Half of NFL Teams Have Used Backup QBs, Where Does Your Team Rank?

Through 10 games of the NFL season, half of the teams in the league have started their backup quarterback for at least one game. A couple of observations:

Most of the Week 1 starters who lost their jobs were sidelined because of injuries. The only Week 1 starters to be benched for ineffectiveness are Tarvaris Jackson of the Vikings, J.T. O'Sullivan of the 49ers, Marc Bulger of the Rams, Derek Anderson of the Browns and Vince Young of the Titans. Bulger has since gotten his starting job back, so there are only four Week 1 starters who are currently holding a clipboard because they weren't playing well.

The Chiefs and Lions are the only teams that have started three different quarterbacks. Amazingly, in both cases, the third-stringer might be the best of the bunch. Tyler Thigpen has injected more life into the Chiefs' offense than either Week 1 starter Brodie Croyle or Weeks 2, 4 and 5 starter Damon Huard did. And in Detroit, although Daunte Culpepper didn't exactly set the world on fire in his debut, once he's up to speed on the offense he may be better than both of his predecessors, Jon Kitna and Dan Orlovsky.

Below is the list of Week 1 backups who have started at least one game, ranked in order of my own opinion of how good they are.

Kerry Collins, Titans
Byron Leftwich, Steelers
Gus Frerotte, Vikings
Tyler Thigpen, Chiefs
Brady Quinn, Browns
Matt Cassel, Patriots
Brian Griese, Buccaneers
Rex Grossman, Bears
Seneca Wallace, Seahawks
Sage Rosenfels, Texans
Trent Green, Rams
Daunte Culpepper, Lions
Shaun Hill, 49ers
Damon Huard, Chiefs
Andrew Walter, Raiders
Dan Orlovsky, Lions
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bengals
Brad Johnson, Cowboys

Where do you think your team's backup ranks?