Evaluating Mac is a somewhat complex matter. First of all, what is the context in which you are evaluating him? The context in Mac's case revolves around the question, "Is he good enough to be a 'franchise quarterback.'" Put another way, "If other elements of the team are in place and sound, is Mac going to be the factor holding the team back." I think that's maybe the baseline question rather than higher order, more open-ended or nebulous question such as," Is Mac going to develop into a really excellent quarterback," or the even more problematic question that no doubt lurks in some minds, "Can he be the next Tom Brady." There are two aspects to this question. First, is he in simple terms "good enough." Call it the quantitative aspect (though generating meaningful numerical data on such things is an iffy undertaking). Is his arm strong enough, can he make the reads, is he a leader, can he get the ball out his hands in a timely manner, can he learn quickly, does he have reasonable quickness/elusiveness in the pocket or on the run, and so forth. The second aspect, and maybe the more difficult one is," Is Mac the the sort of qb who can do well playing the position, as that position has evolved in recent years and as one one can anticipate it will continue to evolve going forward. Teams are playing a faster, more aggressive form of offense, one in which the quarterback's sheer athleticism - his ability to move and throw on the move, his ability to run the ball himself, the sheer speed with which he can make things happen all matter more than they used to. We often hear, "Mac is more athletic than people think," but that is such faint praise that it virtually acknowledges that Mac's athleticism is a legitimate concern. I think that on the first, simpler aspect - is he good enough to be a starting qb - the answer is probably though not certainly yes; but there remains the possibility, taking the second aspect into account, that the answer overall might be,"Mac would have been a very good to excellent qb as the game was played a dozen years ago, but he is not up to the task as the game has evolved - in significant part because of rules changes which will not be reversed. A dozen years we might have said, "He's not as good as Tom, but he has the same sort of skills, so it just might work." But maybe now we will have to say, "The game has passed this sort of quarterback by, sound player though Mac may be." A big part of the answer will depend on the extent to which BO'B can incorporate newer "collegiate" aspects of the game into the offense - a task for which he ought to be well suited, as indeed Mac might also be - with Mac as qb. An additional problem in making this determination is that the offensive team Mac must lead is so p--s poor in so many areas that Mac may not get a fair shot (AGAIN!!) at showing what he can do. For that problem, we have the GM to thank, yet again. SO maybe the real question is, "How do we solve that problem."
