
One of the go-to gadgets in the sportswriter’s toolbox is the Super Bowl quarterback exercise. You take the QB of your local NFL team and compare him with the two quarterbacks who will be playing in the big game. You sift through the grain, looking for insights into how their journeys might inform our understanding of the local guy’s path. Mostly what you want to know is whether there is hope for our parched town.
Could Local Guy have have a rags-to-riches story like Super Bowl Quarterback No. 1 did? Did Super Bowl Quarterback No. 2 struggle early in his career like Local Guy has? Are there comparable skills? Speed? Intelligence? Arm strength … I’m sorry, arm “talent?’’