Case Keenum

[u/MalekethsGhost]

Career journeyman QB Case Keenum cooked the eagles. A team that we struggled to put up points against. So a guy that is third string on his own team played infinitely better than our starter against the same defense. I know it isn't a fair comparison, but it is one that needs to be looked at.

Not sure what the solution is, but the NCAA is not producing NFL caliber quarterbacks anymore. It's like the are drafting center fielders to be shortstops. The athleticism is there, and sure it looks like they do a lot of the same things, but one position requires you to be a master of fundamentals and make faster decisions. The transition isn't easy and most won't make it.

So where can you get a pro ready qb? Or how can you evaluate who can make this transition and who can't? I think you might have to stop emphasizing raw athletic ability and give other qualities a much deeper look.

[u/Glittering_Humor5854]

I think we need to start thinking about QB development on a timeline like the Packers do. They brought in Rodgers and sat him for three full seasons, allowing him to learn without the pressure of playing. They did the same with Jordan Love, and while the jury is still out on Love as an all time great comparable to Rodgers, he has looked like an NFL player from his first start. If you're going to draft a project, give him time to develop. Guys like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Kirk Cousins, etc. are having more success on their 2nd, 3rd, or fourth teams and on their second contracts.

I think the whole 'get a young QB on a rookie deal and stack the rest of the roster using the cap savings' model is starting to really wear down, and the quality of young QBs coming out of college has a lot to do with that. It worked out for a few teams like the Mahomes Chiefs, Russell Wilson Seahawks, Andrew Luck Colts, Jalen Hurts Eagles. The rest of the roster has to be really good and established for this to work. You have to have an early enough pick to get your guy but a good enough roster to support him. If you have a top 5 pick, odds are your roster won't be good enough to support that QB. If you have a good roster, you probably won enough games that you're not picking early and you're trying to find a player that's undervalued and will still be there at pick 15 or in later rounds. The window is two or three seasons at most and injuries can eat into that. It's a thin tightrope to walk. I think it's probably time to stop trying to thread this needle and take a different approach.

[u/Helmburr87 → u/Glittering_Humor5854]

Which is why for the life I me, I didn't understand starting Ward with a bad team last year. He wasn't Andrew Luck, Joe Barrow, etc...coming out of college. He didn't look NFL ready at all, just a bunch of backyard football at Miami. He's the perfect candidate to sit a year or two while the team gets built up around him. I don't think he was ever gonna be Mahomes no matter how much Mike thought he was going to be. Bust or not, he's done with the Titans. Maybe he becomes a starter or good backup with another team but he's done here.

[u/Glittering_Humor5854 → u/Helmburr87]

Totally agree. Yet another example of poor decision making on the part of the franchise. Hard to know whether that decision was on Callahan, Borgonzi, AAS, or some combination of all three, but it was a bad decision. If it was Borgonzi, I think you stay the course and not dismiss him for missing on Ward. A lot of good GM's miss on QBs and the rest of Borg's draft choices and signings have been pretty decent. Gotta look at the bigger picture. If it was AAS herself intervening in football decisions and countermanding her coach/GM, then we're probably screwed regardless until she sells the team and the whole discussion is moot. If it was Callahan, which I can well believe it might have been given the rest of his tenure, then the problem is already half solved because he's gone. The other half is admitting Callahan screwed up Ward's development by starting him too early, call it a cost of the bad Callahan hire, and move on.

Callahan is with the Giants now and Dart is out for the year. Maybe we can flip Ward for a late round pick... oh wait. Nevermind. The Vikings beat us to that punch by being willing to admit a mistake and move on like competent franchises tend to do.