Tom Brady... Steve Young... Rich Cannon...
No to mention the list above.
It is not the number one way to find a star. But it is more Successful than what most give credit for.
A good case could be made for guys like Alex Smith, who had long since been deemed a backup, and Aaron Rodgers, who spent several years as a backup.
Here is the only thing I could find about the subject that seemed reliable...
NFL: How many NFL backup quarterbacks went on to win a Super Bowl? - Quora
There have been far too many QBs who were backups for years before becoming starters and having success.
Whatever the actual ratio, it is not as bad as what people seem to think.
Rather Matt Cassel turns into Tom Brady, or Bodies Croyle,it is not a horrible plan to try and turn strong backups into starters.
This team was designed to keep scores low and use a power running game to control the games.
When the defense falls apart, the team abandons what they are designed for and plays some game that they are not built for.
The QB is not what is wrong wig this team.
The plan is wrong because it's not working. The plan is what it is because of the QB that we have.
I agree the defense has fallen apart!!!
--but--
*Former Cassel backer here disagreeing.*
We didn't draft these WR simply due to their run blocking ability.
We have, on paper anyway, a dynamic offense that can run, either as power (Hillis), finesse/speed (Charles), or 3 or 4 WR sets, with gadget back DMC, this Wylie kid, not to mention a couple pretty good TE...
Every one of those players rely on one player.
That player is UNDERACHIEVING to the point of failure.
This offense shouldn't have to power run, there is enough there that we should be able to score, nearly at will. Why can't we do that?
That is our game-winning and season saving question. I have seen teams win for the last 10 years with defense that hasn't played any better than ours has the last 2 games.. anyone remember the Rams???? They were certainly not the 2nd coming of the steel curtain lol
KC Chiefs Maybe we'll get out of our own way someday.
I was trying to keep my list to back-ups that had been traded. Yeah nearly every HoF QB was a back-up at some point in their career. Hell, Joe Montana held the clipboard for Steve DeBerg for the 1979 season...Dan Marino was a back-up for about half a season (to David Woodley if I remember right). Drew Brees was a back-up to Doug Flutie (but only for part of a season I think).
But to the detractors, yes, the odds of a trade for a back-up QB turning out highly successful are low. For every Brett Favre there are a good number of Scott Mitchell type results. But frankly those odds aren't significantly different than drafting a QB. Think about it...for every Petyon Manning there's a Ryan Leaf. For every late round Tom Brady there are a few Danny Wuerffels.
The fact is that selecting and developing a quality QB is VERY difficult, and too many coaches are simply incapable of helping in that development process. To many owners and GMs have a revolving door of coaches and systems giving a young QB no chance to develop.
Cassel is no different. I think he is capable of being decent, but he has been put in a similar position that Alex Smith was for years with new coaches and/or systems each year, little to no consistency with personnel & O-line, etc. I'm not saying he is the answer, but I see a lot of parallels between this situation and many others where the QB turns out to not be the problem (see the Niners and Alex Smith as an example). Heck when he left San Diego many people thought Brees was the problem with the offense under-performing. Guessing they'd like to re-think that move?!
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The 49ers own my heart, but the Chiefs will always hold a better than neutral spot for giving my favorite player a place to leave with grace...
Resident Comedian/Statistician/Researcher/Diplomat
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