2016 Jimmy G: Jimmy Who?
- Thread starter SeoulSoxFan
- Start date
Pasted from Wikipedia:
Derby started his collegiate carreer at Iowa, where, after redshirting his freshman year, he was a backup quarterback in 2011. He appeared in nine games and completed 3 passes for 30 yards.
Before his sophomore year, he transferred to Coffeyville Community College, where he finished the year throwing for 1,936 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading his team to Region IV semifinals.
Before his junior year, he transferred again, to play at Arkansas, where he was a backup quarterback again. He started one game during the year, finishing the year throwing for 178 yards and one touchdown. Before his senior year, he was converted to tight end. Derby would play in 11 games with 7 starts at tight end before missing the last two games due to a knee injury. He finished the year with 22 catches for 303 yards and three touchdowns.[4]
Derby started his collegiate carreer at Iowa, where, after redshirting his freshman year, he was a backup quarterback in 2011. He appeared in nine games and completed 3 passes for 30 yards.
Before his sophomore year, he transferred to Coffeyville Community College, where he finished the year throwing for 1,936 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading his team to Region IV semifinals.
Before his junior year, he transferred again, to play at Arkansas, where he was a backup quarterback again. He started one game during the year, finishing the year throwing for 178 yards and one touchdown. Before his senior year, he was converted to tight end. Derby would play in 11 games with 7 starts at tight end before missing the last two games due to a knee injury. He finished the year with 22 catches for 303 yards and three touchdowns.[4]
Wow -- this is risky, but I guess signing some stiff off the street with less than three days to prep is its own kind of risk, too. You steal valuable prep time from Brissett getting the new guy up to speed, you cut a player you may like, and if the new guys sucks anyway it's not like you've actually done anything worthwhile. Ballsy, but I think I can see the thinking -- unless, of course, they think Jimmy G. might be healthy enough to at least do some limited stuff if he needs to be called upon, in which case it's a moot point.
I don't know about any of the guards but Jamie Collins played QB in high school so don't count him out. /s
I assume Derby has taken a few snaps, if Jimmy G can't go then it wouldn't surprise me if he were the backup. I'd rather have it be him and essentially throw in the towel than have Edelman back there with a chance of getting injured.
Edit:
And then I just saw this, probably wouldn't be active for the game though maybe a PS guy.
WEEI @WEEI 3m3 minutes ago
Belichick tells @DaleHolleyWEEI the Patriots will "possibly" bring in another QB this week. "We'll probably work somebody out."
I assume Derby has taken a few snaps, if Jimmy G can't go then it wouldn't surprise me if he were the backup. I'd rather have it be him and essentially throw in the towel than have Edelman back there with a chance of getting injured.
Edit:
And then I just saw this, probably wouldn't be active for the game though maybe a PS guy.
WEEI @WEEI 3m3 minutes ago
Belichick tells @DaleHolleyWEEI the Patriots will "possibly" bring in another QB this week. "We'll probably work somebody out."
This seems crazy to me.
Yeah, it's BB calling the shots. But can you really count out JB7 getting hurt in this game, especially with JJ Watt having a great start to the year?
I don't think its crazy at all. Is the upside for someone like Ryan Lindley, on roughly half a practice, really higher than say Derby?
If we were talking a week+ to catch up, sure. But we're talking 2 practices here, and Brisset needs to get the vast majority of that practice time.
I am SHOCKED that the Pats didn't have a backup plan here. It was a calculated risk to go 4 games with Jimmy and a Rookie QB. Reasonable minds will vary, but I think it was a good risk to take. But the scenario they are in now was not unforeseeable. I thought for sure they had 1 or 2 emergency options ready to be dialed up if needed. I thought that a Lindley or Flynn would have received a phone call and been packing their bag before half time ended yesterday.
It seems very un-Pats like to not have done any What If planning around this.
It seems very un-Pats like to not have done any What If planning around this.
No, Brissett may well get hurt. However, he needs every snap in a short week of practices to maximize his chances to perform well in the next game. I'd be surprised if a "new" backup isn't signed Friday morning so that Game 4 has a legit depth chart.
For all the Derby talk - and it is amusing - the "backup" plan if JB7 is injured is Edelman. He has a deep, intimate knowledge of the playbook. He has been the 3rd emergency QB for several years running. He has the skills to run an "emergency game plan" that would probably include a 90/10 run/pass ratio for a couple quarters.
I think it's jumping to conclusions that they didn't have that plan ready, based off of only the fact that they didn't end up using it. I think it's far more likely that they probably had one or both on speed dial and when they got the results of JG's MRI back and learned it would likely be only one week, they decided they would rather take this route than cut someone for one week. If any coach pays attention to the bottom of the roster it's BB.
Edit: to add to that, the short week isn't lending to brining in a street FA, even one familiar with the playbook. As others have noted, Brisset needs all the reps he can get. Flynn types aren't saving the day after three days of being back in the system if Jacoby gets hurt.
It never made sense not to have a third QB on the practice squad, as JG getting hurt was not unforeseen as young QBs simply don't have the experience to avoid injuries...having Edelman or Derby take snaps at QB is a horrible idea and will get them killed. The only way not signing a QB is semi defensible is if JG can actually play in a pinch...even that is dubious as putting an ailing JG out there is courting further disaster.
What makes you think they didn't? I find it hard to believe this organization and coaching staff didn't consider this scenario. More likely, they did and they were willing to roll with Brissett with Edelman as the emergency backup. You may not agree with or like that plan, but there's no way they didn't foresee this.
It sounded crazy that Troy Brown was an emergency DB, until he was actually a DB. Edelman as backup QB on a short week doesn't break the Evil Genius top 5.
It's funny that people bitched about Brady getting too many pre-season reps or snaps. Now people want them to carry 4 QB's through camp in case of this scenario? Maybe they should carry 5 just in case something happens to the first 4?
Mike Reiss @MikeReiss 4m4 minutes ago
Question to TE AJ Derby: "Got any life left in arm from QB days at Arkansas just in case?" Answer (with wide grin): "We're on to Houston."
Question to TE AJ Derby: "Got any life left in arm from QB days at Arkansas just in case?" Answer (with wide grin): "We're on to Houston."
BB likely coached him to say this to send BoB into a frenzied panic bringing up his college game tape, only to deactivate Derby on Thursday.
Yeah, seriously.
There have been several seasons where the Patriots have only carried 2 QBs the whole season.
After a certain point, the next guy on the depth chart is going to be a guy who has little to no talent, and has no meaningful practice time. Keeping that guy is a waste of a roster spot. A 4th QB at this point isn't going to be much more likely to succeed than Edelman or Derby or Collins or whoever else played QB at some point as a teenager.
Having a 4th QB on the team during pre-season would not have made sense for a number of reasons. Primarily...
1. They needed reps to get both Brady and Jimmy ready. Any other QB on the roster would have just took reps away from those two. That would have been bad.
2. Why would anyone have signed here knowing they'd be cut in week 5? When Brady comes back they will not keep 4 QBs on the roster. Brady, Jimmy and Jacoby will not be cut. So why sign with the Pats knowing you're going to get cut 1/4 into the season? For guys like Flynn or Lindley it makes more sense to stay a FA in case a different team has QB or QB backup injuries. They can't do that if they are a 4 week placeholder for the Pats.
I know you said Practice Squad and not Pre-season, but I think those two points still largely apply.
This is both hilarious and entirely possible.
Has there been any movement on this front since yesterday? Or are we still at the "Out in all likelihood on Thursday, hopeful he can play two weeks from now" stage?
I think it's more like "Out Thursday, lets see where Jimmy is on Friday/Saturday before doing anything"
I've never been to an NFL practice or even a college practice, but is there a downside to having only one QB able to take snaps? Does it wear that one QB out? Do pass catchers have fewer reps because of this? Does it mean that Nick Caserio (I think he's the front office guy who sometimes throws some passes during the pre-season) will be the 2nd person throwing balls? Does that (the front office guy) lessen the preparation for the other players (i.e. Nick isn't able to throw a ball with appropriate zip/lenght/timing)? What about the scout team?
I was at that game. There was a buzz of incredulous exclamations, then laughter.
Patriots up 27 - 13 early in the third quarter and he gets hurt. They have no chance to win?
They are not likely having a real practice before Thursday. Today was probably just film, meetings, rehab. Tomorrow is likely just a walk thru, so it'll be half speed at best. Wednesday is probably another walk thru if anything. There is not going to be drills or a huge amount of reps that would cause any concern on the QB getting worn out.
To your 2nd point, veterans on the opening roster have their season's salary guaranteed. So they'd have the veterans minimum in their pocket and then back on the street for week 5. If they sign now they will only get paid for the weeks they are on a team.
The odds are probably pretty low that signing another QB or not ends up making the difference between winning and losing on Thursday.
I don't remember the source but I remember reading that one of the advantages of the Chip Kelly approach to training camp and practices were that multiple offensive sets were occurring simultaneously or close to it. This was touted as an advantage because 2nd and 3rd stringers were getting reps they would not in other camps.
Implied then is that in most camps there aren't enough reps to go around. Not sure if this answers part of your question.
The what if planning for having to play a fourth string quarterback is pretty universal: you are royally fucked.
If Jimmy G can kind of sort of play and they feel Derby can take a snap and hand the ball off 20 times, then meh, fine, whatever, how much worse can it be than an unprepared Ryan Lindley? I started the day feeling like adding another QB was likely necessary, but am coming around to it not being necessary although Id almost rather kneel out the game or direct snap to Bolden every play than have Edelman out there running the offense. Losing to Houston, meh, whatever, having Edelman running around back there doing things he isnt used to doing terrifies me, rationally or not.
True, but there would be some benefit signing someone now if you think Jimmy wouldn't be able to play against Buffalo. But it seems like the Pats think he will be able to, even if it's emergency only.
I am uncomfortable with this phrase.
He has had a swig or two of the kool aid though.
I wonder if it's just that with the short turnaround, they don't want to deal with all the stuff that would come with ramping up another QB - bringing a few guys in for tryouts, signing someone, spending extra time with him to get him ramped up, etc. They might just make do Thursday and then they'll have kind of a convenient pocket of time to kick the tires on a few vets and get someone in good shape if they do need an extra body for Buffalo.
Imagine if the Bills get blown out by Arizona this week, are 0-3 heading into the Pats game, and Jimmy G returns. What is Rex offering as part of his bounty program to save his job?
No, not putting a lot of faith in this, but from ESPN's Ed Warder:
#Patriots still believe there's a chance Jimmy Garappolo can tolerate pain of AC joint sprain and start vs #Texans
Before getting our collective hopes up, Matt Chatham tweets:
@chatham58 I played w/ a sprained AC joint in 2000, hurt so bad I couldn't wipe. Can't even imagine throwing a ball. Guess it depends on the severity
#Patriots still believe there's a chance Jimmy Garappolo can tolerate pain of AC joint sprain and start vs #Texans
Before getting our collective hopes up, Matt Chatham tweets:
@chatham58 I played w/ a sprained AC joint in 2000, hurt so bad I couldn't wipe. Can't even imagine throwing a ball. Guess it depends on the severity
Last edited:
All day yesterday Felger kept bringing up the possibility of Garoppolo playing Thursday. Saying if he's active and listed as the backup, maybe he gets out there during warm ups and his adrenaline kicks in and says "Coach, I want to try this. Shoot me up."
I'm 95% sure that won't happen but hey, you never know. And if it does....I'll be fully erect for days.
I'm 95% sure that won't happen but hey, you never know. And if it does....I'll be fully erect for days.
Bill Belichick: "I'm a football coach. I'm not a doctor ... They don't call plays, I don't do surgeries. We have a great deal here."
What a perfect answer.
What a perfect answer.