Stidham took a boatload of sacks in the 2019 preseason when he was otherwise excellent, and in his tiny sample of regular season snaps across two seasons, he has also been sacked a lot. He may do some things better than Cam, but he is likely to take more sacks.
This is 100% correct. Showed up at Auburn too; he can be slow to process and he'll hold on to the ball too long. That said, when he sees it and rips it, it's really pretty. He's got such a quick, clean, pure release.
Jimmy G is a guy who comes to mind. He was apparently horrible in practice, but became a serviceable NFL starter.
This is where I'd like to see more game action from Stidham. My eyes tell me that Cam is similarly slow to process. A major issue is that Cam pairs that slowness with painfully slow wind-up and release. If Stidham has the advantage in that part of the equation, I'd see it as an upgrade
On a scale of Lamar Jackson to Drew Bledsoe, how would you rate Stidham's mobility? (I also recognize that there are Tom Bradys, who won't threaten you with their legs, but will with their pocket presence)
More than serviceable. 24-8 career record. 67.5% career completion rate, 51 td, 26 int, 98.9 career passer rating, took a team to the Super Bowl. Would be a massive upgrade for the Pats at QB. Injuries are an issue, but in terms of him as a player...he's much more than serviceable.
Stidham was not a running threat in college and there is little evidence to indicate he will rush much in the NFL either. I’m guessing Bledsoe would be a good comp and we can only hope he develops moves like this guy.
Yes, practice reps for multiple QBs are never easy to fit in, but especially tough this season.
That would be rich. Cam’s careless fumble that was retuned for a TD was even more infuriating. Thankfully it went out of bounds and the TD call was rightfully overturned.
He's significantly more mobile than Bledsoe. He was an effective scrambler in the 2019 preseason and made plays with his legs at Auburn. I'd consider him on par with pre-injury Jimmy G., Baker Mayfield--that sort of running ability. Good enough, but not a featured part of his game.
I had similar thoughts earlier this season. During the offseason, we speculated that the Pats would be better off than most teams at handling the pandemic due to the genius of BB. But in a way, I think the opposite proved to be true: the Pats rely so much on practice and such that, especially in 2020, athleticism wins out far more than coaching acumen.
I didn't want to oversell him- I figured that serviceable would be a floor.
I don't totally buy that. When they knew Brady was going to be out they had Jimmy G as the no doubt starter. When they knew they didn't have a QB, they went and got a cooked Brian Hoyer because they didn't trust Stidham to be the no-doubt starter, then they went for a reclamation on Cam. THEN when Cam was going to be out, they went with Hoyer as the starter.
I was just saying that Jimmy G was, by all accounts, a bad practice player. But a good game player.
Yeah, I thought part of thing with Jimmy G was that we heard whispers that he was actually really good in practice and that is why he was seen as the heir apparent, as opposed to like, Ryan Mallett. It wasn't a surprise when he finally started Week 1 against Arizona and was really good; he had been pretty hyped up in a way that Stidham has never been.
Wait... what? This isn't true either.
The Patriots Unfiltered (formerly PFW In Progress) crew were never impressed with Jimmy in practice and always said he was a game day player.
Probably you're right that Stidham is a nobody, but I don't think these situations are parallel at all. They trusted Jimmy G to be the no-doubt starter when Brady was going to miss four games. That's very different than this year, when Brady wasn't coming back.
Do you have any doubt that if Brady had suddenly retired going into that season, they would have named Jimmy the starter (at least if the next best option was someone being paid at 2020 Cam level)?
I think it would have played out that way, but I think they would have brought in competition for him. You're right that Stidham being unable to beat out Hoyer was a bad sign.
That's a poor argument for 2 reasons:
