Post Whitehurst Post - Diagnosis Still at the Lab
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Q. Two good games, two bad ones. How do you weight them?
A. Wyman's assessment was interesting. In it, he points out that Whitehurst has had 50% good performances and 50% bad ones.
He's had four chances. One was the excellent win at the Meadowlands.* Another was a big win against the Rams last year. He's got two clanks.
For a rusty, "slow" QB to get four games, two good two bad, that does not allow a conclusion. You feel me?
Supposing Whitehurst had a terrible game in Cincy, or a great one, that wouldn't allow a conclusion, either.
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Q. What would allow a conclusion?
A. Give Whitehurst three games to get in flow, and then watch the three following that, and then you could reach a first tentative assessment.
That ain't going to happen. Therefore, you're going to remain in the dark as to whether Charlie Whitehurst could succeed in the NFL.
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Q. C'mon. He's had three starts. How much do you need?
A. For 30 years, Dr. D has been watching "terrible" QB's play under horrible conditions -- and then move to good conditions and The Star Is Born.
For instance, take Jim Plunkett. Look at his QB rating in year 5. He was 39.7 that year and in the 50's for his career.
One problem: Plunkett was playing for one of the worst offensive lines of that era (as Whitehurst was playing behind a terrible offense last Sunday).
70 starts into his career, Plunkett was considered not only a loser, but a pathetic loser. In his day, he was maligned much more than Rick Mirer ever was in his day.
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Reason we bring up Plunkett ... Andrew Luck is going to be the 4th Stanford QB ever to go 1-1 in the draft. During the Husky game, the announcer in the booth assured us that Plunkett was the best of all of them, better than Elway, better than anybody.
What a shame he went to New England and got the living stuffing beaten out of him, saith the announcer...
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Plunkett went to the Raiders and, um, suddenly learned how to play football. He won the Super Bowl in his first year, and his yards per throw went from the 5's before, to almost 7 after.
That's just a f'r instance. Happens all the time, kids. An inexperienced QB is going to look sorry, behind a sorry offense.
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The fans, apoplectic with rage, were shouting one thing. The men who can see the field, Mora, Wyman, etc., they were saying something else.
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