Injuries can hurt a team, especially when the injury is to the man under center.  The quarterback position is vital to a team’s success, and when a team’s slinger goes down to injury, things don’t start to look too good.  This season, injuries to quarterbacks have not been kind to many different teams.

Here is a list (in order) of teams in which their starting quarterback has gone down to injury, and how it has affected their team and playoff aspirations (from better results to worse results)

8. Miami Dolphins:  The Dolphins actually look great as of late.  After Chad Henne went down to injury, Matt Moore has performed admirably in his absence.  Is it enough to prove his worth for the long term?  Not so sure.

7. Arizona Cardinals:  Does it really matter who is playing quarterback right now?  None can seem to make a difference.  John Skelton hasn’t shown much since Kevin Kolb’s injury, and Kolb isn’t making any Cardinal fan feel so good about the deal he was just given in free agency.

6. Oakland Raiders:  Jason Campbell goes down, and in comes Carson Palmer via trade.  After a couple rough weeks, Palmer looks like he’s right on track to lead this team.  How far can he take them?  We’ll have to see.  At least the Raiders can feel fairly comfortable with their quarterback situation.

5. Kansas City Chiefs:  If Matt Cassell were playing like the Chiefs expected him to when they first signed him, then this injury would be more devastating.  But Tyler Palko is clearly not the answer, and hopefully Kyle Orton can come in and help to ease the pain.

4. Philadelphia Eagles:  Michael Vick should be back soon, but this season is lost for the Eagles regardless.  Vince Young doesn’t look great, and the team is playing like individuals, not a sum of its parts.

3. Chicago Bears:  Uh oh.  Caleb Hanie did not look good in his first NFL start.  This team is going to miss Jay Cutler and will need to focus on defense and a running game if they want to make the playoffs.

2. Houston Texans:  Down goes Jay Cutler.  Now Matt Leinart gets his chance at redemption.  Never mind.  Down goes Matt Leinart.  In come T.J. Yates, a third string quarterback who didn’t show much positive or negative in his first game.  Houston is in first place in their division and is looking to make the playoffs, but are they a dangerous team anymore?

1. Indianapolis Colts:  This one is an easy call.  This team loses Peyton Manning and can’t win a game.  They are on track to finish 0-16, which is not an impressive club to join (insert Lions joke here).  Hopefully for them, Andrew Luck falls into their laps in next year’s draft.

(Photo by runneralan2004 used under a Creative Commons license.)