This i would disagree with. The first 5 games yes. In the first 5 games Zach had success playing outside the structure of the offense but little success from playing in the pocket. His last 7 games it was the reverse. His success came from playing within the structure of the offense and not from the off schedule plays which was the most encouraging thing we saw last year. For example if you look at Darnold's surge at the end of 2018 it was all from off schedule plays not from within the pocket. Playing well within the pocket can be repeated with consistency while off schedule plays make highlight reels they are not very repeatable and not a good long term indicator of success. Give me the boring in pocket plays everytime. Zach's success from inside the pocket the last 7 games was a reason for optimism. But, I would caution that there is a lot of room for improvement. He needs to continue to show improvement in getting the ball out quickly and on time, he needs better mechanics with his left foot pointing at his target and not hopping on his back foot in drops, he needs to learn to relax and continue to show he is learning that trying to do too much is a very bad way to play.
I'd like to see Streveler with our starting Offense against a team's starting Defense just to properly gauge where this camp arm really rates in the hierarchy.
This is the only real, accurate way to judge. Next game I'd have Flacco play 2 series maximum, then give Streveler at least two quarters.
I agree with your main point that successful QBs operate from the pocket, and that Zach had to learn how to do that, and still needs to improve. In fact, for all the doubters pointing to his last 7 games as "proof" that he isn't going to succeed, I'm with you in asserting that this proved just the opposite: by staying within the structure of the game plan given him - and the pocket - he began to learn how to be successful in the long run. And this did nothing to diminish or erase his ability to make off script plays - we saw some of that this P.S. in fact and he looked much better to most observers. Doing what he was asked to do last season - stay in the pocket - went against almost everything he had learned up until then, and had been very successful at. Changing like this was similar to Josh Allen being asked to remake his mechanics from the ground up. Had Darnold done this instead of saying "I'm happy with how I throw" he might still be our QB. One of the main reasons I wanted Zach - even over Lawrence - was his work ethic and commitment to improvement. I have no doubt he'll continue to work on the things he needs to do to get better.
White had a career game and never approached that level of proficiency since. It's good he can ride that game for several years but it doesn't mean he gets gifted the #3 QB spot. Especially when he's been outplayed by Streveler this entire preseason. White smoked the Bengals but that just might have been a 1-off situation. ZW is a bit fragile and has yet to play 16 games in a season. Joe is 37yo and slow as hell so he's gonna get smoked at some point this year. As far as this roster goes, the #3 QB position is hugely important given the injury history of the team.
They do all of this stuff in the camp scrimmages with other teams. The preseason games are just theater for the owners to collect. That’s why it feels like even less players are playing in preseason as the years go on.
