It’s got to be pretty nice to be Mike McCarthy right now. The Green Bay Packers coach heads into the regular season with his quarterback position securely in the hands of three-time Pro Bowler Aaron Rodgers. Thanks to injuries and bad personnel decisions, many of his coaching peers don’t have that same comfort level.

With one preseason game left to play, we present our first edition of the reverse NFL quarterback rankings, highlighting the most tenuous situations behind center as teams head into the regular season.

1. Jeff Tuel, Buffalo Bills

For all we know, the undrafted rookie from Washington State could end up being the next Kurt Warner. But that’s unlikely. Tuel looks to be the Bills’ Week 1 starter unless first-round pick EJ Manuel can recover from knee surgery by next week.

2. Rex Ryan’s surprise starter, New York Jets

Mark Sanchez? Geno Smith? Newly-signed Graham Harrell? Rex Ryan isn’t in a hurry to make a decision. Whoever it is, it’s not likely to go well.

3. Terrelle Pryor, Oakland Raiders

The former Ohio State star will start the team’s final preseason game Thursday and looks to have an edge over Matt Flynn at this point after a strong performance against the Chicago Bears last week. There’s no questioning his athletic ability, but can he be effective when it matters?

4. Blaine Gabbert, Jacksonville Jaguars

Gabbert fractured his thumb in his second preseason game but did enough to win the starting job before that. He has struggled mightily in his first two seasons, but there’s hope that new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch can help improve the 2011 first-round pick’s 53.8% career completion percentage.

5. Brandon Weeden, Cleveland Browns

Entering his second NFL season, Weeden should do better in new coordinator Norv Turner’s offensive system. The almost-30-year-old will need to show instant development to get up to speed with the rest of the stellar 2012 quarterback class.

6. Jake Locker, Tennessee Titans

Locker needs to make better decisions under pressure in his second season as the team’s starter.

7. Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings

Receiving help from free agent signing Greg Jennings and first-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson should make it easy for Ponder to improve on his NFL-low number of deep passing (20-plus yards) attempts in 2012.

8. Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals quarterbacks were sacked a league-high 58 times in 2012. Palmer isn’t exactly a mobile passer. Jonathan Cooper, a guard the team selected in the first round in April’s draft to help solve the problem, is out indefinitely with a broken leg.

9. Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The fifth-year starter needs to eliminate some of the inconsistencies that plagued his 2012 season, which he ended by throwing nine interceptions in the final three games.

10. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles

New coach Chip Kelly’s offense seems like it would have been ideal for a 25-year-old Vick, but for a 33-year-old Michael Vick? Either way, it’ll be fun to watch.

Honorable mention:

Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs

Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

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