The 2011 NFL betting lines season has been one of the best in recent memory. This season has had everything, blowouts, close games, referee controversies, and quarterback injuries, or maybe that was during week 12? Either way, today we’ll be looking at several teams who have to figure out life not with their first or second string quarterbacks but their third price per head quarterbacks. Here is a look at whether or not a few teams can survive the impact of a quarterback change. Oakland Raiders – With their victory last night against the Chicago Bears, the Oakland Raiders are officially in first place in the AFC West. It was only a few weeks ago, that starting quarterback Jason Campbell went down to season ending shoulder injury, and every bookie software agent in the country felt the team would not be able to compete for a playoff spot. Almost killing the team’s chances on the futures lines, was the loss of star running back Darren McFadden, who would succumb to a hamstring injury a couple weeks after the loss of Campbell. As a result, the Raiders had to pull off a mega trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for former star quarterback Carson Palmer, who was holding out to be traded. Since arriving in Oakland, Carson Palmer has provided a stability that many cynical sports writers believed was the best-case scenario. Essentially, Palmer was figured to be quite rusty by many of our colleagues because he hadn’t played an actual NFL game, since December of 2010. Nevertheless, Palmer has guided the Raiders to three straight victories, and a seven and four record overall. What’s better, Palmer appears to be getting more comfortable with the Raiders offense by the week, which can only mean good things. Chicago Bears – The Bears find themselves in a similar situation to the Oakland Raiders, in that they have lost their starting quarterback for the rest of the regular season. However, when a bid to reacquire Kyle Orton, was thwarted by the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bears were forced to go to Caleb Hanie. For those unfamiliar with Hanie, he was the third string quarterback in the NFC Championship game in January, who almost led the Bears to an upset over eventual Super Bowl Champions the Green Bay Packers. While Hanie had success coming in for relief, last night’s loss to the Raiders was a different story. As most predicted, Hanie played like a raw rookie who had not had much experience on the gridiron. Hanie’s three interceptions in the first half and a last minute misplay in which all he had to do was spike the ball, doomed the Bears from the get go. Now in theory, Hanie could bounce back next week, but if the same Hanie from this past week shows up, the Bears dream season may come to a disappointing end.
