In New-Age Nfl, Best-Paid Passers Play On Sunday
Care to test your aptitude as a handler of personnel in the NFL?
You’ve got three quarterbacks.
Quarterback 1 has experience as a starter in the NFL and compiles a quarterback rating of 78 during his playing time in 1994.
Quarterback 2 has no experience, with a rating of 61.
QB 3 is equally green, with a rating of 60.
Question: Which one do you start?
Answer: Easy, the one you pay the most.
For the Washington Redskins this year, that happened to be Quarterback No. 3, Heath Shuler, a rookie whose only impressive stat is that he is cashing checks that will add up to $19 million over five years.
Quarterback No. 1 was John Friesz, a Coeur d’Alene High and University of Idaho grad, and a victim of new-age NFL economics a perverse system that recognizes cost at the expense of value.
And in this game of chance, in which free agents wager their careers, Friesz “won” four starts for the Redskins, but lost a chance to go to the Super Bowl with his old team, the San Diego Chargers.
“It’s not a big deal to me that (the Chargers) have made it this far,” Friesz said of the Super Bowl appearance of his former teammates. “What will turn it into a big deal is if they happen to win it all. Then, sure, yeah, you’re disappointed and think maybe I made a wrong decision.
“Hindsight is 20-20, but I felt I had to leave and I think I’d do it again, so I’m content with what I did.”
Friesz had seen Stan Humphries taking root as the Chargers’ starting quarterback, and was told by new Washington coach Norv Turner that he would have a chance to battle a rookie for the starter’s job in D.C.
Friesz, collecting a modest $900,000 this year, started the first four games and, considering the weakness of the Redskins overall, performed well.
After four games, his eight touchdown passes were second in the NFC. He threw for 382 yards against the Giants and passed for four TDs against New Orleans.
But the fact is, Sammy Baugh couldn’t have quarterbacked this team to the playoffs.
And after a 1-3 start, Friesz mostly just watched Shuler and fellow rookie Gus Frerotte struggle to a 3-13 record.
“I think when (Turner) realized we weren’t that solid a team and it was going to be a couple years before we started winning, he figured we might as well go with the guy who is the future of the team.”
Friesz, speaking from the home of his in-laws in San Diego, said the town is understandably lathered about the Chargers’ trip to Miami.
But he senses that fans are surprised by the Chargers’ rise to the top from the AFC West cellar in just three seasons.
The reasons for the success?
“I think, No. 1 (general manager) Bobby Beathard has continually tried to get good guys in here,” Friesz said. “If there were two guys with the same ability, he would be sure to try to take the better person. If you keep getting good people, you tend to have fewer problems and have people who are willing to lay it on the line for you.”
Still, Friesz sees part of this as a function of the AFC being the weaker conference.
“Not to downplay what they’ve done, but I think it really goes to show the difference between the AFC and the NFC,” Friesz said. “In the NFC, a lot of teams seem mediocre that are still pretty good teams.”
And Friesz might end up playing for one of them. Right now, he’s waiting to see what vacancies arise from the inevitable shifting that will take place.
“I’ll be moving on, more than likely, to a new team, but I have no idea where or in what capacity,” he said. “I’m really keeping my mind wide open.”
The Seahawks’ hiring of Dennis Erickson - who recruited Friesz to UI - intrigues the quarterback. “I’d love to play for him; it would be a thrill to be recruited by him and then play for him in the NFL.”
Friesz turns 28 in May - young by all standards other than the NFL’s introducing some imperatives to his next move.
“As you start to get older, playing is important and winning is important,” Friesz said. “And I’d like to find the situation where I could fill both those needs.”
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