Will More Teams sit rookie QB's behind Vets?

[seanbrock 1,684]

We saw it with Rodgers and it worked beautifully. We're seeing it with a couple 2nd round guys in Osweiler and Garappolo, but that could be because they were drafted by smart organizations with future hall of fame QB's who will play as long as they want, but if Osweiler and Garappolo seem to benefit from learning their teams offense and some nuances of the game from veterans and position coaches before they're thrown to the wolves will teams go out and sign veteran QB's to start in front of their rookies?

 

I think in order for that to happen it would have to be with the right coach who will be guaranteed some leeway to suck for a year or two before they're fired which doesn't happen a lot and I think a lot of it depends on draft position. I think teams like the Saints have to start thinking about trying to grab a guy in the late first or 2nd round to sit behind their vets if this works.

 

I lean towards no for the most part, but it is a copy cat league so you never know.

[oochymp 2,393]

I'm gonna start with this from a Winston/Mariota thread:

The reason so many highly drafted QBs are starting immediately is because most teams that are drafting that high don't have a viable alternative. I think most teams would rather sit a young QB his first year and let him learn the system without pressure. We did that with Jake Locker (who was an eighth overall pick) and tried to do it with Vince Young (who was a third overall pick) it just doesn't usually happen because the other QBs on the roster suck and fans pretty quickly start calling for the rookie. I think the Titans probably could get away with rolling Mettenberger out this season, but they've already said that's not the plan.

as for intentionally sitting someone behind a stud, it'd be great, but it's never easy to predict when you're going to need the young guy to step up so unless you're willing to trade a top tier QB (like GB did with Favre) or let one walk in free agency there's no way to know when you need to get an understudy, also those teams usually aren't in position to draft a sure starter

 

the bottom line is that teams would always love to have a future stud sit behind a current stud and learn for a few years, but for a lot of reasons it just rarely happens that way

[FartWaffles 1,857]

Saints have to start thinking about trying to grab a guy in the late first or 2nd round to sit behind their vets if this works.

Well the Saints did just draft Garrett Grayson in the third round, so they have that going for him. A lot of analysts had him pegged as the third best QB behind only Winston and Mariota.

 

As far as sitting rookie QBs goes, in most cases it is the right decision to do so, but you can't fully blame a coach for pushing them into the fire too early, because in order to keep their job they need to win games.

 

Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco are to blame for this influx of the rookies starting early craze. Some can do it, but I'd say most college programs DO NOT prepare their QBs to play at the next level in a pro-style offense.

 

Winston falls into the exception in my opinion. He has the experience in a pro-style offense, so I have no problem with him starting right out of the gate, but Mariota from that Oregon spread would be better suited to wait at least one season to fully grasp the offense instead of trial by fire.

[seanbrock 1,684]

Yeah, if I'm going to start a rookie QB I want him to have at least some weapons and if not weapons a decent offensive line and a good running game. I think the mistake a lot of teams make who are driven by immediate results is taking a rookie QB and constantly changing HC's and offensive coordinators. There needs to be a level of consistency for young QB's. I'd almost rather have a bad coach or OC for 3 years just so they're not relearning how to be a professional QB every year. Sometimes it takes time to get the personnel to really fit an offensive system when you hire a new coach too.

[Milla4Prez63 678]

It depends on where the rookie is drafted, first round guys have a lot of pressure to start right away because teams don't take QBs in the first round if they have a good starter already. There are only rare cases like Aaron Rodgers behind a aging Brett Favre that are exceptions, but if a team takes a QB that high chances are the guys they have already aren't good enough to keep the young guys on the bench.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

IDK, I still believe that some QBs can play in the next level and others can't. If you're drafted, you should start your first season.