Is it just me, or is the NFL not all it's cracked up to be? At least from a quarterback perspective. Time was, a young QB had to get very familiar with a clipboard before even thinking of lining up under center in a game that mattered. At least two or three years familiar. Even Tom Brady, the standard by which all current QBs are measured, sat behind Drew Bledsoe for a season and a game before launching his journey toward iconic status with three Super Bowl rings and a hot marriage to model Gisele Bündchen.

Now, NFL QBs are starting before they're out of diapers. The Jets this week named rookie Mark Sanchez, New York's first-round pick, as their Week 1 starter. And I won't be surprised when Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick, is named the Lions' king soon thereafter.

Blame another Matt (Atlanta QB Matt Ryan) and compadre Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens. They turned old-school thinking on its ear last season by leading their respective teams to 11-5 records and the playoffs.

Now rookies are all the rage. Play a couple of preseason games and get the keys to the franchise.

Take us to the promised land, young fella.

Is the NFL easier than wise elders tried to make us believe? Not at all. Reading a sophisticated defense and making the right call in a nanosecond -- as several 6-foot-7 supermen with muscles on muscles and bad attitudes and Usain Bolt speed descend on you as if you are dinner -- may be one of the most difficult challenges to master in all of sports. In fact, playing the position now is probably a lot harder than it was two decades ago.

Are the young QBs better? Yeah, but they're not that good.

Stafford and Sanchez came from big-time college programs -- Georgia and USC, respectively -- where they faced defenses schemed at the high end of the college football food chain. Ryan played at Boston College, which also faced major-college defenses. Flacco? Not so much at Delaware. But at Baltimore he was surrounded by enough talent and played on a team with one of the best defenses in the history of the league.

Why is this happening? Lay it all on the money. With first-round guarantees of a reported $41.7 million and $28 million, respectively, coaches are under pressure to seek early dividends. Very early.

So is this trend odd for the young guns? Time will reveal the truth. But until it does, I'll say no.

Now, Sanchez and Stafford (if he doesn't get the starting nod in Week 1, it'll be soon thereafter) are on the clock, willing but less prepared for the rigors of the position. They'll take their hits, and so will their teams.

Without strong offensive lines and a dependable running back, too much will fall on their shoulders too soon.

But it's the new NFL. Not easier, just less patient.

Gentlemen, best of luck.

 Photo courtesy AP

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