Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Michael Vick stated that he
felt because of his age that his window of opportunity to win a championship
was closing. Vick made these comments while being interviewed by ESPN.
Vick who turns 32 next month, is one of twelve quarterbacks
over the age of 30 who are projected to be starting for a team come Week 1 of
the 2012 season.
While there are six quarterbacks older than him who are
expected to be their team’s starters on opening day, only three of them find
themselves in the same predicament as Vick who is still trying to win his first
championship.
So who are some of
these other quarterbacks who are also running out of time to win a
championship?
The oldest of the bunch is Matt Hasselbeck of the Tennessee
Titans. Hasselbeck is expected to be the starter but most believe he will step
aside and relinquish his starting spot to backup Jake Locker at some point this
season. That is if Locker doesn’t beat him out in camp.
Aside from Vick, Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo is probably
the most notable of the over-30 quarterbacks who haven’t won a Super Bowl. Romo
and Vick will be playing on the most talented teams they have played with
during their careers so if either is going to break that glass ceiling then
this may be the year.
Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Matt Cassel and Matt Schaub
are the last of the group of over-30 quarterbacks who have yet to win a
championship. Schaub was having a great season playing on a loaded Houston Texans
team last year before his season was ended by a foot injury.
But in order for either one of these guys to win their first
championship, they may have to go through one of the over-30 guys who are
looking to add to their championship hardware.
Tom Brady has failed in his last two trips to the Super Bowl
to add to the three rings he won earlier in his career. Brady will turn 35
before the season begins so the New England Patriots have been busy reloading over
the offseason in order to take advantage of Brady’s last years.
Peyton Manning is 36 years old so the Denver Broncos know
they don’t have a lot of time left for him to win another championship. Drew
Brees is 33 but no one expects his team to truly contend for another ring this
year with their coach suspended for the entire season.
Eli Manning is coming off of his second Super Bowl victory
and his team is looking strong enough to make another run this year. Ben
Roethlisberger will also be looking to add a third ring to his trophy
collection this year.
And of course there are a number of talented quarterbacks
under the age of 30 who have Super Bowl aspirations within their sights but
there is nothing like the sense of urgency that comes with the knowledge that
your playing days are nearing an end.
And that sense of urgency could fuel one of the over-30
quarterbacks mentioned above to a Super Bowl victory in 2012. That is assuming
they don’t screw up and let some young whipper-snapper sneak in and beat them
out.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.
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