More ridiculousness

Here's another idea that people use that I just love; "it may not be a fair indicator of how so-and-so QB played, but they get credit for the wins and losses." You read this ALL THE TIME. This QB is a winner, this QB is not. Crediting wins and losses to the starting QB is, of course, ridiculous. This can be proven at the extremes. Derek Anderson completed 2 passes and won on Sunday. JaMarcus Russell had a terrible game against the Chiefs and won. Ben Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl in which his QB rating was lower than his age. Kyle Orton gets credit with a win in week 1 in which his underthrown ball miraculously fell into Brandon Stokely's arms. And you can go the other way, in which QBs play really well and still lose.

But my favorite part is when people will readily admit, well it's not a fair indicator of that QB. For instance, I read something today in which the writer said Jimmy Clausen's career is going to be judged on this game Saturday whether it's fair or not. Hey, that's just how it is. This is ridiculous. People act as if this stuff was passed down from Moses on Mt. Sinai. Thou shalt credit starting QBs with wins and losses. People, we are the ones with the ideas, which means we are the ones who can change those ideas. There is nothing set in stone that says whether a QB plays well or not, he is ultimately judged by wins and losses. That is an idea we as a people came up with, and is an idea that we as a people can change. Do you realize that Tom Brady gets credit for a week 1 win last season because he started against the Chiefs, even though he blew out his knee a couple minutes in and didn't play again all season? But since he started the game, he gets credit for it.

This is ridiculous. There is no reason, beyond our own idiocy, that we should be bound by such ideas. Football is team game, which anyone with two eyes can see. A QB can't play defense. He can't kick field goals, or cover a punt return. He can only do his job, and that's all he should be credited with. Giving him credit because his defense is playing at an absurd level (I'm looking at you, Kyle Orton) is, in itself, absurd.

I love Carson Palmer, but he hasn't played well this season and wouldn't have had a chance at any 4th quarter heroics if his team hadn't kept the scores close and given him that opportunity. It's a team game, and it's time we started acting like it. And don't even get me started on wins and losses for baseball pitchers...