Stubbornness sometimes pays off. The Carolina Panthers found this out on Sunday.
One week after giving up on the run way too easily in a loss to Buffalo, the Panthers mercilessly pounded Arizona's run defense into the ground, and their reward was an easy win. Of course, it doesn't mean Jake Delhomme has magically turned his season around. It just means the Panthers have found a way to hide him, while keeping him on the field. Delhomme is off our magical list for now, but other shaky starters aren't so lucky.
Some teams are entirely too stubborn. Not only will they leave bad quarterbacks in to take mental and physical beatings, but they'll insist on running offensive plays that don't seem to take the team's strengths into account, oftentimes leaning way too much on a struggling quarterback to make plays. As the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns (among others) have now learned, this is a recipe for disaster.
Mark Sanchez had a rough couple weeks. After earning the Jets starting quarterback gig in training camp, and leading the team to 3-0 out of the gate, his rookie season hit a rough patch in October. In a loss to the Saints, Sanchez had a 27.0 passer rating, and last week against the Bills he mustered a JaMarcian 8.3.
The remedy: play Oakland. Sunday, the Jets hung 38 on the Raiders and JaMarcus Russell was benched for Bruce Gradkowski. Sanchez, meanwhile, completed 9 of 15 throws for 143 yards, including a touchdown. Things were going so well that Kellen Clemens got a few late-game snaps allowing Sanchez to take it easy on the bench and enjoy a ballpark frank.
Give Derek Anderson credit. He got better. He put that "15 incompletions in 17 attempts" disaster behind him with a much more quarterback-like effort against Pittsburgh Sunday. It wasn't enough to take the Browns off this list for the first time this season, but there are indications that Cleveland has settled on their guy, no matter how many of his passes bounce off the grass.
Yes, he won the game. However, there's no stopping Derek Anderson from showing up high on the list of quarterback controversies every week. Right there with him is the guy Anderson inexplicably beat Sunday despite only completing two of 17 passes -- Trent Edwards. After all, if you can't beat a quarterback who couldn't even complete 12 percent of his throws, who can you beat?
Week 5's Raiders-Giants game may go down as the biggest mismatch of the entire NFL season. New York led 28-0 without breaking a sweat and cruised to a 44-7 victory against an absolutely pitiful Oakland squad.
And if it looked easy for the Giants -- well, that's because it was. Linebacker Antonio Pierce told Fox Sports' Alex Marvez that last Sunday's game felt like a "scrimmage".
"I do not like knocking teams. But right now, they're struggling. We're playing that game the other day and, honestly, it felt like a scrimmage, like a practice," Pierce said. "It felt like we were going against our offense [in a controlled setting] as far as the tempo."
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.
For the Cleveland Browns, Sunday was at least a respectable performance. Now it's time for them to build on that. But have the 0-4 Browns settled on a starting quarterback?
In matter of months, veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia went from pronouncing himself a contender for the Raiders' starting job to an Oakland afterthought. Garcia fell victim to his age (39) by sustaining a series of nagging injuries that forced him to miss the bulk of training camp snaps, but he appeared ready to accept a backup role.
Instead, his Raiders career ended before it really starting. Oakland released Garcia on Saturday, along with 21 other players to reach the 53-man NFL roster limit.
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.
Heading into this year's draft, Josh Freeman was considered to have the highest upside of any quarterback entering the NFL in 2009, while also possessing the biggest downside. The Buccaneers, in need of a true franchise quarterback for the first time since ... well, they've never really had one, were not only willing to take the chance on Freeman, but they were also willing to move up two spots to get him.
Nate Davis has had a rough few months. After an impressive junior season at Ball State -- one in which some folks had him pegged as a possible first-round pick -- the MAC quarterback has experienced a series of setbacks that will cost him millions of dollars, and perhaps the opportunity to play professional football.
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, 
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, 
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, 
Week 5's 
In matter of months, veteran quarterback 
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 
Nate Davis
