Post-Mid-Season QB Watch Review
This has been a record season for QB Watch. We’re nine weeks into the season and a whopping SEVENTEEN teams, just over half the league, have found themselves on QB Watch. Some have been on for only a quarter (Oakland) while others have been on QB Watch since the beginning of the season (Arizona, Pittsburgh). Let’s see where we stand.
Presented in Chronological Order
1. Kyler Murray, Arizona
Games played: 9/9
Games started: 9/9
Record as starter: 3-5-1
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Murray has looked better every week. First-year coach Kliff Kingsbury has been slowly giving Murray more and more plays to work with, and the results are showing. The first week he completed only 53.7% of his passes and has improved seemingly every week. Only once since then has he been under 60%.
2. He doesn’t turn the ball over much. He’s only thrown 3 INTs, on a very low 1.3% of his passes. He did fumble twice, but has had many games without a turnover at all. While his passing yards are often low (only 104 in a win over the Giants), the lack of turnovers has shown he’s more likely to keep his team in games than other QBs.
3. He got 3 wins in his first 8 games. Rosen got 3 wins in 13 starts last year, so there’s at least the small hurdle of Murray was probably the right decision over Rosen. It’s possible that last sentence just jinxed him and he doesn’t win again this year, but the smart money appears to be that at least Arizona made the right decision.
Reasons to believe this won’t work
1. While Murray has had four multiple TD games, he’s had five games without a passing TD. It’s not like he’s picking other TDs up on the ground as he only has two, so there are simply multiple games without any TDs coming in via the quarterback. How long can that be sustainable?
2. His Yards per Attempt remain a roller coaster of a number. He’s had as low as 4 ypa, and as high as 10 ypa. It’s possible he’ll eventually settle on a comfortable range, but through nine games he’s been up and down and inconsistent.
2. Gardner Minshew II, Jacksonville
Games Played: 9/9
Games Started: 8/9
Record as starter: 4-4
It’s no surprise to QB Watch loyalists that Minshew is the true Chosen One in the NFL, with apologies to Josh Rosen. Minshew came in under extreme duress. Starter Nick Foles went down on the second series of the season and Minshew came in with no experience and no reps.
The returns on Minshew have been mixed to say the least. Some weeks he looks like the eventual successor to Drew Brees, and others he looks like he’ll be pumping gas soon if he doesn’t get things turned around.
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. You can’t doubt that mustache.
2. He throws a lot of TDS. They don’t seem to win many games, but the Jags offense can really cook under Minshew. Minshew has thrown 13 TDs in his 9 appearances, with a very high 5.0% TD rate.
3. He gets sacked a lot. His failures mostly come from the fact that he plays behind an incredibly bad offensive line. He’s been sacked 18 times and hurried even more. If Minshew could get time behind a competent o-line there’s little doubt that he could succeed.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. His completion percentage is dropping rapidly every week. 88% in Week 1, 69.7% in Week 2, 66.67% in Week 3, 57 & 59% in Weeks 4/5, then 48 & 46 in Weeks 6/7, before a rebound in Week 8 at 64%.
This is a bad trend. Either defenses have completely figured him out, or he’s not reading defenses correctly, or he’s making bad decisions. Lots of options, but they all appear to be bad. Jacksonville coaches are partially to blame for not correcting things after it had slipped to this degree. With the bye week coming up, it’s likely that Minshew will be out and Foles will reclaim his starting spot. Foles looked good on the one full drive he had this season against Kansas City, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can revive the Jags in ways that Minshew hasn’t.
2. Fumbles. Minshew currently leads all quarterbacks in fumbles at 11. This is possibly due to Minshew trying too hard to make plays happen and not being willing to abandon plays by throwing it out of bounds when he should. It’s possible that Minshew can be trained with time to be better at ball control, but 11 fumbles in 9 appearances is not good.
3. Case Keenum, Washington Redskins
Games played: 7/9
Games started: 7/9
Record as starter: 1-6
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. He has some good numbers. The 1-6 record isn’t good, but Keenum himself is on pace to have his best season yet as a starter. His TD% rate (4.8) is the highest he’s ever had, his career average is 3.6 and 2017 (4.6) was the only other time he’s been above 4%. Likewise, his INT rate, 2.1%, is his 2nd lowest, (1.5 in 2017). If Keenum can play this well, but with slightly better players, he can really make a go of it.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Nomad. Keenum is on his 6th team in 8 years. He’s on his 4th team in 4 years. Keenum is here to keep the seat warm for Haskins.
2. The rest of the crew. Washington is bad. Real bad. They beat a winless Miami team by a point.
3b. Colt McCoy, Washington Redskins
Games played: 1/9
Games started: 1/9
Record as starter: 0-1
Reasons to believe this will work:
Lol
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. He’s never played a full season. He’s been in the league since 2010 and the most he’s played in one season is 13 games.
2. He doesn’t win much. He’s 7-21 as a starter. He hasn’t won a game since 2014. The most he’s ever won in a season is 4 games.
3. He’s a walking concussion. He should have retired after the double concussion he doesn’t remember getting.
3c. Dwayne Haskins, Washington Redskins
Games played: 3/9
Games started: 1/9
Record as starter: 0-1
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Lack of experience. Washington has taken it slow with Haskins. They’ve refused to rush him into play the way Arizona did with Murray. Washington does not believe Haskins is ready, and has gone to great pains to prevent him from taking the field. They even started Colt McCoy when Keenum was out with a concussion rather than let Haskins be rushed into action and hurt his development. Of course, they had no choice and did eventually start him and he had a less than stellar game: 15/22, 144, 0 TDs. A 68% completion rate, but the other numbers were real low. But if Washington can slowly improve his game each week, there’s certainly room for improvement.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. The curve may be too high. QB Watch doesn’t expect rookies to come in and dominate right away. There’s a large learning curve for every quarterback, and honestly every position. Haskins appears to be very far into the curve, and it also appears that this project may take a while. Haskins has played in two games, and started one. He’s completed a respectable 61.4% of passes, but has thrown 0 TDs and 4 INTs, leaving those two games with a 9.1% INT rate. That’s very high.
2. Who’s in charge? Haskins’ biggest problem may be that he won’t get the support from coaching that he really needs at this time. With Bill Callahan being a placeholder coach until the end of the season, Haskins is stuck waiting to see who his next coach will be. If Washington chooses a defensive coach, Haskins will have to rely on whatever offensive coordinator/qb coach gets dragged along with him. A bad coach hire could damage Haskins for a long time.
4. Luke Falk, New York Jets
Games played: 3/8
Games started: 2/8
Record as starter: 0-2
History probably won’t be very kind to Luke Falk’s brief NFL career. After a successful run at Washington State in college, Falk meandered around the NFL landing on three teams in two years. The Jets wound up having no choice but to play him after a series of bizarre events:
1. Sam Darnold got mono under circumstances that haven’t been explained.
2. Trevor Siemian died in a MNF game against Cleveland.
Falk came in off the bench and went 20/25 for 198 yards, and it looked like the Jets might have something. But then he started the next week against New England, which is a bit unfair, and got destroyed. After a bye week where it seemed like the Jets were going to help him out and give him reps, but delayed and delayed hoping that Darnold would be ready they reluctantly gave Falk a few first-team reps and let him sink like a stone against Philadelphia.
After three appearances and two starts, Falk had 0 wins, 0 TDs, 3 INTs, and was sacked 16 times! 16 times in 3 games!
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. None. The Jets cut him as soon as they could and replaced him with David Fales.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Despite being a young quarterback with potential, Falk has found no takers for his services. It’s certainly possible that over halfway through the season that most teams would rather keep their current backup who has familiarity with the system rather than teach someone everything from scratch, especially as we inch towards the playoffs. So maybe he gets a job in the offseason when franchises have the opportunity to start over. But it’s a bad sign that no one is calling.
4b. Trevor Siemian, New York Jets
Games Played: 1/8
Games Started: 1/8
Record as starter: 0-1
Siemian is really a footnote here as he only survived one full drive before his leg was ripped off by the Browns. Siemian finished the season 3/6, 3 yards. Pretty bad.
Best of luck with your next team!
5. Daniel Jones, New York Giants
Games played: 8/9
Games started: 7/9
Record as starter: 2-5
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Great White Hope. He’s big, tall, and white. He’s everything a franchise could want in a QB.
2. He’s getting more consistent. After the first two wins, the wheels really fell off for Jones. He threw for less than 200 yards in each of the next two games and completed 55% & 48% respectively. But in the last three games, he’s 223, 322, and 210; and all three games he was well over 60% (63, 68 & 63). The numbers are steadying, and as Jones gets more comfortable his base level should rise.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. What happened? He started his career 2-0 and has now lost the last five. Jones does not have a great crew around him, but he’ll need to find ways to improve to avoid taking Ls every week. If the Giants are going to repeatedly lose they’re almost better off with Eli Manning.
2. Turnovers. He’s thrown 8 INTs and also fumbled 10 times, including 7 fumbles in the last 3 games. Jones does like to run when things fall apart, but he’s going to need to take better care of the ball. The Giants cannot afford to have him turn the ball over 18 times in 6 appearances. He’s averaging 3 turnovers a game!
6. Kyle Allen, Carolina Panthers
Games played: 6/8
Games started: 6/8
Record as starter: 5-1
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. He’s playing well on a team that has holes. Allen’s numbers may not be top of the league, but he’s playing behind a bad o-line, and has been sacked 20 times, putting him in the top half of the league. If the team can develop a solid o-line and give Allen time to make plays with McCaffrey, it’s very possible Carolina could be a playoff team soon.
2. Is it Cam’s team? Cam Newton was 0-8 in his last eight starts (going back to last season). Allen’s 5-1 record is a vast improvement. While Cam may always be associated with Carolina, it’s possible that for 2019 and beyond, the Panthers may feel the need to switch QBs. Cam only has one year left on his contract and it’s possible that Carolina will take the small cap hit by cutting him and letting Kyle Allen develop as the long-term starter.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Consistency. Despite his good play, Allen has not been particularly consistent with his numbers. In his three best games he threw 8 TDs and 1 Int. In his three other games he threw 1 TD and 3 Ints. His first two games he had a 70%+ completion rate, and in the four games since he has won 60%+ completion rate and 3 games in the 50% range. His numbers have dipped throughout the season, and Ron Rivera will need to fix that.
2. The numbers don’t appear to be there. He’s 28th in completions, 29th in completion percentage, 27th in yards and 26th in TDs. Yes he’s young, and he may develop but after six starts he’s still in the bottom six in all the major categories. He’s ahead of Andy Dalton in only one category (completion percentage. Andy Dalton is 30th). Allen’s numbers may be too low to be a viable starter in the NFL.
7. Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers
Games played: 6/8
Games started: 5/8
Record as starter: 3-2
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. When they let him air, he can air. When Rudolph played at Oklahoma State, he would put up monster numbers. Admittedly, that has more to do with the offensive system that Mike Gundy has put in place than an individual QB, but Rudolph did prosper. When they let him air it downfield in Pittsburgh, he’s had decent success. This is partially due to one of his WRs being a fellow teammate at Oklahoma State.
2. His TD% is incredible. Rudolph is currently 5th in the league for TD rate, only behind Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins and Patrick Mahomes. 6.1% is a very high TD rate, and one that the Steelers can build off of as they continue to develop Rudolph. For a guy who has only 5 starts, Rudolph is starting at a very high level.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. The short passing. I still haven’t been able to find out if Rudolph’s short passing relates to decisions he’s making or advice he’s getting from the coaching staff. Either way, Rudolph loves the short passing game. And when I mean short, I mean real short. No QB has thrown more passes that fail to reach the line of scrimmage than Rudolph. There were weeks where his average pass was completing two yards behind the line of scrimmage. Rudolph is 30th in YPA at 6.6. He’ll need to improve that if he wants a starting job.
2. It’s not his job. Rudolph, unlike Murray, did not get the starter’s job because he won it, but because the starter got hurt. Ben Roethlisberger should get the starter’s job back as soon as he’s able. While this may not be until next year, it’s unlikely that Rudolph will play so well that the Steelers will choose him over Big Ben.
3. He’s not alone. Even if Big Ben were to hang up the cleats sometime soon, Rudolph is not alone in competing for the job. Devlin Hodges (see below) will be a real contender as he managed to play well in his start. The Steelers will have a choice to make fairly soon about who the long term starter will be and it’s not a slam dunk for Rudolph, based on his play so far.
7b. Devlin Hodges, Pittsburgh Steelers
Games played: 2/8
Games started: 1/8
Record as starter: 1-0
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Accuracy. In his one start, Hodges went 22/29, for just a hair under 76%. That’s a great start for a rookie qb making a first start under duress. Hodges looked comfortable on the field, and while he did throw
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Announcers seemed far more interested in his nickname and extracurriculars than they were in his QB play. His play wasn’t bad, but it definitely left the impression that he’s more of a sideshow than a potential starter.
8. Teddy Bridgewater, New Orleans Saints
Games played: 7/8
Games started: 5/8
Record as starter: 5-0
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. His play has been damn good. Bridgewater won and won a lot. He won all five starts for the Saints. He completed almost 68% of his passes, and had a very low interception rate, 1.0%. Bridgewater appeared to have total control over the field,
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. It’s not his spot. Much like with the Steelers QBs (see above) Bridgewater cannot demand the Saints give him the job. Drew Brees is the all-time passing leader and has earned enough accolades and respect to give him the right to leave when he wants on his terms. Bridgewater, despite his very good play as a backup, will have to wait if he wants the job.
2. Injuries. Bridgewater has played extremely well so far, but something that lurks in the back of the minds of everyone watching (and possibly Bridgewater himself) is the idea that he’s one snap away from going back on the IR. He’s been there many times, and often for long periods of time. While there is no current injury that’s preventing him from playing, there’s a big risk in making him your long term starter.
3. Game management. Lots of people would say that Bridgewater played just well enough not to lose. 3 of his 5 wins were one-score games that the Saints nearly lost. He only averaged 196 passing yards per game, which is good enough for 29th in the league. His intangibles can help make up for that, but Bridgewater may not be the kind of starter the Saints are looking for long term in 2019.
9. Josh Rosen, Miami Dolphins
Games played: 5/8
Games started: 3/8
Record as starter: 0-3
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Age. He’s still young (not even 23), and has a lot of miles left on him. It’s very possible that if he does bounce around to another team or two, he can find the permanent home/coach he’s looking for. Alex Smith was also bad as a very young quarterback and eventually got enough help to turn it around. It’s far too early to say that Rosen is completely done.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. He’s already been benched for the starter that they benched for him. Rosen being benched for Fitzpatrick was a sign that Rosen was even too bad for the Dolphins to deal with. Miami hadn’t won a game with Fitzpatrick, and hadn’t won a game with Rosen either, but decided that Fitzpatrick was the better option moving forward. Being benched for a previously benched player is never a good sign.
2. 0-2. Rosen struck out last year with the Arizona Cardinals, although most of that wasn’t his fault.. He was drafted into a bad system with a bad coach (who was fired), and he wound up traded for a younger qb. Since coming to Miami, Rosen got beat out by Fitzpatrick, then regained the starter’s job only to lose it. It’s very likely that in 2020 Rosen will be playing for his third team in three years. Unprecedented for a top-10 draft pick to have that happen to him in his first three seasons. The constant bouncing indicates that there are no teams willing to keep him around once they’ve seen him play.
3. 0-3. Rosen lost all his starts, and was horrendous in all three. He threw 200 yards once, getting exactly 200. He also threw 180 yards and 85 yards. He only threw for 85 yards against the Redskins! Rosen is also dead last among all qbs who started a game in 2019 for yards per game: 113.4. This is over 50 yards less than the nearest qb, Matt Moore, who has 164.8.
9b. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins
Games played: 7/8
Games started: 5/8
Record as starter: 1-4
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Renewed energy. Being benched for Josh Rosen had to be a wake up call for Ryan Fitzpatrick. His three games since returning to being a starter have been his three best games all season.
His first 4 games: 39/70, 435 yards, 2 TDs, 4 Ints
His last 3 games: 70/105, 760 yards, 6 TDS, 3 Ints
Look at the difference! Fitzpatrick is performing at a much higher level in his 2nd go round this season as Dolphins starter. If he can keep this up, the Dolphins have a legit chance to maybe pick up an extra win or two.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. He’s been benched once already. Getting benched for Josh Rosen was a real slap in the face, and after Rosen’s three starts, Fitzpatrick’s regaining of the job seemed to indicate Miami saying “We have no other options” rather than “We totally trust you.” Miami doesn’t seem to think Fitzpatrick is good, just better than Rosen.
2. Lack of consistency. Fitzpatrick has only started 16 games three times in his 15 year career. The Dolphins are his 8th team in that time span. Fitzpatrick has not been able to find a permanent home, making it clear that most teams (1/4 of the league) don’t think much of him.
3. Age. Fitzpatrick will turn 37 in a few weeks. He’s not only on the wrong side of 30, he’s close to the wrong side of 40. Fitzpatrick’s playing days are closer to the end than the beginning so it’s unlikely that a team, even lowly Miami, will fully invest in him as a starter going forward.
10. Matt Barkley, Buffalo Bills
Games played: 1/8
Games started: 0/8
Record as starter: 0-0
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Age. He’s still only 29, and has only started more than one game once: 2016. He’s been in the league for seven years but has very few miles on him.
2. Competent. He came off the bench for Buffalo after Josh Allen got hurt, and played pretty well in a bad spot against New England. He kept Buffalo in the game until the very end.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. The end. That very end he got Buffalo to came to a screeching halt when he threw a crippling pick that ended the potential game winning drive.
2. The league has spoken. Much like on “Survivor,” the NFL as a tribe seems to have come to a collective decision on Barkley. He’s had 7 seasons and only started 7 games, 2-5. He may back people up for a long time to come (see Moore, Matt) but the idea of him being a starter seems unrealistic.
11. Chase Daniel, Chicago Bears
Games played: 2/8
Games started: 1/8
Record as starter: 0-1
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Daniel played well off the bench for Chicago going 22/30, 73% in his first appearance, and then 22/30, 73% in his lone start for the Bears. Daniel appears to be fairly consistent and had a decent showing in both games.
2. The Bears like him. Daniel played well in his two starts last season, going 1-1, and completing just under 70% of his passes. His TD rate has improved from 3.9% last season to 5.0% this season. Daniel may be a potential
3. Trubisky. Is Trubisky good? The Bears still seem to think so, but it’s possible that they’re getting close to making a big decision. Trubisky is 24th in completions, 25th in completion percentage, 28th in passing yards, and 33rd in passing TDs. Yes, a backup has thrown more TDs than Trubisky! Spoilers, it’s Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, who in 3 starts has thrown more TDs than Trubisky has in 7.
Trubisky’s last start was 10/21, 47.62% and 125 yards with 0 TDs. For a team that still has playoff hopes, Chicago may have to switch things up and fast.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Age. Daniel turned 33 last month, and while he doesn’t have a lot of NFL miles on him, it’s going to be tough to build a franchise around a QB who is 33 and has 5 career starts (2-3). It’s certainly possible that the Bears will turn to Daniel and ask him to lead, but QB Watch is very concerned because that’s a rare situation and without a real precedent for this, QB Watch remains wary.
2. Turnovers. Despite his good play, Daniel’s INT rate is 3.3%, which would place him 6th highest in the league, only Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jameis Winston, and Ryan Tannehill have been worse. Daniel does only have a small sample size to work with, but the returns show that he may be turning the ball over too much, especially in comparison to Trubisky’s very low 1.4%, which puts him as one of the 10 lowest for starters.
12. Matt Moore, Kansas City Chiefs
Games played: 4/8
Games started: 2/8
Record as starter: 1-1
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Moore is good. In his two starts, Moore has shown incredible poise and skill in the pocket. He’s thrown 4 TDs and 0 INTs in his starts, and is averaging 271 YPG as a starter which puts him 12th, just behind Aaron Rodgers. Moore has shown that even with limited practice time, and not playing in two years that he’s still capable of being a high-level NFL qb.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Less is Moore. Moore has never been a full-time starter, never even considered to be a full-time starter, and he seems ok with it. The most games he’s ever started in one season was 12 and that was in 2011. He was a long-time backup in Miami, where he was always serviceable but never good enough to get the starter job. It’s unlikely that he’ll suddenly develop into a starter, especially ahead of Patrick Mahomes, a qb who appears to be a perennial MVP candidate.
13. Mike Glennon, Oakland Raiders
Games played: 1/8
Games started: 0/8
Record as starter: 0-0
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. His brief appearance (just one quarter in one game) left him with ok numbers: 2/3, 36 yards and a TD. It was a limited but nice showing.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Past experience. Glennon has never been that great as a qb. He’s 6-16 as a starter in the 6 years he’s been in the league. The idea that Glennon will turn it around is possible, but he hasn’t won a start since 2017 and is creeping up on the wrong side of 30. It all adds up to ‘ain’t happening.’
14. Matt Schaub, Atlanta Falcons
Games played: 3/8
Games started: 1/8
Record as starter: 0-1
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Not much. Schaub hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2012and the injury to Matt Ryan doesn’t appear to be severe enough to fully oust him as starter. So Schaub is a plug-in, and his time as starter will likely be short.
2. No other options. If Atlanta does need Schaub to fill in more, he’ll have a chance to succeed because Atlanta has no other qbs on the roster outside of Danny Etling, practice squad legend, and the free agent market is dire. Hi, Luke Falk!
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Been here before. Schaub was already a Falcons backup (2004-06), went 0-2 during that stretch and then conned the Texans into making him a starter. He wasn’t good there either. He’s 47-46 in 15 years of starting. The Falcons can’t hope for much with
2. The bye week. The bye week came at a great time for Atlanta. Matt Ryan appears to have healed enough that the Falcons will let him start, but as of right now it’s not 100%. Either way, Ryan is getting closer and closer to returning so Schaub’s time is nearing an end.
15. Brian Hoyer, Indianapolis Colts
Games played: 1/8
Games started: 0/8
Record as starter: 0-0
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Why not? Hoyer went 10-6 over two seasons with a bad Browns team so he’s had success before. This Colts team is much better than those Browns teams, so perhaps coach Frank Reich can manage to get him going.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. His history. Look, I’m sure he’s a nice guy, and I’m sure his teammates love him. But he’s in his 11th season, he’s on his 7th team (not counting his multiple runs with New England), is 16-21 as a starter, and has never started a full 16 game season.
2. Age. He’s also 34. He’s bounced around for many years, and hasn’t been able to stick anywhere. He’s a journeyman qb which is fine for a backup, but it’s unlikely that a team will decide to ever go with him as a full-time starter.
3. Playoffs. The Colts are precariously holding onto the 6th seed in the AFC. While they’re a game out of first in the AFC South, it looks like they’ll need to catch them and snag that division title because the Colts have little room for error in the Wild Card. At 5-3, they’re a game ahead of the Steelers and Raiders (4-4), and 1.5 ahead of the Jags (4-5). All three teams appear to have better qb situations than the Colts if Hoyer has to start for a long stretch.
16. Brandon Allen, Denver Broncos
Games played: 1/9
Games started: 1/9
Record as starter: 1-0
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Did what was asked and looked good doing so. Allen wasn’t asked to throw 30 or 40 times. He was asked to make a few throws, and made the big ones when they counted. 6 of Allen’s 12 completions were throws that got Denver a first down. That’s a high percentage and it kept many of Denver’s drives alive. He also never looked too rattled.
2. No options. Denver is desperate. Real desperate. With starter and big money qb Joe Flacco out, the Broncos turned to their only healthy qb: Brandon Allen. Even rookie Drew Lock is hurt, so Allen will get to be the starter for what appears to be the rest of the season.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Mild success. Allen had decent numbers for a guy with 0 NFL starts, 12/20, 60%, 193 yards and 2 TDs. Those are all solid for a person’s first start. But they played Cleveland so what can we really determine? Not much, to be honest. Allen played ok, and Cleveland likely aided him to a degree. We’ll know more after a few starts.
17. Ryan Finley, Cincinnati Bengals
Games played: 0/9
Games started: 0/9
Record as starter: 0-0
Reasons to believe this will work:
1. Faith from the franchise. Finley was named starter after long-time punching bag Andy Dalton was sent to the bench. Finley, just a rookie, is going to be given a real chance by the Bengals to showcase what he can do.
Reasons to believe this won’t work:
1. Well….it’s the Bengals. Even if Finley plays well, he’s going to be surrounded by an awful crew and there’ll be limited chances for him to get the team moving. Perhaps in 2020 if he gets to keep the job, Finley will also have some new good players to work with. But it’s also the Bengals so the odds of that happening are low.
QB Watch 