As the NFL 2018-19 season continues, we begin to understand which teams are legit. To be a true championship contender, the quarterback position needs to be great, if not elite.

Some teams have All-Pro QB’s; this story does not involve them. You will not hear about Tom Brady or Drew Brees. I’m talking about the teams that have the lowest-tier backs in the league. These players will not, or at least should not, be starters. These are the teams with the absolute worst QB-situations in the league.

Jameis Winston / Ryan Fitzpatrick – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jameis Winston is most likely one of the biggest busts as of late at the QB position. Out of Florida State, Winston was the first pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Jameis was destined to be a starter, and the Bucs hoped he’d be their guy.

For Jameis’ first season in the NFL, he didn’t do that bad. He played in all 16 games in 2015, but only went 6-10. However, he did make the 2015 All-Rookie Team and the Pro Bowl. He had 22 touchdown’s and 15 interceptions.

His second year saw the team improve to 9-7. He also put up 4090 yards and had 28 TD’s. The interceptions didn’t stop though, with 18. That’s an average of over one a game.

During 2017, Jameis only started 13 of the 16 games due to a shoulder injury. His record as a starter was not good: only 3-10. That’s rough for a former first round talent. He threw a career low 19 TD’s that year,  also throwing 11 INT’s. But I would not say that last year was his worst year.

This season has been terrible for Famous Jameis. He started the year on the bench due to suspension. Once he replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick, he played awful. Jameis is 1-2, with six TD’s and 10 INT’s. He is on pace to have a career high INT year, that is if he even plays.

It seems like Ryan Fitzpatrick will get to start from now on, after almost completing an 18 point comeback versus the Cincinnati Bengals. That is good for the Bucs, but bad for Jameis.

Jameis’ time is probably up in Tampa after this season. While I believe another team will pick him up, I advise them not to start him. To me, Jameis is a turnover-heavy QB.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is not a solution for the Bucs either. He is very inconsistent, and has followed a strange pattern all throughout his career.

Ryan will get a job as a backup, the starter will get hurt, he will surprise as a starter, get paid, then flop. It has happened many times throughout his career.

First, Ryan Fitzpatrick was drafted by the Rams in the 2005 NFL Draft in the 7th Round. They chose him most likely to just pick his brain.

I say this because he got a 48/50 on the Wonderlic, when the average test taker gets about a 20 or so. John Elway got a 29, Matt Ryan got a 32, and Michael Vick got a 20. So Ryan’s 48 was truly outstanding, and only two people have done better in the NFL’s history.

On every team Ryan has played on (St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, and now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), he came in with a backup job. The starter then went out for some reason (Marc Bulger, Carson Palmer, Trent Edwards, Jake Locker, Ryan Mallett, Geno Smith, and Jameis Winston), and Ryan plays well for a couple games. Then there’s a sudden drop off and Fitzpatrick does not play well at all.

Two starting QB’s at once are not good for a franchise: just ask the Buccaneers. Both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston are not good starters, and Tampa Bay will continue to struggle with both of them on their roster.

Eli Manning – New York Giants

Eli Manning should be known as a legend. A great QB that has done it all. But right now his New York Giants are stuck in a sort of limbo.

Eli Manning entered the NFL Draft in 2004 with controversy. He was looked to be picked #1 overall by the San Diego Chargers; however, Manning stated that he would refuse to play for the Chargers if they drafted him. The Chargers still drafted him, but then immediately traded Eli to the Giants for Philip Rivers and two draft picks.

Eli’s rookie year was not great. He played (behind Kurt Warner) in nine games and threw nine interceptions to only six touchdowns. That season Eli had his lowest completion percentage with a terrible 48.2%. He did have 1043 yards, which was also his career-low for a season.

The 2005 season had the NY Giants be NFC Ease Champions, with Eli Manning throwing for over 3000 yards and 24 TD’s. The Giants lost in Wild Card Round of the post season to the Carolina Panthers, but that year Eli proved he was the real deal. However, the next season, the Giants failed to pass the Wild Card Round again.

The 2007 season was historic for not only the New York Giants, but the NFL as a whole. The Giants played the undefeated New England Patriots in week 16 of the regular season, seeing the Patriots improve to 16-0 with a 38-35 victory over Manning’s Giants.

The Giants entered into the 2007 post season with the 5th seed. The underdog Giants defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-14 behind two Manning TD’s. Then, the Giants defeated the #1 seed in the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys, who were the heavy favorites. That punched the ticket for the NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers vs New York Giants. The Giants barely got past The Pack in overtime, 23-20, but they still had one more opponent: The New England Patriots.

The Giants had to rally behind a successful Manning in order to have a chance against the perfect New England Patriots. The Pats were a 12.5 point favorite against Manning. Everything was against the Giants.

If you were a fan of the NFL around this time, then I’m sure you remember The Helmet Catch. Down by four, with just over a minute left, Manning slips through pressure and throws a perfect pass to David Tyree.

That play led the Giants to a 17-14 victory over the Patriots. Eli Manning was praised for that spectacular play, and was given the Super Bowl MVP.

The highlights throughout the next three years saw the 2008 Giants win the NFC East division, and miss the playoffs the next two seasons. Eli continued to play well though, throwing an average of +3500 yards within those three years.

Then in 2011 Eli Manning and the NY Giants won another Super Bowl over Tom Brady’s New England Patriots, . That year was the only year that a team was ranked last in the running game (32nd) and won the Super Bowl. Eli threw for almost 5000 yards that season.

The Giants didn’t return to the playoffs until 2016, where they lost in the Wild Card Round to the Green Bay Packers, and the Giants have struggled to sniff the playoffs since.

Between 2005 all the way until 2017, a total of 210 regular season games, 10 playoff games, and two Super Bowls, Manning was the Giants starter. Eli was the Giants franchise, but he is old and declining in performance. Some of it is due to bad surrounding talent though, with below average O-line play and enduring 390 sacks during his career so far.  I believe it truly is time for Eli to be replaced with somebody who is mobile and can fit well with Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr.

Eli has had a spectacular career, but I believe he should end his time in New York, if not retire from the sport to be remembered

in Canton.

??? – Buffalo Bills

The Bills traded Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns and headed into the Draft with a desperate need at QB. With the 7th pick in this past year’s NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills selected Josh Allen. While some thought that he could be a bust due to accuracy issues, some also liked his cannon arm and 6’4″ stature.

Allen has the chance to rid the Buffalo Bills of their mediocrity, and lead them through the future in the next coming years. Starting behind AJ MaCarron, Josh Allen has time to improve his accuracy and break out. Then the Bills trade McCarron to the Raiders, as McCarron

became injured, and plan to start Nathan Peterman?

Nathan Peterman was given the reigns to start Week One this year, and Sean McDermott immediately realized his mistake, and he was benched. Nathan went 5/18 with two interceptions before Josh Allen took over. Josh then went 6/15 with no touchdowns or picks in the 47-3 loss.

Josh started the next five games, winning two of them, and having two passing and three rushing touchdowns to five picks. In that fifth game, versus the Houston Texans, Allen left the game with an elbow injury and has been sidelined since.

Nathan Peterman took over, threw two picks, and the Bills lost the game.

The Bills decided to pick up QB Derek Anderson to fill in, and he has played for a solid two games. The Bills lost both of those games, 37-5 to the Colts and 25-6 to the Patriots. Anderson left the game against the Patriots late in the game with an arm injury, and Peterman took over. To my surprise Nathan did not throw any interceptions, but he only threw the ball twice.

Now with McCarron gone, Allen hurt, Anderson hurt, Peterman still sucking, who takes over now? Matt Barkley.

Barkley, the 28-year-old journeyman, was last seen on a football field in 2016. So you’d expect him to be at least a little rusty, right?

On his first throw, he threw a 48-yard bomb to Robert Foster. The very next play the Bills had a touchdown, as LeSean McCoy ran for a 28-yard score: only 49 seconds into the game.

The Bills had 186 yards of offense in the first quarter to the Jets 1 yard. The final score of the game was 41-10.

Looking forward, the Bills need to keep Barkley in while he is hot. Let Josh Allen rest his arm, and get rid of Nathan Peterman. Peterman has stunk every single game he has played in. Derek Anderson can take his backup role once he is healthy.

The Bills situation at the QB position is by far the worst, and most complicated. They have been riddled with injuries and have had Nathan Peterman play way too much. This team cannot catch a break, unless Barkley continues to play like he did on Sunday versus the Jets.