Now, are We Ready To Keep Three QB's?

[mgteich]

It seems that keeping Walter is a good idea.

 

[Water Boy]

It seems that keeping Walter is a good idea.

Are you concerned about:

a. O'Connell not being ready
b. The Offensive line giving up several pressures and sacks against Cinci
or
c. all of the above

 

[mgteich]

O'Connell is not ready.

Are you concerned about:

a. O'Connell not being ready
b. The Offensive line giving up several pressures and sacks against Cinci
or
c. all of the above

 

[JMarr]

O'Connell is not ready.

I know it's still relatively early, but my money says that Walter's already penciled in as the #2.

 

[BradyFTW!]

O'Connell may or may not be ready, but I'm not drawing any conclusions off of last night's game, that's for sure. Last year, everyone was screaming for Cassel to be cut because he was a useless player who couldn't move the ball at all, had no pocket awareness, and would never amount to anything in the NFL.

Moral of the story: you can't make these judgments based on preseason games. Stop trying to: it's an exercise in futility at best and dumb and misleading at worst.

 

[mgteich]

No one is suggesting cutting O'Connell.

O'Connell may or may not be ready, but I'm not drawing any conclusions off of last night's game, that's for sure. Last year, everyone was screaming for Cassel to be cut because he was a useless player who couldn't move the ball at all, had no pocket awareness, and would never amount to anything in the NFL.

Moral of the story: you can't make these judgments based on preseason games. Stop trying to: it's an exercise in futility at best and dumb and misleading at worst.

 

[Scouse Patriot]

Don't we usualy keep three anyway...

 

[BradyFTW!]

No one is suggesting cutting O'Connell.

I didn't say anyone was. The point is that Cassel was so bad in the preseason last year that people wanted him to be cut. Yet he turned out to be a good QB who was quite capable of running the Pats' offense. I'm not saying that O'Connell is or is not, I'm just saying that you can't tell one way or the other based on last night. It was his first action of the year, he was playing with scrubs, the OL was particularly bad in front of him, and yeah, he didn't look good, but so what? History has proven over and over again that it's pointless to try to make the judgments that you're trying to make off of a few preseason snaps. I don't get why you're still insisting on trying.

 

[Jimke]

I don't think the Patriots have any other choice. At this point,

O'Connell is not a proven #2. Cassell had four training camps

under his belt at this point.

 

[mgteich]

I agree. Maybe O'Connell will be ready when needed. Perhaps not. After last year, insurance seems to be a good idea.

I don't think the Patriots have any other choice. At this point,

O'Connell is not a proven #2. Cassell had four training camps

under his belt at this point.

 

[kmac14]

Does Hoyer make the team behind Walter or do you try to place him on the practice squad?

 

[Deus Irae]

Does Hoyer make the team behind Walter or do you try to place him on the practice squad?

I don't anticipate Hoyer making the 53.

 

[everlong]

I don't know if Hoyer clears waivers to make it to the practice squad. He played fairly well when you consider the protection sucked and he showed good pocket presence moving around to buy time and didn't panic or make any big mistakes.

 

[farn]

BB can let all the QBs go and still go 10-6 with Edelman and Ventrone as his backup.

Let's just chill, O'C will be #2 with AW around to remind him nothing is a slam dunk. Hoyer might even be #3, who knows ?

Here's the important part : none of these dudes should get any regular season snaps unless it's 52-7 with 4:08 to play in the 4th... or so we hope...

 

[TruthSeeker]

I really like O'Connell, there are certain things about him that are impressive.

1) He has a cannon arm, the ball seemed to go 50 yards with a flick of the wrist.
2) He can run, 15 and 11 yards on 2 carries. It's interesting to see this kind of dynamic from a very large QB 6'5 230.

I can see what the Pats scouts saw in him. He is ceratinly very talented. I think he needs to just study like crazy, learn NFL defenses, and learn the offense inside and out. If, god forbid, something happens to you know who, I think we can still win with O'Connell. I really don't want to find out this season, I think one more training camp would be ideal for O'Connell to be ready, but I'm comfortable with him as a backup. I think his upside is higher than Cassel's

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I think his upside is higher than Cassel's

FWIW, Cassel and O'Connell are almost polar opposites: O'Connell had tons of experience, but no real "education," while Cassel had an impressive pedigree, but no real experience.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I didn't say anyone was. The point is that Cassel was so bad in the preseason last year that people wanted him to be cut. Yet he turned out to be a good QB who was quite capable of running the Pats' offense. I'm not saying that O'Connell is or is not, I'm just saying that you can't tell one way or the other based on last night. It was his first action of the year, he was playing with scrubs, the OL was particularly bad in front of him, and yeah, he didn't look good, but so what? History has proven over and over again that it's pointless to try to make the judgments that you're trying to make off of a few preseason snaps. I don't get why you're still insisting on trying.

Cassel wasn't bad in the preseason, though. The team was. He was doing what they asked him to do in those games and in practice. KOC hasn't exactly wowed them in practice. Last week he couldn't even take a knee right. Last night he made some plays and he also made some mistakes.

It's not about moving the chains in preseason, although if done for the right reasons BB won't complain. It's about showing the coaches you can run the offense, and you will run it even if some of your teamates aren't playing all that well... It's about not losing your poise and focus and veering off script in an attempt to just do something... It's about making the right choices and reads and making them on time. It's about not making bad decisions. That is the context within which BB evaluates his QB's performance.

Hoyer actually looked better than Brady or KOC last night in context (one that includes he's a raw rookie and looked fairly poised considering the pressure). He looks worth a PS slot.

No way KOC is ready today to be the #2 to Brady. He was the #2 to Cassel last season but that was strictly by default. He still has 2 weeks to convince BB he is ready. If not Walter gets the nod. And either way Walter probably remains on the roster as insurance.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I don't know if Hoyer clears waivers to make it to the practice squad. He played fairly well when you consider the protection sucked and he showed good pocket presence moving around to buy time and didn't panic or make any big mistakes.

We say that about all of them at the outset...Remember Gutz would NEVER make a PS...He will make it and if it's close we simply won't see him again...

 

[MoLewisrocks]

FWIW, Cassel and O'Connell are almost polar opposites: O'Connell had tons of experience, but no real "education," while Cassel had an impressive pedigree, but no real experience.

Exactly. There was a reason USC recruited Matt. That said, he had 3 seasons with Brady as well as a year with Flutie and some time with Vinny. He also had 3 seasons with Josh. KOC had a camp with Brady and then he was pretty much on his own. Josh and Matt kinda had their hands full after Brady went down and Gutz was essentially back by default, too.

They don't all come along as quickly as Tommy, either. And in a way he had what Cassel and KOC combined had. He played some in college and against stiff competition.

 

[bigfandan]

O'Connell may or may not be ready, but I'm not drawing any conclusions off of last night's game, that's for sure. Last year, everyone was screaming for Cassel to be cut because he was a useless player who couldn't move the ball at all, had no pocket awareness, and would never amount to anything in the NFL.

Moral of the story: you can't make these judgments based on preseason games. Stop trying to: it's an exercise in futility at best and dumb and misleading at worst.

BradyFTW, points well taken. However, odds certainly are not on KOC side. We can't be contrarian 100% of time.