This isn't a Joey bashing thread, nor is it anything more than an idea. I'm a firm believer in not fixing it if it ain't broken. Right now Joey isn't losing us games. He almost did yesterday but our D was too strong and it will continue to be that strong against any team that doesn't have much offense.
However, there are 2-3 games on our remaining schedule that will require some offense and it's apparent Joey won't be able to do it. If asked he'll get us points once, but we are going to need 2 to 3 offensive scores against the Pats, Jets and Indy as well as some serious defensive contribution. The problem with at least the Pats and Indy is, they don't make many mistakes which means our defense won't have many chances to capitalize. The Jets always play us well so you know we'll need more than one offensive score to beat them as well.
Do any of us really care if we are 8-8, 6-10, 4-12? Why should we? None of those records get us into the playoffs and frankly that's all that matters. 9-7 might and 10-6 should. We won't get those wins without some decent offensive production. Production that Joey won't be able to provide.
You've never seen a team in the history of the NFL bench their starting qb with no super viable 3rd option. Even with a viable 3rd option they don't usually bench the winning qb. Most of the time even if the starter is ready, the backup stays in if they are winning.
However, now is the perfect time. It isn't because Joey is horrible. It isn't because he couldn't win against Detroit. Though they don't respect him and it's obvious he gets no respect from anyone. That's a problem. You can't Joey gets no respect because everyone sits around waiting for him to fail. Yesterday I thought the 78 yard drive was masterful. He was nearly perfect, making all the throws he's struggled with all season. But that was it. From that point forward he was back to his old self and the whole perfect drive and first 2 passes of the next I was saying to myself, when is it going to end? Just like Minnesota was, knowing that it would end. Just like all the other teams in the league when they face him. He'll be good here and there but if he's called upon to get us some points, he'll fail more than he succeeds. It's a short week and teams can't prepare for what they don't know. They also are forced to respect it. More impetus to give Cleo a try.
It's a short week, it would give Detroit no time to gameplan. The D alone should be able to win this one, therefore we wouldn't need to ask anything of Cleo. Let's see how he operates. If we are down by 7 the first half and he's done nothing spectacular but hasn't made any mistakes either, let's see what happens in the second half when he needs to get us some points.
If we lose, we're done, unless we see that Cleo can get us points when asked to do so. If we win and he is just like Joey, doesn't do anything to win the game but manages it pretty well, makes some poor passes and a couple bad decisions, then we go back to Joey and hope he becomes the guy that everyone isn't waiting for to fail.
If we win and he scores us points, then we know. We know if called upon he can do it. We know that he gives us a better chance of scoring points in critical situations than Joey does. Maybe we don't play him again until that time comes. Maybe he starts sharing the snaps. It's not improbable or even that ridiculous to consider using them both. With the way our D plays, as a tandem they could be very effective. Joey can manage the game and not make many mistakes. If we need that third and 12 or if we need to score 14 points in 10 minutes, Cleo may be able to run around and make some things happen to get us there.
Don't fix it if it ain't broke. But it's clearly obvious at this point that unless we don't have to score more than a td on offense, it is broken.
I'm half serious. But I also believe to have any hope at the playoffs and more, Joey can't do it alone at qb. Why play for a semi respectable record with no playoffs? I'd be disappointed if Cleo came in and stunk it up against Detroit and lost us a game that Joey may have not lost, but at the same time at least we'd know. We'd know that the best hopes for this season were a respectable record and anything more would be a blessing.
One final thought, even if Cleo made a costly mistake or two, we should still be able to beat Detroit.
However, there are 2-3 games on our remaining schedule that will require some offense and it's apparent Joey won't be able to do it. If asked he'll get us points once, but we are going to need 2 to 3 offensive scores against the Pats, Jets and Indy as well as some serious defensive contribution. The problem with at least the Pats and Indy is, they don't make many mistakes which means our defense won't have many chances to capitalize. The Jets always play us well so you know we'll need more than one offensive score to beat them as well.
Do any of us really care if we are 8-8, 6-10, 4-12? Why should we? None of those records get us into the playoffs and frankly that's all that matters. 9-7 might and 10-6 should. We won't get those wins without some decent offensive production. Production that Joey won't be able to provide.
You've never seen a team in the history of the NFL bench their starting qb with no super viable 3rd option. Even with a viable 3rd option they don't usually bench the winning qb. Most of the time even if the starter is ready, the backup stays in if they are winning.
However, now is the perfect time. It isn't because Joey is horrible. It isn't because he couldn't win against Detroit. Though they don't respect him and it's obvious he gets no respect from anyone. That's a problem. You can't Joey gets no respect because everyone sits around waiting for him to fail. Yesterday I thought the 78 yard drive was masterful. He was nearly perfect, making all the throws he's struggled with all season. But that was it. From that point forward he was back to his old self and the whole perfect drive and first 2 passes of the next I was saying to myself, when is it going to end? Just like Minnesota was, knowing that it would end. Just like all the other teams in the league when they face him. He'll be good here and there but if he's called upon to get us some points, he'll fail more than he succeeds. It's a short week and teams can't prepare for what they don't know. They also are forced to respect it. More impetus to give Cleo a try.
It's a short week, it would give Detroit no time to gameplan. The D alone should be able to win this one, therefore we wouldn't need to ask anything of Cleo. Let's see how he operates. If we are down by 7 the first half and he's done nothing spectacular but hasn't made any mistakes either, let's see what happens in the second half when he needs to get us some points.
If we lose, we're done, unless we see that Cleo can get us points when asked to do so. If we win and he is just like Joey, doesn't do anything to win the game but manages it pretty well, makes some poor passes and a couple bad decisions, then we go back to Joey and hope he becomes the guy that everyone isn't waiting for to fail.
If we win and he scores us points, then we know. We know if called upon he can do it. We know that he gives us a better chance of scoring points in critical situations than Joey does. Maybe we don't play him again until that time comes. Maybe he starts sharing the snaps. It's not improbable or even that ridiculous to consider using them both. With the way our D plays, as a tandem they could be very effective. Joey can manage the game and not make many mistakes. If we need that third and 12 or if we need to score 14 points in 10 minutes, Cleo may be able to run around and make some things happen to get us there.
Don't fix it if it ain't broke. But it's clearly obvious at this point that unless we don't have to score more than a td on offense, it is broken.
I'm half serious. But I also believe to have any hope at the playoffs and more, Joey can't do it alone at qb. Why play for a semi respectable record with no playoffs? I'd be disappointed if Cleo came in and stunk it up against Detroit and lost us a game that Joey may have not lost, but at the same time at least we'd know. We'd know that the best hopes for this season were a respectable record and anything more would be a blessing.
One final thought, even if Cleo made a costly mistake or two, we should still be able to beat Detroit.
