QB luck — both munificent (Chargers) and cruel (many other NFL teams) — is our topic today in the new episode of “you can take the NFL out of San Diego, but not the San Diego out of the NFL.”
Forgive Carlsbad’s Kevin O’Connell, the former San Diego State quarterback who coaches the Minnesota Vikings, and San Diego’s Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, who catch passes for the New Orleans Saints, if they’re envious of the amazing QB luck that Team Spanos has enjoyed for decades.
O’Connell saw Kirk Cousins carted off with a season-ending Achilles injury last month, and now the Vikings (6-6) have gone from strongly contending for the playoffs to being on the wrong end of a widening QB gap in the NFC North.
O’Connell must choose among brilliant but well-traveled Joshua Dobbs, veteran Nick Mullens and rookie Jaren Hall as he tries to lead the Vikings to their second playoff berth in his two seasons since winning a Super Bowl as a Rams coordinator with QB Matthew Stafford.
Cousins’ pending free agency complicates the Vikings’ outlook at the NFL’s most important position. A Vikings-Cousins reunion would make sense, given that Cousins and O’Connell won a NFC North title together and Cousins was shining before his Achilles went twang.
But banking on a 36-year-old QB coming off a severe injury is not as fun as having Justin Herbert, 25, locked up through 2029. And as O’Connell surveys the rest of the NFC North, his own QB situation looks more daunting.
Jared Goff, 29, gives the first-place Lions (9-3) a younger version of Cousins who’s under contract through 2024.
Jordan Love, 25, is riding a three-game win streak (8 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) and making the Packers look wise for having him apprentice under Aaron Rodgers for three years and signing him through 2024.
The Bears hold the first and eighth pick in the next draft, giving them a crack at Caleb Williams or Drake Maye if they decide Justin Fields isn’t the answer.
With the Vikings sitting 18th in the draft order, it doesn’t appear O’Connell will have a shot at any of the draftniks’ preferred QBs.
At some point, if the Minnesota newbie can’t develop a worthy successor to Cousins, it’ll be like ice fishing with bare hands.
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) enters through the smoke and lights during player introductions.
(Matt Patterson / Associated Press)
On to New Orleans, where Olave has developed improved connections with first-year teammate Derek Carr, a veteran starter. Olave has exceeded 90 receiving yards in his past three games.
But with Carr still having an uneven season, the Saints lost all three games (5-7) and fell behind the Falcons (6-6) in the NFC South.
Both San Marcos’ Olave (Mission Hills High School) and Rancho Penasquitos’ Shaheed (Mt. Carmel) have had their own growing pains, such as Olave quitting on a stop route last month and Shaheed lining up offside and exiting with a thigh injury.
But Chargers receivers have it easier. Where Herbert has been available for all 63 starts on top of being a top-10 QB, the Saints’ San Diego speedsters are working with their fourth QB in just two years. Part of the weekly drill is adjusting to both Carr and hybrid playmaker Taysom Hill. Though Hill creates advantages, his inability last week to connect downfield with an open Olave was glaring.
More time together should benefit Carr, Olave, Shaheed and the rest of the offense. But Carr continues to fall short of veteran Andy Dalton’s 14-game run with the 2022 Saints. His 89.4 passer rating, 47.4 Quarterback Rating and 2.8 TD percentage can’t match Dalton’s totals of 95.2, 57.1 and 4.8.
