Rookie QB Chronicles #7
“Training Camp”
-In spite of what I think was a boring Hall of Fame game to open the pre-season, the anticipation of exhibition games is upon us! Maybe the HofF was exciting for Pittsburgh and Dallas fans, but with no Jets or rookie quarterbacks for me to watch, there was not much for me to get pumped up about. Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, here are some developing stories and opinions from the past week:
-The most exciting part of the Jets scrimmage from MetLife stadium were the fans themselves. The number of fans that showed up for this practice was indeed a representation of the culture change in the Jets organization. It has been over ten years since I have seen this much energy and hope from the Jets fan base. The defense won the day, and Zach Wilson definitely had a down day in his ups and downs camp. There were some good flashes mixed in, but overall, he will have a lot of film to study.
– An interesting development in Chicago is the quick growth and development of Justin Fields. The young rookie has improved every day and is dropping jaws with his outstanding runs, and more importantly, impressive passing into tight spaces. The Chicago media and fan base is starting to wonder how long the team can stick with Andy Dalton as the starting quarterback. As I alluded to earlier this summer in my piece about Justin, I felt he had the potential to be a bust pick, or an elite franchise quarterback. The gap in that forecast was based on his ability to process and read NFL defenses with the speed necessary to utilize his incredible talent. So far, things are looking very good. The coaching staff is going to have a difficult decision on their hands if the development of this young man stays on its current course.
-A similar story is brewing in San Francisco. The only people left in the Bay Area that want to see Jimmy Garoppolo start appear to be the people named Kyle Shanahan. The head coach has hinted Trey would play, but it appears it would be more of a gadget role. The fan base and media are being mesmerized by Trey Lance and the type of plays they have no confidence Garoppolo could make. If this keeps up all summer, it will be difficult to keep this young rookie off the field. But we must remember that it is early, and there is a long way to go. We haven’t even begun preseason games yet.
-In New England it appears that Bill Belichick is back to his old mind games. It’s almost as if he is playing with the media on purpose. After insisting Cam Newton was the planned starter while Mac Jones would sit and develop, the rookie was taking more first team reps than the verteran in practice. I think he might just be seeing what he has, and wants Mac Jones to be prepared if Cam Newton doesn’t perform well. He also might just be sending a message to Cam that the job is not automatically being handed to him and must be earned. Either way, Mac Jones is impressing everyone thus far in camp. By the way, my brother in North Carolina is crushed that Cam went to the one team he hates with a passion.
– Trevor Lawarence has quickly removed any doubts created in the spring, and is now looking like the quarterback many called a can’t miss prospect. He is passing the ball all over the field in practice and appears to have found a favorite receiver in the young Collin Johnson. I just read an article that shared information about Trevor’s scrimmage this past Sunday. He threw three touchdowns and wowed the fans by making difficult throws look easy. He seems to be living up to the hype for now. But it is the beginning of preseason, and it will be interesting to see how he performs against other teams. For now, the Jacksonville fans have every reason to be excited.
The Sactown NFL Report (Jeremy Krevat)