Faceoff: Bottom of QB barrel? London calling? Non-trades?

CBSSports.com pro football writers Pete Prisco and Clark Judge face off weekly throughout the season.

Pete Prisco	Clark Judge
Which of the NFL's many bad teams has the worst QB situation?
It has to be the Oakland Raiders. They used the first overall pick in 2007 to take JaMarcus Russell with the idea he would be the franchise quarterback for years. He's been a major bust. Why? He doesn't seem to care. The word is he doesn't put in the work that he should. That's a recipe for failure. There isn't much behind him either. Bruce Gradkowski? Please. The Browns and the Titans don't have great quarterback situations either, but it's not as bad as Oakland. Would you rather have Kerry Collins and Vince Young or Russell and Gradkowski? Thought so. How about the Oakland duo or Cleveland's Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn? That one is close, but I'll go with the Browns situation as being a tad better. So Oakland it is.	Cleveland. Because there's a conviction about nobody. The Browns tried Brady Quinn, a quarterback they traded away a first-round draft pick to acquire, but jettisoned him to move on to ... Derek Anderson? OK, but Anderson has been dreadful. Yet Eric Mangini won't budge on him, and don't ask me why. Speculation is that it has to do with money Quinn would make if he played a certain amount of snaps, but if that's the case then Mangini is in the wrong business. He should be an accountant, not a head coach. And what about Brett Ratliff? Mangini wanted him in the Mark Sanchez deal, but why? Beats me. He can't get a sniff. When you stink, I believe in playing young guys to get experience. But that's not happening here. Worse, the Browns invested two first-round draft picks in Quinn and a ton of money in him and Anderson, yet they aren't sold on either. "When you miss on a quarterback in the first round," Jets coach Rex Ryan once said, "you ruin the franchise." The Browns qualify. Three quarterbacks, no future? Yeah, Cleveland has my vote.

Is starting an NFL franchise in London a good idea?

Not right now. But down the road, I would understand. The NFL wants to go global, but in this economy the NFL needs to put a team in Los Angeles first. Keep it home. If the L.A. market gets going and another franchise is ripe for moving, then look at London. I think it's doable. The travel would be tough, but there are ways to work around it. The NFL will figure it out. By going to London, it would help bring more fans to the game and generate more revenue. Is seeing half-empty stadiums better than seeing a team in London? I think not. Roger Goodell is big on one day going to England. It will happen. It's only a matter of time, and I, for one, understand why. It's about money. It always is.

It is if merchandising is what you're interested in. It creates another market for the NFL to sell jerseys, hats and seat cushions. Otherwise, forget it. I'd rather have a franchise in Los Angeles than London. I'd rather have a franchise in Toronto than London. I'm not sure what the fascination is with London, other than making millions more off merchandising, but it strikes me as a logistical nightmare. Let's say you're the London franchise. Every road trip is at least six hours, and you can double that if you're headed to the West Coast. How about Tuesday tryouts for free agents? How and when do you get guys in for them? What about the cost? And what about the West Coast teams that schedule you? Don't they deserve byes after road trips to England? It all sounds good, only one problem: It doesn't work. Concentrate on putting a team in L.A., guys.

What team needed most to make a move at the trade deadline?

I would like to say nobody. Trades at the deadline usually don't work out, although the Eagles dealing to get linebacker Will Witherspoon from the Rams might pay off. Usually I don't like trade-deadline deals. The players are available for a reason. But if I had to pick a team that should have considered one, it would be the Miami Dolphins. They should have tried to get some help for their passing game. Now that Chad Henne is in as the quarterback for the long haul, he needs a big-time receiver. Ted Ginn Jr. isn't it. So why not make a move on Kansas City's Dwayne Bowe, who they might have pried away? He's a Miami kid who probably would have liked to come home. Bowe would've given Henne a young receiver to grow with in the coming years. Of course, that might mean less Wildcat -- and we know how the Dolphins feel about that.

Take your pick. Me? I'll look at Atlanta and wonder why they didn't pick up another defensive back. There are plenty of nickel backs out there -- Orlando Scandrick, hello? -- that you can make a push for, and if I play in the same division as Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, I'm pushing hard. The Falcons are thin in their secondary, and last weekend's loss to Dallas demonstrated how thin. I know you don't just dial Room Service at midseason and order a defensive back or whatever you're missing. But the Falcons know what will keep them from the top, and it's the play of their secondary. So put your pro personnel department on the case, find a nickel or dime back who can help defend the Saints, and then make your best offer. It didn't happen, and the Falcons will suffer the consequences.

Community Faceoff: Oct. 28 \| Oct. 21 \| Oct. 14 \| Oct. 7 \| Sept. 30 \| Sept. 23 \| Sept. 16
Previous NFL Faceoffs:Oct. 21 \| Oct. 14 \| Oct. 7 \| Sept. 30 \| Sept. 23 \| Sept. 16

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