MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

I take it that, Tom Brady is your favorite player.

 

Raiders RB Isaiah Crowell out for the season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon.

 

Ouch before the season started bad luck

 

Steve Keim: Kyler Murray will start season opener...


A year ago, the Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen 10th overall after signing Sam Bradford in free agency. The Cardinals named Bradford the starter but added they would give Rosen a chance to compete for the job.

Everyone knows how that turned out. Both quarterbacks now are gone after a three-win season.

While Kliff Kingsbury stopped short of naming Kyler Murray the team’s starting quarterback for the 2019 season opener, General Manager Steve Keim stated the obvious.

He quickly answered, “Yes,” when Rich Eisen asked if Murray would start against Detroit on Sept. 8.

Eisen followed with, “You didn’t stutter,” prompting Keim to say, “No.”

“We didn’t draft him one overall to ride the pine,” Keim added on The Rich Eisen Show this week. “I know it’s a lot to put on his back, but that’s why we drafted him. He’s a fierce competitor, and that’s what he did at Oklahoma this year. He put the team on his back. They didn’t have a great defense, and he knew he had to score on almost every series to give them a chance to win. I sort of like the chances there.”

Kingsbury answered, “We’ll see,” when asked about Murray starting on The Jim Rome Show, and mentioned veteran Brett Hundley. (And, no, he didn’t seem to intend it as a joke.)

The Cardinals wasted the Rosen choice, giving him no chance to become the franchise quarterback they obviouslythought he was a year ago. He’s now in Miami, and the Cardinals now are Murray’s team.

Who could have envisioned that?

“Oh, man,” Keim said. “It’d be hard to understand any circumstances other than the one that just happened that that would happen. I know it sounds far fetched, but again, if I didn’t the feel I got while watching the tape of Kyler Murray and how dynamic he is, there’s probably zero chance of that happening.”

Keim’s future now is in Murray’s hands from Day One. (PFT)

 

Cam Newton: Shoulder’s feeling great, still no timetable to start throwing...

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton provided an update on his right shoulder’s recovery from arthroscopic surgery and said that he feels positive about where things are right now.

Newton has not gotten the green light to resume throwing and hopes to get it before training camp, but isn’t sure when that clearance is going to come. He is sure that he’s feeling much better than he was when the Panthers shut him down for the final two weeks of the 2018 season.

“I’m feeling great now,” Newton said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “I feel like I do have full strength right now. But me telling the doctor, that is different than, you know, whatever the clearance process may be.”

Newton said he’s working with the training staff to come up with a plan for his eventual return to practice and a protocol for avoiding setbacks that involves “staying on top of the signs before things kind of roll off the hinges.” That would be in the best interest of all involved in Carolina, but Newton’s recent history of shoulder issues will make the situation one to continue to watch. (PFT)

 

Case Keenum: My job is to help this team win...

Case Keenum was the starting quarterback in Minnesota. Until he wasn’t.

He was the starting quarterback in Denver, too. Until he wasn’t.

Now, Keenum is the starting quarterback in Washington. Until he isn’t.

Washington traded for Keenum on March 7, expecting Keenum to compete with Colt McCoy for the starting job. But McCoy, recovering from a third surgery on the ankle he broke last season, is not expected back for at least two months.

And Washington since has added rookie Dwayne Haskins to the quarterbacks room, using a first-round pick on the Ohio State signal caller.

So where does that leave Keenum?

“I think first of all my job is to help this team win no matter what,” Keenum said Monday, via Les Carpenter of the Washington Post. “That’s being ready to play; that’s being ready to put our offense specifically in the best position to move the ball, get first downs and get touchdowns — score points. That’s my job. That’s what I’m here to do.

“Along with that process different things you learn, you might mention something [to Haskins]. But we’ve got a lot of great coaches in that quarterback room, so I don’t need to be a coach in that sense, but I learned more just by watching players around me. First and foremost my job is to get ready to play and be ready when they need me.”

It was the first interview for Keenum with the Washington media since he was traded from Denver. He lasted only one season with the Broncos, who signed him as a free agent a year ago.

“I’ve been around long enough to know I’m not surprised anymore by just about anything,” he said.

Keenum, 31, is with his fifth team in six seasons and likely not long for Washington. Coach Jay Gruden said Monday he expects McCoy back for training camp and wants three quarterbacks to compete for the job.

Eventually, that job will belong to Haskins.

“This is no new game to me,” Keenum said, laughing. (PFT)

 

Jay Gruden says Dwayne Haskins in starting QB competition...



Washington coach Jay Gruden has gotten his first look at his newest quarterback and has seen enough of Dwayne Haskins not to rule him out of the quarterback competition.

Veteran Case Keenum is the favorite to start the season opener, with Colt McCoy having undergone a third surgery on the ankle he broke last season. (Alex Smith‘s future is uncertain after an external fixator on the right leg he broke in November.)

Gruden declared it an open competition.

“Yeah, for sure. We have to have that,” Gruden said in a news conference Saturday, two days into the team’s rookie minicamp. “I mean Case coming off of the most experience is great. Colt has the most experience with this terminology in this system, and Dwayne was the 15th pick in the draft. We’ll see what happens.”

Haskins didn’t start right away at Ohio State. He had only 171 plays of experience on offense before last season when he set 28 Ohio State records and seven Big Ten records as he passed for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns.

“I’ll be ready for whatever the coaches want for me, whether that’s starting right away or next year or during the season,” Haskins said. “I’m just going to prepare like I’m the starter, and that’s with me in the weight room, me in the meeting rooms, me with the younger guys, me with the older guys. Every opportunity for me is an opportunity for me to showcase that I’m the guy.” (PFT)
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Case 'the bridge QB' Keenum.

 

Haskins to the Redskins. Has it occurred to anybody else, rather than just this nut, that, that is truly strange or omminish. A Skins to the Skins... interesting.

* I am easily amused

 

“Omminish”...?

 

Kind’a like Frank Stams on the Rams.
Or Jeff Feagles on the Eagles.
Or Jay Schroeder, who was a Raider.

 

I made that up, because I was in a hurry and kint spel.

 

I like it - sounds like a combination of "ominous" and "Amish."

 

That's what I was thinking when I read it the first time.

 

Great minds!

 

I was thinking of the word; Omen... I got lost when thinking.... happens all the time

 

This is, quite possibly, the most brilliantly crafted post in the history of this, or any fan forum.

 

Andrew Luck out of OTAs with calf strain...



Colts quarterback Andrew Luck won’t participate in Organized Team Activities this week.

Luck has a calf strain and the team has decided to be cautious and give him some rest, coach Frank Reich said.

“During the training session, just a little tweak, a little strain,” Reich said of Luck’s injury. “My whole mode and our whole mode is going to be, during this session, just to be real conservative with guys. Anybody who has any issues whatsoever. I told [the training staff] let’s be conservative with these guys. Main thing is to get to camp at full strength. Really any player who has any issue we’re going to be over-cautious.”

Any time Luck is dealing with an offseason injury, it will remind some of 2017, when the Colts claimed he’d be ready to go in Week One after shoulder surgery, and he ended up missing the entire season. But Reich didn’t sound like he thinks this injury is anything to worry about. (PFT)
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Is that Jim Rome watching him ? lol

 

Fitzpatrick stands out in Miami OTAs, so far...



The new-look Dolphins have a new coaching staff and new quarterbacks. During this year’s OTAs, the new quarterbacks are looking better than last year’s collection of throwers.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald breaks down the early performances of veteran newcomer Ryan Fitzpatrick and second-year newcomer Josh Rosen.

Citing an unnamed player who for obvious reasons didn’t want to speak publicly, Jackson writes that “Fitzpatrick has been the best of the quarterbacks so far,” but that Rosen “also has played well.”

Fitzpatrick, per Jackson, has looked particularly good when throwing the ball deep (which he did effectively for Tampa Bay in 2018). Rosen has been effective “in the middle of the field.”
The competition at quarterback supposedly is open, but at some point the Dolphins need to see what Rosen can do in order to determine whether he’s the long-term answer, or whether they need to keep looking for the true franchise quarterback that the franchise has lacked since Dan Marino retired 20 years ago.

NBC Sports

 

The infiltration of the college offense into the pro game continues, and that likely will result in another franchise embracing shotgun formation, most if not all of the time.

As Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic explains it, the Cardinals are expected to rarely put quarterback Kyler Murray under center.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury initially was coy on the topic, but it became clear that he’s got no qualms about a shotgun-heavy approach.

Asked this week whether the team may spend 90 percent or more of its time with the center snapping the ball through the air to the quarterback, Kingsbury said, “I’m not sure.” He then elaborated in a way that suggested he is sure.

“That’s another thing we’re working through, to see what the best balance for us is,” Kingsbury said. “Last year, Kansas City was 80 percent-plus. They were decent on offense. Pretty good. So, we’ll see. Whatever fits our team best is what we’re going to do.”

What fits the team best is shotgun formation. It’s what Kingsbury used at Texas Tech, and it’s what Murray used at Oklahoma.

And it’s what Kingbury believes in. Here’s his answer when asked about the advantages and disadvantages of shotgun: “I’ve never seen disadvantages. Some people say there are. I don’t. . . . Some other people have theories about it, but I think you can do everything just as well from shotgun as you can under center.”

Kingsbury sees plenty of advantages to shotgun formation.

“It just eliminates having to get away from the center,” he said. “Those are big guys pushing back in your face right away. So you’re seeing a clearer picture sooner. Whereas when you’re under center, it takes a while to see the field and see that clear picture. To me, you’re able to see it clearer pre-snap and post-snap.”

To me, it’s becoming clearer that the Cardinals’ ratio of shotgun formation will be much higher than 80 percent. - PFT

 

Packers legend Bart Starr dies at 85...

Packers legend Bart Starr dies at 85

Bart Starr, the MVP of the first two Super Bowls and a cornerstone of the Packers’ dynasty of the 1960s, has died. He was 85.

The Packers announced the death of the legendary quarterback on Sunday morning.

“We are saddened to note the passing of our husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Bart Starr,” Starr’s family said in a statement released by the Packers. “He battled with courage and determination to transcend the serious stroke he suffered in September 2014, but his most recent illness was too much to overcome.

“While he may always be best known for his success as the Packers quarterback for 16 years, his true legacy will always be the respectful manner in which he treated every person he met, his humble demeanor, and his generous spirit.

“Our family wishes to thank the thousands of friends and fans who have enriched his life — and therefore our lives — for so many decades and especially during the past five years. Each letter, text, phone call, and personal visit inspired him and filled him with joy.

“His love for all of humanity is well known, and his affection toward the residents of Alabama and of Wisconsin filled him with gratitude. He had hoped to make one last trip to Green Bay to watch the Packers this fall, but he shall forever be there in spirit.”

A 17th-round pick of the Packers in the 1956 NFL draft, Starr remained with the team through 1971 as a player. He served as quarterbacks coach in 1972, and he then became the team’s head coach from 1975 through 1983.

Despite the Super Bowl wins and the league titles prior to the creation of the NFL-AFL championship game, Starr’s iconic moment came as he plunged into the end zone to score the decisive touchdown in the Ice Bowl, the NFL championship game against the Cowboys preceding Super Bowl II.

Starr suggested the quarterback sneak to coach Vince Lombardi, who said in response, “Well then run it, and let’s get the hell out of here.”

Starr became the full-time starter in 1959, Lombardi’s first year as Green Bay coach. Enshrined in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Packers Hall of Fame in 1977, Starr is one of six players to have his number retired by the team.

PFT