Mayock: Pats have legitimate Starting NFL QB in Mallett

SB39 said:

If he was on the field with Josh Boyce, Quentin Simms and Zach Sudfeld then chances are the defenses he was facing did not include Richard Sherman, Clay Matthews or Darrelle Revis.

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That is true but it still doesn't dismiss that he was on the field with second and third team skill players and offensive linemen.

The only benefits we'll get from Mallett after this season are:

• Good morale on the part of future NEP backup QBs, who see the nice opportunities he was offered in free agency and think it could some day happen to them too.
  
• A comp pick.

KontradictioN said:

That would be impressive if he was going up against starters on the other side, but he wasn't. Further, I didn't say that he looked like ass in all of 2013. But there have been games where he's looked horrible (to go along with games where he actually looked competent).

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Football is about repetition. The negatives around Mallett have always been his accuracy and timing. These are things that would likely improve with consistent reps. If you look at Mallett's preseason game log over the past 2 preseasons he has improved from week 1 to week 4 particularly in those 2 areas.

I'm not saying Mallett is the next Aaron Rodgers but I think he offers as much upside as starter as any of the QBs drafted in 2013 and 2014.

Brady6 said:

Football is about repetition. The negatives around Mallett have always been his accuracy and timing. These are things that would likely improve with consistent reps. If you look at Mallett's preseason game log over the past 2 preseasons he has improved from week 1 to week 4 particularly in those 2 areas.

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This isn't true.

I'm not saying Mallett is the next Aaron Rodgers but I think he offers as much upside as starter as any of the QBs drafted in 2013 and 2014.

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With the 2013 class, that's not saying much considering you're comparing Mallett with the likes of Geno Smith and E.J. Manuel. Not sure how you can say he offers as much upside as a starter with any of the QB's draft in 2014 considering none of them have yet to take a professional snap in even a preseason setting.

Executives on most NFL teams do not have the trust and confidence from ownership that we are used to seeing with the Patriots. That means the career of a general manger or whoever makes personnel decisions is very closely tied to his choices, more so at quarterback than at any other position. That leads to taking the safe route, which would be to draft a rookie - a route that also buys the GM and HC more time.

Going with a veteran QB is riskier because it is more likely to be second guessed, with comparisons to players from Matt Flynn to Scott Mitchell. They will be expected to produce right away, and the problem is that most teams that need a new quarterback probably also need upgrades at other positions before becoming a playoff contender. Another losing season and the GM and HC are on the hot seat, the new QB becomes the scapegoat of fans and local sports talk radio, and confidence dwindles.

I think Mallett will receive offers where he can compete for a starting position, but I don't expect him to be given a big payday.

Look at Cleveland. Even though they know they had someone who could play in the NFL (Hoyer) and was winning games, they drafted Jonhny Meathead.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Look at Cleveland. Even though they know they had someone who could play in the NFL (Hoyer) and was winning games, they drafted Jonhny Meathead.

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They're not called the Mistake by the Lake for nothing. . . .

jsull87 said:

Why? he is our number 2. We rate him and we have a rookie backup. If BB thinks he is damn good and no one is offering what he is worth to this team i.e a nfl standard QB if TB goes down. Then why would you trade him?

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if someone thought he was a legit starting QB they would likely make an offer for him and I really cannot imagine that the patriots would turn down a decent draft pick for their back QB but maybe I am wrong.

Any GM who likes The Hammah can sign him to a nice performance bonus incentive contract next spring.
Best of luck, Ryan!

PatsWickedPissah said:

Look at Cleveland. Even though they know they had someone who could play in the NFL (Hoyer) and was winning games, they drafted Jonhny Meathead.

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But he won THREE games after a journeyman career where he either didn't play or was unemployed.
Any GM standing and building around hoyer would be negligent

Belichick is saying that Mallett will take "a lot" of preseason snaps. Hopefully that means that he takes snaps with the first team as well.

AndyJohnson said:

But he won THREE games after a journeyman career where he either didn't play or was unemployed.
Any GM standing and building around hoyer would be negligent

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Giving Hoyer a shot for a year when the QB draft class sucks is not negligence.

Galeb said:

Giving Hoyer a shot for a year when the QB draft class sucks is not negligence.

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The decision is especially bad considering they spent the pick on a player who is severely lacking in QB fundamentals.

Snake Eyes said:

The decision is especially bad considering they spent the pick on a player who is severely lacking in QB fundamentals.

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It's not necessarily a bad decision if they gave Manziel a high grade. You gotta trust your board.

Galeb said:

It's not necessarily a bad decision if they gave Manziel a high grade. You gotta trust your board.

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Or roll it up in a Vegas bathroom...

PatsWickedPissah said:

Look at Cleveland. Even though they know they had someone who could play in the NFL (Hoyer) and was winning games, they drafted Jonhny Meathead.

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They happened to win the 2 games that Hoyer played (I am not including the game where he had 4 passes) but he didn't exactly establish himself as a solid, reliable starter who keyed those wins. Hoyer is not the long term solution and Cleveland was wise to draft a QB. They simply messed up with choosing Manziel.

SB39 said:

The happened to win the 2 games that Moyer played (I am not including the game where he had 4 passes) but Moyer didn't exactly establish himself as a solid, reliable starter who keyed those wins. Moyer is not the long term solution and Cleveland was wise to draft a QB. They simply messed up with choosing Manziel.

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Who's Moyer?

ctpatsfan77 said:

Who's Moyer?

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He drives the 1 Bass Pro fishing car on Sunday afternoons.

meatface said:

if someone thought he was a legit starting QB they would likely make an offer for him and I really cannot imagine that the patriots would turn down a decent draft pick for their back QB but maybe I am wrong.

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You are right that the Patriots would get offers for Mallett if others thought he was a starter, but I don't think the Patriots would trade him for a draft pick without a clear-cut back-up for Brady. 2008 was an important lesson. They need that guy who knows the system.

Most important, Mallett is very inexpensive. His cap number is $937k and his cap hit it if cut is $777k.) Hoyer, by comparison was going to cost the Patriots $1.9 million when he was cut at the start of his final contract year.

Finding a capable veteran back-up for Brady would cost more than keeping him this year, his final contract year. Now, Garoppolo might prove to be good enough to make Mallett expendable in the final round of cuts, but the cap hit isn't enough of factor to make that the most desirable way to go.

ctpatsfan77 said:

Who's Moyer?

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Is that what we're doing now? Pointing out typographical errors of peoples' names? (which was really an auto-correct error - guess that's what I get for killing time on a bus)

In the meantime, do you have anything intelligent to say in response to the point at hand?