The best-laid plans — the things we’re virtually certain of in the NFL — don’t always work out.
We’re taught this every season, by stars who regress, celebrated coaches who fail and deeply talented teams that melt down in the face of expectations. And in recent history, few lessons have been more memorable than those delivered by the league’s presumed franchise quarterbacks. Guys we were supposed to be sure about coming out of their third seasons, only to have a flaw in their career matrix emerge in the most pivotal of developmental moments. Some kind of miscalculation that changed the trajectory of careers ascending into prime years, and leaving behind little more than a vapor trail of first-round disappointment.