The Patriots are sure glad you aren't their coach, otherwise Brady would still be on the bench becuse what pocket presence could a 6th round draft pick have? Plus Clemens was a second round pick so he's got pocket presence and we'll just ignore the fact he was the worst looking QB I've seen in ages. Oh wait, it was all the offensive line.
When college QB's come from the spread offense, they need time to adjust to running a pro-style offense. They have to work on reads, footwork and mechanics. Ratliff more than likely needs work in these areas. Yes he showed some promise during last pre-season. That is not enough of a basis of work to concede a starting job in the NFL. Then throw in the learning curve between a backup and starter. Clemens realized it when he became the starter. Hence the rushed passes and lack of pocket awareness. Should he be the starter, hell no.
Some adjust quickly, some never do. I don't think anyone is handing Ratliff the job, but he sure should be given a shot. Despite his inexperience he looked a lot better than Clemens.
You state in your sig that you are a realist. Ratliff as the starter for the New York Jets is reality? Woody and Mike T spent a ton of money to make the team better. They are not going to hand the keys over to an undrafted QB who never started in the NFL. That is reality. I have no problem with keeping him on and developing him. He has shown plenty to warrant that. We can have this argument when Ratliff has a couple years under his belt.
This team is not ready to compete for a Super Bowl...we can try, we can make the playoffs and hope that the breaks go our way, but we have many missing pieces and should not be wasting our time pursuing another stop gap veteran that will only delay the inevitable process of A) Finding/Identifying our franchise QB B) Developing our franchise QB C) Building the team around our franchise QB Stop drinking Woody's Kool-Aid...millions of dollars in salary does not equal a Championship-Ready Team.
I prefer a little rum with my kool-aid to help clear the senses. You don't put an undrafted QB in a position to fail. He needs time to develop on the bench. Never played a pro offense.
Tell that to Belichick. Cassell may have been drafted, but he didn't play a down in college. And Ratliff has played in pro offense...in the preseason.
He seems to have more poise, more physical ability .... Sure I haven't seen him in a regular season game ... But we never saw Matt Cassell in a regular season game either ... Seemed to turn out Ok for the Patsies ... As for Clemens, I want him to succeed, but IMHO he doesn't seem to have a clue back there ... Looking lost and uncomfortable much more often than looking like he belongs on an NFL field
But New England didn't name Cassell the starter the previous winter. He was the backup for a top 3 QB in the league and had to step in and start. And even then New England was looking for potential replacements at the begining.
Let me elaborate on my previous post. They players we picked up for the $140M were not going to retire within the next year or two. Barring serious injury of course. Of course, the Jets management and fans want to win as many games as they can each year and adding a large number of free agents was expected to increase the overall talent level. The Jets did indeed want and expect to win more games. That is not the same as a 'win now' philosophy. In my mind at least, 'win now' is a philosophy of win it all this year or go back to the drawing board. Getting a player who was 38 years old at the time added a much increased sense of urgency. My expectations before that point were mostly expecting a better season while the lines got used to playing with each other. Adding a future hall of fame QB after he had retired once led to a 'win now or much later' mindset. Having been on the other side with Joe Willy I should have known better but Favre's previous year was better than Joe's as a Jet so I was fooled. Put another way, how many of the 2008 veteran acquisitions will not be with the Jets in 2009 and/or 2010? I'm looking at #4. That led to the 'win now' attitude. Given the current shitstorm that is the future Jets QB discusssion things are not looking good (for peace at least) for 2009.
I'm not convinced that a 'franchise QB' is the first step to winning titles. Look at the Ravens when they won for example. Having a strong defense matched with a good running game will go a long way to a successful season. TJ had a very good season this year. Heaven only knows what happened with the defense. Maybe they aren't very good but they sure showed flashes of being decent. Either it will take a few more upgrades along with a better coaching staff or the whole thing needs to be blown up. Match the existing running game with an upgraded defense and all we need is a QB who can complete the occasional 3rd down pass, toss a long ball enough to keep the other team honest on run D and not give the ball away.
You need either an elite QB or an elite D. No team has won the Super Bowl without both. I think whoever comes in the coach will have to decide which route to take.
Unless you have a dominating game changing defense you do need a franchise QB (unless you have Joe Gibbs as your coach). Look at this decade of SB winners. New England Patriots - Tom Brady Pittsburgh Steelers - Ben Roethlisberger Indianapolis Colts - Peyton Manning New York Giants - Eli Manning then there's the Balitmore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers who both had dominating Game changing defenses.
Lets look at who is playing this week and who is sitting. Playing Tennessee - Good D, good running game, average QB Steelers - Good D, average offense, to me Rothy is carrying the O above and beyond my expectations of him. San Diego - Good passing game, wins when the running game shows up. Baltimore - Good D, good running game, Flacco is an absolute surprise. Not playing: Indy - Peyton Manning was the O, defense was decent Miami - decent D, decent running game. Still needs some improvement Honorable mention - Denver - "Stud pro-bowl QB" NE - Injured starting QB then Cassel who had a good year. Still didn't make the playoffs. I dunno, I don't see the point of blowing this team up at this point after spending so much last year just to chase after dreams of a young QB. Redesigning the team around a 23 year old just blows my mind. Youth is overrated.
Yes this is true, but the offense finally got on track with Eli running the show once Shockey got injured.
Tell Belichek what? You just proved Chrisp22's point, GSourJr, you didn't refute it. Cassel was drafted in 2005, and therefore had FOUR camps, many (all???) as #2. Ratliff has had TWO camps, one as a practice squad player and the second as #3 (or you might argue #4, as there were 3qbs getting reps ahead of him, Clemens, Pennington, Favre), he has never gotten #2 reps. If you think you made a point, it's eluding me what it is.
What is reality is that Jets ownership has no clue. I never said hand him the keys to the car. What I said was that he's looked good in limited play so why not give him a shot? He's not a rookie. He's a third-year player and has improved significantly thus far. If he can continue to improve why not see what he can do?
Not as well, it totally belongs to the defense. If not for a Brett Favre chuck it up for grabs pass that led to score the Giants lose. That win was all about defense.
