Grant & Danny understand that Sam Howell is likely to have an ‘up-and-down’ season, not unlike a rookie quarterback, even though he had a full year of learning and one NFL start, as he is learning a new offense in his first chance to be a starter – “everything is new,” as Danny said.
But that begs the question: in a year where everyone’s jobs may be on the line, will Ron Rivera be patient with Howell before feeling pressure to try to win with Jacoby Brissett?
“With a lot of things thrown at him, there’s going to be some struggle, and if you pay attention to the beat, it’s been very similar in that there are a few great flashes and a lot of head-scratching with Howell in camp,” Grant said. “With Howell so far, it sounds to me like what happens when you have a promising rookie, where you vacillate between ‘he’s the guy’ and ‘how is this the plan?’”
“In normal NFL cities, when you go all in and play a rookie QB, what are you looking for? You’re looking for the highs, and hope if he does it once, he can do it again,” Danny replied. “It doesn’t mean he’s going to be perfect, in fact, he’s probably going to stink overall, but if they show you the high enough times to make you say he has it, that’s the whole point of the exercise – and as you go down the line, you get what has happened in Buffalo and Cincinnati and with the Chargers.”
Not to be wet blankets…cold, wet blankets…but Grant & Danny urge a little more patience from fans than what the expectation seems to be.
“I think a lot of people are assuming that since it’s Year 2 with Howell he will hit the ground running, but there’s a lot in his way that might not make it so,” Danny said.
“That’s kind of the point – let’s acknowledge the other side. This is not a seamless second year in an offense he has now mastered after playing through all of his mistakes,” Grant said. “If you are Kenny Pickett going into Year 2, he played enough that you had the time on the field, you’re in the same offense…you can expect a violent leap forward. Those boxes are not checked for Sam Howell.”
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Don’t mistake that for Grant saying Howell will be bad, because he thinks Howell can be a 4,000-yard passer with 25-ish TDs if he plays all 17 games, but those will also come with 15-ish interceptions.
“I think he’s going to be pretty good, I just think we need to prepare for a young QB experience, not a franchise QB in the middle of the prime of his career, which seems to be the expectation,” Grant said.
“If I was in charge, we’re riding with that, because that’s what’s best long-term for the organization,” Danny replied. “If Sam Howell falls short of those numbers you laid out, now maybe I have an easy determination: new owners, maybe new coaches and evaluators, now is the time to go all in on a new quarterback and make sure we’re in the sweepstakes next year.”
And so, there’s the dichotomy of patience vs. need to win.
“That’s reasonable for the organization, but that’s not best for Ron and the Martys, and for Eric Bieniemy in his quest to be a head coach.
Them being patient isn’t totally in their interest, and I think that’s an essential theme of this season.”
Follow Grant & Danny on Twitter: @granthpaulsen & @funnydanny
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