“I think Taylor played like Taylor; he had his ups and downs.”
Here are some excerpts from Gruden.
“He (Heinicke) started out woefully slow with really bad throws. He had a fumble picked up that would have been for a touchdown if not for a horrible holding call. But he bounced back, typical Heinicke. He keeps grinding, playing hard, made some plays when it counted, some throws when it really mattered, and got the victory. So, got to applaud him.”
“I think you are going to have to live with some of his errant throws from time to time. You are going to get a tough, gritty quarterback who is going to try to find a way to move the chains with his legs, scramble around, make some throws. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough kid.”
These stood out to me as examples of Taylor Heinicke’s awareness in the offense and athleticism to avoid the negative plays that have hurt the Manders this year.
Even if it’s a throw out of bounds, it’s not a sack. pic.twitter.com/hhoCRtUG3J
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) October 26, 2022
“But you are going to have to rely on your defense to play well. I don’t think you are ever going to score 35 points, throw for 350 yards. But, they can win; they can win ugly. He can make enough plays to move the chains and help the team win.”
“Well, I think the issues with Carson is they were 3-22 their last 25 third downs. When you are 3-22, it means you are punting and off the field, your not maintaining any drives, not able to run the ball.”
“If you are converting third downs, you are able to get more plays in, keep your defense fresh. Heinicke gives you a bit more freedom to convert third downs because he can run. If you are not a great pocket passer, you better be able to move. Taylor gives you the ability to run.”
Sheehan inquired to what offensive coordinator Scott Turner would prefer to do when Carson Wentz was the starter.
“You have to adapt to the quarterback you have. You can’t call for deep shots if your quarterback can’t get the ball down the field. His arm isn’t THAT bad. He did throw a good go-ball to Terry McLaurin for a touchdown,. It’s not like he has a pop-gun arm.”
“With Carson, they weren’t able to move the ball 80 yards in 15 plays. With Heinicke, they have that opportunity because he adds the ability to run and convert third down.”
“He is going to get more one-on-one coverage because teams will want to load the box and force him to throw the ball down the field. So he will get more of those opportunities, where Carson saw more two-deep to get him to check it down. Heinicke? They are going to make him throw it over the top. He will have to complete three or four of those a game for this offense to be successful moving forward.”
“You are always in the market for a quarterback when you are making quarterback changes mid-season due to injury or lack of success. It’s hard to find them. To find one in the draft is going to be difficult. Where they are going to pick it’s going to be difficult. You got to have one of the first two (quarterback picks) typically, if great quarterbacks are available. Free Agents? I don’t know who is going to be free. You are always looking for a quarterback. They are hard to find.”
