A Forum on the 2009 Quarterback Class: Part Two
By Zac Snyder
I recently got together with Tampa Bay Bucs blogger Pat Nohe of The Pewter Plank and New York Jets blogger Marc Greenberg of The Jet Press to discuss the top three quarterbacks drafted in the 2009 draft, our own “quarterback forum”.
Part one focused on player evaluations. Today, we get the chance to say how we think our quarterback would fare as a member of the other two teams and then weigh in on how we think the other two quarterbacks would fare on our team.
How would your guy fare on the other two teams?
Zac (Lions) – Unfortunately, I can’t say that Stafford would fare any differently on the Bucs or Jets. His injuries haven’t necessarily been due to poor play along the offensive line so there is no reason to expect he wouldn’t have suffered them in a different environment.
Marc (Jets) – Sanchez on the other two teams would probably stink.
Pat (Bucs) – Tough to say with the Lions, they could have more talent than Tampa but it’s tough to say if it would mesh with Freeman’s playing style as well. I do think Freeman would hold up better than Stafford behind the Lions’ line, he’s just a monster-sized dude.
The Jets though, I’ll go out on a limb and say if New York picked Freeman instead of Sanchez they’d have made it to a Super Bowl this past season. Sanchez has better weapons, a better defense and a better line. The one thing I don’t know is if Freeman could handle playing in a city like NYC. Sanchez is well-suited to it, Freeman is a lot more soft-spoken and laid back, he may not handle that as well.
How would their QB’s fare on yours?
Zac – Josh Freeman‘s physical tools give him an advantage over Mark Sanchez if each man had to play for the Lions. I believe that Sanchez could do some damage by throwing a couple bombs per game to Calvin Johnson but we have seen defenses take CJ out of games with their schemes before and it wouldn’t take long to neutralize a Sanchez to Johnson connection. An average to below average running game would do-in Sanchez. Freeman could do as much as Sanchez in the Lions passing game but possesses a better physique to endure more of the rigors of the assignment. Freeman is the more accurate passer and turns the ball over less and that would be very important for finding success in Detroit.
Marc – If healthy, both QB’s would obviously flourish. The Jets have a system in place to protect the QB and provide him with outlets like the RB and TE for quick passes.
Pat – Stafford would struggle, the Bucs line was not always great in pass protection and Freeman found himself on the run more than Bucs fans would have liked. I have no doubt Stafford could make all the throws and run the offense well, Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn and LeGarrette Blount are fun bunch of young guys, but I don’t know if Stafford would be able to stay healthy.
Sanchez would be better suited for the Bucs, he can run a little better and he’s pretty successful when asked to improvise. I don’t know how he’d fare with younger receivers though, Freeman was called on to be the leader this season despite being in just his second year and the entire offense came to really respect and admire him for it. I just don’t know Sanchez is ready to step into that role, but it’s not totally fair to say he couldn’t because he hasn’t had to as much in New York.
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