Division A & B NFL Comparisons: Quarterbacks

This is the best time of year. The NHL playoffs are as exciting as ever. Thursday night’s four-overtime marathon between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes was a thriller. I managed to stay awake for all four OT sessions, and didn’t regret it the next day, mainly because I had already taken the Friday off from work. (No, I didn’t do it for the game, but it certainly influenced my decision to keep watching until a winner was decided at 2 AM). Game 2 and 3 also going to OT was icing on the cake. The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars matchup has delivered some extra hockey as well in the first two games of that series.

The NBA post-season has been just as good. As a Knicks fan, the Game 6 loss to the Miami Heat was tough to watch, as we committed way too many turnovers once again, and both R.J Barrett and Julius Randle continued their disappearing act in big moments. But the future is bright for my team, and Jalen Brunson proved his play with the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs last year wasn’t a fluke, he is a legit star, and can lead the Knicks back to relevance and further.

What can I say about the Miami Heat? I love the way they play. The team gets contributions from everyone in their rotation, and they don’t stop coming at you on both sides of the court, as they have that bulldog mentality. Against New York, they beat my Knicks at their own game. Hustle, defense, and being the more physical team. They come at you in waves and never stop.

Jimmy Butler continues to remind everyone that he is a superstar. There isn’t a moment that is too big for him, and he keeps delivering on both sides of the ball. I am a Duke fan, and Jayson Tatum is a stud, and superstar as well, but there is a difference between him and Butler. The former looks too passive, commits way too many turnovers, and has shrunk under pressure so far in this series. In all honesty, I picked the Heat to win this series in seven. I was clearly wrong about the number of games.

The Major League Baseball season is in full swing. I am an Atlanta Braves fan, and I am happy with how my team is doing, and more than content with what is going on with the New York Mets. Obviously, it is early, and things can change, but I am confident in the Mets folding like a cheap tent just like they did in the pennant race last year. Is age finally catching up with both Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, or it simply Mets luck?

Am I the only person that really likes the flow of the game thanks to the pitch clock. I played baseball from the age of 8, way before I ever touched a football. Truth be told, I didn’t really like football when I was a kid. My dad, cousins, and uncles played, but I didn’t start playing until I was 13. I fell in love with it quickly, but it took me a while to get into it. All that to say, it took me a lot to watch an entire game. Even when my Braves won the World Series two years ago, I think I watched one playoff game from start to finish. The game has its moments when it is exciting, but out of the four major sports, it still has too many where it can be boring. The faster games are better for everyone and leads to less of those moments where you want to change the channel.

CFL training camps are underway, which means several FPF players are unavailable to play. Good luck to Kerfalla Exumé and Vincent Déthier as they get ready tot kickoff their season.

NFL OTAs and mini camps have started. Training camps are around the corner, we will be glued to our televisions every Sunday before we know it.

Speaking of the NFL, last week, our own Darren Donnelly and William Gemme, went around asking various FPF players who were their favourite NFL players. The answers were fun and interesting. It gave me an idea to do the same with some Division A and B players as well.

In the interest of fairness, I will not list a player at two positions. So, guys like Anthony Brisebois, AJ Gomes, Mike Pierrecin, Jonathan Maheu, and other two-way players will only get one player and position comparison.

The one rule I had for this is that I want to use current and former players, because not everyone reading this article is in their 20’s. I wanted to give some of the old-heads and football lifers like me their due, while also educating the younger readers about some of the game’s greats.  To keep it fair, I will go back as far as the past decade in the NFL, with one exception.

This week I will look at Quarterbacks.

Kevin Wyeth – Joe Montana (here is the exception)

Now, I know most people especially his teammate Kishon Thompson would automatically say Tom Brady, when thinking about the greatest Quarterback of all time. I will stop you right there. I shared a huddle for two years with Wyeth when I played Junior football for the Chateauguay Raiders. Kishon played with us as well, along with some other FPF greats in Akked Moore, Karim Binette, and even Moe Khan. I know it is hard to believe that Moe played ball, but he did a very, very, very long time ago.

Like most of the people I just mentioned, I am old enough to remember Montana’s last few seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, and all his time with the Kansas City Chiefs. I never saw him chew out players, and when he losses as Brady occasionally does, act classless and not shake hands after a playoff loss. I would talk about losing in the Super Bowl, but Joe Cool, unlike TB 12, never lost in the big game. Wait a second you might be saying, Wyeth has lost in the Finals. That is true. But he lost to other elite FPF QBs Alex Nadeau-Piuze and Jonathan Maheu (more on him later), and not to the Eli Manning and Nick Foles of FPF.

 If you have seen Wyeth play, he almost never losses his cool. One play left down by a touchdown, “All I need is one play” the Quarterback told Jeff Rosenblatt and I, during his team’s Semi-Finals matchup against Flag Moi L’Sac.

Being self-absorbed, berating teammates, and losing and in some cases being outplayed by mediocre Quarterbacks wasn’t in Montana’s DNA. It isn’t in Wyeth’s either.

Jonathan Maheu – Michael Vick

In the video, Maheu said that Vick was his favorite player, and that he wore number 7 because of him. When you look at their games, both have big arms, tremendous athletic ability, and can also do a lot of damage with their legs, so the comparison makes sense.  

Jeff Rosenblatt – Phillip Rivers

Both Quarterbacks will without a shadow of a doubt end up in the Professional and FPF Hall of Fame respectively. Rivers never made the Super Bowl, and while Rosenblatt does have a championship, it came as a Snapper. Toughness and competitiveness have never been an issue for Rosenblatt, as just as Rivers before him, the former doesn’t let an injury stop him from suiting up.

Blessed with his own version of Antonio Gates, Keenan Allen, LaDainlian Tomlinson and Mike Williams, with players like Quaysie Gordon-Maule, James Ohayon, James Drysdale, and Quaid Johnson. Can Rosenblatt finally win it all in either Division A or B?      

Dan Lazzara – Aaron Rogers

Hot tempered? Check. Huge arm that can every single throw possible? Check. Underrated scrambling ability to not only keep lays alive, but to pick up yardage in key moments? Check. Big game experience and some championship hardware? Check. Cocky and can back it up? Check. The comparisons end there, as Lazzara is a stand-up guy, and not an egomaniac who craves the constant attention and then gets annoyed when it is given to him. Thankfully.

Jesse Dupuis – Patrick Mahomes

Let me start by saying their deep balls couldn’t be any different, as Mahomes’ looks like a thing of beauty no matter how, when, or what angle the ball comes out of his hands. Dupuis, who does throw a tight spiral when his feet are set, has also ben known to throw a wobbly duck from time to time, but that usually happens when his feet aren’t set and he is throwing across his body.

If you ignore that one thing, I think this just makes a lot of sense. Both players are winners, exude leadership, and they make those around them better. They can make huge plays with their arms and their legs. Mahomes and Dupuis can make throws that make you wonder if they are a cheat code in a video game. Both players play their best the bigger the game gets. In a championship game who would you rather have?

Phil Cutler – Jalen Hurts

You thought I was going to say Jay Cutler didn’t you? Sorry, but the FPF Cutler isn’t a bum. Big arm, big talent, saves his best performances for the biggest games, but has yet to win a championship at the highest level. Just like Hurts, Cutler is a dual-threat Quarterback who can dominate. Both passers have big game experience, and it feels inevitable that each will win a championship, the only question is when?

Frédéric Dupuis – Dak Prescott

Both passers have all the talent in the world and check off several boxes when it comes to what you look for in a Quarterback. Strong arm passers, with leadership skills, and an affinity for the colour blue.  Dupuis and Prescott also unfortunately share the dubious distinction of being quarterbacks that throw interceptions at the worst possible time. Is this the year both talented players avoid the crucial mistake in the playoffs?

Cory Pecker – Matthew Stafford

Leo Gervais will love this one. A veteran QB with a live arm, that is both curate and lethal. Both QBs have smarts, leadership qualities, and a championship as well. Stafford essential took off last year due to injury, and Pecker took off the last three due to covid. In two games since his return, Pecker has thrown 11 touchdown passes, and has a QB Rating of 120.5, which is impressive after such a long layoff. Stafford will be better and most likely healthier this year. The same goes his top Receiver in Cooper Kupp.  

Nicolas Schaefer – Josh Allen

With a group of Receivers led by Gabriel Drapeau-Zgoralski, Olivier Suri, Gaspar Cernacek, Thomas Coutu, Marvin Steinberg, and Donovan Martel who is like their version of Austin Ekeler, Nicolas Schaefer has no shortage weapons at his disposal. Allen also has the equivalent with Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Dawson Knox, and now Dalton Kincaid.

Both QBs have the size you want in a passer. They both have cannons for arms, can make every throw, and can beat teams with their legs almost anytime they want.

The only thing that is lacking for the pair is a championship. Both have the talent to win one, but as you all know, it takes more than just that to win it all.

Will this finally be the season both QBs put it all together?

Jordan Panetta – Daniel Jones

He seemingly put it all together last year, as he helped led the New York Giants to the playoffs. Both players have strong arms, can make big throws, and will leave defenders in the dirt with their footwork. This year the Silent Ticklers made the jump to Division B. After sharing the position last year with FPF Hall of Famer Rochdi Benabdelkader, Panetta who started in last spring’s championship game, is now stirring the ship permanently.

Stephen Harripersaud – Lamar Jackson

Stephen is a die-hard Baltimore Ravens fan, so that played a small part in the comparison here. Now to be clear, I am not saying that the former is as fleet of foot as the Ravens Quarterback, but I have played both with and against, as well as watched him played numerous times, and I can tell you that Stephen has some wheels.

When looking at passing the ball, there are times when both Quarterbacks throw absolute dimes, and others where the pass looks like it was thrown via shotput.

Harripersaud has six championships to his name. Lamar is still looking for number one, but finally armed with a real Offensive Coordinator and some weapons at Wide Receiver, maybe this is the year Lamar pulls a Stephen and proves the doubters wrong. Can Harripersaud do the same in the top division of FPF?

Alexandre Fafard – Justin Fields

Both Quarterbacks can run for miles, and make defenders look silly while doing it. Say what you will about the Bears, but they have a good QB. Fafard, has his doubters just like Fields, but the former knows how to win, and just like the Bears spent the last few months surrounding their passer with weapons, the Beer Belly Brigade have already done that with names like Nicolas Curotte, Jonathan Benoit, Olivier Claveau, and others.

While the team and their QB might not be a championship threat this season, this is a squad that might be knocking on the door sooner than later.

Ignacio Valdes Manzanedo – Trevor Lawrence

Like many Quarterbacks on the list, Iggy has slowly climbed the ranks from lower division QB to solid higher division passer. Lawrence essentially did the same this past season as he went from a joke with the Urban Meyer led Jacksonville Jaguars to thriving with a real Head Coach in Doug Pederson. Just how the Jags surrounded their prize QB with weapons in the shape of Evan Engram, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Calvin Ridley, Iggy has done the same with Louis-Philip Thibodeau, Felix Boutet, Sanders Armand, and AJ Gomes.

Are Lawrence and Iggy among the elite now? No, but both passers are smart, and if you had to place a bet, the smart money would say it won’t be too long.

Nicolas Blais – Mac Jones

It is hard to get a read on Blais. Is he the Quarterback that threw 30 touchdown passes in CO-ED 1 this past Winter Season, and 16 in Division 3, or is the sample size too small, and he is at his best when he is sharing the QB reps?

Through two games so far (he missed his team’s third game yesterday) he has thrown nine TDs and one interception. Mac Jones went from making the Pro Bowl his rookie season, to looking like a bust after year two, but a lot of that had to do with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge leading the way offensively for the New England Patriots.

We need to wait to see what happens with Mac Jones now that he has a real Offensive Coordinator in Bill O’Brien. We will need to do the same with Nicolas Blais.

Rocco Christiano – Joe Burrow

Solid arm, and the ability to run around and past almost any defender. This is Christiano’s first taste of the upper divisions as a Quarterback. Through two games he has nine touchdown passes and no interceptions, and is second in QB Rating (147.9) and third in completion percentage (74.3%).

From his time throwing and playing Receiver in lower divisions, Christiano has never lacked confidence, which is why I gave him the Burrow comparison. I remember playing against him in his early years, and he scored a TD on my defense. He started high stepping from about the 15-yard line all the way to the endzone. The score got called back, and he was silent the rest of the game, but he still kept playing hard. What stood out to me was his confidence. I liked it then, and I think it will help him now. Sounds like a certain Cincy QB.

Ben McMahon – Tua Tagovailoa

Being a vertically challenged guy myself, I would never make a short joke. The comparison here, comes from the fact that both guys are stand-up and family-oriented people, who have continually silenced the doubters and laid it on the line when they are on the field. Height be damned, both can run past defenders and stop on a dime, while also carving up defenses with big time throws. More importantly, they have heart and smarts to go with it.

Some people doubt whether he has what it takes to win it all, as McMahon is still looking for his first championship. A former Coach once told me to keep chipping away, and eventually you’ll break the rock. That advice seems to be something that McMahon lives by. He has come close before. The talent is there, and he surrounds himself with playmakers at Receiver. One would have to think that eventually the boulder will become a pebble.

Picks

Star city vs The Jamesons – Star city

KGP vs Party Crashers – Party Crashers

Bless Up vs #NR – #NR (My pick for Game of the Week Div. A)

Beers and Brownies vs Blessed – Blessed

Run It Once vs Beer Belly Brigade – Run It Once

EZW vs Silent Ticklers – Silent Tickers (My pick for Game of the Week Div. B)

Ambush vs B-raves – Ambush (Upset Special)

That is it for this week. I will be back next week with my look at Receivers. Good luck to everyone in their games tonight and this week. Enjoy the rest of the long weekend!

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt that I left something out, please feel free to reach me at [email protected]