Changes are in the air at quarterback

Updated: August 6, 2009, 5:23 PM ET

It used to be that coaches and general managers worried over who was going to start at quarterback for them next year. Now they fret about who is going to start next week, Len Pasquarelli writes.

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By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
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Continuity at quarterback is the goal of every NFL team. But since the beginning of the 2006 season, that goal is getting harder to achieve.

There have been 132 quarterback changes since 2006. In 2007, there were 64 different starting quarterbacks, the most in at least 10 years. This season alone, four teams (Tennessee, Minnesota, New England and Tampa Bay) have used two starters, and Kansas City has started three different quarterbacks in the first three weeks.

It used to be that coaches and general managers worried over who was going to start at quarterback for them next year. Now they fret about who is going to start next week. Causes? Coaches under more pressure to win from instant-gratification owners, a spate of injuries at the position and normal attrition.

In 2008, the seemingly indestructible Tom Brady of New England is lost for the season to a knee injury. The Colts' Peyton Manning, who has started every game in his 11 seasons in the league, is still recovering from offseason knee surgery that has cost him timing and effectiveness. Brett Favre was traded to the Jets in August. And Marc Bulger (St. Louis) and Tarvaris Jackson (Minnesota), both of whom began the season as starters, lost their starting jobs because of ineffectiveness.

That isn't counting the choice of Aaron Rodgers over Favre in Green Bay or Kyle Orton over last year's starter, Rex Grossman, in Chicago.

"It's become quarterback roulette all of a sudden," said Trent Green, who replaced Bulger.

Only five franchises -- New Orleans (Drew Brees), Cincinnati (Carson Palmer), Indianapolis (Manning), the New York Giants (Eli Manning) and Seattle (Matt Hasselbeck) -- have started the same quarterback every game since the beginning of the 2006 season.

Two clubs used at least three starters in 2006 and that number jumped to nine teams in 2007. Injury-ravaged Carolina and San Francisco used four starters last season.

There will be at least two changes - with Green replacing Bulger and Damon Huard replacing Tyler Thigpen in Kansas City -- this weekend. And Derek Anderson of Cleveland has been put on notice that despite his supposed breakthrough 2007 season and giant contract, he could be benched in favor of Brady Quinn if his performance does not improve.

Perhaps most notable is that coaches, under more pressure to win than ever, are making more changes for noninjury reasons since 2006 because of poor performances or a losing record. In the past two-plus seasons, there have been 25 instances in which a quarterback switch was made for reasons other than injury. By comparison, there were only a dozen such changes in 2004 and 2005.

Certainly, the changes have affected the quality of play at quarterback.

"For your own good, you'd better be ready to play," said Gus Frerotte, who was named as the full-time replacement for the disappointing Jackson in Minnesota.

Len Pasquarelli, a recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's McCann Award for distinguished reporting, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.