Stidham was average at Baylor before having an exceptional first year at Auburn. It was good enough that he was projected to be a first round quarterback and CBS thought he could be the first quarterback off the board. That was until Stidham's second and final season at Auburn, which was far from what teams want in a starting quarterback.
Stidham had a good preseason and beat out Hoyer for the backup job. Stidham even had the best preseason out of all of Brady's backs in the league. When Stidham came is and threw a pick 6, Belichick realized that Stidham wasn't ready and instead of ruining the young quarterback, he went out and signed Cody Kessler.
Belichick wanted to sit Stidham a second year behind Brady. It's understandable, one never wants to rush the most important position in the game. Look how much time Jimmy G. had behind Brady. Hoyer knows the system and has shown he can win. Don't forget, it was Hoyer's intelligence that got the Patriots in a position to win superbowl 53.
Look at the Browns and Texans. Hoyer had winning records with both. From 2013-2015, Hoyer went 15-10 as a starter, posting a 7-6 record in Cleveland and a 5-4 record in Houston which produced a playoff birth. Both teams were dumpster fires and yet Hoyer was an above .500 quarterback with both teams as a starter. Hoyer might be 16-22 as a starter but he has never started for a team that was even close to average to begin with.
Patriots fans are quick to defend the mind of Josh McDaniels, whom I believe has peaked as an offensive coordinator. However, if my fellow fans are right, than McDaniels should be able to get more out of him than Kyle Shanahan, Frank Reich, John Fox, and Bill O'Brien did with their respective teams.
John Buhler of fan side wrote an article about why Hoyer should start and in the article he talked about the success of those that have started Hoyer.
"While his three most recent stops outside of New England haven’t gone well, the Chicago Bears, the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts have all trusted Hoyer enough to go out there and start games. John Fox led two different franchises to Super Bowls, Shanahan just led the 49ers to the Super Bowl and Frank Reich was only two years removed from winning a Super Bowl."
Hoyer doesn't have the best completion percentage, with a career average of 59.1%. However in 2015 Hoyer had a 60.7, a 67.0 in 2016 and with his second team in 2017, Hoyer completed 66.7% of his passes.
Hoyer's Touchdowns to interceptions ratio wasn't great. Again look at the talent around him. I know, quarterbacks are supposed to elevate the talent around them, yet It was the talent around Brady that was at fault for his diminished stats. Least that was our defense in Patriots Nation over both the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Buffalo is the only team in the AFC East with a chance of realistically winning ten games outside of New England. Like with the Patriots, It all comes down to quarterback play. Josh Allen hasn't shown consistency, and that's what gives the Patriots the best odds of winning the Division. One in the playoffs anything can happen. Just ask Trent Dilfer.
Look Belichick is planning on holding a quarterback competition and Bill will do what's best for the team. Hoyer isn't just a game manager, he's an intelligent game manager who knows the system. Even if Hoyer doesn't play the entire season, he give the Patriots the opportunity to win early.
Belichick would be wise to use Stidham the way Bill Walsh used Montana. Bring him is during specific moments. Like first or second and goal plays. Third and short. Clean up time at the half, or when the team is a head. Pad Stidham's stats and confidence. If Hoyer plays well, Stidham starts in 2021. He will have learned from watching Hoyer.
If Hoyer doesn't play well, Stidham beats him for the job later on during the season. Don't for one minute think that the quarterback competition will end with the preseason. The competition is going to make both Hoyer and Stidham elevate their game all year. This is the best thing that can happen to both quarterbacks, and Like it or not; Hoyer's experience gives him the edge over Stidham early on, that's if Bill wants to do everything he can to win.
There is no reason with this defense and special teams to doubt that Bill is chasing ring number seven. Regardless if he has to suit up Jake Bailey at quarterback. The motto "Do your job" means more this year than ever before and we can be sure that Hoyer and Stidham already got the memo.
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