NFL Betting Insider – Six Young QB’s Under the Gun Heading Into 2010 Regular Season

Six relatively young quarterbacks will be under the gun as the start of the 2010 NFL regular season draws nearer – and NFL betting enthusiasts everywhere need to know that the performances of these seven signal-callers could either help – or derail – their respective team’s chances for success this coming season.

With the 2010 preseason period moving right along, let me get started.

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Vince Young – Tennessee Titans
Young has recorded a solid 23-16 as an NFL starter that gives him the fourth-best winning percentage of all quarterbacks drafted this decade, behind Brady, Rivers and Roethlisberger.

Young has led the Titans to 11 career game-winning performances after entering the fourth quarter facing a deficit or tied, including a whopping six times in 2009 alone.

The outlook on Young heading into 2010 is emphatically positive after Young started the final 10 games last season and led the Titans to a blistering 8-2 record while finally showing the pocket passing skills that had eluded him throughout his NFL career.

Call me crazy, but I fully believe the 2006 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has one of the brightest futures of any relatively young quarterback in the game today.

Alex Smith – San Francisco 49ers
Smith, the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, is entering his sixth season in the league but just his second as the unquestioned starter for the San Francisco 49ers. However, the book is still out on Smith – and this will undoubtedly be his most crucial season yet.

Smith took over for former starter Shaun Hill in Week 7 last year and had his best season as a pro after nearly getting released following the 2008 season, but taking a huge pay cut in order to stay with the franchise.

Smith finished with a 5-5 record as the starter while throwing for 2,350 yards with 18 TDs and 12 INTs. For his career, Smith has thrown 37 touchdowns and 43 interceptions while going 16-24 in 40 career starts.

While Alex Smith will enter the 2010 season as the unquestioned starter, for the first time since 2006, the book is certainly not fully in on the signal caller that was taken 23 spots ahead of Packers’ pro bowler Aaron Rodgers – and if he’s not up to snuff, the Niners could be in big trouble with career underachiever David Carr as their No. 2.

Matt Leinart, Arizona Cardinals
Leinart has gone an uninspiring 7-10 in 17 career starts and may be under more pressure to succeed than any other signal caller on this list as he replaces future Hall of Famer, Kurt Warner and takes over an Arizona Cardinals team that is just two seasons removed from competing in the Super Bowl.

While the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Leinart certainly has the physical makeup to become a quintessential NFL quarterback, the fact of the matter is that Leinart couldn’t beat out Warner a few seasons back when Arizona gave him every opportunity to become the team’s unequivocal starter.

If Leinart doesn’t show early on that he has what it takes to succeed as an NFL starter, the Cardinals could be in big trouble – and Leinart could find himself playing for another franchise.

Matt Moore, Carolina Panthers
Matt Moore may be the least recognizable name on this list, but the unheralded former Oregon State Beavers signal caller has compiled a surprising 6-2 record in eight career starts in the NFL and enters the 2010 season as the Carolina Panthers unquestioned starter after the team parted ways with longtime starter Jake Delhomme following last season.

Moore went 4-1 in five starts last season alone and will get plenty of opportunities to succeed as Carolina’s rookie backup Jimmy Clausen is at least a full season away from being ready for prime time as an NFL starter. The good news for Moore is that Carolina’s 2010 schedule doesn’t look overly taxing.

Chad Henne – Miami Dolphins
Henne, now entering his third season in the NFL, went a very solid 7-6 in 13 starts for the Dolphins after taking over for the injured Chad Pennington early last season.

The strong-armed signal caller will have a big-time target to throw to in recently acquired wideout Brandon Marshall and a solid rushing attack to fall back on with Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown in the backfield.

Unfortunately, Miami plays one of the toughest schedules in the league in 2010 as half of the Dolphins’ games will be against teams that reached the postseason a year ago.

Kevin Kolb – Philadelphia Eagles
Now entering his fourth season with Philadelphia, Kolb takes over as the unquestioned starter for the Birds after the team traded six-time pro bowler Donovan McNabb to Washington this offseason.

I like Kolb from the little I’ve seen, but I’m also going on record to say that the young signal caller is probably under more pressure to succeed than any quarterback on this entire list – and had better be prepared to deal with the rabid, two-faced Philadelphia fans if he has a couple of bad games in succession.

The Eagles, their fans and their NFC East opponents will find out very quickly if Kolb is up to par with the team playing a whopping nine nationally televised games in his first season as a starter.

Last but not least, Kolb has a former pro bowl backup in veteran Michael Vick, who Philly fans will be clamoring for if the young starter falters.