| Introduction: | | | | on your couch", but the truth is that there is 52 other |
| Why do quarterbacks shoulder the responsibility win or | | | | men on that team and all it takes is for one of them to |
| lose? | | | | not carry their fair share and the ideal of team is |
| 4th and 26. 2:22 left in regulation and no timeouts. | | | | quickly diminished. An example of that would be the |
| Make the play or go home. Pretty simple, right? If you | | | | NY Jets/ San Diego Chargers AFC Wild Card game |
| don't follow football, Donovan McNabb faced this | | | | in which the NY Jets, a team comprised of very few |
| enormous task and with the miraculous help of Freddie | | | | stars, primarily on defense, took advantage of the |
| "No-Hands-At-All" Mitchell completed the 28 yard pass | | | | miscues of the Chargers, a team of stars such as LT, |
| which then set up a field goal to take it to overtime | | | | Drew Brees, and Antonio Gates. The NY Jets as a |
| and then win the game. During football season every | | | | solid unit were able to beat San Diego and Herm |
| year, we see 32 men face and accept this enormous | | | | Edwards ended up noting that the way they did |
| pressure and regardless of the result, they are | | | | accomplish this was because everyone, including then |
| criticized, scrutinized, and harshly judged by fans, | | | | QB Chad Pennington, had bought the team philosophy |
| sports commentators, and sometimes their own | | | | and did everything they could do possible to win. But |
| teammates. My question is why? | | | | soon after that, Chad Pennington became an outcast |
| In recent history, we have seen the names of Romo, | | | | to not only the fans, but his teammates. He became |
| McNabb, and the Manning brothers dragged through | | | | the scapegoat for the Jets inability to unseat the |
| the mud because they failed to achieve the goal of | | | | dominate New England Patriots in the AFC East, even |
| putting six points on the board or making a play to | | | | though after that we saw changes also at the top the |
| continue the offensive progression down the field, but | | | | management food chain. I mean, if this were basketball, |
| is this fair to place this responsibility on just one man. | | | | I can see where one man makes a difference, but in |
| My response is simply no. Sure, I can say something | | | | this game when on defense, another group of men |
| along the lines of, "you don't know what it's like when | | | | take the field and their sole objective to prevent the |
| you wear that uniform and you're placed in that | | | | other team from scoring, something a quarterback has |
| moment", or, "who are you to judge when you're sitting | | | | little control over. |