Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003 | 9:01 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
Sports fans are notoriously fickle and perhaps they're entitled to be.
After all, they are the ones paying the freight.
And sports will always have a "What have you done for me lately?" quality to them, especially when the athletes are getting paid. Fans appreciate the good times, but only the most forgiving of them will quietly tolerate even a one-time hero in decline.
Yet the recent spate of criticism directed toward several veteran and proven National Football League quarterbacks sounds an alarm.
Is it a sign that spectators and teammates alike will turn on a quarterback after just a couple of bad or sub-par outings?
This lack of patience is especially evident in San Francisco this week, and it has also surfaced in traditionally football-mad cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia. Established quarterbacks are also taking heat in St. Louis, New Orleans and elsewhere.
Quarterback controversies are staples of the NFL landscape and a fact of life in that competitive league. Yet perhaps never in the history of the game have so many "big name" quarterbacks been under the gun.
When wide receiver Terrell Owens of the 49ers took it upon himself to at least indirectly criticize Jeff Garcia, quarterbacks everywhere had to feel the pain.
Garcia is into his fourth full season as the team's starting quarterback and in each of the previous three seasons he played well enough to be selected for the Pro Bowl. He's known for his quick release, his sharp -- if short -- passes and his ability to improvise and run.
But with the 'Niners 1-3 and with Garcia having connected with Owens "only" five times in Sunday's lopsided loss to Minnesota, suddenly even this decorated quarterback is fair game.
Likewise, Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia.
Here's a guy who has improved his pass-efficiency rating in each of the previous three years and who has led the Eagles to the brink of the Super Bowl. But with the team off to a 1-2 start this season, there has been grumbling and McNabb -- coming off a broken ankle yet still very much elusive and a multifaceted threat with the ball -- has become an occasional target.
Kordell Stewart can relate.
Despite at least two great seasons, 1997 and 2001, Stewart -- whose "Slash" nickname was derived from his ability to both run and throw -- was driven from Pittsburgh as the abuse from the fans was unrelenting. He landed in Chicago, where boos of various heartiness and degree were directed toward him as the Bears dropped to 0-3 with a Monday night loss to Green Bay.
Chicago only thought it had solved its quarterback problem when it signed Stewart; in retrospect, the controversy may only have begun.
It's percolating in New Orleans, where Aaron Brooks and the Saints are 1-3 and were one-upped Sunday by Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers. Saints fans -- who initiated the humorous, if sarcastic habit of wearing paper bags over their heads at games several years ago -- were chanting "We Want Jake" as the visiting Panthers rode the previously hot-and-cold Delhomme to an unexpected win.
If Brooks left the field wishing he could trade places with Delhomme, imagine what's going on in St. Louis with Kurt Warner after his wife said on a talk-radio show that he might welcome a trade if he can't start ahead of Marc Bulger.
Warner was the sport's No. 1 cover boy when the Rams were a Super Bowl-caliber team, but now that they've allowed a few of their precious resources to bolt via free agency and now that he has suffered a half-dozen concussions and a decline in ability, his wife is pricing homes elsewhere.
But sometimes even when you're traded or get a breath of fresh air through free agency, you don't get the satisfaction of starting with a clean slate.
Consider Jake Plummer.
Ousted by sad-sack Arizona following last season, Plummer landed with Denver and the Broncos are off to a 4-0 start. Yet I swear I could discern some doubt among the supposed faithful as Plummer got acclimated to the Broncos and their terrific, sometimes indefensible offensive schemes.
He may eventually win those fans over with his athleticism and leadership abilities, but let's just say Denver fans approached his acquisition with a good deal of skepticism.
San Diego (0-4 and with Drew Brees at quarterback), Cleveland (1-3 and still unsure as to whether Kelly Holcomb or Tim Couch should have the job), Baltimore (2-2 with rookie Kyle Boller at the helm), Jacksonville (0-4 and with Mark Brunell suffering an elbow injury) and even Green Bay (2-2 but afraid that Brett Favre is aging) are among the other NFL teams with quarterback questions that are routinely played out in the media and in the stands.
The only quarterbacks in the clear and enjoying steady praise are Daunte Culpepper in Minnesota, Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, Steve McNair in Tennessee and, perhaps, David Carr in Houston.
For everyone else, it's an absolute battle to retain their respect and dignity -- let alone health -- each and every week. And maybe that's as it should be.
But when a Jeff Garcia or a Donovan McNabb is subjected to criticism after a brief dip in effectiveness, fans and players alike have reached a cutthroat-like extreme.
"What have you done for me lately?" is now "What have you done for me today?" and it's a standard that makes anyone at the game's most difficult position vulnerable to insensitive and ridiculous critiques.
Is asking for a moratorium on such debates asking too much?
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