Thread: Why are we even playing with WEBB at QB?

VikingGlen wrote:

Webb was drafted because, with our all star lineup, there was no one left in the draft that the Vikings felt could contribute to or make the team. Webb's athleticism made him hard to overlook, so he was brought in solely to see what he could do, and if he could do it well enough to be of value to the team. Listing him as a QB was stupid, because we already had 3 QBs. So they listed him as a WR for lack of another place to put him on the roster.

I have to believe that if he showed legitimate WR skills on the level of Moss, Favre would have had a fit that he wasn't out there as Rice's replacement.

So far, as a QB, Webb has demonstrated physical skills, the ability to allude a rush and break free from defenders, arm strength, and passing accuracy on a high enough level to make him a pro QB. We've yet to see how well he'll be able to read a defense, anticipate moving windows, and handle the intellectual challenge of memorizing defenses and the tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses of opponents.

As it stands right now, our final WR core is likely going to be made up of (in no particular order):

[ol][li]Bernard Berrian[/li]
[li]Percy Harvin[/li]
[li]Greg Camarillo[/li]
[li]Javon Walker[/li]
[li]Greg Lewis or Logan Payne[/li]
[/ol]
One of whom will likely be cut when Rice returns. As I said, if Webb was so good as a WR, Favre would have raised the roof that he wasn't being used as one. So, which of the above WRs should the Vikings cut to make room for him?

+1
Excellent post.

jmcdon00 wrote:

VikingGlen wrote:

Webb was drafted because, with our all star lineup, there was no one left in the draft that the Vikings felt could contribute to or make the team. Webb's athleticism made him hard to overlook, so he was brought in solely to see what he could do, and if he could do it well enough to be of value to the team. Listing him as a QB was stupid, because we already had 3 QBs. So they listed him as a WR for lack of another place to put him on the roster.

I have to believe that if he showed legitimate WR skills on the level of Moss, Favre would have had a fit that he wasn't out there as Rice's replacement.

So far, as a QB, Webb has demonstrated physical skills, the ability to allude a rush and break free from defenders, arm strength, and passing accuracy on a high enough level to make him a pro QB. We've yet to see how well he'll be able to read a defense, anticipate moving windows, and handle the intellectual challenge of memorizing defenses and the tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses of opponents.

As it stands right now, our final WR core is likely going to be made up of (in no particular order):

[ol][li]Bernard Berrian[/li]
[li]Percy Harvin[/li]
[li]Greg Camarillo[/li]
[li]Javon Walker[/li]
[li]Greg Lewis or Logan Payne[/li]
[/ol]
One of whom will likely be cut when Rice returns. As I said, if Webb was so good as a WR, Favre would have raised the roof that he wasn't being used as one. So, which of the above WRs should the Vikings cut to make room for him?

+1
Excellent post.

Don't want to take away from this excellent post but the only thing I disagree with is the Favre comments. Favre didn't join the team until well after Webb was assigned as a QB. Favre hasn't seen Webb as a WR yet. (I don't think it matters anyways, just sayin)

Mr Anderson wrote:

gagarr wrote:

V-Unit wrote:

I'm sorry guys, I just don't see it yet. At all, Maybe in five years, but I really see no positives in waiting that long for Joe Webb to "arrive".

Even if we choose not to take the "Super Bowl or Bust" mindset, we could find 10 starting caliber QBs in the time it would take to develop Webb. Cut him. Start over if we must.

-V-

Who says it will take 5 years to develop Webb?

I don't want anyone jumping down my throat with this comparison, but Tom Brady was a 6th rounder out of Michigan with a QB rating of 84 playing only as a senior.

Brady sat his rookie year behind Bledsoe and the rest is history.

I couldn't find any stats on Brady's preseasons in 2000 or 2001.

There's a pretty big difference between an All-Big Ten QB, who set a big-ten completions record, and won 20 games in two seasons under Lloyd Carr in his hey-day than a guy coming out of University of Alabama at Birmingham and Conference USA. It's just a different level of play, especially at the QB position.

Does Webb's college past mean he can't play QB in the NFL? No. But the fact that he projected to WR has to mean something, and it's probably not just because he's a great athlete, John Elway was too.

My main point was that you can't set a time line on Webbs development until you get a better handle on where he's at and how fast he progresses.

I didn't think TJ looked all that bad in pre-season of his rookie year. I even cut him a break starting as a rookie. What I can't stand is I've seen little improvement in the 4 years he's been here.

I see no problem keeping Webb as a QB for a year and see if he progresses.

As for Brady and his college career, Lienart proves it doesn't mean much and Jerry Rice proves the size of school isn't a deciding factor either. What matters is what you can show in the pros, and we are still waiting to see on Webb.