What makes a backup QB trade happen

[jowczarski]

First,
Thank you all, as always, for taking the time to read and share and then getting into this discussion in such a measured way. If any of you listen to our BBP or follow me on Twitter you know how I get kind of crazy with the fanatical “AJ McCarron guy” that is out there. This is perhaps the best discussion I’ve seen on this topic in what is about to become my third season covering the team. Thank you for that

@BengalChris - In the NFL, talent holes around a QB can prevent that QB's success. 

Definitely. So many horror stories. McCarron/Garoppolo would gladly take the starting job in Cle or SF believing they’re good enough to turn it around (just like the head coaches) but the evidence suggests they’d just get snowed under.

@Kevin - What has he done so fantastic and wonderful to fill Fans heads with this notion.  I will add he is low cost in 2017 and gives us a better back-up than the clunkers we became use to.

I’m in this boat. He did OK in his first NFL action. He was a true rookie. Did OK. Think about it: that Bengals team was going to the Super Bowl with Dalton. I firmly believe that. McCarron beat a bad 49ers team and a Ravens club that was playing out the string. He’ll always have the “but the Bengals were on the verge of winning a playoff game!” And that alone is enough to make people think “what if.” He directed that drive. He made that throw to Green. He’ll always have that. But in the end, think of how good that ’15 team was. And it still ended up where it did. I personally like McCarron. I think if he went to a team with a solid RB and line, he could have some success. But toss him in that Browns backfield? Oy. It’s why Jackson hasn’t pushed for that deal, IMO.

@Nate -  AJM will have it even worse cause he holds onto the ball for fricking ever from what we saw when he did start

Smart football watching and memory.

We should get something for the guy why he has some value.

This.

@Phil413 - Hue saw him firsthand, and they have a lot of picks.

Yet haven’t called with a suitable offer. What does that say? Maybe he would do it for a 5th. Maye?
They carried Driskel all year for a reason, but he came in the week before Week 1. He has never run the Bengals offense. Only scout team and throwing to a stationary receiver on game days. He is a total unknown, outside of fitting the physical profile. Makes me think they might take McCarron into camp unless someone wows them.

@McC - I don't know how good he would end up being but I like his heart and that is a big deal.

I’ll have a story coming up in a couple weeks where McCarron talks to me about this. He knows his physical limitations. But he truly believes his heart/competitiveness is an X-factor. As our own columnist Paul Daugherty wrote this fall, McCarron definitely has “it.” But honestly – it takes more than that to win games consistently in the NFL. We’ll all know in the near future.

@fredtoast - I never played QB, but I would guess making quicker reads is one of those things that can only be improved by playing more snaps.

Or not.  Some QBs just never get it.

Ding. Here’s some background for you on this story that didn’t make it:

Kyle Shanahan, on what he’s looking for on tape in a QB:

“Really how quick they process things. You can tell talking to people who’s capable of processing a lot, but the smartest people aren’t always the best quarterbacks either. You can over-process things. It’s how quick they react in pocket. Do they watch the rush? Are they fearless? If they’re watching the rush at all and things like that, it’s very hard to make the reactions you need to make in this league with how quick those windows close. You want to see how quick their decisions-making is – not on the board, but in the pocket when they’re under duress.”