If Case Keenum wins the starting job out of training camp, the Redskins may be wise to limit his efforts in the passing game, says a Broncos writer for the Denver Post.
"The good part for the Redskins is he has experience being in the middle," Ryan O'Halloran said of Keenum to 106.7 The Fan's Chad Dukes. "He was with the Rams when they drafted Jared Goff, and he started that season before they made the change. The Rams, they weren't terrible. I think maybe they were about .500 when they made the switch, which was interesting."
"His year with the Vikings was an anomaly. Let's face it," O'Halloran added. "All the stars were aligned. He had the best defense in the league helping him out. He had Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs. So reaching the cusp of the Super Bowl, his numbers that year are not going to be matched."
Keenum threw for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions, going 11-3 in his 14 starts for the Vikings in 2017. His lone season in Minnesota also concluded with a trip to the NFC Championship after upsetting the Saints with his game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass to Diggs.
Keenum was much more human in Denver, going 6-10 as the starter last season, with 3,890 passing yards for 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
"The one thing, if he does get an opportunity with the Redskins," O'Halloran continued, "and it's one thing John Elway talked about when they acquired Joe Flacco, is that Case threw three interceptions in Week 1 and they won the game. But Elway thought he became really gun shy after that game, even though it was a victory. And he didn't really let it loose, he didn't throw any touchdowns for the next three games
"They got themselves in a 2-4 hole. Then later in the season, Vance Joseph called Case Keenum out and said, 'You've got to take some shots downfield. There's things you're missing.' Well, he did and he started throwing interceptions again. He threw five in his last three games."
"When he throws less, the team has a better chance to win," O'Halloran said. "So if he begins the year with the Redskins, you've got to lean on your run game, you've got to lean on your play-action, you've got to lean on your defense. That said, if ownership coerces the coaching staff to go with Dwayne Haskins in the opener, Case has experience and will realize his role, and will also realize, 'Hey, if I'm a good soldier, I can maybe extend my career and make a ton more money as a backup' before, as John mentioned, you'd maybe move into coaching."
However the QB competition shakes out, O'Halloran considers it a boon for Haskins to have a veteran like Keenum to lean on during his rookie season.
"I think so," he said. "And because he's been in so many systems, he's been in so many different quarterback rooms, he can point Dwayne in the right direction, saying, 'Hey, this is how I'd approach this defense. This is how I study on Tuesdays when technically it's the players' day off.'
"It's a boon for Dwayne Haskins because it's human nature, if you have 100 questions, you don't want to ask the coach every question. You want to be able to lean on a veteran. And so, for Haskins I think having Case around as your backup, and then you've still got (Colt) McCoy and (Alex) Smith in the building as well, I'd pick the brains of all three of those guys on a daily basis."
