The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/406183
140 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ PACK PROS NC State Claims Crown As "Quarterback U." Once Again BY RYAN TICE A side from a brief period in weeks three through five in the NFL season, no col- lege can match the recent quarterback tradi- tion of NC State. The Wolfpack currently boasts three starting signal-callers in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Mike Glennon, the San Diego Chargers' Philip Rivers and the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson — more than any other school in the country. During the aforementioned three-week period, Michigan State boasted four start- ing quarterbacks, but two — the Washing- ton Redskins' Kirk Cousins, who has been benched since although the regular starter has not returned, and the Arizona Cardinals' Drew Stanton — were injury replacements. Glennon is technically in the same situation, but he has done well enough that he has continued starting despite veteran Josh Mc- Cown returning from a hand injury. Furthermore, Philadelphia Eagles starter Nick Foles spent just one year in East Lan- sing and appeared in just one game before becoming a star at Arizona, so there is still an argument to be made if the Spartans do match the Wolfpack in their recent field general success. The trio of NCSU alumni in the league is thriving so far in 2014, and The Wolfpacker recaps each signal-caller's season through eight weeks. Mike Glennon Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Tampa Bay signed journeyman veteran Josh McCown this offseason and first-year head coach Lovie Smith named the new arrival his starter over Glennon, who enjoyed a promising rookie campaign despite opening the season as the backup. Glennon eventually got his chance last year and proved what he could do. He re- ceived another chance earlier this year — McCown sprained his thumb in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons in week three — and the backup proceeded to lead the team on both of its scoring drives in relief. The offense has become more reliable once again with the second-year professional under center and increased its scoring average by seven points with Glennon starting. The most recent former Wolfpack signal- caller to join the league has started four times and appeared in five games, while completing 58.8 percent of his throws for 1,157 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating of 85.3 is better than McCown's 65.8, but a 19-13 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings Oct. 26 in which the team gained just 225 yards following a bye week could have Smith turn back to McCown. Regardless, Glennon is the quarterback of the future in Tampa Bay, and the coach has said as much. "He's played well," Smith said of Glen- non Oct. 15, according to ESPN.com. "We'd like to have a couple of plays [back], but looking at the overall picture on what Mike Glennon has done, he's given us a lot of hope. Mike has a big role in leading us back, and he's accepting that challenge." Philip Rivers The 11-year veteran was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year last season, thanks to his turn-back-the-clock perfor- mance. In 2013, he set a career high for completion percentage (69.5) — a figure that led the NFL. He also tallied his most touchdowns (32) since 2008, while throw- ing the fewest interceptions (11) since 2010. In addition, he tied the best passer rating (105.5) of his career as the starter. Believe it or not, he's been even better after eight weeks of the 2014 campaign. Rivers was third in the league in passer rat- ing (109.9), and he also ranked among the top six in touchdown throws (third, 20), yards per attempt (fifth, 8.17), completion percentage (fifth, 68.3) and passing yards (sixth, 2,213). He set an NFL record when he recorded five straight games with a quarterback rat- ing of at least 120 earlier this year and was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September. He was also a popu- lar choice for MVP at the midyear point — writers from ESPN, TheMMQB.com and NFL.com, among others, named Rivers the league's best. That's because the Chargers have started three different running backs and a trio of centers, but were still tied for ninth in the league in scoring offense (25.6 points per game). CBSSports.com took it a step further and said Rivers has "arguably been the NFL's second-best quarterback behind Peyton Manning since the start of the 2013 season. During this span, Rivers is leading the NFL with a completion percentage of 68.9, and is third in passing rating (107.7), touchdown passes (40) and yards per attempt (8.32). Through eight weeks this season, Philip Rivers ranked third in the NFL in passer rating (109.9), third in touchdown passes (20), fifth in yards per attempt (8.17), fifth in completion percentage (.683) and sixth in passing yards (2,213). PHOTO COURTESY SAN DIEGO CHARGERS