Tavarius Jackson, Cleo Lemon, Tim Rattay and Vinny Testaverde. What has this league become?

Back in the day, the quarterback position was one the most glamorous position in football and the cornerstone of a NFL franchise. Now we’ve got GMs all over the league scrambling to fill the voids left by injury, incarceration – ahem, Mike Vick and overall ineptitude and just about every team that’s not the Patriots, Colts, Cowboys, Bengals or Packers are looking for help. In a league with 32 teams, it’s a very sad statement that you can count the number of quality QBs on two hands. The rest aren’t worth a fraction of their salary.

This unfortunate lack of consistent QB play is league-wide and could affect NFL odds. Like a starting pitcher in MLB, a starting quarterback in the NFL is where most bettors start when making their NFL picks. Even professional sports handicapping services are changing up their methods for their NFL expert picks.

Brian Griese has resurfaced in Chicago but the strangest call up in recent memory was Carolina’s decision to resurrect Vinny Testaverde – and I do mean resurrect. Testaverde is 87-years-old and is the only active NFL player to have stood in line for Studio 54 – the club not the movie. To his credit, he is on several days rest, try 365 days, and he did lead the Panthers to a win over Arizona where he threw for 206 yards and a TD. Testaverde’s Panthers topped another team lead by a guy that also wore a leather helmet in college – Kurt Warner.

So why are GMs around the league going with these NFL elder statesmen? Veteran leadership. Guys like Testaverde and Warner and to a lesser degree Griese, have been around and seen it all. You aren’t going to fool these wily ‘ol vets.

Even the top-rated rookie and younger QBs in the league has been a bust. Carson Palmer has cooled, Alex Smith has had nothing but struggles and for the most part, Jay Cutler has looked more like a traffic cop than a NFL quarterback.  Brady Quinn is not ready yet, clearing the way for one of the lone bright spots in this woeful season for young QBs Derek Anderson. Anderson has given to life to a franchise and city that has had little reason to cheer the last couple of years.

But for every Derek Anderson story there are two more that highlight the ineptitude and lack of production from the QB position this year. We are in week 14 and the No. 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell is yet to start a game. Not that he would help the Raiders any.

The sobering fact remains that out of the 32 games and 32 QB positions available, there are really only about 10 that can truly run their teams’ offense. Defensive schemes are getting increasingly sophisticated and QBs can no longer rely on just having a cannon for an arm. In today’s NFL, you also have to have a great football mind to succeed. Other wise Jeff George might still be playing and on that note he may find his phone ringing off the hook if this trend continues.

If that happens I am converting to Canadian Football. After all wasn’t the return of George one of the signs of the apocalypse?