off a season ending knee injury in 2012 and with the addition of game breaking wide receiver DeSean Jackson to go along with Pierre Garcon puts Griffin as the #2 QB the Cowboys will face this season. The Redskins also added wide receiver and return man Andre Roberts from the Arizona Cardinals and was their 3rd leading receiver last year. Roberts was signed before Jackson thinking he would be the #2 receiver. Now it appears the Redskins are having their cake and eating it too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_cchY4Ecm4
The #3 QB is Jay Cutler with the Chicago Bears. He missed 5 games last season, but still helped lead the Bears to the 5th ranked passing offense last season. The Bears are returning their top 4 leading receivers from last year in Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, and Martellus Bennett.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMTxW70Nt0Y
Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson comes in at #4. Wilson does not beat himself, but he has lost his #1 receiver last season in Golden Tate. They are getting Percy Harvin back and everyone saw what he can do in the Super Bowl.
The #5 QB is Nick Foles. He had a very good season last year in Chip Kelly's up tempo offense, but he has lost his #1 receiver in DeSean Jackson. The Eagles, however did trade for Darren Sproles, who can run, catch and play in the return game as well, and they will get Jeremy Maclin back from injury after missing all of last season, but losing Jackson will definitely hurt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmEsU6vielE
Colin Kaepernick comes in at #6, but he is probably the most dangerous QB when you factor in his running ability. For this list though, I only took their passing into consideration. The 49ers return their top 5 receivers last year and will have a healthy Michael Crabtree which should help Kaepernick greatly. The addition of Stevie Johnson via trade will also definitely help the 49ers passing game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNbmGP2zLNc
Arizona Cardinal QB Carson Palmer is the 7th best on the Cowboys 2014 schedule. The Cardinals are returning 3 of their top 5 receivers from 2013 in Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, and Rob Housler. The Cardinals 2013 passing offense was ranked 13th.
The #8 QB on the Cowboys 2014 schedule is Eli Manning. The Giants are returning 2 of their top 4 receivers from last year's 19th ranked passing offense. They are returning their leading receiver in Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle their 4th leading receiver from last year. They have lost wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Myers, their 2nd and 3rd ranked receivers last season. Manning really struggled last year with his accuracy and interceptions.
Tennessee Titan QB Jake Locker comes in at #9. Locker appeared in 7 games last year, winning 4 of those 7 games. Locker split time with Ryan Fitzpatrick last season, but Fitzpatrick has now signed with the Houston Texans. The Titans are returning their top 3 receivers from last season in Kendall Wright, Delanie Walker, and Nate Washington.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t8fBiSVQ1A
The 10th best QB on the Cowboys 2014 schedule is Sam Bradford of the St. Louis Rams. The Rams return their top 8 receivers from last year's team that ranked 27th in the league. Bradford has a good completion percentage, a good TD:INT ratio, but it appears his wide receivers must step up to help the young QB out. It is not a good thing when a tight end leads your team in receptions. The Rams did go out and sign Shaun Hill in free agency to push Bradford, but I don't feel the problem is with Bradford, but with their wide receivers.