The Lofton Files: The Dirty Dozen of the NFL

Marv Levy was my coach when I played for the Buffalo Bills from 1989 to 1992. I joined the Bills after the ’89 season had already begun – in Week 4, if my memory serves me well. Later that season the Bickering Bills, with me in tow, lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Cleveland Browns in the old Dog Pound. The next three seasons we would be AFC Champions and play in three straight Super Bowls. Incidentally, the Bills also reached the Super Bowl in 1993 after they didn’t re-sign me. And all along I thought I was key to the whole thing! I digress…

Marv Levy is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for guiding those Bills teams. Bill Polian, the general manager at the time, should be on the short list too. We had a supremely talented team with great starters and great backups too. Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas and me, and All-Pro and Pro Bowlers on the D line, O line, in the linebacking corps and on special teams. In short, the team was stacked.

Marv had a great line I remember well: “Depth is good until you have to play them!” Sure a little tongue in cheek, but truer words have never been spoken. Marv was simply saying that it’s great to have a good backup, but it’s better to have your best healthy and available.

One other thing you might not know about Marv? He loved great war stories. Now, way back in 1967, there was a movie called The Dirty Dozen. It starred Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson and newly retired Browns running back Jim Brown. D-Day? World War II? That was the kind of stuff Marv used to talk about to fire us up the night before the game.

I know you’ve spent the last three months in your very own war room, getting ready for your Fantasy Football leagues, and you all likely have your hopes resting on one of the “elite” QBs. But guess what? If history tells us anything, it’s that injuries will happen and you might find yourself relying on one of these guys: my own list of the NFL’s “Dirty Dozen” backup QBs, possibly coming soon to an NFL field near you.

1. Kyle Orton – Dallas Cowboys – 69 career starts over eight seasons, two 3,000-yard passing seasons, 81 TDs, 57 INTs — There is enough talent on offense in Dallas for him to work with and they’ve got such a nice stadium, you might be distracted enough not to notice the switch.
2. Matt Flynn – Oakland Raiders – 2 career starts, 141 pass attempts, 9 TDs (6 in one 2011 game) — Flynn was great in relief in Green Bay and got himself paid, but couldn’t fend off Russell Wilson last year in Seattle. Hopefully the Raiders can find a left tackle to keep Flynn upright or we’ll have to go into the Black Hole to find the next QB.
3. Jeff Tuel – Buffalo Bills – undrafted rookie — Injuries to Kevin Kolb and fellow rookie EJ Manuel had put Tuel in a position where he might start the season opener. Now we’re hearing Manuel is good to go. Either way, the first-year man out of Washington State will be next man up. And next man up in the NFL is a long way from Pullman.
4. Charlie Whitehurt – San Diego Chargers – 4 career starts, 155 pass attempts — Whitehurst was traded from San Diego to Seattle. Now he’s back in San Diego and he sports one of the NFL’s best beards. If you see it under a chinstrap instead of a baseball cap, then something’s happened to Philip Rivers.
5. David Carr – New York Giants – #1 overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by Houston, 79 career starts, 76 sacks absorbed in his rookie year alone, 65 career TDs, 71 INTs — Carr’s last start was during the 2007 season with Carolina, but they give backups Super Bowl rings too and he’s got one. Something tells me Giants owner John Mara would happily buy him another even if all he does is hold a clipboard this season.
6. Jason Campbell – Cleveland Browns – 71 career starts, 75 TDs, 52 INTs, 60.9% completion rate — You could do a lot worse for a backup than Campbell. Then again, you need to block for him. In his last start for the Bears last year, he was sacked six times.
7. Chase Daniel – Kansas City Chiefs – 9 career pass attempts – Daniel’s job in New Orleans was to stand next to Drew Brees and make Brees look tall. KC paid big bucks to get the former Missouri QB back to the Show-Me State. I’ll be looking to see who he stands next to.
8. Matt Hasselback – Indianapolis Colts – 152 career starts, beat Tony Romo in the playoffs, 201 TDs, 147 INTs — Hasselback has been in the NFL since 1999. You could call him the QB from another century and you’d be accurate. He has all the smarts and experience to pilot a great team and if the NFL trading deadline was December 1st, Hasselback could become a hot commodity at the trade deadline.
9. Brady Quinn – Seattle Seahawks – Former top pick of the Cleveland Browns, 20 career starts (8 last year in Kansas City), 12 career TDs, 17 INTs — Has never managed to look like he did playing for the Fighting Irish. Now he’s in Seattle, where they change the QB depth chart like you change your underwear. Barring injury, one thing that isn’t changing now is the guy at #1, Russell Wilson.
10. Seneca Wallace – Green Bay Packers – 21 career starts, 31 TDs, 13 INTs — Wallace was Russell Wilson before Russell Wilson was Russell Wilson. Then the backup to Matt Hasselback in Seattle, Wallace is mobile and smart and now he’s the backup to Aaron Rodgers.
11. Vince Young – Free agent – Top pick by the Tennessee Titans, 50 career starts, 46 TDs, 51 INTs, 1 bad quote about a “Dream Team” — Can run, but never a proven passer. Will VY get another chance somewhere after being cut by the Packers?

So there you have it. My “Dirty Dozen” – 11 QBs that could play a role during this NFL season. Why 11? After all those Seattle connections, I’m thinking I’ll turn to you, my readers, for my 12th man. Hit me up on Twitter — @lofton80.

— James Lofton

James Lofton is the analyst for our coverage of Sunday Night Football. This week, he’ll be in Dallas as Kyle Orton and David Carr watch Tony Romo and Eli Manning do battle. It’s the Cowboys and the Giants at 7:30 PM Eastern.