A good feature on McElroy from the Wall Street Journal. Although I'm hoping Sanchez somehow gets his head out of his (or anyone else's) ass, I think McElroy deserves to get another chance at some point. Is he viable competition for next year's training camp?
What slays me bout that article is how far McElroy has come since graduating from Alabama. The great work in pre-season 2011. The great improvement in his hand strength and throwing velocity. His winning the job this year. His great dedication to his work. And with no prep, no warning, he steps in and takes an O that Sanchez couldn't do dick with and leads them on a TD drive first shot out, and engineered another TD drive as the game wound down (with Greene taking the knee, of course). Yet some here diss him unfairly as if he has shown or done nothing other than and since being a seventh round pick. He's far more than that now, and the fairminded would put aside their easy categorizations and recognize that fact.
Um. Geez don't know where to go with this other than skinny 7th round picks with weak arms tend to leave the NFL within a couple of seasons and that's what will happen to McElroy. He makes Colt McCoy look like Peyton Manning.
I read the article I just think it is total bullshit. Arm strength doesn't improve at the NFL level. Certainly not from the level McElroy displays (note the current tense) to an acceptable level. Even the 7 throws we saw were popgun material. It is beyond delusional to be rooting for a 7th round pick who had very high exposure before the fact to turn into an NFL starting QB. It just isn't going to happen. The issue with Kurt Warner and Tom Brady was not arm strength.
How anyone can write off McElroy??? I hope the organization gives him a chance. To not even give him the chance to compete for the job next year would be an indictment to the organization. At worst he can be a nice career backup which is great value for a 7th rounder and maybe he grows into something more if given a chance. In reality at this point the guy should be starting anyway since they are taking the ball out of Sanchez' hands based on the Jax game plan. McElroy can execute that same game plan and at least make smart decisions and not fumble when he gets sacked like Suckchez does.
Decision making > arm strength. Bill Walsh, one of the greatest coaches of all time said arm strength isn't that important when choosing a QB. If we're running a West Coast offense we can still stretch the field with his arm, he doesn't need to throw 60 wire to wire, if he can throw at least a 40 yd pass with velocity he's alright in my book. Flacco has all the arm strength in the world but the guy is a class A retard.
Same as Stafford, one hell of an arm, but dumb decisions. All he does is throw it up there and hope for the best.
Let's be fair here... You shouldn't pidgeonhole the guy because he was a 7th round pick with a weak arm coming out of college. On the other hand, you cannot annoint him as starter material based on less than one half of football where he threw for 27 yards and led two scoring drives against a team well on its way towards quitting on the season. Brooks Bollinger won two games for the Jets as well!
