Colin Kaepernick and 5 NFL quarterbacks facing questions

There are few teams without a question of some significance at quarterback, the most important position on the field. And even those teams have mild concerns. The New England Patriots are at least aware of Tom Brady’s gradually declining arm strength, a problem that’s far more advanced for Peyton Manning in Denver.

There are great quarterbacks in today’s NFL, and future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. But a perfectly pristine quarterback in a situation with absolutely no lingering questions or concerns? That guy nearly doesn’t exist.

We know about Robert Griffin III and Eli Manning, and their preseason struggles to learn a new offense. There’s also the uncertainty in Cleveland regardless of who’s under center, as with Josh Gordon out the Browns have a deep, dark hole at wide receiver. And in Tennessee Jake Locker has one last chance to save his career.

Here are five more quarterback questions before the 2014 season finally begins.

Can EJ Manuel take the next step? 

The NFL isn’t a fair place for young quarterbacks anymore. Though this year is an exception with all three first-round picks from last May set to watch in Week 1, generally the passing boom since 2011 has led to a lack of patience with still developing arms. Blaine Gabbert remains the shining example of a quarterback in this era pushed to start long before he was ready, and then promptly shattered.

In Buffalo, patience is already running thin with EJ Manuel after a preseason when he still looked lost at times. That was particularly evident in Week 3 of August, the preseason dress rehearsal, when he was sacked four times, threw an interception, and lost a fumble. That dud came a week after another game with a stench, when Manuel averaged only 5.5 yards per attempt against Tampa.

Assuming they all stay healthy, the Bills’ second-year quarterback has plenty of support. That starts with C.J. Spiller’s explosiveness in the open field, and he’s complemented nicely by Fred Jackson on passing downs. Sammy Watkins brings similar downfield burst on the outside, and he’s flanked by Robert Woods and Mike Williams, who are both sure-handed with excellent leaping ability to win contested balls in the red zone.

If Manuel can’t click this year with those weapons, he’ll quickly be heading towards bust status, and Bills head coach Doug Marrone won’t have that title in Buffalo anymore.

Which Colin Kaepernick will we see?

Colin Kaepernick makes plays and completes throws others can only think about attempting in Madden (and only against the world’s tiniest linebacker). We see that repeatedly, and one such play that always come to mind is his javelin-style heave against the Seahawks in the NFC Championship last year.

But in the same game we also saw poor decisions and forced throws, particularly on a drive in the middle of the fourth quarter when Kaepernick floated a throw towards Anquan Boldin on an out route, and it sailed directly into the waiting hands of Kam Chancellor. As a still young and still developing quarterback, there are moments when he thinks his arm strength can simply beat defenders.

Often he’s right, as the aforementioned javelin lob was nearly intercepted by Earl Thomas, but the safety couldn’t quite catch up with it. But he’s wrong often too, which led to four games last year when his completion percentage was at or below 50.0.

That’s a manageable stretch, though still a quarter of the season. The next step is keeping the bad Kaepernick away from the field even longer.

Will Nick Foles grow in his second full season as a starter?

The concern here lies simply with sample size, and a bit of hesitation after a jittery preseason. Remember, Nick Foles has still logged only 16 regular-season starts.

He was terrific while seeing his first extended time as a starter last season, fitting seamlessly into Chip Kelly’s offense. He was able to execute on both the high-volume short throws that minimized the opportunities for mistakes, and the deep looks. Foles connected on 13 passes for 40 yards or more, which was only two behind league leading Drew Brees, even though the Eagles quarterback had 333 fewer attempts.

With Jeremy Maclin Healthy, Darren Sproles added, and Zach Ertz growing into his role quickly, all signs point towards a steady and continued progression from Foles. But the minor dent in that optimism comes from his August turnovers.

Including the playoffs, Foles threw only two interceptions on 350 pass attempts last year. Then this preseason even in limited playing time he threw three picks on 48 attempts.

Will Matthew Stafford ever use a consistent throwing motion?

There’s no reason at all for Matthew Stafford to struggle this season. Like Manuel, his offense is overflowing with weapons now after the additions of Eric Ebron and Golden Tate. Then when we also remember he’s on the same team as Calvin Johnson, and behind him are two running backs who each had at least 500 rushing and receiving yards last year, face planting again seems like a challenge.

But Stafford’s blessing has also been his curse. He has a unique ability to improvise, which can end with throws fired from odd arm slots. When that works, the result is a completion that didn’t seem possible. When it doesn’t, no one is really sure why Stafford even threw the ball.

The latter scenario happened more often in 2013, which gave Stafford his lowest completion percentage since his rookie season (58.5), and his highest interception total since then too (19).

Can Geno Smith make better decisions?

Stafford has a history of success, so he’ll be given a longer leash even if he keeps up his sprayed throws under a new coaching staff. But Geno Smith won’t be granted the same privilege.

Though progress was shown late in the season, Smith’s rookie year was pretty ugly. With his 21 interceptions and 25 total turnovers, he gave the ball away on over five percent of his dropbacks. Combine that with the 43 sacks he took, and usually there was far more backwards movement than forwards for the Jets offense.

The preseason provided hope, with Smith completing 69.7 percent of his passes at a pace of 8.1 yards per attempt. That level of play needs to continue with Michael Vick ready and waiting.