Teams with Best depth at QB

This time of year most people are ranking NFL quarterbacks in preparation for that all-important day: the fantasy football draft. Here at Covers.com we’re less concerned with QBs who can win you a fantasy league championship, and far more interested in the understudies determining the outcome of preseason games.

Handicappers will tell you a team’s quarterback depth and rotation is one of the main criteria for betting exhibition football games. Look no further than Friday’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers game.

Jeff Garcia was unimpressive in the first quarter but unheralded Luke McCown completed all seven of his passing attempts, engineering drives that accounted for 10 of the Bucs' 13 points. Tampa Bay covered as 2 ½-point favorites because of McCown’s play in the second quarter.

With that in mind we’ve isolated five teams we think have a nice balance of quality and quantity at the quarterback position.

Chicago Bears

Rex Grossman may not be the most stable of starters, but with Brian Griese and Kyle Orton the Bears have an experienced tandem ready to step in at a moment's notice.

Griese is a nine-year veteran who's started 72 games in his career. He made the Pro Bowl in 2000 and has done relatively well with three different teams. He had a superb preseason last year that had some Chicago fans wondering whether Grossman should be No. 1.

Orton started 15 games in leading the Bears to an 11-5 record but sat in the playoffs once Grossman was healthy. His numbers were unimpressive – nine touchdown passes to 13 interceptions with a 51.6 completion percentage – but he proved he can manage a game and win.

In Saturday's preseason win over Houston, Orton played the entire second half and completed 16 of 25 pass attempts with one TD pass. His playing time will probably decrease in the next two weeks as Grossman gets more reps, but Orton could still make a difference in Chicago’s final exhibition contest.

Philadelphia Eagles

If you have an injury-prone play caller, you better make sure you’ve got options. That’s precisely what the Eagles did in the off-season when they re-signed A.J. Feeley, picked up Kelly Holcomb and drafted Kevin Kolb.

Feeley started his pro career with Philadelphia and is familiar with Andy Reid’s West Coast offense. The Eagles went 4-1, both straight up and against the spread, when Feeley filled in for an injured Donovan McNabb in 2002. Feeley also started eight times for the Miami Dolphins in 2005.

Holcomb is a career backup who played well enough to win the top job in each of his last two stops. He has 21 starts under his belt and there isn't much he hasn't seen over his 11-year career.

Kolb took every snap in the second quarter of Monday night's game against the Baltimore Ravens, but his time may be cut with McNabb expected to play Friday.

Oakland Raiders

Right now the Silver and Black have an abundance of quality QBs and that’s without the 2007 first overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell even in camp. Russell and the Raiders have yet to agree on a contract but owner Al Davis is just like a good Boy Scout – he’s always prepared.

A draft-day trade reeled in Josh McCown from the Detroit Lions and former Pro Bowler Daunte Culpepper was signed during the first week of training camp.

Add Andrew Walter, who started eight games last season with Oakland, and you’ve got serious depth at this position.

McCown and Walter looked comfortable in the preseason opener but Culpepper still seems a little rusty. Even if Russell smartens up and signs, the former LSU Tiger won’t see any game action for the next couple weeks.

Cleveland Browns

This is a franchise that hasn’t had a decent starting quarterback since Bernie Kosar was in his prime in the late 1980s. With that in mind the Browns traded up to grab Brady Quinn in the first round of the draft last April.

Quinn didn’t play in the first preseason game having reported to camp just three days earlier. So for now, the No. 1 spot is subject to a race between Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson. Each started games for Cleveland last season but neither played well enough to secure the job. While neither Frye or Anderson are elite quarterbacks, they both are above-average backups. There’s extra incentive for each to play well with the starter's job up for grabs.

Quinn also wants to prove he’s Cleveland’s QB of the future and present, meaning the Browns have three highly motivated quarterbacks in the preseason.

Washington Redskins

Last season was a transition year for the Redskins. Out with the old (that’s you, Mark Brunell) and in with the new (three cheers for you, Jason Campbell). Brunell didn’t pull a Drew Bledsoe and retire after losing the starting job, so he’ll be the No. 2 this season.

Brunell is a three-time Pro Bowler and led the Skins to a 10-6 record just two seasons ago. He has a good understanding of offensive coordinator Al Saunders’ complex system, but third-stringer Todd Collins may know it even better. Collins played seven seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs with Saunders as the offensive coach for six of them. He was brought to Washington as a free agent in 2006 precisely because of his familiarity with Saunders’ playbook.

Campbell played more than most starting quarterbacks in the preseason opener. Head coach Joe Gibbs had the Auburn alumni play the entire first half to give the youngsters some much-needed in-game experience. Campbell has only seven career regular-season starts and that all came at the tail end of last year.