Post-Tom Brady Survival Guide

Introduction:
Oh no, Brady is out for the season! What ever will we do? Fear not, your boy HTTR will point you in the right direction.


On Sunday the Patriots and the NFL received a seemingly devastating blow when golden boy QB Tom Brady suffered a season ending knee injury. People for some reason are in an uproar saying how badly this damages the appeal of the NFL and takes away the best storyline in the league. Well frankly, I won't have any of that nonsense.

I do admit that even people who aren't fans of the Patriots pay very close attention to them, and with good reason. They are football's "Evil Empire", chock full of controversy and juicy gossip. They are the team many people love to hate, and also the team that many people secretly envy. It's basically impossible to not be just a wee bit jealous of all the success they have achieved and attention they have garnered over the last 7 years.

However it still makes no sense to pine over the loss of one player and proclaim that the NFL season isn't as interesting. If anything, I think it makes it more interesting. With the Patriots falling back a little with the rest of the pack, actually watching them play will be interesting again. Just knowing a team is going to win (usually by 4 or more TD's) is boring. Which college game would you rather watch: USC against Idiot University or an evenly matched contest between two teams who are going to battle each other? Watching the Patriots narrowly escape the Chiefs was exciting. Add that in with the Bills and Jets improving, and the AFC East may actually be worth following for the first time in nearly a decade.

Make no mistake, they are still an elite team and I fully expect them to be there at the end. Besides, who expected them to win with the rookie Brady in 2001? When the QB who had already taken them to a Superbowl, Drew Bledsoe, went down, the Pats were left for dead. The rest is history.

Lastly, IT'S FOOTBALL! Football is exciting by nature, it doesn't need superstar players to be interesting. Without the inherent excitement of the game and the undying passion of legions of fans, guys like Brady would be nothing anyway. The game needs no one to be exceptional, it is the best and most exciting game in the world all on its own.

There are 32 teams with over 50 players each on their roster. If you need one mega superstar player on a dominant team to make the game worth watching, then you are not a true fan of the game. For fans of the other 31 teams it doesn't change much of anything at all, and for Patriots fans this season will be much more of a challenge to endure. More exciting. Excitement they would rather do without, but excitement and anxiety nonetheless.

Anyway getting back to the title of the article, here is your post-Brady survival guide if you need intriguing quarterbacks to follow. If anything it will be more of a challenge to follow some of these guys, while some are already household names.

Tarvaris Jackson: The woes of Vikings fans are perpetual. Despite winning the division many times in their history, they have lost 4 Superbowls and failed to reach it in a season in which they went 15-1. This year yet another talented Vikes squad takes the field. Despite being armed with a solid defense, killer O-Line, and one of the best backs in the league, the hopes of the Vikings rest squarely on the shoulders of Jackson. Will he progress into a viable NFL passer and be the savior Vikings fans have been waiting for? Or will he continue to play quarterback like a deer in headlights? The 0-1 start doesn't look too good.

Tarvaris Jackson looking for a receiver... do the Vikes have any?

Jason Campbell: Okay I am sneaking my boy on to this list. This man has had 8 different OC's in the last 8 years. How he even had a great collegiate career and is a decent NFL QB is beyond me. Like the Vikings, the Redskins have everything they need to win, except a QB who can make it happen. How Campbell and his newest coach, Jim Zorn do against the toughest division in football is definitely something to keep an eye on. Everyone thought Joe Gibbs would bring the Redskins back to glory. Now that task has fallen to Campbell. Also needs to improve on his 0-1 performance in which he was indecisive.

"I have no idea who the hell I am throwing this to."

Aaron Rodgers: This one is a no-brainer. Everyone is dying to see how Favre's successor fares in his initial campaign. Many Packers fans resent him and view him as the reason their immortal hero left town, when really it isn't his fault in the least. Lambeau cheered him in their week 1 win, in which he had one passing and one rushing touchdown, but if Green Bay's season takes a turn for the worst, Rodgers will be the biggest goat in the league. Very seldom do quarterbacks in their first year starting have as much pressure on their shoulders as Rodgers does.

Do you think they miss each other?

Chad Pennington: The NFL's all time leader in completion percentage was run out of New York by the same man Rodgers replaced (we'll get to #4 in a minute). Chad certainly is a sympathetic figure. He is tasked with reviving a one-win team of a year ago. The Tuna loves bringing in guys he knows and trusts, and he is the one who drafted Chad. His season is already interesting as he got a chance to get back at the Jets immediately. He played valiantly throwing two TD's but threw a pick that sealed the fate of Miami in the waning moments of the game. If you saw this dude on the street, you'd probably think "investment banker". Hell, if you saw him throw a football and didn't know who he was, you'd think the same thing. He has none of the physical gifts but is as tough as Favre and as crafty as Peyton Manning. If your favorite story as a kid was "The Little Engine that Could", Pennington is your man.

"This shade of green suits me much better."

Brett Favre: Another no-brainer. Perhaps the most decorated and adored quarterback of all time, his image took a hit this offseason with some of the games that went on between him and the Packers front office. If you ask me, all that stuff is over and everyone still loves the guy. As if he needed any more attention, he landed in the biggest circus in professional sports: New York City. Plus he's already proven that he still has the touch, throwing two beautiful touchdowns against Miami. The exploits of Favre, who is one of the most human superstars the NFL has ever seen (probably since another Jets legend, Joe Namath), will be more documented this year than ever as he is tasked with turning the Jets into a team that can contend with New England. He'll have his shot in week 2.

I'm sure he was getting tired of snow in October.

Eli Manning: With Favre in town, Little Brother will have some of the spotlight taken off of him. However once you give New York fans one championship they get greedy real quick (trust me, I'm a Yankees fan). Giants fans expect Eli to win them another Superbowl and become a player like Peyton. It will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of being hunted every week. One thing is for certain: Eli is finally confident in who he is, and that's made all the difference.

Does Eli have another one in him?

Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco: Rookie QB's are always fun to watch. Both had good starts, leading their team to week 1 victories. Flacco broke a long TD run and Ryan threw a 62 yard TD on his first NFL pass. Not too shabby.

Once an Eagle, now a Falcon

Once a Blue Hen, now a Raven. Is it me or does that jersey look way too big? I think the Ravens thought they were taking a lineman.

Carson Palmer: Once one of the elite, it seems he has fallen on hard times lately since Cincy is the biggest freak show in the NFL. His best receiver is having an identity crisis and another is constantly in trouble with the law. Plus with Rudi Johnson gone, will they be able to run it with Chris Perry and Kenny Watson? Head coach and supposed defensive specialist Marvin Lewis has disappointed big time, especially since his defenses have been awful. Palmer is the glue holding the Bengals together, and how he reacts should be of interest.

Carson tells Ocho Cinco to pick one name and stick with it. We all feel for you, buddy.

Jay Cutler: Broncos fans have high expectations from the QB position and the pressure is on Cutler to become a superstar this year. He is off to a good start but will he be able to hold up under the rigors of a 16 game season with his diabetes? He should handle it better than last year. His top receiver is a nutcase as well, so that's an added challenge.

"This guy better get his hand off me."

Tony Romo: Romo leads the best offense in the NFC and the Cowboys are the conference's favorite to go to the Superbowl. His personal life (I hear Jessica's pregnant?) should keep us entertained until the playoffs, where he has choked two seasons in a row. Another failure and I am not sure if Jerry Jones will tolerate it. Perhaps no QB in the NFL is under as much scrutiny as Romo is.

I hope Jessica comes to every game.

Matt Cassel: The last time this dude started a game was in high school, and now he is at the helm of the NFL's resident dynasty. Cassel claims the play calling will be exactly the same as if Brady was in the game. Similarly, Patriots fans still expect to win it all. Will he crack under the insane amount of responsibility and expectations, or thrive as Brady once did?

"YES! Years on the sidelines are over!" Imagine how Todd Collins felt last year.

Tom Brady: Calm down everyone, he's just injured, not dead! You're crazy if you think just because he won't throw another pass this year, he won't be all over the place. Maybe he can use this time off to enhance his relationship with Gisele Bundchen. I hear she might be pregnant too- perhaps he and Romo can arrange a play date? Either way, Brady addicts have nothing to fear.

Tom Brady and his better half: His Yankees hat.

One thing is for certain: even without its most popular player, the NFL is as exciting as ever. There will never be a shortage of interesting and intriguing players. And besides, football is football. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

About the author:
Hail2daredskinz is an amateur sports writer and originally published this article at rootzoo.com. He loves his sports talk, especially when it comes to discussing an NFL player list.