There are a lot of teams that need to decide who will be their QB. If I were the coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, or Buffalo Bills coach, here is who I would pick as my starter for Week 1 (begins September 5th).
Arizona Cardinals
Possible Options: Carson Palmer, Ryan Lindley
Week 1 Starter: Palmer is the obvious choice for this team, as he looked good during the teams OTAs by connecting with his receivers, and should have a monster season thanks to having Larry Fitzgerald and Malcolm Floyd as his top receivers.
Philadelphia Eagles
Possible Options: Matt Barkley, Mike Vick, Dennis Dixon, Nick Foles
Week 1 Starter: This is the toughest choice for any coach, but in the end, former Pac-12 QB Matt Barkley will fit in well to Chip Kelly’s offense due to the fact that at USC, Barkley had played against Kelly’s Oregon squad.
Oakland Raiders
Possible Options: Matt Flynn, Terrell Pryor, Tyler Wilson
Week 1 Starter: Matt Flynn will start Week 1 for the 2nd straight season on a team rebuilding mode.
New York Jets
Possible Options: Mark Sanchez, Greg McElroy, Geno Smith
Week 1 Starter: Geno Smith is the QB that the Jets have wanted for years. He is the franchise of the New York Jets, and this rookie out of West Virginia has the intangible to win as a starter, and he deserves it.
Jacksonville Jaguars:
Possible Options: Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne
Week 1 Starter: Henne will get the starting job for the 1st time since he was a Miami Dolphin in 2011.
New England Patriots
Possible Options: Tom Brady, Tim Tebow
Week 1 Starter: Tebow can start Week 1, but Brady will start until Week 15, and then Tebow can play Weeks 16 and 17 due to Brady resting for the playoffs. Though from Weeks 2-14, Brady will start, and Tebow could play running back, or be a receiver in the Wildcat formation.
Washington Redskins
Possible Options: Robert Griffin III (RG3), Kirk Cousins
Week 1 Starter: RG3 is the starter, but Cousins will play Weeks 16 and 17. Griffin III may be taken out of the game due to the repaired ACL, so Cousins could get multiple snaps time and time again, but he will not be the starter during many weeks of the season, and Cousins may see more playing time against tougher defenses because of the risk of having Griffin III re-injuring that ACL or other parts of the knee, and the risk of concussions is high. Griffin III is the tentative starter for the 1st half of the season, and would like to keep that, but Cousins will see a few 1st Down or 2nd Down snaps throughout the time when Griffin III will be starting games. Griffin III should have a 5,000-yard passing campaign due to the fact that he has many new targets in Devery Henderson, Jordan Reed, Chris Thompson, Skye Dawson, Chip Reeves, and Emmanuel Ogbuehi. Kirk Cousins could throw for about 1,000-2,000 yards if Shanahan thinks that he should be able to play. With this RG3-Kirk Cousins 1-2 punch, the Redskins could win 12+ games.
Minnesota Vikings
Possible Options: Matt Cassel, Christian Ponder
Week 1 Starter: Matt Cassel wins the job, though Ponder may see some action later in the season.
Cleveland Browns
Possible Options: Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden
Week 1 Starter: Jason Campbell is a guy that has 1 difference from Weeden. He can throw the ball deep. He is an accurate passer who would mesh well with a speedy receiver like former Dolphins WR Davone Bess.
Miami Dolphins
Possible Options: Matt Moore, Aaron Corp, Ryan Tannehill, Pat Devlin
Week 1 Starter: Tannehill, the talented 2nd year player who will shine in his 2nd season with Mike Wallace and Dustin Keller as his top WRs/TEs.
Buffalo Bills
Possible Options: Kevin Kolb, EJ Manuel
Week 1 Starter: Kolb is the more experienced, but rookie Manuel out of Florida State is the favorite, and will excel as the starter with speedster WR/Slot Receiver Stevie (Steve) Johnson.
hi saransh. kevin kolb is injured right now and the bills will preserve him so ej manuel would probably start for them