I Don't Blame You a Bit, Tui

Norv Turner's switch back to Kerry Collins has Tuiasosopo pissed off. I don't blame him. Here are Tui's stats for his first start:

14-26-124 1 TD, 2 INTs, 2 Fumbles Lost

Looks pretty bad, but check out Kerry Collins's first full start as a Raider (Week 4, 2004, versus the Texans):

21-38-244 0 TD, 3 INTs, 1 Fumble Lost

Or, for other comparisons, check out Drew Brees's first game:

15-27-221 1 TD, 0 INTs, 2 Fumbles Lost

Or Peyton Manning:

21-37-302 1 TD, 3 INTs

Or Donovan McNabb:

8-20-68 0 TD, 1 INT

Or Matt Hasselbeck:

20-34-178 0 TD, 2 INT

Even my man Rich Gannon, in his first Raider start:

16-31-227 0 TDs, 1 INT

My point? That with rare exceptions elite quarterbacks have a period where they look bad before they start looking good. Sometimes they find (or rediscover) their rhythm in a week or two. Some take half a season or longer. Many of them, like Hasselbeck, have to endure the doubts of those who think the plodding, vanilla veteran behind them in the depth chart is in fact superior. Still, if they have a coach sees potential in them and is enough of a leader to keep his team together through the growing pains, they can end up where the Seattle Seahawks have ended up. If, however, his coach is a jackass, a quarterback like Tui has to wait for an opportunity to grow, usually on another team.

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions about Tui though. Some quarterbacks start mediocre and stay there. I've seen it. This year, boy have I seen it. Still, I guess Norv Turner figures it this way--why go with someone who might be lousy when we can go with someone we know is lousy.