[Elvis]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-foo ... erpaid-qbs

Michael Bennett says Sam Bradford is mediocre, rips overpaid QBs

Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett has been known to speak his mind. He once called tight end Jimmy Graham "one of the softest players" in the NFL, and that sentiment remained unchanged when Graham became Bennett's teammate this spring.

So it's hardly surprising that Bennett thinks Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford is both average and overpaid. His remarks came Tuesday in a conversation about Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs' controversial low hit on Bradford during Saturday's preseason game.

“Quarterbacks get protected more than any other player,” Bennett said during an appearance on 710 ESPN Seattle (via CSNPhilly.com). “I mean, he gets hit in his knees and he's about to cry. 'They hit me in my legs.' Everybody gets hit in their legs. Every play somebody tries to hit me in my legs.

“So what makes him different? What makes his life better than mine? I've got kids. I've got stuff I like to do on the weekend. But because he gets hit in his legs, he gets a flag. He gets up with a sad face like the world just ended because he got hit. I mean, you got hit in an NFL game. Who cares? Get back up and be like, 'Good job.'”

Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters called Suggs' hit "dirty," and Eagles coach Chip Kelly said it was "troubling" if a quarterback can be legally hit when handing the ball off in shotgun. (And it was a legal hit, according to the NFL.)

Either way, the Ravens coach said that calling out Suggs was unfair.

"When you start popping off about somebody's character, you cross the line," Harbaugh said Monday. "That's not really something that we would respect. But most of their guys over there understood the play and understood (Suggs) was playing hard and trying to get stops."

Meanwhile, Bennett wasn't finished.

“There's some mediocre quarterbacks in the NFL that make a lot of money,” he said. “You take a guy like Sam Bradford -- he's never played really in the last three years, but he's made more money than most guys in the NFL.”

Bradford's not alone in his mediocrity, according to Bennett, who also cited the Texans' Brian Hoyer and the Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill.

"Quarterback is the only position in the NFL where you could be mediocre and get paid,” Bennett said. “At every other position, you can't be mediocre.”

Bennett's not wrong about quarterbacks being well compensated, but that's because they play the most important position on the field. Front offices are willing to overpay them -- even the average ones -- because a team without a quarterback is a team without a chance to make the playoffs.

[moklerman]

First, Michael Bennett's an idiot.

Second, he says Tannehill's "mediocre" yet Tannehill put up a 92.8 rating last year(compared to say, Wilson's 95.0). I think if Tannehill had Seattle's defense and Marshawn Lynch supporting him, he could easily make up that 2.2 difference.

Third, he's arguing that QB's shouldn't be paid that much yet he's attributing the team's record to the QB. Which is it? If it's the QB's record, then he gets paid more, right?