SBK Edge Rush: Nat Coombs asks why the NFL's big-name QBs are struggling

When the 2022 NFL London games were announced, the compelling narratives of each match-up were clear - but things have not quite turned out as we thought they would.

Many sharp minds were big on the Saints’ credentials this year as a sleeper pick for the Super Bowl, and yet they’ve been and gone from London looking rather unlikely to make the playoffs - they currently sit below the Panthers at 2-5. 

The NFL UK nation then finally got to see the legendary Aaron Rodgers. After back-to-back MVP campaigns, he would surely lead his Packers to a sure-fire win over the work-in-progress Giants? Yet it is New York who now look playoff bound at 6-1, with Rodgers and Green Bay in freefall. This week, the future Hall of Famer called out his teammates and questioned the play calling in public. 

As the brilliant Phoebe Schecter pointed out on my podcast this week, to voice an opinion is one thing, but to drop it on a podcast for the world to hear means altogether next-level dissatisfaction from Rodgers. Was he doing it to provoke the team owners into making a deal before the trade deadline to get a receiver? Is he blowing things up, still smarting from the Jordan Love pick from a few years back – when the team effectively chose his successor, as opposed to a receiver – as well as the trade of his go-to guy Davante Adams right after Rodgers had re-upped? 

This Sunday, another franchise unexpectedly in disarray travels to London. When Russell Wilson was dealt to the Denver Broncos – a team with a solid defense, and a wealth of offensive firepower – it felt like the perfect deal. His former team, Seattle, hauled in a stack of draft picks to rebuild, whilst the Broncos landed a winner, an elite talent, to take the team from also-rans to legitimate contenders. 

So far, the move has been an unmitigated disaster, and is veering into ‘Worst Trades of All Time’ territory, with comparisons made to the horrendous Herschel Walker deal thirty years ago - when the superstar running back moved from Dallas to Minnesota for players, picks and quite conceivably a Vikings-branded kitchen sink. Walker never reached his Cowboy heights, and the Vikings took years to recover, while Dallas won three Super Bowls with the picks.

The Wilson deal still has time to pay off, but that time is running out. First-year Denver Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett must take a lot of the blame. His indecision, and the lack of clarity with his Broncos offensive vision – despite the fact he’s an offensively minded head coach – appear not to be playing to Wilson’s strengths.

The loss of running back Javonte Williams mustn’t be underestimated either, and as Phoebe pointed out on the show this week the talented Denver receivers have had more drops than any other side this year, which should level out. 

I don’t think Wilson has fallen off a cliff – some suggest that he has – while Denver benefit from the AFC West being weaker than initially considered, with both the Chargers and the Raiders looking fallible. But Sunday is close to must-win territory, both for the head coach/quarterback tag team and the Broncos’ playoff chances. 

Can Aaron Rodgers get the Packers firing again without a big-name receiver?

Interestingly, a Jaguars victory over Denver could help Aaron Rodgers. The Packers face Buffalo this weekend, with Rodgers a double-digit underdog for the first time in his career. This may lead Green Bay to push the button on a player like Jerry Jeudy, the young Broncos receiver and former first-rounder, before the November 1 trade deadline. If Denver lose this weekend, that deal is even more likely to happen. 

Tom Brady, another great QB who looks completely out of sync, is currently struggling to keep his Tampa Bay side relevant too, with similar offensive challenges to Rodgers - albeit with a much more experienced core, on paper at least. 

Mike Evans' drop of a sure-fire touchdown in the opening drive of the game against Carolina last week is perhaps the perfect snapshot of a misfiring Bucs side: A top-tier talent making an uncharacteristic, slapdash error. Brady’s offensive line isn’t helping him at all, and the much-vaunted speed-driven Bucs defense is underperforming, much like the Packers D behind Rodgers. 

The Bucs are still very much in the mix given the overall quality of the NFC South, and it’s worth remembering that in Brady’s Super Bowl-winning first season in Tampa, similar questions were being asked. Expect the seal to be broken wherever Rob Gronkowski is being cryogenically frozen if things don’t improve soon. Brady’s missing that go-to guy who can keep a drive alive, ensure things tick over, and offer the clinical Red Zone closure that none of the other Bucs seem to be delivering right now. 

It will be fascinating to watch and see if any of these high-profile, under-performing quarterbacks can turn things around any time soon.

If you would like to listen to the latest podcasts that are hosted by Nat Coombs, please click this link: https://thencshow.co.uk