![]() ![]() And it's not like their college success was an example of a system that's produced grossly inflated stats, regardless of actual player talent: Oklahoma State has cycled through oodles of quarterbacks, none able to replicate the success Weeden had. Blackmon's weird NFL career is probably over after struggles both on and off the field. ![]() Looking back on it, that Weeden and Blackmon were first-round draft picks three years ago is almost unfathomable. They cut him and drafted Johnny Manziel, who still has many years to be good at football. Most first-round draft picks don't get cut after two seasons, but Weeden was 30 and not good enough to start. His second year, he got injured in Week 2, and was outperformed by backups Brian Hoyer - two years younger than Weeden - and Jason Campbell, an NFL has-been, but only two years older than Weeden. He threw 17 picks and 14 touchdowns his rookie year, with only 6.5 yards per attempt. The Cleveland Browns took him 22nd overall anyway, knowing he'd never have a normal career arc. Weeden still had yet to carry his teammates' bags at training camp and learn what NFL defenses look like. When Weeden got drafted, Rodgers had already spent years on the bench behind Brett Favre, developed into a superstar, won an MVP trophy, won a Super Bowl and had a national ad campaign about his signature celebratory move. ![]() The best-case scenario for Weeden was that he'd be ahead of his peers due to his age - never mind the fact that he spent half a decade not playing football - and would be NFL-competent quickly, allowing for several good years of quarterback play before his age caused a decline.Īaron Rodgers is two months younger than Weeden. On draft night, he was already 28 years old. With Weeden, this was not really a possibility. The NFL draft is about finding upside, players who can develop and prosper and lead a team for many, many years. Get all kinds of NFL stories, rumors, game coverage, and inane comments from the NFL media in your inbox every day. But in 20, Weeden established a near-unstoppable connection with Justin Blackmon, and each put up preposterous stats and got drafted in the first round. He entered college with Dez Bryant, but by the time Weeden had earned the Cowboys' starting gig, Bryant had already left school to be drafted by the NFL Cowboys. I'm pretty sure he didn't have any scholarship offers from anywhere - Rivals actually doesn't go back to his high school days, so we can't quite check that. But he had enough cash from baseball to have a BMW and MLB teams are often contractually obligated to pay for post-career college education, so I guess he was fine walking on. He was the Yankees' first-round pick in the 2002 draft, but four years later he was still in Single-A ball - and pitching horribly, with a six-plus ERA and giving up broken bat dingers. Here he is in Los Angeles Dodgers gear holding a sign with his name on it to fully ensure his name would not be misspelled again.īut his once-promising baseball career petered out. Look, here he is in New York Yankees gear on a baseball card with his name misspelled. And now Romo's injury has shattered it.įor a significant amount of time, Weeden played minor league baseball. Weeden has had one of the strangest careers of an NFL quarterback, and had finally settled into a comfortable backup quarterback reverie. My mom says "well, say something happened to me or your dad - GOD FORBID." This is what makes us invoke the highest power in the universe in hopes something does not happen: hypothetical deaths of loved ones, natural disasters, the worst-case scenario.įor Weeden, this worst-case scenario was the possibility of having to do his job. Here's my experience with the phrase "God Forbid:" I'm a kid, and say, like, an ad for life insurance pops on the TV, and I ask what that is. Weeden wanted to make it clear that he doesn't want that to happen, because it's rude to wish injury on somebody.Īt every NFL training camp, a reporter asks a backup quarterback about their role on the team, and they give the same answers: "I'm trying my best to compete," "I know I'm not the starter, but I'm doing my best to make sure I'm prepared to be the next man up," "I'm trying to show and prove I'm worth a shot in the NFL." So, for Weeden to play, Romo would have to be hurt. He's friends with Romo and Romo is the Cowboys' clear No. That means Brandon Weeden is, for now, the Dallas Cowboys' starting quarterback. Tony Romo broke his collarbone and will miss about half of the NFL season.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |