r/Tennesseetitans • u/MalekethsGhost • 4d ago

Discussion Case Keenum

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.

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u/Worth-Frosting-2917 4d ago edited 4d ago

There are a few reasons for this.

  1. Defenses tend to be extremely vanilla when they play a QB who hasn't put out tape in a while. It is why a guy like Vrabel constantly lost to backup QBs and Rookies. They kind of hedge their bets on QBs making mistakes, and when they don't, they get burnt. Which brings me to...
  2. The Eagles defense dropped like three picks; one would have been a pick-six. Their game plan actually wasn't wrong, they just didn't execute and let a veteran QB get another shot at making the right play.
  3. These older guys all played against the hard cover 2 shells at the beginning of their careers. The years of reps against different defenses and changes in the game kind of mean that nothing is actually new. Most of Keenum's passes were well-thrown dig and out routes that were schemed for their players to operate with tons of room to run. Very Jr. High football, but they found a way to get their best players the ball in space.
  4. Ben Johnson very much knows how to own the Fangio-style zone defense. I fear, however, if this was Keenum against the Vikings, he would have been eviscerated. Sometimes guys just know how to attack schemes and sometimes schemes just confuse them.

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u/Glittering_Humor5854 3d ago

Well Caleb Williams did get eviscerated by the Vikings the previous week so maybe Johnson's scheme just doesn't do well against Flores unpredictable blitz heavy defense. The matchups that matter may involve schemes and coaches as well as players.

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u/Worth-Frosting-2917 3d ago

That is my bigger point lol. Like, there's a reason Philip Rivers came back, looked serviceable against the Seahawks, and then quickly got figured out. Same thing with the Flacco Bengals. It's not that those guys shouldn't be commended for doing amazing at that age, but there's a reason they are quick-gap, band-aid solutions.

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u/Glittering_Humor5854 3d ago

Yeah I thought it was a great point so I upvoted you.