Trevor Siemian, Jimmy Garoppolo Will Be Franchise QBs but for Other NFL Teams
The Denver Broncos' Trevor Siemian and New England Patriots' Jimmy Garoppolo should start in the NFL for a long time, although neither will likely serve as the face of his current franchise.
Both played well during their first career starts, coming during Week 1 of this season. Despite the small sample size, the results were quite encouraging.
Of course, everyone starts to lose their minds after only one game. Players are already being fitted for gold jackets to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame or being run out of town because of poor performances.
A single contest isn't enough to draw any definitive conclusions, but it can provide a glimpse of how young players react when finally faced with the big, bad NFL and whether they're overwhelmed.
After all, if one game determined a player's career, Matt Flynn would still be starting. One stellar performance is all a young quarterback needs to pique the interest of quarterback-starved franchises, though.
In Flynn's case, his second career start came in the 2011 regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions on New Year's Day. He completed 31 of 44 passes and set Green Bay Packers records with 480 yards and six touchdowns.
His performance provided an opportunity that resulted in a three-year, $20.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks. Ultimately, Flynn lost the starting job to some third-round rookie named Russell Wilson, and the rest is history.
The former seventh-round pick isn't an ideal comparison, but it shows how a prepared young backup can benefit from extra playing time and added exposure. Siemian and Garoppolo will be provided with much longer auditions for 30 other teams to dissect.
Once their time as starters is over this season—and it will happen sooner or later—the rest of the league will likely come to the conclusion both are competent with the necessary traits to become long-term starting options.
A Patriot's Day
The Patriots are still Tom Brady's bunch, and he's not leaving anytime soon. The 39-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback once expressed interest in playing until he's 50.
"I would love it," Brady told Men's Health three years ago (via the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe). "If I think I can do it, then I probably will."
Why not? Brady is the NFL's version of Don Draper—a man whose last act just might be his best. He's untouchable after winning four Super Bowls. He's also signed through the 2019 campaign after agreeing to a two-year extension in February.
Garoppolo's time, meanwhile, remains limited.
The former second-round pick's rookie contract ends after the 2017 campaign. The Patriots should be proactive with such a valuable commodity. If Garoppolo reaches free agency, it's a sign head coach and New England overlord Bill Belichick is losing his touch.
The organization already has a contingency plan in place after drafting Jacoby Brissett in the third round this past April.
Thus, Garoppolo has three more games to prove himself as Brady serves out his four-game suspension. There was nothing deflating about the Eastern Illinois product's first performance in Brady's stead.
Despite having a depleted roster that lacked All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, left tackle Nate Solder and running back Dion Lewis, Garoppolo led the Patriots to a 23-21 victory over the talented Arizona Cardinals.
Sure, Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro missed a potential game-winning field goal with 41 seconds left to play, but the Patriots wouldn't have been in a position to win if Garoppolo hadn't orchestrated a 61-yard fourth-quarter drive to set up Stephen Gostkowski for the go-ahead field goal with less than four minutes to play.
During the drive, the third-year signal-caller completed five of seven passes for 62 yards. He finished the contest 24-of-33 passing for 264 yards and a touchdown.
The performance increased the buzz already circulating throughout the league, per NESN's Doug Kyed:
His overall calmness and control of the offense impressed. Veteran safety Devin McCourty told NFL Media's Michael Silver Garoppolo's performance shouldn't come as a surprise:
"It was so cool for Jimmy to come out and have that poise. When you've got a player who comes out and shows you nothing but good things in practice and training camp, you kind of expect these things ... But to actually see him do it was great. We knew we were short-handed and without a couple of guys we usually count on, and we needed everybody to step up.
"
More importantly, Garoppolo didn't just operate within the system; he manipulated it to his advantage. His 37-yard touchdown strike to Chris Hogan served as the perfect example of how the former backup was in complete control.
Before the toss, the quarterback clearly bellowed: "Alert. Alert." Why? He identified the coverage pre-snap, which created an advantage in Hogan's favor.
Initially, the Cardinals appeared to be in a Cover 2 shell, which keeps two safeties over the top and each covers half of the field.
But the Patriots motioned tight end Martellus Bennett from the left to right of the formation. When teams use motion, it's an attempt to make the defense declare prior to snap, which the Cardinals did.
With Bennett lined to the right, the safety slid into the slot to help cover the twins formation. Garoppolo realized Hogan would have a one-on-one matchup with the cornerback and a safety trying to cover the deep third in Cover 1.
Hogan beat the jam off the snap, and the quarterback dropped a picture-perfect pass for an easy touchdown connection, footage shared by the NFL via Twitter:
Garoppolo's ability to diagnose and properly react to multiple coverage looks is an important step in his development.
Coming out of Eastern Illinois, the quarterback played in a variation of the Air Raid. His head coach there, Dino Babers, is an Art Briles disciple. For the most part, young signal-callers out of this particular system struggle adjusting to the professional game.
Clearly, the transition hasn't been as daunting for Garoppolo. As his understanding of the game continues to grow, it'll only accentuate his natural accuracy and lightning-fast release.
"I thought he, you know, was great," Brady said, per CSNNE.com's Phil Perry. "It was a great night for him and for our whole offense. I think one thing you realize as the quarterback is everyone being in sync and on the same page and the communication with your teammates is so critical."
Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians praised the 24-year-old's potential after his Week 1 performance, per SiriusXM NFL Radio:
The Patriots will be best served putting Garoppolo in the best possible position to succeed over the next three games and then trying to maximize his value in an offseason trade. A first-round pick shouldn't be out of consideration if he continues to play well.
His time is finite, though, as Brady's return looms large over the entire organization. Once he's back on the field, there's no telling how long it'll be before another quarterback will get an opportunity to start.
"There's really an excitement I have to do this for as long as I possibly can, even though everyone out there puts a limit," Brady said in the aforementioned Men's Health interview. "But I've always had people put limits. And I'm a person who says, 'Well, screw limits.' I'm not putting a limit on myself."
As one young quarterback lives in the shadow of greatness, another is being asked to replace the most prolific passer in the game's history.
Bronco Buster
During his final season with the Denver Broncos, Peyton Manning wasn't the same Peyton Manning everyone grew to love. Even so, his presence last year will have lasting repercussions throughout the organization and the NFL in general.
Despite his physical deterioration, no one has ever seen or understood the game better, and his work ethic and overall approach influenced at least two of the league's current starting quarterbacks in Siemian and the Houston Texans' Brock Osweiler.
"Once you have an opportunity to play behind Peyton Manning, you kind of understand the quarterback position and what it takes," wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said, per Mile High Sports' Zac Stevens. "He has a very calm cool demeanor, I can't say enough about it."
Northwestern product Siemian discussed what he took from Manning, per ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold:
"I trust our coaches and our game plans. But I think you always have to look at what you do. That was one of the biggest things I took from Peyton—was how, Monday through Saturday, he looked at how he thought people would come at him. And he had seen everything and still always looked at it, went over it, studied it. That was great for a player like me to see, how to do it, and why it's important.
"
Expectations are higher than ever in the Mile High City, with the spotlight brightly shining on the second-year second-caller. In his first start, he could have let the intense beam cut through him like a laser or embrace the fact he was hand-picked by Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak to become Manning's successor.
The latter occurred.
Statistically, Siemian didn't jump off the page when Denver hosted the Carolina Panthers in a Super Bowl rematch to kick off the 2016 regular season. The quarterback completed 18 of 26 passes for 178 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions during his team's 21-20 victory.
Those stats don't tell the entire story, though.
"Obviously, he had two decision issues that we have to clean up," Kubiak said, per Legwold. "He was very calm. ... Being down 10 bothers some guys in this league. You're going to get down in this league sometimes, but you have to maintain your composure."
The 24-year-old former seventh-round draft selection's mental approach speaks to his ability to succeed despite the odds being stacked against him. He remained calm, cool and collected, even when he stared down a 10-point deficit against one of the NFL's best defenses.
In fact, he became the first starting quarterback in the last seven years to win his first start after trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter, according to NFL on ESPN:
His game-day demeanor is a byproduct of his weekly preparation. Siemian spoke of Manning's routine from Monday through Saturday, but the former Academic All-Big Ten performer also has the ability to retain large amounts of information.
"He can go into that meeting room for two hours in the morning, walk out of here at 11:30 and take it to the field," Kubiak said, per the Chicago Tribune's David Haugh. "You can't teach that."
Two things held Siemian back as a draft prospect. First, he suffered a torn ACL the previous November against the Purdue Boilermakers. Plus, consistency escaped him throughout his collegiate career. The quarterback completed under 60 percent of his passes.
In his first professional start, Siemian completed 69.2 percent. The NFL provided footage of every throw:
A decisive quarterback—who made multiple in-rhythm throws as soon as his back foot hit the last step in his drop—appeared. Siemian didn't sit back in the pocket, trying to pick and choose his way through the defense's coverage. Instead, he trusted his reads and let the ball rip.
"You can't be trigger-shy playing quarterback, especially with the players we have," Siemian said, per Haugh.
Young signal-callers often become indecisive because the speed of the game is faster than expected and passing windows are much tighter. Yet the Broncos' new starter looked more confident in the professional ranks than he did during his time as a Big Ten quarterback.
Siemian also displayed the ability to work off platform. This means he created even when driven off his spot in the pocket or the play broke down around him. For example, Kubiak called a quarterback-friendly pass on the first snap to build Siemian's confidence.
Instead, Panthers defensive end Kony Ealy came crashing off the edge and flew through the air when Denver's quarterback pump-faked.
As seen below, Siemian changed his arm slot and worked off platform to complete a simple pass to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for an 11-yard gain.
No one will forget Michael Vick or Randall Cunningham when they're watching Siemian, but he's a good-enough athlete to get himself out of sticky situations and create with his feet too. The quarterback finished third on the team with 20 rushing yards.
"You have to protect yourself in this league," Siemian said, per BSN Denver's Ryan Koenigsberg. "But you have to be able to make some plays with your feet. Sneak a first down or two."
After a strong start, Manning's name won't be invoked often, but Siemian can't get comfortable. A 6'7" first-round pick will be breathing down his neck to become the next face of the franchise.
General manager John Elway traded up in this year's opening frame to acquire the Memphis Tigers' Paxton Lynch, and the Hall of Fame quarterback remains excited about his project, per Andrew Mason of the team's site:
It's only a matter of time before the organization and coaching staff will want to see what they have in their investment. Because of Lynch's age (22) and Siemian's contract status—he's not a free agent until after the 2018 campaign—the Broncos can slow-play the eventual transition based on their current starter's level of performance.
But there is a reason why Elway felt the need to select Lynch with Siemian already on the roster. Eventually, the first-round pick will get his chance. When he does, the former seventh-round selection will become expendable and a potential trade asset.
Until then, teams around the league will watch to see how he'll potentially fit into their plans.
2 for the Money
A magic formula doesn't exist to identify a franchise quarterback.
Organizations must have the foresight, vision and long-term plan to address the game's most important position. On the opposite side of the spectrum, each individual quarterback approaches the game and life in a very different manner.
Everything factors into a quarterback's success, or lack thereof.
Before Matthew McConaughey rode around in a fresh new Lincoln or gave pregame speeches to the Texas Longhorns, he spoke these prophetic words in the film Two for the Money: "I played quarterback. Division I. Every QB knows the secret, the key to victory is anticipation, the ability to see the future and react to it."
This not only applies to Garoppolo and Siemian as they prepare for upcoming games, but their careers as well. Success today will create future opportunities, both financially and professionally.
Both can only achieve so much based on their respective organizations' long-term plans—which don't seem to include either.
Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @brentsobleski.
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