Backup QB

[Bengalfan4life27c]

Bottom of the barrel at this position finley or dolegala will cause us to look like last years team. whenever Burrow eventually catches virus. Reds are currently having this problem now with their offense.

[impactplaya]

This team has too much faith in Findley.
I'd have Jack Thompson come out of retirement
Before I would let Findley touch the piggie.

[Jhowdy54]

I've asked myself the same question over and over, especially now with no preseason games. Ryan Finley doesn't offer this team jack squat other than his 45% completion percentage. Yeah that will get this top 5 receiving core really going. Dolegela atleast has a big arm and would give these guys a similar look to the Burrow as far as zip and timing on passes. With Finley the look theyd be getting goes back to theyre days playing in high school.

[Jhowdy54]

Blake Bortles has atleast had some success in the league and is sitting out there.

[Weazzel80]

I'm okay with not investing in a back up for now and instead get better at a different spot.

If Burrow goes down for an extended period of time we probably ain't winning the Super Bowl anyway so might as well let Finley play and if he looses then we get a better draft pick.

Finley might not be a desirable back up but he gets paid like a 4th round pick instead of 7 million or whatever

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-27-2020, 12:26 AM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: Bottom of the barrel at this position finley or dolegala will cause us to look like last years team. whenever Burrow eventually catches virus. Reds are currently having this problem now with their offense.

To be fair, Dalton wasn't setting the world on fire with last year's line and talent, either.  Finley may have a much better chance with the improvements made this off season.  That, and I can't help but think Dolegala might be a better choice anyways.  However, with no preseason games it is going to be very hard to get him to bump Finley out of that spot.  

I remember something about Finley looking really bad in practice, but looked pretty good in the preseason.  

[fredtoast]

(07-27-2020, 05:00 AM)Weazzel80 Wrote: If Burrow goes down for an extended period of time we probably ain't winning the Super Bowl anyway so might as well let Finley play and if he looses then we get a better draft pick.

But in many cases the QB does not go down for an "extended period".

I have done the research and I will try to find the old post, but there arec MANY examples of teams that lose their starting QB for just a game or two and only made the playoffs because a back up QB was able to win a game or two.

back up QB is a more important position thanmany people think.  and with the Coronavirus it will even be MUCH MORE important this year.  The virus would be the perfect example of a problem that could take a QB out but only for a couple of weeks

[fredtoast]

(07-27-2020, 08:44 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: I remember something about Finley looking really bad in practice, but looked pretty good in the preseason.  

Finley is not as bad as he looked in the brief shot he got as a starter last year.  Just like Dalton did not suddenly lose all the skills from a 2018 season that PFF graded as the best in his career.  There were a lot of things that ruined our passing game last year.

Finley had enough arm strength to be rated as a 4th round pick (not just by the Bengals).  He did not look bad in preseason.  If Taylor thinks he is an adequate back up QB then I am fine with that for now.

But I am also fine if we bring in some new competition.

[*Nately120*]

(07-27-2020, 08:59 AM)fredtoast Wrote: But in many cases the QB does not go down for an "extended period".

I have done the research and I will try to find the old post, but there arec MANY examples of teams that lose their starting QB for just a game or two and only made the playoffs because a back up QB was able to win a game or two.

back up QB is a more important position thanmany people think.  and with the Coronavirus it will even be MUCH MORE important this year.  The virus would be the perfect example of a problem that could take a QB out but only for a couple of weeks

Plus, if Burrow is the rabid winner we hope him to be he's unlikely to be very happy with this organization if we decided to go into let's give up" mode every time he misses a game.

[Jason_NC]

(07-27-2020, 05:00 AM)Weazzel80 Wrote: I'm okay with not investing in a back up for now and instead get better at a different spot.

If Burrow goes down for an extended period of time we probably ain't winning the Super Bowl anyway so might as well let Finley play and if he looses then we get a better draft pick.

Finley might not be a desirable back up but he gets paid like a 4th round pick instead of 7 million or whatever

We probably aren’t making the playoffs if Burrow plays all 16, so I agree.

[Bengalfan4life27c]

could we get Rosen for a 5th maybe even a 4th? Mccarron? both would be a upgrade usually im not concerned. but Most teams will be keeping 3 qbs this season some teams may even keep 4. We only have 1 good one.

[Wes Mantooth]

I've said this before, but I don't think a lot of people consider many of things a veteran QB offers, beyond just the on the field and X's and O's stuff.

A veteran QB serves as a great mentor for a younger guy coming into the league. I don't care what your profession is, when you're at the age (20-23) it's invaluable to be able to lean on those older than you to navigate vertain things. And I think that is even more true when you consider the changes these players are facing.

Sure, we do have some former QB's on our staff that can probably assist with the playbook, film, and the like. But what to do they actually know about coming into tens of millions of dollars when you're just out of college? What to do they actually know about the pressures put on a kid stepping into the spotlight?

Have any of our coaches ever seen meaningful reps in the NFL? Are they going to be able to lend an ear to concerns about real estate and investments? Can they take extra time to go out dinner with the player, or give advice on charity work? Are they going to have Joe Burrow and his gilfriend over socially to spend time with their families?

For the players, there's a lot to goes into this game beyond the game itself. You're stepping into an entirely new life. An older guy, that's actually lived it, is someone that can be great lean on, and to bounce ideas off of.

Jordan Palmer gave an interview about Burrow and a lot of the guys he trains, right before the draft. In it, he said that if you ask almost any NFL QB who the learned the most from, they'll name a veteran rather than a coach. He referenced Kitna for his brother, Mark Brunnell/Carson for himself, and Brett Favre for Aaron Rodgers.

I don't think Ryan Finley can mentor Joe Burrow in one single thing. Obviously, Joe is already better than him. He's also much richer. He's also the same age. What could Ryan Finley possibly offer to Joe Burrow in terms of life advice? What can Ryan Finley possibly offer Joe Burrow in terms of understanding the politics that surround the game? (A: Not one damn thing.)

When you add all of the above to the fact that Ryan Finley is just an awful QB, and that a backup is an important position, it should have been a no-brainer to bring someone in, IMHO.

I see a lot of people say that they'd rather invest money elsewhere. I'm not sure they understand the market for backup QB's. Blake Bortles signed for 1 mil dollars last year and is currently available. Matt Moore just signed for 1.05 mil. Brian Hoyer just signed for 1.05 mil. Where exactly do you plan on investing 1 mil to improve another position? This repsonse strikes me as more of an excuse than actual explanation. Investing in a backup really does little to prevent you from investing elsewhere.

To each their own, but I think it's beyond stupid to have Ryan Finley as our backup. Same goes for Dolegala or whatever is name is. To be honest, their handing of this position is really my only complaint for this offseason. They pretty much nailed everything else.

[Bigcatfan]

Let's just hope that whatever QB is in there to start, he makes big plays, and the rest of the offense does their job with blocking , running and catching. All I want is to see tis team back in the hunt to be the leaders of the AFC NORTH. Tired of seeing the Steelers and now Ravens take those spots every year.

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-27-2020, 09:04 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Finley is not as bad as he looked in the brief shot he got as a starter last year.  Just like Dalton did not suddenly lose all the skills from a 2018 season that PFF graded as the best in his career.  There were a lot of things that ruined our passing game last year.

Finley had enough arm strength to be rated as a 4th round pick (not just by the Bengals).  He did not look bad in preseason.  If Taylor thinks he is an adequate back up QB then I am fine with that for now.

But I am also fine if we bring in some new competition.

Dolegala is very raw, and I have no baseline as to his ability to diagnose a defense, but in terms of pure ability he has an absolute cannon and moves pretty well for a big guy.  I like the idea of trying to develop him and, perhaps due to expanded rosters, have him able to dress on game days.  

All that being said, I pray that Burrow stays healthy all season.  This team was very close to being about a 5-6 win team a year ago and I don't see the leap to get up to 9 wins as insurmountable.  They will be in a very tough division, but I love what they have done to this roster.  It all really boils down to Burrow making a big impact and the defensive acquisitions gelling quickly.  

[fredtoast]

(07-27-2020, 12:29 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I see a lot of people say that they'd rather invest money elsewhere. I'm not sure they understand the market for backup QB's.  Blake Bortles signed for 1 mil dollars last year and is currently available.  Matt Moore just signed for 1.05 mil.  Brian Hoyer just signed for 1.05 mil.  Where exactly do you plan on investing 1 mil to improve another position?  This repsonse strikes me as more of an excuse than actual explanation.  Investing in a backup really does little to prevent you from investing elsewhere.

To each their own, but I think it's beyond stupid to have Ryan Finley as our backup.  Same goes for Dolegala or whatever is name is.  To be honest, their handing of this position is really my only complaint for this offseason.  They pretty much nailed everything else.

This.

I don't care if a vet can teach Burrow anything.  But I am pretty sure that an experienced vet would be more prepared to come off the bench and play with out getting a lot of reps in practice.

And they can be really cheap.

[*ochocincos*]

(07-27-2020, 11:23 AM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: could we get Rosen for a 5th maybe even a 4th? Mccarron? both would be a upgrade usually im not concerned. but Most teams will be keeping 3 qbs this season some teams may even keep 4. We only have 1 good one.

I doubt McCarron would be brought back. He  filed a grievance against the Bengals to have his rookie season count toward his contract so he could hit FA sooner.
I would think that would have burned a bridge with ownership, no?

Rosen actually had a worse QBR than Finley did last year. 52.0 vs 62.1.

[GreenCornBengal]

Perhaps ZT thinks he is a QB whisperer and doesn’t need any vets to find success... not wise, but if we needed a vet why didn’t we try to just keep the one we had?

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-27-2020, 02:27 PM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Perhaps ZT thinks he is a QB whisperer and doesn’t need any vets to find success... not wise, but if we needed a vet why didn’t we try to just keep the one we had?

Wasn't his father-in-law the Packer's GM for a while?  Or something like that?  Remember the Packers drafted a few QBs that they would clearly never play without injury and tried to parlay them in to higher draft equity?  Maybe that was their thought with Finley?

Either way, Finley looked pretty bad last year, albeit on a bad roster offense.  

[Bengalfan4life27c]

All I remember about Finley he had plus mobility with zero arm or decision making. The 1 incredible play he made was all Tyler Boyd. Joe Burrow would owe Boyd a steak dinner if he made that throw.

[Wes Mantooth]

I'm not big at Finley at all, but apparently it spent some time with a guy who works with Tom House this offseason, to help build up his arm strength and to fine-tune his mechanics.

I did see a video of a recent workout that was posted on the Bengals Reddit page. You can be the judge if you think his arm looks improved. I personally think I can see some added zip there...