In the NFL nowadays, it’s pretty common knowledge that the quarterback is the most important position on the field.

Look, I love defence as much as the next person, but it’s time to face facts. Franchises are defined by the man they have under centre, and that’s been the case for the better part of the past three decades.

The QB is the poster boy. The face of the franchise. The face of the city.

So what happens when the quarterback gets hurt?

Well, two things can go down.

The team either rallies around the next man up, and he leads them through a successful stint while the top dog sits out. Or, the team hits the skids and the fans are left to sink into a state of despair as a season goes from good to bad to downright awful.

The key variable here, of course, is the guy that takes over the role of signal-caller. The next man up.

Here, in 2015, these backup quarterbacks have never been more under the spotlight, so there’s never been a better time to talk about their importance in today’s National Football League.

When discussing backup QBs, it’s vital that we first consider this most important fact:

There are not 32 good starting quarterbacks currently in the NFL, so it’s ridiculous to assume that every team will have a good backup. it’s just not practical. Hell, most franchises can’t get one guy capable of leading a team above .500, never mind two.

Second, there are two ways a franchise can go when they are selecting their second-string guy during training camp. They can go with the veteran passer, with experience in the league or they can go with young blood. This is a key decision made by the coaching staff and front office, and it can affect how an entire season pans out.

This particular quarterback antithesis is present right now in the AFC. Understanding how many hits their starting passers were likely to take this year, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh faced a tough call a few months ago.

Young or old. Experienced or fresh. They had to get it right.

The Colts opted for 40-year old Matt Hasselbeck, and the Steelers went for Landry Jones, a man who not so long ago was playing college football for the Oklahoma Sooners.

There’s no correct answer to this problem, as proven by the solid performances of both Hasselbeck and Jones, but other teams have not been so lucky.

The idea of ‘importance’ is a tough one to comprehend. In a year where no starting quarterbacks go down injured, the backup would be utterly disposable, and an almost irrelevant member of the 53-man roster – aside from their contributions on the practice field. However, in a year like this one, where quarterbacks have been dropping like 6″5, 250lb flies left, right and centre, the backup quarterback is an essential part of the roster.

Importance is directly linked to supply and demand.

Unfortunately for the fans that pay good money to watch the sport at the highest level every week, supply simply cannot reach the demand of the NFL.

For every Matt Hasselbeck and Brock Osweiler, there’s an EJ Manuel and a Mark Sanchez. Good backups, bad backups.

These guys don’t get the acclaim of the men above them on the depth chart, but I do feel that this year has really shown how vital they are in the grand scheme of things.

When Andrew Luck went down for the Colts, the collective shoulders of everyone in the state of Indiana slumped. That was it. Game over.

But then Indianapolis rolled out Hasselbeck, a veteran that has seen the inside of more NFL locker rooms than anyone else, maybe.

Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano picked the right man, and the former Seattle QB is 4-0 as the Colts’ starter this year. A better record than Luck, at this point.

When Tony Romo broke his collarbone in September, the Cowboys collapsed. A shell of their former division-winning selves, Dallas fell into dire straits, and why?

They picked the wrong backup.