Ryan Mallett is the best hope the Patriots have to extend their winning ways past the Brady years. There I said it. Protest and Blubber all you want.
If you want to strip down the team and like the Clots did, so they could "Suck for Luck", you have to expect a 1-15 record and do it in a year when there is a great QB in the draft. The Pats did it one year, and only Ken Sims was there, no QBs.
I don't give damn about a second or third draft pick. This is not the time when Tom Brady was 28, and the only motive was scoring a draft pick. All the false bravado and proclamations that he can play until 42, or 50 is just wishful blubbering. It doesn't obscure the fact that the end of the road is coming, soon.
I see the improvement in Mallett, and so does Bill Belichick. I saw it too in Cassell's FOURTH preseason, when most did not. You have to be blind not to see it. I think he is doing extremely well for entering just his SECOND preseason.
That is what it is, in reality. His rookie training was wiped out by the lockout and NFLPA CBA negotiations. So he is a third year guy, but this is only the beginning of his second preseason. The only time when and where he can get real instruction and coaching, on a Superbowl contender. He can also display his abilities.
If I recall there were rumors, but no proof, that he was immature, as there was no way possible to criticize his athletic gifts. Some said he was just a country hick and hayseed. Well the passage of three years have given him some time to grow up and mature, even if he couldn't do much for his on field improvement.
The coaching he has received show his footwork is improved and more consistent. This has greatly reduced if not eliminated the passes that sailed on him. Belichick has confirmed this improvement. I see he has developed some touch on shorter throws too.
Critics also say he is inaccurate compared to Tom Brady, but now they are talking about a foot or two, not 10 yards over the receiver. But no one else is as accurate as Tom Brady on medium and short throws, either.
There is no decision that has to be made until the end of 2014 two seasons away, and that decision then, is merely whether to pay him to remain a Patriot. We have this preseason, and then next year's preseason to see if he is not just an NFL capable QB, we already know that, but a player capable of being a franchise QB.
I'm awaiting the gnashing of teeth. Spittle, and the rending of garments.
Blubberers line up on the left. Protesters on the right. Tebownitwits in the middle. Have at it guys.
