The end of an era for NFL quarterbacks

COURTESY CNNSI.COM Drew Bledsoe is one of several young QBs showing up veterans such as Dan Marino.

Injuries in the NFL are far from uncommon, and complaints about their increasing frequency are not new. What is unusual about this season, however, is the large number of injuries to veteran quarterbacks at a time when younger, more immature quarterbacks are making their presence felt. It has become very clear that, on some level, there is a changing of the guard taking place in the NFL. Whether this signifies the end of an era or is simply the inevitable result of age taking its toll, the outcome is clear: the most visible faces of the league are going to be very different in the upcoming seasons.

Up until his injury, Marino's season was lackluster and uninspired. For anyone else, it would have been simply a mediocre season. But this was Dan Marino, one of the most beloved quarterbacks of the modern era, whose quarterback rating was almost as low as it had ever been in his career. Marino had thrown for the fewest touchdowns in his career at this point in the season. To date, many of the league's best veteran quarterbacks are having similar seasons. They've been performing poorly, and they're getting hurt with shocking frequency.

Thirty-three-year-old Troy Aikman, Dallas's star quarterback, recently hit the turf for the latest concussion of his 11-year career. "It's the first one I've had in two years," Aikman said to reporters after the game. "I've had seven or eight. I don't want to minimize the seriousness of the injury. I have every intention of playing next week." Yet Aikman didn't play the next week. He is still listed as doubtful for continuing a season that has been far from his best—his quarterback rating is one of the worst in the league, and certainly one of the worst of his career. His similarly aging teammates have been dropping like flies. Emmitt Smith is out with a broken hand, and Michael Irvin may never return to football.

This latest addition to the Cowboys' injury brigade left them unprepared and exposed in a crucial game that they could ill afford to lose. Aikman's teammates were frustrated that, since Aikman had taken almost all the snaps in the week preceding the game, his backup, Jason Garrett, was not ready to replace him. Such is often the fate with backup quarterbacks whom no one expects to have to come into the game. But lately, some of these backups have been turning heads with impressive statistics.

After Aikman went down, Garrett stepped up to lead the Cowboys into a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East. He threw for 199 yards against Green Bay and had two touchdowns to foil the Packers' latest attempt to climb out of mediocrity. Since Marino got injured, Damon Huard, a three-year player who had never started a game before this season, has helped the Dolphins go 4-1 in their last five games, keeping at least a share of the lead in the AFC East.

John Elway retired at the beginning of this season after 16 seasons with the Denver Broncos. Elway, 38 years old, retired because he couldn't cut it anymore in a league full of youngsters. "It was a hard decision, but it's time for me to move on," Elway said at his retirement press conference. "I can't do it physically anymore. It's really hard for me to say that." But lately, more and more players have been saying the same thing. Many league insiders expect Marino to announce his retirement soon, and the retirement of Steve Young is a given at this point after a concussion similar to that which is sidelining Aikman.

Even many of the remaining veteran quarterbacks are having far from their best seasons. Brett Favre's quarterback rating is the lowest it has ever been in his nine-year NFL career, and he has already thrown as many interceptions as he did in most of his full seasons. The Packers' plight will not be helped by the fact that Favre is hurt with a sore right thumb, which interfered with his accuracy against the Cowboys. But Favre can't be blamed—his problems are a mere symptom of a league-wide affliction. He is getting old, and his era is almost over. The age of the younger quarterbacks—the Drew Bledsoes, the Brian Grieses, the Steve McNairs—is only just beginning.

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