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AFC News 'N' Notes -- Week 1

Week 1, 2008, 09/04/2008

NFC NORTH & AFC WEST QBs WRAP UP KICKOFF WEEKEND ON MNF

Kickoff Weekend 2008 will conclude in doubleheader fashion this Monday night as four young and promising quarterbacks square off.


The NFC North will be featured in the first game as TARVARIS JACKSON and his Minnesota Vikings will face AARON RODGERS and his Green Bay Packers (ESPN, 7:00 ET) in one of the NFL’s most storied rivalries. Jackson enters his third NFL season with an 8-6 (.571) record as a starter and aims for his first win against the Packers. Rodgers, who was a first-round selection in 2005, will make his first career start for the NFC North-defending champions at Lambeau Field.



Round two on Monday consists of two former first-round picks quarterbacks JAY CUTLER of the Denver Broncos and JA MARCUS RUSSELL of the Oakland Raiders taking center stage at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland (ESPN, 10:15 PM ET) in an AFC West clash. Cutler, who was selected No. 11 overall in 2006, started all 16 games last year while tossing 20 touchdown passes and recording a 63.6 completion percentage. Russell welcomes his second season after completing his first training camp as the Raiders’ full-time starter.


Below is a team-by-team look at the quarterback position in the AFC in 2008:


BALTIMORE: JOE FLACCO, the second quarterback taken at No. 18 in the 2008 NFL Draft, will lead the Ravens as the starting QB on Kickoff Weekend. The 23-year-old is the second quarterback drafted in the first round in Ravens history (KYLE BOLLER, 2003). The University of Delaware product joins former Ravens quarterback STEVE MC NAIR as the only two NCAA Division I-FCS (formerly I-AA) quarterbacks in history to be selected in the first round.



BUFFALO: TRENT EDWARDS approaches his second year as an NFL quarterback after posting a 5-4 (.556) record last season and becoming the first Bills’ rookie quarterback since JOE FERGUSON in 1973 to have five or more wins as a starter. The former Stanford signal-caller, a third-round pick in 2007, will depend on running back MARSHAWN LYNCH and top pass-catching option wide receiver LEE EVANS.



CINCINNATI: In four seasons as the Bengals’ starting quarterback, CARSON PALMER is 3-1 (.750) on Kickoff Weekend. Palmer, who tossed a career and franchise-high 4,131 passing yards last year, can reach 4,000 passing yards for the third consecutive season in ’08. The 6-5 quarterback will look to once again spread the ball around to receivers CHAD JOHNSON and T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH, who aim for a third consecutive season with 1,000 receiving yards each.



CLEVELAND: All-Star DEREK ANDERSON heads into his fourth NFL season aiming to bring back-to-back double-digit win seasons to Cleveland for the first time since 1988. Optimism is high in Cleveland as Anderson seeks to keep momentum going after recording career highs in completions (298), passing yards (3,787) touchdowns (29) and passer rating (82.5) last year.



DENVER: JAY CUTLER enters his second season as a full-time starter. In 2007, the 25-year-old Cutler ranked 10th in the NFL in passing yards (3,497) and tied for 10th in completions (297). Since being named the starter in Week 13 of 2006, Cutler ranks 10th in the league for most passing yards (4,498).



HOUSTON: Expectations in Houston are heating up, and quarterback MATT SCHAUB will play a huge role as the squad challenges for its first playoff-bid in franchise history. The 6-5, 234-pound QB enters his second season as a starter. Hampered by injuries in 2007, Schaub looks to improve his 87.2 passer rating from last year while utilizing All-Star wide receiver ANDRE JOHNSON and promising tight end OWEN DANIELS.



INDIANAPOLIS: Slowed by a knee injury this preseason, PEYTON MANNING expects to make his 161st consecutive regular-season start (the longest streak in NFL history by a quarterback to start his career) and improve his 8-1 (.889) record on Kickoff Weekend. Manning needs 4,000 yards to become the first quarterback in NFL history with nine 4,000-yard seasons (he is the only quarterback to accomplish the feat in eight seasons).



JACKSONVILLE: DAVID GARRARD enters his second season as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback with a 19-11 (.633) career record. The elusive Garrard set career highs in completions (208), attempts (325), passing yards (2,509) and touchdowns (18) in 2007 and finished with the second-lowest interception percentage (0.92) in a season in NFL history with 300-plus attempts (STEVE DE BERG in 1990; 0.90).



KANSAS CITY: The Chiefs have committed to building through the NFL Draft, and that begins with 2006 third-round pick BRODIE CROYLE. Inserted as the starting quarterback for the last six games in ’07, Croyle will be surrounded this season by All-Star tight end TONY GONZALEZ and wide receiver DWAYNE BOWE, who is focused on being a potent scoring weapon on offense for years to come.



MIAMI: Signed by the Dolphins in August, CHAD PENNINGTON will join new head coach TONY SPARANO in the start of a new era in Miami. The savvy veteran quarterback spent eight seasons with the New York Jets (the Dolphins’ opponent in Week 1) and ranks first among NFL QBs (min. 1,500 attempts) with a career 65.61 completion percentage.



NEW ENGLAND: TOM BRADY produced a record-breaking season in 2007, but still aims to improve. Brady’s top two receiving weapons RANDY MOSS and WES WELKER return after totaling 210 receptions for 2,668 yards and 31 touchdowns. Brady, the Patriots’ all-time winningest quarterback, has a 100-27 (.787) record (including postseason) which serves as the best win percentage of any NFL quarterback in the Super Bowl era with at least 40 starts.



NEW YORK JETS: BRETT FAVRE embarks on his 18th NFL season by suiting up for the Jets on Kickoff Weekend with his 253 consecutive-start streak intact. He is the NFL’s all-time leader in completions (5,377), attempts (8,758) passing yards (61,655), touchdowns (442) and consecutive starts (253). The three-time MVP will continue to fire his patented fastballs, but at different receivers as LAVERANUES COLES and JERRICHO COTCHERY step in.



OAKLAND: The JA MARCUS RUSSELL era is set to begin in Raider nation. The development of the former No. 1 overall pick will be aided by an assortment of running backs – MICHAEL BUSH, JASON FARGAS and rookie DARREN MC FADDEN. Russell’s big arm will target in on newly-acquired receiver JAVON WALKER and wide receiver RONALD CURRY, who has led the team in receptions for the past two seasons.



PITTSBURGH: Quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER is aiming for his third divisional title in five years. Roethlisberger has a 39-16 (.709) regular-season record and was named to his first Pro Bowl after shattering the Steelers’ single-season record for passing touchdowns (32) and passer rating (104.1) last season.



SAN DIEGO: After finishing one win shy of reaching Super Bowl XLII, quarterback PHILIP RIVERS targets a third consecutive AFC West title. Rivers has a 25-7 (.781) record as starter and is tied for second with PEYTON MANNING (25) for most wins by an NFL quarterback since 2006 (TOM BRADY, 28).



TENNESSEE: At 24 years and 233 days old, VINCE YOUNG became the youngest quarterback ever to start a playoff game in franchise history and has aspirations of reaching the postseason again in ’08. The 2006 Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year is entering his third season and has posted a 17-11 (.607) career record as a starter. Young will be directed by MIKE HEIMERDINGER, who is returning as the Titans’ offensive coordinator.



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