When backup QB steps in, everyone on team affected
Next man up is the mantra for using guys who are second-stringers or lower on NFL rosters. When that next man up is standing behind center and running the offense, it leads to upheaval everywhere.
Don't kid yourself into believing that many backup quarterbacks can step right in and perform like the starters. There aren't 32 quality No. 1s in the league, and in most cases, the backup is either a veteran who has flopped elsewhere or a youngster waiting his turn to show what he can - and can't do.
Already this season, seven teams have used more than one quarterback in key parts of games. Most of them - Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Cleveland, Dallas, Oakland and Chicago - were because the starter got hurt. The other, Houston, was a coaching decision when Brian Hoyer was benched for Ryan Mallett.
As we go along, don't be shocked if the Jets, Bills and/or Redskins look elsewhere at the position. Plus, it seems inevitable that other QBs will join the list that's included such stars as Drew Brees, Tony Romo and Ben Roethlisberger.
Whenever and wherever it occurs, the switch is as disruptive as nearly anything that can happen on a football team.
"It has an effect for everyone," said Jim Miller, who started 27 games in a six-year pro career for the Steelers and Bears; he also spent some time in New England.
"The head coach, the offensive and defensive coordinators, the guys on the offensive line, even the defensive line. Certainly for the receivers and the running backs. They've become used to a certain way the starting quarterback does things, and now someone else is in there and rarely does he do things the same."
Miller, now an analyst for SiriusXM NFL Radio, points to a couple of instances from last weekend's games as proof that upheaval in inevitable.
"The problem that weekend, two specifically, were with Brandon Weeden in Dallas and, from my standpoint, Jimmy Clausen in the Bears game at Seattle," Miller said.
"The Bears went into the game down in manpower, with serious injuries at key positions. So already they are kind of up against it. Then Clausen has to play, on the road, managing a very difficult environment. They started the game with a delay call. The quarterback has to be able to handle the environment and for some of these backups, they haven't been in such an environment.
"For Weeden, they started well and he passed a lot more than Clausen, but he was in the confines of home. But in the second half, he wasn't able to generate much of anything."
Coaches will scale down the offense, sometimes significantly; Chicago did, Dallas and New Orleans not so much. The Saints went to more short passes than Brees would have thrown against Carolina, but still executed the aerial game.
Sometimes, a change in personnel necessitates altering schemes. Johnny Manziel in Cleveland is not the same kind of quarterback as Josh McCown, not even close. Same with Michael Vick and Big Ben in Pittsburgh.
"Probably the play calling becomes the most difficult, trying to figure out what works best in each situation," Miller said. "The backup hasn't had the reps, and the coaches and coordinator are trying to get that player to feel comfortable and get the most out of him.
"Your job is to really man the ship and keep everything under control. You want to be emulating what the starter was doing - snap count, structure. How the play should be run, how the OC wants the plays to be run.
"Granted, you're going to be a different kind of leader. Saying and doing it are two different things."
Often, the coaching staff can't win with the fan base, but it's crucial to win within the locker room. Cleveland is 1-0 with Manziel as the starter, 0-2 with Josh McCown. But McCown remains the first-stringer.
"Are we going to have 1,000 percent agreement on how we're using players? No," Browns coach Mike Pettine said. "It falls into coaches coach and players have their jobs to do. And are they going to have their opinions? Certainly.
"I'm confident there is no rift in the locker room. We always talk about controlling the controllables and external debate is something we don't control, so we're confident in our plan and we'll move ahead forward with it."
It's a difficult chore when your top guy isn't available, or isn't playing well.
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this story.
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