Fake-Fat Sunny Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 I think Sunday's Cleveland game should provide some good grist for thinking for those who insist that starting is the ONLY way to develop a QB. I think the game Sunday offered the following events to take careful note of: 1. JP clearly demonstrated that you need not start to play and to play in learning situations- The 9 minutes plus of mop-up duty he had provided several useful experiences for his development: A. First and foremost he took the team on a drive which scored a TD and did exactly what needed to be done in the game situation which was to burn clock and increase the lead. Nothing suceeds like success and his ability to lead the team to this outcome and suceed will not only instill further confidence in him but confidence in his teammates that he can lead them. If every game ended up like his performance in NE he may learn things all rookies need to learn but confidence in him will be set back alot. I'm glad to see him get his feet work in these positive mop-up situations. B. The concept which some have had that all he did was hand-off is the thing which shows a lack of understanding of the game and development. It was interesting to hear some of the former QBs who are now pundits talk about something they actually know about which is QB development. Folks like Phil Simms and Marino remarked in relation to the learning experiences Eli Manning is going through that one thing he will get from his debacles is that he will begin to learn to play, see things and analyze at NFL speeds. Losman is getting this same experience as other rookies but he is getting it in easier to manage doses and situations. Some posters have noted how good Losman looks with play fakes and other QB tasks even on the hand-offs. This is a good sign and I love to see Losman using this gametime/practice that way. C. For those who are advocates of playing as the ONLY way to do things, I'd ask who had a better day of learning today, JP or McCown. McCown certainly got more minutes but things got so bad in terms of him being shellshocked his HC pulled him (though he had to put him back in). Does anyone seriously argue this was a better game for McCown than for JP simply because McCown played more. D. Garcia's brief stint unfortunately showed how dangerous the QB job can be, This risk is no reason not to play to win, but it does raise the question about the intelligence of simply sticking someone in to learn rather than to win because of the injury risk. If anything, the one failing I would say of JPs game today was that rather than bailing out after he had picked up the necessary yardage for the first down on his great evasion of the tackle and run, he put his head down and took a hit for a couple of meaningless yards. I am glad he is a gutsy guy and will love it when he risks his body for needed yardage, but until he demonstrates that he has learned the lesson to protect our investment he should not start. Still this was a good day as we saw the best thing about this team is that they can win going away even with lousy QB play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eSJayDee Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Does anyone seriously argue this was a better game for McCown than for JP simply because McCown played more. Yes, I think an argument can be made in that regard. It appears that the package that JP is working w/ is not a 'complete' gameplan and he has had limited exposure to 'real' game situations. IIRC, he only had one true drop back pass which resulted in a broken play & him taking off running for a FD. (All around Kudos for him on the play - smarts & athleticism.) Granted, this exposure certainly does him more good than sitting on the bench and an argument could be made that it's best to expose him to elements of the game a small piece at a time. But he (& perhaps more important for our discussion - we) still don't have experience of running a 'complete' offense where the primary goal is to score, not eat clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Yes, I think an argument can be made in that regard. It appears that the package that JP is working w/ is not a 'complete' gameplan and he has had limited exposure to 'real' game situations. IIRC, he only had one true drop back pass which resulted in a broken play & him taking off running for a FD. (All around Kudos for him on the play - smarts & athleticism.)Granted, this exposure certainly does him more good than sitting on the bench and an argument could be made that it's best to expose him to elements of the game a small piece at a time. But he (& perhaps more important for our discussion - we) still don't have experience of running a 'complete' offense where the primary goal is to score, not eat clock. 157933[/snapback] That, to me, seems like it was more part of the game situation that an inability by Losman or a coaching decision to limit his plays. The game was over. They wanted to run the clock. They didnt want to embarass the Browns and yet they wanted to get Losman to throw, hence the safe roll outs and short passes. Watching Losman during the gams, he usually enters the huddle on the sidelines, listening to the coaches and assimilating whatever he can about the entire team and game. I am sure this is a coaching decision as much as a personal one, to get him ready. I am sure they do everything they can to give him as much as he can handle at a time. You're right, he doesn't have the experience of running the entire offense but I believe he knows it and could run it by now. Perhaps not run it as well as even Matthews (because of Shane's ten years in the league) but I don't believe it is because he hasn't been exposed to it, or couldn't call and execute all the plays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 I don't know that I'd call it great (it certainly got an extended exhale from me:), but I'd call his outing part of a great day. We already knew the fundamentals were there and I thought that's all we were afforded the opportunity to see today(as in his other fleeting appearances). A competitive NFL game is a wholly different animal and until we're afforded the opportunity to see him spend some time in one of those, there's just too much of the complete picture hidden. I didn't think his 1 drive today drew aside the curtain enough to call it a great day. But it sure looks good enough that I want to see more. Eventually. B) Cya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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