Feed Them to the Wolves : So Far, as Expected, It Has Been a Shaky Go in the NFL for Young Quarterbacks Jeff George, Browning Nagel and Todd Marinovich

Jeff George, Browning Nagle and Todd Marinovich are experiencing on-the-job training, learning to be NFL quarterbacks. Not by standing next to the coach holding a clipboard, but by trying to stand up to the pressure from on-rushing linemen.

So far, as expected, it has been a shaky go for the three youngsters. None has looked like Dan Marino, who was an instant hit with the Miami Dolphins in 1983.

“It’s a slow process and it requires a lot of patience on everyone’s part,” says Jets coach Bruce Coslet, who turned his team over to Nagle this year after it made the playoffs at 8-8 last season under the declining Ken O’Brien’s guidance. “There will be ups and downs with any young quarterback. But it’s all part of the growing process.”

The Jets (1-4) seem to have shrunk, not grown, this year. But Nagle, a second-round pick in 1991 who did carry the clipboard last year, hardly is the major reason for their fall. He has, generally, played like a raw quarterback with lots of skill. Which is exactly what Nagle is.

“What I’ve seen of him so far, it looks like he’s going to be a good one,” says Colts coach Ted Marchibroda, who welcomed back a healthy George to his lineup last week and got a victory against Tampa Bay. “I’ve always thought the two ingredients for quarterbacks are No. 1, the arm, and No. 2, to be mentally and physically tough. Nagle looks like he fits both categories.”

As does George, who was the first pick overall in the 1990 draft. A starter from the outset, George has been victimized by the weakness of the folks around him. His offensive line has been so leaky that George was sacked 93 times entering this season. The Colts have no running game. At times, he’s seemed to be in there alone--except for the opposing linemen in his face.

“When Indianapolis turns it around, I want to be the guy who helped them do it,” says George, who has had knee, hand and abdomen problems in less than three years as a pro. “It all starts with the quarterback and I think I can do that. I enjoy being under that type of pressure.”

But certainly not the other type of pressure, right?

“It takes time to build every part of a football team,” he says diplomatically. “That goes for the line, it goes for the backfield and the receivers and the defense.”

While Nagle and Marinovich sat for nearly all of their rookie years, George has been sent on the same route Marino followed. With one major difference--the Dolphins made the Super Bowl in Marino’s second year. The Colts might not get there until George’s second decade in the NFL.

Still, Marchibroda likes what he sees and has incorporated the no-huddle attack into the Colts’ repertoire. While not willing to compare George to Jim Kelly, Bert Jones or Roman Gabriel--other quarterbacks who have been tutored by him--Marchibroda sees the same kind of positive traits in his latest project.

“He possesses a rare arm,” Marchibroda says. “He throws as well as anybody in the league. I found out he’s a football guy. Name any quarterback in the league. He’s as competitive as any of them.”

OK, how about Marinovich? He hasn’t had any more help than George gets, even though he’s with a perennial contender. But the Raiders are a sickly version of their powerful predecessors, which is one reason the 23-year-old Marinovich is starting.

“He’s got qualities a great quarterback should have,” says Ken Stabler, another left-hander who once wore No. 12 and stood behind center for the Raiders, leading them to the top of the NFL. “He’s got that fire a quarterback needs.”

Thanks to his teammates, who approached owner Al Davis seeking a change from Jay Schroeder to Marinovich earlier this season, the kid who left Southern California as a sophomore is in the fire. Like Nagle, he got his first victory as a starter last week. Like Nagle, it was against a faltering team, the Giants; Nagle’s came over the Patriots.

“That doesn’t matter,” says Marinovich, who started the finale last winter and a playoff loss, both against Kansas City. “Getting the win matters.

“The thing for me to do is make progress every week. I need to get better every week.”

Nagle breaks it down even further.

“I learn more every snap, every day, every week,” he says. “It’s an exciting process.”

It’s also a process most coaches fear. The Raiders began the season with Schroeder but, with the semi-rebellion among the players and the realization that they weren’t going anywhere, they turned to the youngster.

The Colts had no choice two years ago, when they were one of the league’s worst teams. Why stick with a Jack Trudeau when he won’t get you many (or any) more wins than a green George? Let the kid learn the hard way and make things easier for him in the future.

Coslet also realized the Jets had gone as far as they could with O’Brien. When the veteran held out this summer, the Jets did little to sign him until deep into training camp, when Nagle had shown enough to earn the job.

The biggest problem with force-feeding a young quarterback is the possibility of his being overwhelmed, mentally and physically. But their coaches say these three have the tools to handle the pounding and the pressure.

“You worry about that,” Coslet says. “But the same could be true of a veteran.”