Welcome to Week 12 of the “enjoying in Peoria Illinois” QB Mountain watch list.
Last Week Thoughts
As always, if you want a little analytics with your chat, PFF has a great roundtable looking at that side of the ledger for the gents we discuss #onhere.
Rudolph, Jackson, heck even Rosen’s shootout with Arizona State all paled in comparison to the Auburn win with Stidham running and throwing versus the Georgia Bulldogs. Stidham will not be everyone’s tea, but in the Malzahn scheme he seems to be a fun QB and half of the project we’re doing here is enjoying college QBs as they are – not just as the NFL will see them – so I’m having a ball watching Auburn.
NFL Team Check ins:
San Francisco got a win, as did Tampa, but the rest of the crew (Cleveland, Giants and the Colts) “held serve”.
The Bills’ loss to the Saints not only got their starter benched, thus putting them right back in the QB Mountain race, but also cemented based on comments leaked to national and local folk it they’re looking for a more “traditional” passer.
Enter my manifesto – Mini really.
I put in my notice as EIC here earlier this week, but as I said I’ll still be contributing to draft pieces and things that don’t make me want to walk into the Sahara. If the Bills brain-trust were so sure they wanted Taylor out and Peterman in as of week 2, then why play him after that?
And if you don’t want to make the critical thinking part of that question happen – think of it with my QB Mountain pieces – if you only want dropback guys, and do not value mobility as most of the modern NFL does, then you’re telegraphing that you want Rosen, Allen, Rudolph and Finley, and you’re pushing Darnold, Jackson and Mayfield to the door. I hope for the fans of Buffalo’s sake that they not only nail it given that now-narrowed list of “suitable” quarterbacks, but also give that play enough players to succeed. Or not. Process and all that.
Anyway, let’s get to the games this week.
Games to Watch this Weekend: (All times EST)
Saturday
ULM at Auburn (12 pm, ESPN2 / WatchESPN) – Stidham and Auburn are in the traditional near-end-of-season SEC “vacation”, against ULM. The belief is that this will be a safe blowout. Let’s see if that happens, given the shake ups that have happened this season.
Fresno State at Wyoming (2 pm) – I am going to save a good bit of Allen’s games for the off-season, as the Bills’ brass just might like Allen far more than I do. Can’t account for taste!
Oklahoma at Kansas (3:30 pm, CBS) – The Sooners’ signal caller is fun to watch and against Kansas, I do not foresee a big challenge for him and his squad. If anything, barring a breakdown on the draft-pick laden offensive line he should thrive.
Kansas State at Oklahoma State (3:3o pm, ESPN2 / WatchESPN) – Rudolph and his Cowboys’ compatriots should be wary of the Wildcats, as Snyder always has a trick up his sleeve. T-Boone Stadium should be rocking, so I’m assuming that Rudolph will have some fun with his star-studded skill players.
Syracuse at Louisville (3:30 pm, ESPN U / WatchESPN) – Dino Babers has been really good for Syracuse and I think this will be a good test for Lamar Jackson and the Cardinals.
North Carolina State at Wake Forest (7:30 pm, ESPN U / WatchESPN) – Given the profile of the Bills’ new signal caller, Finley is an upgraded version of Peterman – so his games bear watching.
UCLA at USC (8 pm, ABC / WatchESPN) – The main event. Darnold and Rosen are the top two quarterbacks in some order in next year’s draft, if both declare. I have not hid my Rosen love before nor will I attempt to now. In fact, I made a bet with Joe that should the Bills draft Rosen I’d un-retire, but something tells me the process can’t abide by free thinkers. Silly me.
That’s it for this week. Tweet us and let us know if we’ve missed a QB you’ve had your eyes on!
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