01-22-2020, 06:01 PM
(01-22-2020, 03:39 PM)grampahol Wrote: I think the term "mentor" is far over rated. It's not as if Burrow or any QB has little to no knowledge of how to play the position. I wish someone could come up with a definitive answer to exactly what this "mentor" is supposed to do. I think the only requirement is having a viable backup in case of injury. Burrow or any other rookie starter either gets "it" or they don't. With several former QB's on the coaching staff alone I don't really see the need for a backup "mentor".. On the other hand we can toss this mythical mentor word around all day and pretend he'll be some kind of sage advisor with knowledge nobody else could ever possibly impart to Joe.. I get it..mentor sounds like a great idea, but in reality it's just another term we toss around to make it appear they have all the answers nobody else is even remotely capable of having.
Usually how it works is that back ups are veterans for young guys, and young guys for veterans. The reason they do it is the veteran essentially shows the younger guy how to prepare in the NFL to play QB. In the case of the veteran back up they usually act like another coach, not on the sideline as much (This does happen) but during the week in preparation during film review. They often will point out coverage they had seen that coordinator run in the past, or they will add in ideas or concepts they think may work. Film review often works in a Q&A format, the veteran will "challenge" a younger guys answer to a QB coach's question and essentially force the younger guy to work through his reasoning.
To your point, it's the exact opposite. Most people don't understand what a veteran QB does for a younger QB so they assume they are pointless. There is a lot of value in having a guy who has played in the NFL (Even if they haven't played a lot of games) because they are invaluable in preparing for games. If you look at every rookie starter the last couple years the teams usually have a guy with 5ish+ years experience to back them up, that is by design.
Now all that said, I think they bring a veteran in for the off season and pre season then go with Finley in the end because of the roster limitations that exist with keeping QBs. This means it will be extra important for Burrow to latch on with Van Pelt, but this is kind of unique because Brady was running the film review and game planning similar to how the Saints did so Burrow is in a unique position of kind of already preparing like a pro.
