During his Pittsburgh years I used to call Charlie Batch the PPBQB: the Practically Perfect Backup Quarterback. (A riff on Baseball Prospectus' PPB Catcher.) After spending his formative years in the Lions three ring circus, he decided at an unusually early age that all he wanted out of life was to get paid $800,000 a year to run the scout team for his hometown team, and that's what he did for the next decade. Most years he was the third stringer behind someone like Tommy Maddox or Byron Leftwich. He had no ambition to start, professionally did his job, served as a defacto extra coach, and would fill in without completely nuking an otherwise talented offense when he had to. What more could you ask for in a backup quarterback? An underrated item on a long list of good fortunes the LeBeau era Steelers enjoyed.
Batch actually wanted to be a starter. When he left Detroit after 2001, he wanted to spend a year back home with the team he rooted for. But when he looked for a starting job in 2003, there was none available, so he figured that as long as he was going to be a backup, he'd stay home. And once the Steelers drafted Roethlisberger, he was willing to settle into the backup role and try to be as helpful to Ben as Frank Reich had been to him as a rookie.
I know it must suck a bit to reach that level of your profession and not be able to get on the field, but honestly it sounds pretty great. Make a real nice salary playing a game, but still leaving (probably) with your body and brain intact. I would take that gig!
And yet he did get a start against the Ravens, and beat them. Ravens-Steelers games are such a Twilight Zone. The Ravens have lost to the Steelers when Ben Roethlisberger was injured and Charlie Batch got the start. And they've beaten the Steelers when Joe Flacco was injured and Ryan Mallett got the start.
Since we, as a community, have been afforded a moment to discuss backup QBs, I'll state that Malik Willis' work in GB was the most shocking recent on-field QB event I've ever seen, far more than Brock Purdy's success in a Shanahan system loaded with HoFers or Josh Allen's transformation from out of control chucker to uber-disciplined system QB who also happens to be bigger and stronger than the other 21 dudes on the field.
Agreed entirely. Malik's success last year proves - to me, anyway - that it's much less 'good Backup QB' than 'good environment if Backup QB has to come in for however long'.'
As a cheesehead, I was relieved to see how well Willis played when he had to replace an injured Aaron Rodgers. In some respects, especially with all the hype that is directed his way, I'm seeing reaction comparisons to former GB backup Matt Flynn who brokered his backup success to a much-traveled career with other teams. Way too soon to anoint Willis, it's not going out on a limb to say he's one of the better backups.
Milton drooled more than he dawdled when the Ravens predictably safety-blitzed him on 3rd and long from the 6 yard line (even in preseason, some calls are obvious if you've been paying ANY attention).
The problem with QBs like Milton, Hooker, & Wilson is that while they're capable of the 27 foot 3-pointer, they can't reliably make free-throws and layups. The NUMBER ONE job of your backup QB is to make free-throws and layups. If they can hit a 3 every other game or so, even better.
I agree with this piece, and I love your writing. I would say though that Jake Browning might be better than some QBs who will start the season this year (e.g. whatever remains of Flacco, Jones.) Yes, I am aware that Chase and Higgins made Browning look better than he really is, and that he's fairly immobile. But he's accurate and he makes relatively few mistakes. That's saying a lot.
I live in Seattle and cheer for the Huskies. I thought Browning at Washington was an offensive coordinator waiting to happen: smart and competent but too physically limited to play in the NFL. I thought his success in school was a side effect of playing with ridiculous talent at wide receiver: John Ross (literally the fastest player in the history fo the Combine) and Dante Pettis (literally the NCAA's all-time leader in punt return touchdowns). The fact that we're here nearly a decade later and Browning's job is secure while Ross and Pettis are hanging by a thread blows my mind.
Well, they call them skill positions. Evidently, Ross and Pettis had overwhelming physical gifts that made them effective at the collegiate level but lacked the high level of skill necessary to play wide receiver in the NFL. Browning lacks the great physical gifts, but he has skill, and for the NFL that may be more important. BTW, I like your writing as well.
One last thought: scouts loved Trubisky's physical gifts and disdained Mack Hollins for his lack of speed and reliance on "mere" skill. But who turned out to be the better pro?
Yeah, I agree! It surprised me that none of these teams without a good plan at quarterback didn’t try to acquire him. And maybe they did, and the Bengals weren’t interested or asking for too much. But I would rather trade, say, a fourth round pick for Browning and give him a shot than sign Daniel Jones or Russell Wilson.
No. Jones' age and athleticism mean there's a non-zero chance he still amounts to something. Not so with Browning. (and boy oh boy oh boy do Chase and Higgins help him look good!)
As for Russell (likewise Flacco), he's a 1-month caretaker. You don't give anything of value for that, Just some $$$.
I’m not saying Kyle Allen is good, but he went 14-17 for 124 yards, 2 TDs, and a rating of 136.3 in the Dolphins game. He was 7-8 for 150 yards and 2 TDs against the Falcons the week prior , for a “perfect” rating.
You can stuff your Zach Wilsons in a sack, mister!
It's undoubtedly better for the players now, but back in the days before true free agency and the cap, it seemed like a competent GM could get you a Frank Reich or Don Strock. I didn't fear the backup QB as much back then.
And really, at any given time, there are probably no more than 4-6 quarterbacks who can be counted on to make you a playoff team every year. Once you get outside of the top 15-ish, they’re all backups.
How surprised should we really be that the #33 QB isn’t any good?
I'd have thought there'd be a benefit from an offensive continuity standpoint in having a backup who has a playing style at least vaguely reminiscent of the starter. Like a leftie to backup Tua or somebody who could run even a little bit to back up Lamar.
Obviously I'm wrong because nobody does this. Is that just because its hard enough to get a #2 who doesn't go blue-screen-of-death that there's no point in having a more specific brief?
I think it might be more like what the great O-line coach Howard Mudd once said about Peyton Manning. "If 18 goes down, we're fu***d. And we don't practice fu***d.
Snoop was kind of that, and I think a southpaw backup is important because so much changes when you have a lefty QB, way more than playing style. You could get a statue in the pocket to backup Lamar and it would work best than having a mirror-imaged Tua clone backing up Tua.
"not a mistake so much as a chain reaction of malfunctions that ends with [one's] brain finally going blue-screen-of-death and bricking under the stress of professional self-preservation"
I'd say Baker Mayfield (along with Geno Smith and, who knows, Bryce Young) has been rehabilitated by Dave Canales, and Russell Wilson debilitated by falling out of his influence, but I'm a Canales fanboy.
Most of the reaction from Milton's Game 18 appearance last year against guys the Bills signed off the street was "This chucklehead just cost the Pats the 1OA pick." It was a fun performance to watch but he had to outplay Mike White for much of the game, which I'm fairly sure Hugh Millen could do even today.
I always like the FO categorization (don't know if it was Mike's or someone else's) of backup QBs as "Get you through the month", "Get you through the game", and "Get you under the cap".
>> Fans and reporters may have been evaluating Rush in the preseason, but John Harbaugh and Todd Monken were not. They know that if...
That concluding paragraph of the Cooper Rush section was the most calming/reassuring thing I've encountered about him all offseason! Seriously! Thanks!
Just got to the Hershel Walker/ Eagles playoff game section of the Cowboys documentary on Netflix and it has me wondering if you’re going to write anything about this documentary series
Gotta say, I’m surprised by how good it’s been so far, Jerry allowing much more credit to be given to Jimmy than I would have expected going in
During his Pittsburgh years I used to call Charlie Batch the PPBQB: the Practically Perfect Backup Quarterback. (A riff on Baseball Prospectus' PPB Catcher.) After spending his formative years in the Lions three ring circus, he decided at an unusually early age that all he wanted out of life was to get paid $800,000 a year to run the scout team for his hometown team, and that's what he did for the next decade. Most years he was the third stringer behind someone like Tommy Maddox or Byron Leftwich. He had no ambition to start, professionally did his job, served as a defacto extra coach, and would fill in without completely nuking an otherwise talented offense when he had to. What more could you ask for in a backup quarterback? An underrated item on a long list of good fortunes the LeBeau era Steelers enjoyed.
Batch actually wanted to be a starter. When he left Detroit after 2001, he wanted to spend a year back home with the team he rooted for. But when he looked for a starting job in 2003, there was none available, so he figured that as long as he was going to be a backup, he'd stay home. And once the Steelers drafted Roethlisberger, he was willing to settle into the backup role and try to be as helpful to Ben as Frank Reich had been to him as a rookie.
(From this conversation with Ramon Foster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qph4GZfLYDs)
I know it must suck a bit to reach that level of your profession and not be able to get on the field, but honestly it sounds pretty great. Make a real nice salary playing a game, but still leaving (probably) with your body and brain intact. I would take that gig!
>> He had no ambition to start
And yet he did get a start against the Ravens, and beat them. Ravens-Steelers games are such a Twilight Zone. The Ravens have lost to the Steelers when Ben Roethlisberger was injured and Charlie Batch got the start. And they've beaten the Steelers when Joe Flacco was injured and Ryan Mallett got the start.
Pure voodoo.
Since we, as a community, have been afforded a moment to discuss backup QBs, I'll state that Malik Willis' work in GB was the most shocking recent on-field QB event I've ever seen, far more than Brock Purdy's success in a Shanahan system loaded with HoFers or Josh Allen's transformation from out of control chucker to uber-disciplined system QB who also happens to be bigger and stronger than the other 21 dudes on the field.
Agreed entirely. Malik's success last year proves - to me, anyway - that it's much less 'good Backup QB' than 'good environment if Backup QB has to come in for however long'.'
As a cheesehead, I was relieved to see how well Willis played when he had to replace an injured Aaron Rodgers. In some respects, especially with all the hype that is directed his way, I'm seeing reaction comparisons to former GB backup Matt Flynn who brokered his backup success to a much-traveled career with other teams. Way too soon to anoint Willis, it's not going out on a limb to say he's one of the better backups.
Umm, an injured who?
Milton drooled more than he dawdled when the Ravens predictably safety-blitzed him on 3rd and long from the 6 yard line (even in preseason, some calls are obvious if you've been paying ANY attention).
The problem with QBs like Milton, Hooker, & Wilson is that while they're capable of the 27 foot 3-pointer, they can't reliably make free-throws and layups. The NUMBER ONE job of your backup QB is to make free-throws and layups. If they can hit a 3 every other game or so, even better.
I agree with this piece, and I love your writing. I would say though that Jake Browning might be better than some QBs who will start the season this year (e.g. whatever remains of Flacco, Jones.) Yes, I am aware that Chase and Higgins made Browning look better than he really is, and that he's fairly immobile. But he's accurate and he makes relatively few mistakes. That's saying a lot.
I live in Seattle and cheer for the Huskies. I thought Browning at Washington was an offensive coordinator waiting to happen: smart and competent but too physically limited to play in the NFL. I thought his success in school was a side effect of playing with ridiculous talent at wide receiver: John Ross (literally the fastest player in the history fo the Combine) and Dante Pettis (literally the NCAA's all-time leader in punt return touchdowns). The fact that we're here nearly a decade later and Browning's job is secure while Ross and Pettis are hanging by a thread blows my mind.
Well, they call them skill positions. Evidently, Ross and Pettis had overwhelming physical gifts that made them effective at the collegiate level but lacked the high level of skill necessary to play wide receiver in the NFL. Browning lacks the great physical gifts, but he has skill, and for the NFL that may be more important. BTW, I like your writing as well.
Thanks for the kind words, they're appreciated.
Also: I suspect you know that there's research showing that teams tend to place too much emphasis on exceptional speed when drafting wide receivers.
One last thought: scouts loved Trubisky's physical gifts and disdained Mack Hollins for his lack of speed and reliance on "mere" skill. But who turned out to be the better pro?
I would trade Trubisky for Hollins in a heartbeat!!
Dudes! The guy was available for free 15 months ago, wasn't he?
Yeah, I agree! It surprised me that none of these teams without a good plan at quarterback didn’t try to acquire him. And maybe they did, and the Bengals weren’t interested or asking for too much. But I would rather trade, say, a fourth round pick for Browning and give him a shot than sign Daniel Jones or Russell Wilson.
No. Jones' age and athleticism mean there's a non-zero chance he still amounts to something. Not so with Browning. (and boy oh boy oh boy do Chase and Higgins help him look good!)
As for Russell (likewise Flacco), he's a 1-month caretaker. You don't give anything of value for that, Just some $$$.
I’m not saying Kyle Allen is good, but he went 14-17 for 124 yards, 2 TDs, and a rating of 136.3 in the Dolphins game. He was 7-8 for 150 yards and 2 TDs against the Falcons the week prior , for a “perfect” rating.
You can stuff your Zach Wilsons in a sack, mister!
Also I love your work. 😍
It's undoubtedly better for the players now, but back in the days before true free agency and the cap, it seemed like a competent GM could get you a Frank Reich or Don Strock. I didn't fear the backup QB as much back then.
You forgot Earl Morrall! 9-0 with 83/150 for 1,360 yards and 11/7 TD/Int in the Perfect Season!
For every Don Strock (Go Hokies!) and Frank Reich, there was a Steve Pelleur and Browning Nagle.
Not quite. There were multiple Pelleurs/Nagles for every Strock.
This is so true.
And really, at any given time, there are probably no more than 4-6 quarterbacks who can be counted on to make you a playoff team every year. Once you get outside of the top 15-ish, they’re all backups.
How surprised should we really be that the #33 QB isn’t any good?
I'd have thought there'd be a benefit from an offensive continuity standpoint in having a backup who has a playing style at least vaguely reminiscent of the starter. Like a leftie to backup Tua or somebody who could run even a little bit to back up Lamar.
Obviously I'm wrong because nobody does this. Is that just because its hard enough to get a #2 who doesn't go blue-screen-of-death that there's no point in having a more specific brief?
I think it might be more like what the great O-line coach Howard Mudd once said about Peyton Manning. "If 18 goes down, we're fu***d. And we don't practice fu***d.
I think that was a Tom Moore quote but still spot on.
Snoop was kind of that, and I think a southpaw backup is important because so much changes when you have a lefty QB, way more than playing style. You could get a statue in the pocket to backup Lamar and it would work best than having a mirror-imaged Tua clone backing up Tua.
"not a mistake so much as a chain reaction of malfunctions that ends with [one's] brain finally going blue-screen-of-death and bricking under the stress of professional self-preservation"
Oof. Man, that is sweatily familiar.
I'd say Baker Mayfield (along with Geno Smith and, who knows, Bryce Young) has been rehabilitated by Dave Canales, and Russell Wilson debilitated by falling out of his influence, but I'm a Canales fanboy.
Most of the reaction from Milton's Game 18 appearance last year against guys the Bills signed off the street was "This chucklehead just cost the Pats the 1OA pick." It was a fun performance to watch but he had to outplay Mike White for much of the game, which I'm fairly sure Hugh Millen could do even today.
I always like the FO categorization (don't know if it was Mike's or someone else's) of backup QBs as "Get you through the month", "Get you through the game", and "Get you under the cap".
>> Fans and reporters may have been evaluating Rush in the preseason, but John Harbaugh and Todd Monken were not. They know that if...
That concluding paragraph of the Cooper Rush section was the most calming/reassuring thing I've encountered about him all offseason! Seriously! Thanks!
Just got to the Hershel Walker/ Eagles playoff game section of the Cowboys documentary on Netflix and it has me wondering if you’re going to write anything about this documentary series
Gotta say, I’m surprised by how good it’s been so far, Jerry allowing much more credit to be given to Jimmy than I would have expected going in
Looking at the article photo feature and seeing the great Stephen Root, all I can think is...
"Have you seen my stapler..."
That was Stephen Root?!?!
Holy shit! I never realized!