Is Sam Howell the new Colt McCoy?
It’s a comparison ESPN Draft guru Matt Miller made in an interview with Lynnell Willingham earlier this week, the comp made in terms of physical stature, draft status, technique, and even collegiate head coach (Mack Brown, who made the same comp) – and on Tuesday’s BMitch & Finlay Show, JP Finlay said, ‘I don’t hate it.’
That quote is interesting, given that in the open of Tuesday’s show, JP said that Howell is a “breath of fresh air” for Commanders fans who have veteran QB fatigue, naming McCoy as one of several of those who came in and was “already beginning their decline.”
Howell has also been compared to Chase Daniel in the past, a man who was undrafted and has carved out a 14-year career as a backup QB for six teams after he was cut by the then-Redskins at the end of training camp in 2009.
JP then read some of Howell’s scouting reports coming out of college, to which Brian Mitchell asked how we can still go on that based on Howell now having a year in the NFL under his belt, and wondered why everyone was so mad about a simple comparison – and then the guys welcomed in Pete Hailey, who
“I don’t think it’s unfair or wrong at all, I think people are reacting negatively because they know what McCoy has turned into and there’s such widespread hope Howell will become something far greater,” Hailey said. “The reality is Howell is a fifth-rounder, and getting compared to a guy who has stayed in the league that long is probably a compliment. I don’t have a real issue with it, but I think people are so desperate for Sam to become a reliable player that any negative press about him gets twisted into something personal.”
Mitchell then told a story about how he once out-threw Rich Gannon, a Super Bowl quarterback, so that alone shouldn’t be a consideration when it comes to evaluating a quarterback, because sometimes that equates to more interceptions because guys think they can fit balls into tight windows – yet Colt McCoy, who had “a damaged arm,” is still in the NFL.
Related
“We all have a need to compare, but these comparisons take like a five percent overlap, and the truth is these guys are all completely different players. Comparisons are pretty much a waste of time, so if you get really angry about them, you are, in turn, wasting your time. We haven’t really seen Sam Howell at all, so the truth is, there really is no comparison to Sam Howell.”
So, JP wonders, at what point are we doing Howell a disservice with all these comparisons?
“I’d imagine Sam knows there’s overall pressure on him to seize this opportunity and do really well with it, and there’s pressure on him to maximize his NFL career, but no pressure on him to live up to a comparison,” Hailey said. “I think he knows what the right things are to focus on, and will ignore all this bluster.”
Even if, as Hailey noted, he ends up being seen as "boring" as a "low-key, pretty good" quarterback.
"There will always be the can he say or do more, but if he can get Kirk Cousins-like production with a little Taylor Heinicke charm and more of an Alex Smith attitude, that's great - because all that stuff is secondary to what happens on the field," Hailey said. "He's a quiet guy who is not very worried about his reputation right now, and I hope it stays that way for the most part."
Check out Hailey’s entire segment above, as well as the rest of the noon hour of BMitch & Finlay where Brian and JP go deeper on Sam Howell!
Follow BMitch & Finlay on Twitter: @BMitchliveNBCS, @JPFinlayNBCS, and @BMitchandFinlay
Keep up with 106.7 The Fan via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram