Heisman QB's and NFL Success

I have always found it funny how inept Heisman winning quarterbacks are when they reach the NFL, that is, if they reach the NFL at all.  Let's take a look back at the QB's that won the Heisman since 2000 and how they have fared in the big leagues:

• 2000 - Chris Weinke, Florida State (4th Round Pick by the Carolina Panthers) - considering he was 29 years old when he was drafted, he lasted longer in the league than you would have thought.  Over seven seasons, he mostly held a clipboard and not much else.
• 2001 - Eric Crouch, Nebraska (3rd Round Pick by the St. Louis Rams) - he was drafted to play wide receiver but wanted to play quarterback and because of this decision, he never played a down in the NFL.
• 2002 - Carson Palmer, USC (1st Overall Pick by the Cincinnati Bengals) - until Cam Newton was drafted in 2011, Carson is the only QB on this list that has put up decent numbers while in the NFL.  No, he hasn't won any playoff games or won any awards, but at least he hasn't been embarrassingly terrible like most of these guys.
• 2003 - Jason White, Oklahoma (Undrafted) - this guy won the Heisman and finished third the following year but he went undrafted and initially didn't even get a try-out from any NFL teams.  Eventually, the Rams let him try out but didn't sign him which caused him to decide to "retire".  In other words, he sucked so hard that he couldn't cut it in the pros.
• 2004 - Matt Leinart, USC (10th Overall Pick by the Arizona Cardinals) - before the draft, a lot of "experts" thought Matt had a shot at going 1st overall.  But they couldn't have been more wrong.  He has done absolutely nothing as a pro to justify his Top 10 pick and is currently backing up Carson Palmer just like he did in college.
• 2006 - Troy Smith, Ohio State (5th Round Pick by the Baltimore Ravens) - considering I didn't even know that he was drafted should tell you all you need to know about this guy's pro career, he couldn't even beat out Kyle Boller for the starting job and that guy was horrible.  Currently he is on a practice squad for the Steelers which means he doesn't play professional football anymore.
• 2007 - Tim Tebow, Florida (25th Overall Pick by the Denver Broncos) - if being the most overhyped player in the history of ever is considered successful, then Timmy is the greatest player in the history of ever.  But as a pro player, he pretty much sucks balls.
• 2008 - Sam Bradford, Oklahoma (1st Overall Pick by the St. Louis Rams) - he had a great rookie season but has been pretty awful since, so we will hold off judgement on him for now.
• 2010 - Cam Newton, Auburn (1st Overall Pick by the Carolina Panthers) - he put together possibly the greatest statistical rookie season regardless of position in NFL history, but the big problem is he hasn't turned those stats into wins.  In college, he had a record of 25-1 and so far as a pro, he is 8-17.
• 2011 - Robert Griffin III, Baylor (2nd Overall Pick by the Washington Redskins) - pretty good so far but it is too early to tell if he will be a good pro.

I guess the first thing that stands out is that the Heisman Trophy only seems to go to quarterbacks considering a QB has won the award every year but twice in the past 12 years.  The next thing that stands out is that until recently, Heisman winning QB's have been awful professional players.  So, either the Heisman voters are getting better at actually picking good players for their award or they just got lucky and will go back to picking losers again shortly.  Also, if you were wondering how the two non-QB Heisman winners have fared in the NFL, the answer is a mixed bag:

• 2005 - Reggie Bush, USC (vacated) (2nd Overall Pick by the New Orleans Saints) - he's only broken 1,000 yards rushing once, other than that, he has been mostly a bust.
• 2009 - Mark Ingram, Alabama (28th Overall Pick by the New Orleans Saints) - he is in his 2nd season and so far he has been pretty worthless.  When will NFL teams figure out that a 3rd round running back is just as productive as a 1st round pick?

"Seriously ESPN, just admit he sucks at football and stop making a news story out of him running shirtless through the rain."