DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Brian Hoyer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matt Cassel top-notch backup QBs

Doesn't say much of what we already knew, but thought it deserved a thread, since no one around here likes to talk about QB's .


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By Gil Brandt
NFL Media senior analyst
Published: Oct. 2, 2013 at 12:55 p.m.
Updated: Oct. 2, 2013 at 01:35 p.m.

Backup quarterbacks ideally won't ever take a meaningful snap, but they can make or break a team's season.

As the importance of the quarterback position increases, so does the importance of having a capable replacement ready to go in case the starter should miss any time.

Week 4 featured the play of six quarterbacks who were not expected to be starting heading into the season. Most were on the field because of an injury to the man ahead of them on the depth chart. Some will stick for an extended period, either because of talent or need, while others will go right back to the bench as soon as the starter is healthy enough to play again.

NFL history is replete with quarterbacks who have made the most of their opportunity when pressed into service, from Steve Spurrier to Brett Favre to Kurt Warner to Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady. Of course, it's also littered with second-stringers who left something of a black hole at the position, sucking their team's fortunes down with them.

So which of the backups seeing significant time this season have what it takes to step up and play as well as -- if not better than -- the regular quarterback? And which understudies are in danger of being swallowed up in the spotlight? I've ranked all six quarterback situations below, from best to worst, according to my assessment of each backup.
1) Cleveland Browns: Brian Hoyer

If I were the Browns, I'd be excited about Hoyer, who is 2-0 since replacing injured starter Brandon Weeden.

Hoyer has great mental quickness, and guys with mental quickness always have a chance in the NFL. He reminds me of Trent Green coming out of college: a very smart, hard-working player with a good (but not great) arm and good (but not great) athleticism. Hoyer is perfect for the Browns, who have the weapons (in Josh Gordon, Jordan Cameron, Chris Ogbonnaya and Davone Bess) that fit his game.

Hoyer might lack a certain "wow" factor, but he produces results. The fact that the Patriots kept him as a backup for three years -- and the fact that New England and the Arizona Cardinals saw fit to place a second-round tender on him -- tells you something; you don't keep someone for three years unless you believe he'll eventually do something.

I think Hoyer has what it takes to put the Browns, who have a very good defense, in position to win. The next few weeks should be revealing.
2) Tennessee Titans: Ryan Fitzpatrick

I think this Titans team is the most talented squad Fitzpatrick has played with in his NFL career. He's a tough competitor who has a strong body for a quarterback; he also brings some mobility outside the pocket. The smart Harvard product will be paired with another intelligent guy in Titans offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains; between Loggains' game plan and Fitzpatrick's talent, Tennessee shouldn't really see a drop-off at quarterback while injured starter Jake Locker is out.

Fitzpatrick has been less than impressive when given chances to start before, but those opportunities came with inferior teams. Yes, he was cast aside in Buffalo, but I think the Bills' decision to part ways with him had more to do with the sizable contract extension they'd given him than it did with his ability. The Titans, meanwhile, are a pretty salty group, and Fitzpatrick has a chance to do so something with them. Tennessee is facing a tough stretch of the schedule, with games coming up against the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, plus a road matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.
3) Minnesota Vikings: Matt Cassel

Cassel can get the ball downfield for the Vikings, as we saw in Sunday's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has a stronger arm than injured starter Christian Ponder; he's also faster and probably a better athlete. Though Vikings coach Leslie Frazier has voiced his support for Ponder, Frazier acknowledged Tuesday that the starter might not be healthy enough to play after the team's Week 5 bye. However long Cassel continues to start in Ponder's stead, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave should be able to work wonders with him.

It's tough to get a bead on Cassel, as he has experienced great success (winning 10 games with the Patriots in 2008; taking the Chiefs to the playoffs in 2010) and failure (compiling a record of 5-12 and giving up 21 interceptions in his final two seasons in Kansas City). One thing you can say: Even as things were going downhill with the Chiefs, he never complained. I'm not quite sure why it seemed to fall apart for him. Ultimately, I'm enthusiastic about Cassel's chances were he to start for a significant stretch -- perhaps a bit more enthusiastic than his history would suggest I should be.
4) New York Jets: Geno Smith

The situation in New York obviously is a bit different. Incumbent starter Mark Sanchez appeared primed to fight off Smith and keep his job before suffering what proved to be a season-ending shoulder injury in a preseason game. So while Smith never truly was a backup, per se, and while there likely always was a decent chance he was going to see the field at some point in 2013, it's safe to assume the Jets are leaning on him a bit earlier than they'd planned to.

Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is the exact right coach for Smith, as Mornhinweg has a lot of patience, and that's what it'll take to help the talented rookie develop. Smith has ability, but he also takes too many risks, as when his attempt to swing the ball around his back Sunday in Tennessee led to a fumble and a Titans touchdown. Mornhinweg never will let anything like that happen again.

Smith has good mobility and arm strength. I've also noticed improvement in him over the past two games; when he's on the sideline, he looks like he's into the game and concentrating, which is a good sign. He also seems to be well-liked by his teammates; it appears to me he has much better rapport with the rest of the Jets than former starter Mark Sanchez did.

Back when I thought Sanchez would be the Jets' quarterback, I wouldn't have expected them to be 2-2 after four games. With Smith as their man, I think they have a shot to finish with seven wins.
5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mike Glennon

Backup quarterbacks always are difficult to get a handle on, given how small the sample size tends to be. This is especially true when it comes to rookies like Glennon. I do know he was a limited athlete at the NFL Scouting Combine, posting a 26.5-inch vertical jump -- low among quarterbacks -- and an 8-foot-6 broad jump, numbers that do not indicate future success.

Glennon connected on 24 of 43 passes for 193 yards and one touchdown while being picked off twice in his first NFL start, a 13-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He tends to throw a rope ball without much velocity, though he did pass for more than 30 touchdowns in each of his two years as the starter at N.C. State -- even with his receivers dropping a lot of balls.

Some liked this player a lot; others -- myself included -- were not excited about his pro prospects. I wonder if Glennon has what it takes to be a leader at this level, though it is worth noting he was elected captain in college. The Bucs have talent -- running back Doug Martin and wide receiver Vincent Jackson stand out on offense -- but with Glennon playing in place of demoted starter Josh Freeman, I don't think they can win more than four games.
6) Oakland Raiders: Matt Flynn

Flynn is another curious case, with sort of a Jekyll and Hyde-like résumé.

On one hand, he won a national championship at LSU, and he threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns as a fill-in starter for the Green Bay Packers late in 2011. On the other hand, he lost consecutive training-camp competitions in 2012 and 2013 and earned his coach's ire with a poor performance last Sunday.

I didn't think Flynn would be drafted coming out of LSU, and yet, the Packers picked him up in the seventh round in 2008. I was surprised the Seattle Seahawks signed him for as much money as they did before the 2012 season, only to supplant him with a rookie in Russell Wilson. Even then, the Oakland Raiders still were interested, sending two draft picks to Seattle in exchange for Flynn.
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Due to the baseball playoffs, kickoff for Week 5's San Diego Chargers-Oakland Raiders game was moved to 11:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, and the game will be broadcast on NFL Network. More ...

What makes this one a bit more puzzling is the fact the Seahawks and Raiders both employ smart people who were with Flynn in Green Bay. Did they misevaluate him? What went wrong?

I spent three days at Raiders camp and came away thinking Matt McGloin -- an undrafted rookie from Penn State -- looked better than Flynn, who didn't throw the ball well. The Raiders have to hope Terrelle Pryor, who was held out after suffering a concussion in Week 3, returns to action soon.

Pryor has "it." He's enthusiastic, and the Raiders do a good job coaching him. If Pryor had been the quarterback Sunday, I don't think Oakland would have fallen as easily to the Washington Redskins.

I would take a Trent Green for QB, anytime. I hope he can keep it going.

As do I

And I feel the comparison to Alex Smith is quite accurate.

While not as experienced or polished as Smith, the skill set is very appropriate. Decent arms but not great. Some mobility but not outstanding.

Well, I certainly don't see Alex Smith as a Championship level QB. He's a good, solid QB .... but that's about it. To me a Championship caliber QB is a guy who can load his team on his shoulders and drive them to big wins even if the run game and defense are having a bad day. I see Smith more as a guy who can succeed when the defense and run game are working.

Smith is a game manager.

If Hoyer is just another Alex Smith, then I hope we draft another QB.

People say that about Smith a lot. But when he was traded? All he was doing was winning football games. Since he's been traded? All he has done is win football games.

Much like you, I don't see a glitzy or glamorous QB in Smith. Not anything that jumps out at you per se'. All he does is win football games.

If you look at who San Fran replaced Smith with and their current records, who really won? I'm not sure I even know the answer to that one yet....

Read this earlier. Again, this is all coming from 2 games with Hoyer as QB. I loved what I saw of him and I certainly feel as if he's a better QB than Weeden, But I still don't know if he's the long term answer. The good news is, we have this year to find out. And as someone put it, are we gonna end up with another DA? Great year, then followed up with a flop.

Ya know what I'm not hearing from the folks on here? none of the knocks on Hoyer that we heard during DA's run to a 10 win season.

I remember things like Fools Gold and such.. Not hearing that about Hoyer. I remember hearing that DA stares down receivers. Not hearing that about Hoyer. DA had a rocket launcher for an arm and could throw it a mile, but he couldn't hit a guy in stride 15 yards in front of him. Hoyer can.

So for what it's worth, I think the comparisons are bogus.

But that's just me

we'll see. We have time to find out if he's real.

I'm not suggesting we don't draft a QB. I still want to get a franchise QB and make this team better.

I think Alex Smiths athleticism can help you with a 4th quarter drive to win a game. Problem is that Hoyer isn't the same athlete.

He is on a team that wins football games .....

He is throwing more TD passes this year than in previous years. He has 7 through 4 games so far.

In 2011, he threw 17 in 16 games. (only 1 off his career high for a season) In 2012 he threw 13 in 10 games. He wasn't a game changer in any way, shape, or form. He was a game manager. He was an accessory. He was Power Windows. He was nice to have, but not essential equipment. He was a decent QB, but his production could easily be replaced or upgraded.

He is doing more this year, so maybe he'll prove himself to be a plus level guy. He won because of the team around him in Frisco. Maybe this year his team will win because of his play. Then again .... maybe they won't. It remains to be seen. Thus far he is off to a great start though.

I guess that begs into question..... Is his new HC calling more passing plays or different plays?

Let's look at it this way, we put up 17 points in our W over the Bengals. Was our O so great? Or was it a team win with a great D?

I'd say our O was better than 17 points because of Cundiff's 2 missed FG attempts. But to suggest we were a high scoring O wouldn't be accurate.

It's funny how since Smith has changed coaches he's putting up better numbers and more production. I know he got the tag, "game manager", but he just wins football games. KC sure wasn't a winning team before Smith, so I won't simply shrug him off that easily.

Maybe he was "used that way", but how is that any fault of his own?

If Alex Smith-type production can be so easily replaced or upgraded, could you please get detailed instructions for achieving this to the people who have been selecting our QB's for the last fifteen years?

If we can have a "game manager" who does nothing but win games, I'll take it. I don't need Peyton Manning 2.0 as the QB, just give me one who can win games for us and be solid on a consistent basis and doesn't turn the ball over.

I don't think that anyone is really suggesting that Hoyer is the same kind of athlete as Smith but there are comparisons to be made. As for the ability to run, I think that Hoyer could but doesn't. He makes his decisions quickly when passing and rarely has to tuck it and run.

How about adding in some bootleg plays to the playbook? A waggle play or two?

Teddy Bridgewater looks like the real deal. I was sold when I saw what he did against Florida in the Sugar Bowl. He had pressure in his face the entire game. He doesn't get rattled after sacks and has a strong, accurate arm when throwing on the run. He also has a very quick release. There are a couple Youtube videos of that game...the longer one shows most of his plays, including the sacks.

The way we're playing though, I don't think we have a chance at him.

Are you really going to keep on hating on Hoyer just because he replaced Weeden? Really?

Alex Smith? I was actually pimping the guy as the qb we should pick-up. Everyone kept telling me how dumb I was because he didn't fit Norv's offense. I say adjust the offense to the talent. I like a guy who wins.

I don't know if Smith is a good comparison for Hoyer though. I think Smith is more athletic than Hoyer. I think Hoyer's arm is stronger than Smith's. I do think that both guys are pretty smart.

I will take Trent Green and not look back. He was a good player.

Truth be told, I have not seen Bridgewater, it is tough to get his games out here. I have seen Boyd once or twice, but not been really impressed. Of the QB's that I do see, Arron Murray looks like he could play at the next level.

I remember DA drilling one of our RB's in the knee from about 5 yards. It just about took the guy off his feet. No touch, but that was a fun season!

We've won two games and have looked decent doing it. But, how many YEARS did we suffer before the last two weeks? I'm choosing to stay cautious for a while. I'm enjoying this team, no doubt, but I haven't put my orange & brown glasses on yet.

The last two weeks have been a lot of fun, though.

I guess we should just enjoy about the good right now and let the future take care of itself.

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I guess we should just enjoy about the good right now and let the future take care of itself

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that's what I am doing.