thecoordinator
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i know, it's a bit long but i think it's worth a read...
the great dave wannstedt once said his reason for starting a particular quarterback was because "he gives us the best chance to win." today, gus frerotte give us the best chance to win. tomorrow, he might as well. but with each day as aj feeley gets more reps, the gap between them, if there is any at all, continues to move in aj's favor.
let thecoordinator break it down for you.
the most intriuging thing so far in camp is the fact that gus was brought in because of his familiarity with offensive coordinator scott linehan's system, yet at this point has still not seperated himself from a qb that is in his third different system in as many years. what does that tell me? given time in this system, aj will be alot better than frerotte. why do i think that? because as a quarterback, you are not at your best in any system until your timing and feel for the secondary routes are second nature. you cannot achieve this by merely studying the playbook. it only happens with repetitions. gus has had two plus years of reps, albeit mostly as a backup, and is still, in my opinion, a below average starting qb in this league and more particular in linehan's system.
most of aj's experience so far has been throwing to the primary reciever. he has a better feel for the timing and ball placement on these routes because this is where the majority of his throws have gone in practice. therefore, he feels more comfortable and will lock on to this reciever waiting for him to get open. why does he continue to do this now the same as he did last season? because his quarterbacking at the college and pro level prior to arriving in miami was all in the west coast offense. the wco is mostly short passes, and route combinations that are often the same. in other words, it is common in a west coast system to have both the flanker and split-end as well as the tight end running the same routes, whether it be slants, curls, posts etc.. this allows you to make a presnap read based on the defensive alignment and visualize in your head which one of your recievers is going to be open. if your read doesn't work out, you can dump it off to a back in the flats and move on.
in a vertical offense like linehan's with multiple reciever sets, you need to create space and run off coverages. therefore you will have multiple route combinations that will feature as many as 5 unique patterns in one play. this requires knowing the system inside and out, knowing where all of your recievers are going to be, and knowing where the open reciever will be if the primary is covered. the only way to be effective in this offense is with experience. aj does not have that. let me hammer this point home before i move on.
scott linehan arrived in minnesota in 2002. prior to that, dante culpepper had posted quarterback ratings of 83 and 98 in his first two nfl seasons. in dante's first season under linehan, he posted a career low passer rating of 75, throwing more interceptions (23) than touchdowns (18). in his second year in linehan's offense,
culpepper improved substantially, compiling a qb rating of 96 with 25 tds and only 11 interceptions. so what happened last year as dante spent his 3rd consecutive season under linehan's tutelage? culpepper had his best season to date, throwing for over 4700 yards with 39 tds and 11 ints to boast a fat 110 qb rating. quite a progression from his first season in linehan's offense.
so as one qb has progressed in linehan's system, it appears the other has not. though frerotte was a backup in minnesota and attempted all of one pass in 2004, this is his 3rd year under linehan. as culpepper's numbers indicate, this should be the season gus becomes very effective under linehan. however, it just hasn't been the case. in the 2004 preseason, as a precursor to his regular season explosion, culpepper posted a passer rating of 134, completing a staggering 77% of his passes with 5tds to just 1 interception. frerotte, however, did not fair as well, managing only a 75 qb rating with 1 td and 3 ints. it just so happens that a year later frerotte has the same meager 75 qb rating, showing no progression within the system. granted, there are variables involved that make this situation for frerotte somewhat diffrent in miami than in minnesota, but a 75 passer rating is a 75 passer rating any which way you look at it.
a team like miami, who the majority of coaches, players, fans and experts around the nfl will agree, has begun a recronstruction procress to repair the damage left by dave wanstedt. nfl franchises in this situation expect to be less competitive for two to three years while a new system is put into place and player additions/subractions gel until everything falls into place. gus frerotte has already shown what he is capable of as an nfl qb after 12 years in the league; being a quality backup with a career passer rating of 76. given his lack of progression in linehan's system and his age, it is very unlikely there will be any substantial improvement at this point or over the course of the next few years.
because saban did not draft a franchise quarterback in his first nfl draft with the dolphins, starting frerotte this season would be counter productive to miami's long term goals. it is undetermined what aj feeley will be capable of in scott linehan's offense because he hasn't had a single season to get comfortable with it. because miami gave up a second round draft pick for aj, they need to run aj out there in this new system and give him an opportunity before deciding to cut their losses. if feeley shows progression from week to week as the starter, the dolphins then have the option of drafting someone other than a franchise quarterback in 2006, and thus can avoid taking on two top-five-pick contracts in consecutive years. it also shortens the amount of time miami can expect to compete, because as indicated by dante culpeppers numbers, it takes time to develop in scott linehan's system. drafting or signing a free agent quarterback next offseason would make this season a complete waste from a quaterback development standpoint.
despite saban's willingness to admit the dolphins are a long way from where they need to be, as any coach or player will tell you, they always believe there is a way they can win now. no one wants to endure a 4-12 season like miami did last year, much less back to back 4-12 seasons. starting frerotte might prevent that from happening this season, but by what? two maybe three wins? the bottom line is the dolphins still wouldn't make the playoffs, and in the process fail to see if their second round draft pick would have developed within linehan's system.
gus frerotte is not leading us to the playoffs, guys. not this year, not next year, or any year thereafter. and though right now to most of us it seems improbable to impossible that aj feeley ever will, from every aspect of our franchise, this is the guy that needs to be our starter this year.
the great dave wannstedt once said his reason for starting a particular quarterback was because "he gives us the best chance to win." today, gus frerotte give us the best chance to win. tomorrow, he might as well. but with each day as aj feeley gets more reps, the gap between them, if there is any at all, continues to move in aj's favor.
let thecoordinator break it down for you.
the most intriuging thing so far in camp is the fact that gus was brought in because of his familiarity with offensive coordinator scott linehan's system, yet at this point has still not seperated himself from a qb that is in his third different system in as many years. what does that tell me? given time in this system, aj will be alot better than frerotte. why do i think that? because as a quarterback, you are not at your best in any system until your timing and feel for the secondary routes are second nature. you cannot achieve this by merely studying the playbook. it only happens with repetitions. gus has had two plus years of reps, albeit mostly as a backup, and is still, in my opinion, a below average starting qb in this league and more particular in linehan's system.
most of aj's experience so far has been throwing to the primary reciever. he has a better feel for the timing and ball placement on these routes because this is where the majority of his throws have gone in practice. therefore, he feels more comfortable and will lock on to this reciever waiting for him to get open. why does he continue to do this now the same as he did last season? because his quarterbacking at the college and pro level prior to arriving in miami was all in the west coast offense. the wco is mostly short passes, and route combinations that are often the same. in other words, it is common in a west coast system to have both the flanker and split-end as well as the tight end running the same routes, whether it be slants, curls, posts etc.. this allows you to make a presnap read based on the defensive alignment and visualize in your head which one of your recievers is going to be open. if your read doesn't work out, you can dump it off to a back in the flats and move on.
in a vertical offense like linehan's with multiple reciever sets, you need to create space and run off coverages. therefore you will have multiple route combinations that will feature as many as 5 unique patterns in one play. this requires knowing the system inside and out, knowing where all of your recievers are going to be, and knowing where the open reciever will be if the primary is covered. the only way to be effective in this offense is with experience. aj does not have that. let me hammer this point home before i move on.
scott linehan arrived in minnesota in 2002. prior to that, dante culpepper had posted quarterback ratings of 83 and 98 in his first two nfl seasons. in dante's first season under linehan, he posted a career low passer rating of 75, throwing more interceptions (23) than touchdowns (18). in his second year in linehan's offense,
culpepper improved substantially, compiling a qb rating of 96 with 25 tds and only 11 interceptions. so what happened last year as dante spent his 3rd consecutive season under linehan's tutelage? culpepper had his best season to date, throwing for over 4700 yards with 39 tds and 11 ints to boast a fat 110 qb rating. quite a progression from his first season in linehan's offense.
so as one qb has progressed in linehan's system, it appears the other has not. though frerotte was a backup in minnesota and attempted all of one pass in 2004, this is his 3rd year under linehan. as culpepper's numbers indicate, this should be the season gus becomes very effective under linehan. however, it just hasn't been the case. in the 2004 preseason, as a precursor to his regular season explosion, culpepper posted a passer rating of 134, completing a staggering 77% of his passes with 5tds to just 1 interception. frerotte, however, did not fair as well, managing only a 75 qb rating with 1 td and 3 ints. it just so happens that a year later frerotte has the same meager 75 qb rating, showing no progression within the system. granted, there are variables involved that make this situation for frerotte somewhat diffrent in miami than in minnesota, but a 75 passer rating is a 75 passer rating any which way you look at it.
a team like miami, who the majority of coaches, players, fans and experts around the nfl will agree, has begun a recronstruction procress to repair the damage left by dave wanstedt. nfl franchises in this situation expect to be less competitive for two to three years while a new system is put into place and player additions/subractions gel until everything falls into place. gus frerotte has already shown what he is capable of as an nfl qb after 12 years in the league; being a quality backup with a career passer rating of 76. given his lack of progression in linehan's system and his age, it is very unlikely there will be any substantial improvement at this point or over the course of the next few years.
because saban did not draft a franchise quarterback in his first nfl draft with the dolphins, starting frerotte this season would be counter productive to miami's long term goals. it is undetermined what aj feeley will be capable of in scott linehan's offense because he hasn't had a single season to get comfortable with it. because miami gave up a second round draft pick for aj, they need to run aj out there in this new system and give him an opportunity before deciding to cut their losses. if feeley shows progression from week to week as the starter, the dolphins then have the option of drafting someone other than a franchise quarterback in 2006, and thus can avoid taking on two top-five-pick contracts in consecutive years. it also shortens the amount of time miami can expect to compete, because as indicated by dante culpeppers numbers, it takes time to develop in scott linehan's system. drafting or signing a free agent quarterback next offseason would make this season a complete waste from a quaterback development standpoint.
despite saban's willingness to admit the dolphins are a long way from where they need to be, as any coach or player will tell you, they always believe there is a way they can win now. no one wants to endure a 4-12 season like miami did last year, much less back to back 4-12 seasons. starting frerotte might prevent that from happening this season, but by what? two maybe three wins? the bottom line is the dolphins still wouldn't make the playoffs, and in the process fail to see if their second round draft pick would have developed within linehan's system.
gus frerotte is not leading us to the playoffs, guys. not this year, not next year, or any year thereafter. and though right now to most of us it seems improbable to impossible that aj feeley ever will, from every aspect of our franchise, this is the guy that needs to be our starter this year.
