Who would you rather have? Steve Young or Ryan Leaf?

"Just win baby." - Al Davis

In this Fan Post I'm primarily going to talk about three people. Jake Plummer, Chad Pennington, and Kyle Orton.

These three quarterbacks have a lot in common. They've been challenged by the media and the fans wherever they've played. They've been tagged as "system" quarterbacks and accused of having arms like wet noodles. The confusing part of all of this is that all they've done in their careers is have success. Each has a mark(Plummer didn't have the most fan friendly demeanor, Pennington has had some injury issues, and Orton, well mostly people just want to jump on his weak arm), but ultimately they have had some amount of success in games.

Let's start with Jake Plummer. I'm sure all of you remember the days of Jake the Snake with his play action roll outs and left handed throws. His record in Denver? 40-18. Number of Playoff appearances in his career? 5. This includes at least 1 in each of his 3 years with the Broncos.

ON the subject of Jake Plummer, he wasn't the flashiest, he didn't have the biggest arm or the most touchdowns. He wasn't Peyton Manning. He didn't have to be. He just had to do what he was asked and let the coach worry about that kind of stuff.

Let's fly across the country now and discuss Chad Pennington. Here's a guy who was hated in New York when he played for the Jets. He came out of Marshall and was taken in the first round. He put up some pretty crazy numbers in college, but he had that knock on him. "Weak arm". He also had some injury trouble. Here's "the thing" about Chad Pennington: every year he's played more than 11 games his team has made the playoffs. That's 4 years('02, '04, '06, '08) where his team went to the post season. This includes taking one of the worst teams in league history to the playoffs from a record of 1-15 to a record of 10-6.

Now let's talk about the "weak armed"  Kyle Orton. 21-12 Kyle Orton. 1 playoff season and he didn't even get a chance to start in the season he helped build Kyle Orton.He had a 10-5 record his first year as a starter. His team went to the playoffs and eventually won the Super Bowl. Last year he compiled a 9-6 record and his best statistical season in the league.

Here's the gut check for all of you out there in Bronco land: Would you rather have a quarterback who fits a "system" and a vision from a coach who might not have the perfect physical makeup you look for or a willful, ultra athletic rebel who makes plays with his legs and arm that don't fit the coach's scheme?

I'll give you 2 lists of names. Take your pick:

"System"/"noodle arm" QBs

Steve Young, Chad Pennington, Jake Plummer, Tom Brady, Marc Bulger, Jeff Garcia

"Athletic and willful" QBs

Brett Favre, Michael Vick, Jeff George, Dante Culpepper, Vince Young, Kordell Stewart, Ryan Leaf

Think about it