Trusting Your Quarterback

What is trust? Is it knowing that you can leave your favorite CD on the dining room table at your friend's house without it being stolen? Is it knowing someone will catch you whenever you fall? Or is it knowing that your quarterback won't cost your favorite NFL team a big game with a critical turnover at a bad time?

Well, it's all of the above, but this wouldn't be a sports blog if I didn't address the last one. I use the word 'trust' a lot to describe my perspective on a particular quarterback. Will he make good decisions in big games? Will he throw it away once he realizes no one is open and he is out of the pocket? Will he force a floating lob into seven defenders in the hopes that his receiver will somehow grab the ball?

There are many trustworthy quarterbacks in the NFL today. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, but there are guys who do it far less than others, and these are the ones upon whom I place trust. Start with someone like Tom Brady, a big game quarterback who throws the occasional interception. But when you need 65 yards in two minutes to win a game, there is no one else that handles that situation, finding open receivers and using the clock well, better than Tom Brady. You know your team, in this instance, the Patriots, is fully capable of getting down the field and winning or tying the game.

The newest member of this so-called Trust Club is Ben Roethlisberger. Having improved upon his dismal postseason last year, Big Ben guided his team to Super Bowl XL, the Steelers first in ten years, and while only in his NFL second season. He makes good decisions these days, avoiding big turnovers, taking sacks or throwing the ball away when no other options are logical. He has managed to pick apart secondaries with a precision that opens up a punishing running game.

Now, some would argue that the running game sets up Big Ben and the Steelers' passing game. That is true, but sometimes, Ben's arm and a certain, smily receiver named Hines Ward do their thing pretty well, too. These two, combined with Heath Miller, Cedric Wilson, and Antwaan Randle-El, make for a pretty good passing corps. When Ben is on, he is good. He knows when to run and when to throw it away. Since the humbling experience of the 2005 AFC Championship, he has avoided big mistakes and keeps his team in every game.

There are other trustworthy quarterbacks in the NFL. Of the ones not mentioned previously, names like Donovan McNabb or Trent Green come to mind. These passers make mistakes like every other quarterback, but most of the time, they avoid trouble. Their teams trust them when the ball is in their hands and know what they are getting in return.

Trust is a big thing for me and quarterbacks. Will I ever trust Jake Plummer or Michael Vick in a big game? No. Because they will throw into Cover 2's or try to salvage a play by throwing up a prayer.

Is there really any question that trusting your quarterback makes a game easier for you to watch? In my experience as a Patriots fan, I've dabbled in trust and comfort as well as mistrust and misery. At first, I found Drew Bledsoe to be the type of player that would guide his team to at least one Super Bowl victory. He eventually lost that trust when he threw numerous, costly interceptions in big games. Then the Patriots had Scott Zolak. That was the epitome of uncertainty for me. I never knew if he would toss a nice, feathery fade ten yards shy of Shawn Jefferson, or flip a bullet pass 15 feet behind a slanting Lovett Purnell.

Now, with Tom Brady, I know he will find Ben Watson or Deion Branch, place the ball neatly in their area, and let them do the rest. But if he is in trouble, he will throw the ball out of harm's way, be it into the ground or way out of bounds, or simply take a sack to avoid a huge turnover. Isn't it comforting to know such things about your quarterback?

Steelers fans know. Mike Tomczak always seemed to find a way to lose games. With a delicate lob 8 yards shy of Andre Hastings or a nice little gimme completion in an attempt to find Mark Bruener in the flat, only to pass it directly to the linebacker 5 yards behind him.

The trust of a quarterback is integral on so many levels. Can you see him guiding your team on that game-winning drive? Or do you have nightmares of him overthrowing his favorite, and seemingly only, receiver with his pass landing in the hands of some safety? It separates those of us that can watch a two minute drill without suffering a heart attack and/or conniption from those who close their eyes, wishing that their precious quarterback named Vinny Testaverde or Chris Chandler wouldn't fire a lazy toss into the middle of the secondary.

It's January, and that means it's playoff time. Do you trust your quarterback?