Replacing a middle linebacker on a football team is easier than replacing a quarterback, at least from a managerial viewpoint. There will always be people who have the sheer athletic ability to bring other people to the ground. That is not to say that linebackers aren’t as athletic — quite the opposite. Defensively, players must have a drive that is constantly pushing them to enhance their size, their fundamentals and their knowledge of the game. Still, linebackers are easier to replace. If a team’s middle linebacker is injured, there is likely somebody on the team who will be able to step in and do a patchable job. If your quarterback is injured, however, chaos ensues.

The problem transcends the pros. College football’s yearly rankings shuffle so regularly due to the four-year limit of players at the position. It’s a problem the University of Northern Iowa had to deal with after 2007 when Eric Sanders finished his record-breaking career. In college, the roster shake-ups are inevitable, but when it happens in the National Football League, people begin to question management.

Let’s look at the Indianapolis Colts. Peyton Manning was injured before the 2011 regular season was underway. The Colts tried to fill the almost insurmountable void he left with a slew of quarterbacks, including Curtis Painter, Dan Orlovsky and Kerry Collins. The result? A 2-14 season.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Colts continued to prove my point. Gary Brackett, the starting middle linebacker, was injured in week six of the 2010 season. Former University of Iowa standout Pat Angerer stepped in for him, and recorded such impressive stats that by the 2011 season, he was the starting linebacker for all 16 regular season games. Angerer led the Colts in tackles with an astounding 148, placing fourth overall in the NFL. Still, the impressive substitution defensively wasn’t enough to keep the Colts’ hopes alive.

The quarterback position is so hard to fill that many rumors began to surface that the Colts had no will to win. Some pundits suggested they were giving in and taking the losses to insure the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft – a theory that gained notoriety as the Colts continued to lose. But why would they want the first overall selection so badly? Because one of the most impressive quarterbacks in recent years will be available. While Andrew Luck was competing to set records at Stanford University from John Elway, the Colts were trying to survive the first (nearly unfathomable) losing season in Indianapolis since 2001. The Colts could not turn around their plummeting season, and for the first time since 1996, they finished last in the NFL.

The problem now becomes the preseason shuffling of quarterbacks, again, with a focus on Peyton Manning. Manning going to the Denver Broncos caused a ruckus that sent divine Tim Tebow to New York, where he finds himself a member of the Jets. What’s wrong with this picture? The Broncos now have a starting quarterback who may be injured and done with football forever.

Manning had surgery that kept him out for one season already. Why would the Broncos sacrifice a quarterback with whom they’ve already won key games? Bill Plaschke said it best in a Los Angeles Times article: “Do you know that in the last five years, Peyton Manning has exactly one more playoff win than Tim Tebow?” Why would the Broncos put all of their stock in a quarterback who could be finished immediately when they already have one who has proven himself?

The continued development of Tebow as a quarterback was the risky but intelligent move for the Broncos. Instead, they chose to go with a quarterback whose future is just as shaky (although for health reasons) and will pay him a whopping $96 million contract over the next five years. Does anyone see the logic in this? The Broncos should have worked on replacing the positions that needed to be filled, and placed more trust in Tebow. Instead, they put their future in the hands of a 36-year old quarterback who has had at least four neck surgeries. Just look at what happened when the Colts had to shuffle their depth chart at quarterback. Will the Broncos be next?