The problem is the vets that can win games tend to be signed by teams desperate for a QB, often a team that is drafting a young QB but wants a veteran to start for a year while they groom the kid.
I was shocked when I went through NHL rosters looking at backup QBs, I knew they were bad, but not that bad.
"You can sign a veteran", uh, who?
Don't want someone like Newton who thinks he should be starting, that's a recipe for a clubhouse disaster.
The rest just aren't very good.
The key with someone like Hurts is you can give him a package (i.e. a subset of the playbook) that fits his skills and basically do what Buddy did with Cunningham, have him run around and make 4-5 big plays and otherwise don't turn it over.
Look at some of the Eagle backups:
2015: Mark Sanchez 0-2
2014: Mark Sanchez 4-4
2013: Michael Vick 2-4
2012: Nick Foles 1-5
2011: Vince Young 1-2
2010: Kevin Kolb 2-3
2009: Kevin Kolb 1-1
2007: AJ Feeley 0-2
2006: Jeff Garcia 5-1
2005: Mike McMahon 2-5
2002: AJ Feeley 4-1, Koy Detmer 1-0
1999: Donovan McNabb 2-4
1995: Randall Cunningham 1-3
1994: Buddy Brister 0-2
1993: Buddy Brister 4-4, O'Brien 0-4
1992: Jim McMahon 1-0
1991: Jim McMahon 8-3
McMahon and Garcia were smart veterans who lacked armed strength which made them available and able to win in a WCO behind a good defense - but I'm not sure that would work in 2020.
Feeley won as a young QB, Foles was bad as a young QB.
But there aren't, because teams would sign them as backups.
The ones that are available:
a) want a lot of money and/or a chance to start (Newton)
b) have talent questions (Whinston's arm)
c) are clubhouse problems
I guess the better and more direct way of putting it would be this: Would you rather have a backup QB with an expensive price tag and a potential impact player at a different position or a backup QB with a lower price tag who might be able to be a starting QB some day if necessary? I know what I would pick.
Especially considering that whomever would be in the #2 spot at QB would almost assuredly be as good if not better than Hurts. Maybe I am underrating Hurts, but does anyone out there realistically think that at his absolute best he would be anything more than average starting QB? I know that it is possible he becomes a HOFer and you find gems all over the draft blah blah blah, but is there anyone out there that looks at Hurts and thinks that in an absolute worst case scenario where Wentz either shits the bed or suffers a career ending injury that the future of the franchise is Jalen Hurts? Because I would have to imagine that in that case our Birds would be in the market for a new QB pretty quickly.Pretty much dead-on.
I truthfully can't understand how it's even a debate. Would you rather have an actual CB on the other side of Slay by drafting Fulton (right now I think Maddox is slated for 2nd CB) or Hurts as your 3rd string guy next year?
I take the player that plays every snap over the guy who, if all goes according to plan, plays ZERO snaps.
Especially considering that whomever would be in the #2 spot at QB would almost assuredly be as good if not better than Hurts. Maybe I am underrating Hurts, but does anyone out there realistically think that at his absolute best he would be anything more than average starting QB? I know that it is possible he becomes a HOFer and you find gems all over the draft blah blah blah, but is there anyone out there that looks at Hurts and thinks that in an absolute worst case scenario where Wentz either shits the bed or suffers a career ending injury that the future of the franchise is Jalen Hurts? Because I would have to imagine that in that case our Birds would be in the market for a new QB pretty quickly.
I really don't get this idea of taking Hurts versus the average 2nd rounder. That's treating drafts as if they're equal, which misses the point entirely.
The only relevant discussion is Hurts vs Fulton, Mims, Gay, Chinn, Wilson, Davis, Uche, Epenesa, etc. Now Hurts doesn't have to be nearly as much of a hit relative to other QBs to be worth the pick as every non-QB you consider relative to their respective positions, but you have some other high value positions available.
If Slay doesn't follow 1s this year, I apologize in advance for the depression I bring into your life.
And if he does, we need to cut him some slack. It's difficult and he's going to get beaten sometimes.
Newton, Flacco, Bortles, Siemian, Kessler, and McCown. None of them are good. McCown may not even want to play again. But all would be more likely to be ready to play in a game than Hurts this year.
Even if you simplified your offense down to a Chip Kelly-esque approach to the playbook, there are still too many optionalities built in for both the offense and the opposing defense to be able to get down to simple. Plus quite frankly, Hurts doesn't have the toolbox to run a conservative passing game right now. He can't hit the window between the LB and a Safety with any sort of consistency because he couldn't anticipate them at the college level. Now you want him to do it up a level with far more complicated reads and tighter windows in Year One.
You're hoping you eventually get Tyrod Taylor out of Hurts. That's a guy that will give you years of being somewhere between the 20th and 40th best QBs in the league and might be cheap enough to keep for an extra year or two beyond his rookie deal. That's not materially different from what Bortles is now with minimal risk at the cost of similarly minimal upside.
I didn't mention Jameis because it sounded like he wanted to be in New Orleans. But he would be a massive upgrade over everyone else on this list if he thought the Eagles could also give him what he wanted on a 1 year deal. I'd choose New Orleans too, but not for football reasons.
Bortles - replaced by Foles, outplayed with the same personnel as 6th rd pick Minshew as a rookie QB
Flacco - 35 years old, 26 sacks in 8 games in Denver, he can't move to save his life now
Siemian - started in his 2nd season, benched in his 3rd season, reminds me of Koy Detmer
Kessler - 5.4 ypa in 2018, he'd bad, I'd rather go with Sudfeld
McCown - uh, what's the over/under before he breaks down? 1 game, 2 games?
Bortles is probably the only one I'd consider, and he's on his way out of the league. If he wasn't a high draft pick, he'd have been benched after a couple seasons.
Frankly, I'd rather bet on Hurts pulling of a "Minshew" than a washed up veteran.
If I'm going for a veteran backup, it would be someone like Fitzpatrick, problem is he's good enough to get a starting job with a bad team each year - but he's the perfect backup QB - good enough to win with a good team for an extended stretch, but not good enough to beat out a top QB. But he'd have to reach the point in his career where he prefers a shot at a ring over starting.
@JojoTheWhale I’ve also been meaning to asking you. Where do you have Penei Sewell next year? Hopefully in the same place as me.
The correct answer was on the Eagles.I haven’t specifically watched him yet and OL consistency doesn’t necessarily stick out in real time, so there’s a lot of wiggle room.
Same tier as Fields and Lawrence without the positional bump. So if you’re not factoring in how important a QB is, he’s roughly as good as any player in the class. Chase and DeVonta Smith are also there. Maybe Gregory Rousseau too.
The correct answer was on the Eagles.
You've got me sad so I'm pessimistic now and could totally see it happening.Sure, if they go 4-12.
I haven’t specifically watched him yet and OL consistency doesn’t necessarily stick out in real time, so there’s a lot of wiggle room.
Same tier as Fields and Lawrence without the positional bump. So if you’re not factoring in how important a QB is, he’s roughly as good as any player in the class. Chase and DeVonta Smith are also there. Maybe Gregory Rousseau too.
You've got me sad so I'm pessimistic now and could totally see it happening.