The Quarterback Shuffle

The Miami Dolphins led the way, starting Matt Moore (16/34, 204 yards, 2 INT) after a Chad Henne injury. Now, due to injuries and poor play, both the Raiders and Redskins are following suit. As is always the case in the NFL, some of its poorer teams (read: the ones without good starting QBs) switch things up midseason to try and turn things around. For the Dolphins and Redskins, a QB change was only a matter of time. There was never any way Henne and Rex Grossman were going to be good enough for an entire season. The Dolphins' decision was aided by Henne's injury. For the Redskins, Sexy Rexy's 4 INT performance in week 6 showed us just how short Grossman's leash was. At the first sign of trouble, he's done.

The Raiders were a team who were certainly had a strong possibility of switching QBs midseason due to poor play. Jason Campbell has been inconsistent in his career and never great, and the Raiders picked up Ohio State castoff Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft.

That makes the fact that Carson Palmer is most likely going to start this week all the more confusing. First of all, Palmer was not a member of the Raiders' roster until this week. Somehow he is a better option than Kyle Boller and Pryor (not good options) despite never having looked at the Raiders' playbook. Second, Palmer has not practiced this year due to a spat with his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals. How can he possibly be in good enough shape to play an NFL game? He can't. Third, why draft Pryor if you're not going to at least give him a shot?! He cost the Raiders a third-round pick in next year's NFL Draft, a very high value to just have a guy who you don't believe is capable of stepping in when your starter goes down with injury.

As mind-numbing as the Raiders' Palmer decision is, it will only add to the awesomeness that comes from the quarterback shuffle. It's probably the best part of the NFL midseason. You get to see these guys come in and try to either keep their team afloat or turn things around, and almost invariably fail because it's next to impossible. The QB shuffle has led to Craig Krenzel, Chad Hutchinson, Johnathan Quinn and Rex Grossman starting games for the Bears in the same year, Brian Griese playing for seemingly half the NFL, and perhaps most notably, a 68-ish-year-old Steve Deberg playing for the Falcons. Watching these guys scramble around in the backfield amid salivating defensive linemen is some of the best TV there is.

Which is why I wish the best of luck to Matt Moore (not a great start), John Beck and Carson Palmer. And it's why I'll be tuning into every one of their games I am able to, to watch when things inevitably go terribly wrong. Hell, it'll be worth it just to see a shot of and a pudgy Palmer on the sideline. Can't wait for week 7.