I don't often disagree with you Grid, but I will here. Don't forget that it was the Mallett pick that precipitated my well known meltdown the night of that draft. (btw- where I predicted the beginning of the end of Pats dominance.
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It's not that I don't believe that you COULD be right. But the empirical evidence doesn't match your opinion. We have no real idea how Mallett will fare if/when he gets his chance. Even pre-season isn't a good test because of a myriad of reasons. IIRC Cassell looked a lot worse the preseason before the 2008 season.....and he ended up with 3700 yds, 21TDs and only 11 picks The point being is WE really don't know. The thing was Bill dd, and he kept him that year despite the fact none of us thought he'd even make the team.
The empirical evidence I mentioned is that Bill not only kept Mallett, he released a QB he previously trusted to be Brady's sole back up. In other words, Mallett beat out a guy who most of us thought (and some still do) was a pretty competent QB. And contrary to your harsh evaluation, BB has to feel that Mallett is a "pretty competent QB" as well, even better than Hoyer to make the move he did.
That being said, I see the Kafka signing as being a warning shot to Mallett that he'll have to compete for his job next season. I also see the signing as opening up a possibility for a trade of Mallett. As I mentioned before the Kafka signing and Cassell's eventual availability certainly sets the stage.
The only problem I see in that scenario is the lack of a market for Mallett that would bring the likes of a 2nd or 3rd round pick, or any pick for that matter. A combination of a lack of real game experience, and an existing plethora of QB's that do have some great game tapes to present.
I agree that Tom Brady will long outlast Ryan Mallett on the Patriots. But that doesn't mean his pick was as bad you and I first thought, or that he might not find some success after he leaves here. BB obviously has a higher opinion of his skills than you.
BTW- on Matt Cassell. People forget that he had a great year with KC in 2010. A year he had 27 TD's and only 7 picks. I am curious about what happened to him that allowed Brady Quinn to be able to beat him out just 2 years later.