“Evaluating the quarterbacks is obviously one of the harder jobs in the NFL, and if you have someone who can do it, as Bill Parcells used to always say, `Pay them whatever you have to pay them,’ because a lot of people have burned to the ground thinking they have it right,’’ Haley said. ``[General manager] Scott [Pioli] was around the kid, and all I could see was from the outside initially, and you saw a player thrown into a very difficult situation that could have gone south quickly with the Randy Mosses and all of the potential things going on there, and the amount of pressure and who he was stepping in for.
“For 15 games, he got better every game with a good supporting cast, there’s no doubt. Then you’re around him, and I think he’s got the innate leadership skills, he’s learned from maybe the best ever. I think he’s big, he’s strong, he’s smart, he’s athletic. It appears he can make all the throws. I think he just needs more seasoning, but I don’t think there are any guarantees with anybody. If you were drawing a quarterback off the draft board, you can’t ensure success either. We’ve got a guy that has 15 games of pretty quality stuff. To me, if I had to choose between the draft board and a guy like this, I’m taking this guy every time.’’
