1. Ryan Finley, rookie backup to Andy Dalton
It’s hard to imagine Dalton hanging onto his job for much longer. He’s in his 9th season as Bengals QB, but is also 0-8 this year as a starter. Dalton hasn’t won a game since October 28, 2018 when he beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-34. It will over a calendar year since that win this week.
Despite the 0-8 start, and the many bad games that have transpired this year, Ryan Finley hasn’t been tapped for any garbage time play. Dalton has taken every snap in eight horrendous games. But that will have to change relatively soon. How long can first year Sean McVay-lite coach continue to wallow in despair without trying anything new? Wasn’t he hired to be the genius coach that all 33 year olds are?
Finley is likely to see some time soon, and the possibility is that it could revitalize Cincy in a way that Dalton simply can’t provide at this point. Dalton only has one more year on his contract after this so they could choose to cut or trade him during the offseason with minimal cap hits.
Finley may not be the long-term answer at quarterback for Cincinnati, but neither is Dalton. Cincinnati sure looks like they’ll either have the first or second pick in the 2020 Draft, and should likely take that opportunity to investigate a potential QB of the future.
2. Brandon Allen, backup to Joe Flacco.
Allen is in his fourth season in the NFL, and is relatively untested, but Flacco is getting tested every week and is failing hard. Flacco, the next in the Tall White QB Saviors series in Denver, has proven to be just as big a bust as the previous entries: Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Trevor Siemian, etc.
Flacco had a good run with Baltimore, culminating in a Super Bowl win and today he joined the 40,000 passing yards club. A very solid career, but clearly he has little left, and the poor surrounding cast isn’t helping.
While Brandon Allen is unlikely to turn the ship around, John Elway might want to consider youth, and someone who can scramble when the pocket inevitably collapses, over the old tried and true QB who isn’t lighting the world on fire in 2019.
But let’s look at the facts:
1. Joe Flacco has thrown 6 TDs and 5 INTS in 7 games.
2. His 2.6% TD rate is the lowest in his career.
3. It’s the first time he’s ever been under 3.0%.
3. Flacco is 2-5 this season as a starter, and hasn’t won 10 games in a season since 2014.
4. It’s time.
Denver may need to look elsewhere for a long term answer at QB, but just like with Finley and the Bengals, the Broncos could gain a sliver of momentum by switching QBs.
3. David Fales, backup to Sam Darnold
Signing a QB named Fales is tempting fate even if it’s only a homophone. Darnold has had mono so he may get a pass going forward, but the Jets need something and they need it fast.
Yes, the Jets have been unlucky. Besides Darnold getting mono, Trevor Siemian died in the first quarter of his first appearance and the Jets were forced to play Luke Falk despite the fact that Falk does not appear to understand what a quarterback does.
Fales may not either, but at 1-6, what do they have to lose?
Well, more games of course. But they’re losing those games anyway!
“But Sam Darnold beat Dallas….”
Yes, that’s a great point. But how did he beat Dallas? Nobody knows. Dallas doesn’t know, and the Jets sure don’t know because they haven’t figured out how to replicate it since.
“But his numbers aren’t terrible…”
True, Darnold is far from the worst QB in the league, and his completion percentage is up over last season. But he’s a turnover machine. His 4.8% INT rate is way over his 3.6% from last year. His 2.9% TD rate is way down from 4.1% last year.
Maybe it’s the mono, and Darnold just isn’t ready to be a full time starter again. If that’s the case, the Jets need to give him the proper rest and let Fales take over. If he is healthy, he may need to be benched in order to give him some time to contemplate.
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