The QB Wheel of Fortune

[PioneerCoach5]

I'm currently in year three as Head Coach of the Patriots, and the time for change is upon me. Most of the original Offensive Line was not resigned (Nick Kaczur and Matt Light are the only two left). Kaczur still has two years left if I'm not mistaken, but Light is in his final year and I don't really want to spend the money to keep him around. He always seems to have injuries that last just long enough to make him ineffective. Still, that isn't my biggest worry. The trouble lies in what to do about the situation under center. Allow me to explain.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not in a bad situation by any means. I'm at a crossroads and I need to make a decision.

The English path has been good to me so far, and has allowed me to build a team that is two deep at almost every position in two short years. My defense is dominant and my offense is unparalleled (except maybe by Gary Hammermill's Jets, curse him) and it is mainly due to the consistency of one Tom Brady. Here in lies the dilemma I'm currently in. Brady is also in the final year of his contract. Getting lucky in the draft, I wound up with Dane Morrow, who has fit the role of backup QB rather nicely - albeit a little expensive - and has grown over the past season. I was also able to procure a certain Darius Pryor in the subsequent draft, and he has become a star in a short time. I designed a formation specifically for him to be able to run the ball, and am hoping to add a few pass plays to it soon. He is simply dominant.

So you can see my decision is not an easy one. Brady is, simply put, the best QB I've seen so far. Morrow hasn't given me much confidence. Granted, he has had to play second fiddle and hasn't really had much game experience to develop, but the INT/TD ratio tends to scare me. Pryor wouldn't be a bad choice to start, but the plot thickens even further.

The Undrafted Free Agent pool sent me Jacob Green.

My gut instinct is to avoid resigning Brady and then franchise tag him to trade before the next draft, but I'm not entirely sure. He wants a three year deal that would pay him close to 10 MIL a year, and if I were legitimately running an organization I would want a guy that has contributed so much to my team to remain a part of it until he had nothing left to give and then come on as a member of the coaching staff. The game, however, does not work in this way. The name of the game is winning, and I don't think I have the cap space to warrant keeping Brady around.

So my question is this: Who should be the QB in New England next season? Brady? Morrow? Pryor? Green?

I need some help here.

[cutter73]

If it were me, I'd go with Morrow all day long. The interception issue could just be related to playing second string and not really having a mastery of the playbook. I've had him a couple times, and he is one of those pure pocket passers who will absolutely kill defenses once he has a little time under his belt as a starter. Every time I've had him, he has become pretty much unstoppable.

I think you can't really afford to hang onto Brady for sentimental reasons. Marrow is making too much money, and you're coming up on the fourth year of your career. That means, if you have a lot of low round players you've drafted that have been high rated players, you're right on the verge of having to deal with a cap nightmare trying to sign all those guys when their contracts come up. The way the English talent levels are in this path, you can count on probably having that problem for the next 2-3 years at least if you've drafted well because all those lower picks are only on 3 year contracts mostly. And they will ask for big time money when they renegotiate.

You could cut Morrow and keep Brady for a couple more years, but chances are Morrow is going to come with a substantial cap hit right when you are going to need that money. Jacob Green can develop into an all star, but he takes some building and, if he's on a typical 1 year contract as an UDFA, if he's developed at all he is going to ask for substantial money and a long term contract to bring back. I've never had Prior, but I don't typically go with running QB's. Even the best ones can tend to run at moments you really don't want them to and they just give me gray hair.

So I'd franchise Brady, go with Morrow, find some way to unload Prior when you can take the hit, and not re-sign Green if he asks for much. You may still have to cut Brady, since most teams may not have the cap room to trade for him. I've seen him in the FA pool a couple times in this draft path where no one signed him. But at least you have a shot someone will have the room to make the move to get him.

Just my 2 cents.

[Mike3207]

You can't go wrong with either Pryor or Morrow.

[Skarecrow]

Morrow is my choice.
Morrow by himself is something special.
Morow + motivator is a sight to behold.

[PioneerCoach5]

I just want to update everyone on the most recent games that I've played with this team and the progress I've made on my decision.

Morrow seems to be getting better. Right now, his overall is 83 and his production grade is only in the 50's. I'm glad to know that the ceiling is much higher for him, because his decision making leaves something to be desired. Realistically, he is my starting QB of the future, but I'm glad I've got another half season to go before he is needed on the field. He seems to take more sacks than anyone else on my roster. Pryor has the mobility and strength to make something out of broken plays, and I can't remember the last time Brady was sacked. Morrow has mastered all of the plays I call for him, and he still takes a while to make decisions. The weapons I've put around him are what helps him out mostly.

In blowout games (most recently a 70-0 slaughter of a Cooper Reno led Bears team, and a 42-0 trouncing of the Bills) I've let Morrow play the entire second half. Only on a few occasions did he manage to disappoint me. He is most helped by the fact that Jamarrion Bellows is an absolute beast. I think he finished the Bears game with 4 TDs or something crazy like that. They cannot cover him or catch him in the open field. Even Will Barkley (SS for the Bills), who was a nightmare for me last year when he picked off Brady three times, was a non-factor.

I suppose the best news about Jacob Green is that he is still rated as a 71 overall and I've deactivated him for every game of the season. I plan to keep him around as there isn't a QB I want in the upcoming draft, but it will have to be for the right price. I'm hoping to be able to keep him for under 1 MIL a year (given that both Morrow and Pryor are 1st round studs), but I may violate that rule if he wants to sign long term for not much more.

I appreciate all of the help, and there are still seven games left in the season so keep the advice coming if you wish!

[cloudedskate]

In my experience with resigning the Jacob Greens, Jake Scotts and other low-round high POT QBs in this game, they are going to ask for around a $20 million contract. It is as if they know they have a lot of potential, so you need to pay them to keep them. If I were you, I would trade Green before his third year for whatever you can. A 3rd-string QB is not worth $20 million.

[Skarecrow]

Morrow had a lot of trouble in his rookie year for me with bad decision making.

Now, in his sophomore year, he's way better. He's like a different QB. By the end of the season (we're in week 17), he can pick out an appropriate receiver on almost any play. Whether they catch the ball is pretty much a matter of coverage at that point.

I've had two games this year where for some reason, Morrow decided to throw interception after interception. I'm not sure what was going on, since for each game LaRon James fumbled way more than average too. Since both of those stopped happening as soon as I went to supersim in those games, I'm not sure if I should blame it on Morrow, or a bug in the game.

In "normal" games. I see about 1 interception per game from Morrow, and usually about a 4:1 TD-to-interception ratio.

And he's still only ovl 92 for me. he gets even better.

and then there's motivator.

English who?