Southwest1's Blog

I totally agree with this. I don't think Painter would have been very good this year no matter how much practice he had. You have to wonder though just how ready can they really be. It makes sense that the starter gets all the reps but what about the backup? Thats a good question. It really does make you think. Some backups come in and do an awesome job, so are they just more talented then other backups? It makes me wonder how they are supposed to be ready. They know the playbook true but never play in a real game. Im sure the few snaps they get in practice is a lot easier to execute then in a real game situation. I kind of feel bad for them if they come in and do bad. I know I want them to do good and hate to see my team lose because of it. You have to ask though, how much can you really expect out of them? Definitely a good topic to think about.

Thanks Kayla. I appreciate your analysis & time as always. Playing the backup QB well is often never highlighted or appreciated unless you have a poor game. Then, everybody's got an opinion on your pocket presence & throwing mechanics. Usually, the dominant question is how fast can you be released & cut? Not fair really when you consider a lack of reps & that no one can hit, tackle, or touch the red shirted QB in practice.

I like my Driver's Education analogy too. Does anyone really pay attention in their role as the backup QB? No, not really not until they get to drive the franchise Ferrari for real in a LIVE game atmosphere beyond pre-season anyway.

I am first going to say I may be the best parallel parking whiz in Brownstown, Indiana....population 7,001 drivers, 30,000 cows, 22,000 horses, 75,000 pigs, 6 million chickens, and a partridge in a pear tree. I am THE MVP!(Most Valuable Parker) I still have a hard time with the 10 and 2 technique, but that is another story.

Two of the best backup QBs in my lifetime have been Earl Morrall of the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins and Billy Kilmer of the Washington Redskins. They seemed ready to play at a moment's notice when Johnny Unitas, Bob Griese and Sonny Jurgensen went down. Being ready separates the men from the boys. It is up to the QB coach and the QB himself to ready to go.

Morrall took over for Johnny Unitas in 1968. Sounds like another legend going down. With and injured Unitas out, Morrall took the Colts to a 13-1 record and the Super Bowl which was lost to the NY Jets. He shared time with Unitas in the loss. He filled in for an injured Bob Griese in Miami's undefeated season. Griese played in the Super Bowl.

Kilmer took over after an aging Jurgensen began to break down wit an assortment of injuries. My favorite memory of this was "Jurgy" was known for having a monster arm. Kilmer was known for throwing 'wounded ducks."

I found a list of Backup QBs that went on to win Super Bowls that came in during the regular season from a Q&A session on Quora by Steve Ritter from NY: I did not check for accuracy, but found the names intriguing:

• Roger Staubach backed up Craig Morton for the first few games of the 1971 season.
  
• Terry Bradshaw was in and out of the starting role his first few years. He lost the job to Joe Gilliam in the 1974 preseason...came back to start and the rest is history.
  
• Jim Plunkett started out 1980 backing up Dan Pastorini.
  
• Doug Williams only started two games in 1987 and lost them both. He had replaced Jay Schroeder
  
• Jeff Hostetler took over for Phil Simms on the 1990..
  
• Trent Dilfer backed up Tony Banks to start 2000.
  
• Tom Brady was the second-stringer for Drew Bledsoe in early 2001 .
  

UpvoteDownvote • Repost • Comment • 13:48 on Tue Jul 12 2011