The Law Lays Judgement On Stidham.

In 2019 Jarret Stidham did not look great in relief of Tom Brady but he was praised as being ahead of schedule due to how much time he got and by the end of the season, every player seemed to have positive things to say about him. 

Of course in 2020, they all had positive things to say about Cam Newton, so I guess we have to take it with a grain of salt because as many like to point out, "what else were they to say."

Everyone saw how bad the Patriots pass catchers looked in 2018 and 2019 yet Stidham did something astounding. See the Patriots pass catchers were bad enough that they should've been out classed by the second string defenses during the 2019 preseason but Stidham excelled.

Here was how Stidham stacked up against Brady's previous backups in his rookie campaign.

Stidham (2019): 61-of-90 for 731 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT. 9 sacks. 17 rushes for 88 yards.

Danny Etling (2018): 20-of-38 for 178 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.

Jacoby Brissett (2016): 38-of-56 or 387 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

Garoppolo (2014): 46-of-79 for 618 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT. 5 sacks. 4 rushes for 8 yards.

Ryan Mallett (2011): 36-of-63 for 357 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Brian Hoyer (2009): 29-of-44 for 354 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

Jimmy G barely completed over 50 percent of his passes but he took less sacks and threw one more touchdown. Jimmy also ran it less than Stidham. Stidham however played with inferior pass catchers in 2019 compared to what Garoppolo had in 2014 and still completed over 60%.

Belichick wanted to sit Stidham in 2020. After Brady left, Bill went out and signed Cam Newton. A quarterback who at the time was guaranteed to start on all 32 teams in 2020, regardless of who was there because as his supporters said, "You don't sign him unless you're starting him." Sorry Green Bay, Tampa, and Kansas City. Y'all missed out on signing him to start over your quarterback. In all seriousness, I dismissed Newton being handed the starting job by signing but I could've been wrong.

In 2020, Stidham went 22 of 44 for 256 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He was blitzed 18 times, hurried 5 times, hit 8 times, and sacked 4 times, scrambling twice. He also rushed 7 times for 7 yards, picking up 3 first downs.

There's a term I heard recently, "Hero ball". That's the style football Stidham had to play versus both the Chiefs and 49ers. 

When Stidham entered the game versus the K.C. in week 4, he had a chance to lead a comeback. The score was 13-3. Stidham enters the game and drives the Patriots down the field with help from Damien Harris, for a score to make it 10-13. The Chiefs would march down the field and make it 19-10.  Stidham takes over and throws a good pass to an open Edelman and Edelman drops or deflects it into the hands of a defender for a pick six. The Patriots gave up after that. 

Against the 49ers, Stidham needed to come in and play mistake free football and hope the defense could make one key play. Stidham came in with the score 33-6. Newton had put the 49ers in scoring position 3 times. While Stidham showed good ability to throw the ball versus the Chiefs, his ball placement versus the 49ers was bad, looking confused at times. Running the 49ers playbook all week could've had something to do with that.

Stidham would then come in versus the Chargers, go 2-3 and hit a perfect timing route throw for a touchdown.

His final appearance against the Bills, Stidham was missing open pass catchers, skipping the ball on the ground like he was a heisman trophy winner. He looked scared and instead of taking a hit to deliver a pass to an open pass catcher, he would run the ball out of bounds. It was that game that I was like, "he's not the guy, he's no better a passer than Cam!"

Now, when It comes to Stidham, I don't think he's good enough to start but I do believe as a passer he is equally to Cam Newton and was redshirted. However, as a Patriots fan, I am considered bias. So I turned to a fan of another team who knows more about football than I do.

Here's what Mr. Colts Law had to say on Stidham.

Lawrence Owen's writes, "I looked at every snap Stidham took in 2020. There are 3 Major issues he has. There is some good in the tape, but he leaves his feet to throw when on the run too much. 

His pocket awareness and presence is not at starter level (yet, that can be fixed with practice/experience). And he seems to play scared. Granted, he was under constant duress in the majority of his snaps. KC, SF, Rams, & Buf all seemed to send extra pressure when he was in at QB. 

In summary, when he is in the pocket, with time to throw, he seems like a capable QB, able to go through his progressions, make the right reads, and make timely/accurate throws. But when he is pressured, his mechanics/decision making, goes right out the window."

I don't know if Lawrence Owen is going to put out anymore on Stidham, so I advise people to follow him and stay in the loop. That's colts law on YouTube and Twitter.

Now remember that in 2018, Stidham was viewed as a projected first round draft pick but in 2019, he was viewed as a fourth round project. Stidham has spent two years on the bench. In 2020, he was without a full offseason of OTAs, and preseason. And he spent the regular season practicing with the scout team learning and executing the opponents playbook. Instead of becoming efficent with the Patriots playbook.

All of his problems can be fixed. 2020 Bridge quarterback Cam Newton praised Stidham's development in December. Belichick said Stidham improved and did everything asked of him in 2020. And, Josh McDaniels said he felt comfortable with Stidham's development but it wasn't his decision to decide who starts and who sits. 

Adding everything up, Jarrett Stidham was redshirted and at the very least, will be the Patriots backup in 2021. With a full offseason in 2021, depending on what Belichick does, Stidham could very well be the starting quarterback in 2022 or he could be on his way out of the league. Either way, there are no guarantees at the moment on the trajectory of his career.