DLCassidy said:
ABQ- I give Parcells basically all the credit for developing Bledsoe. After 4 years, 2 Pro Bowls and a trip to the Super Bowl he was fully developed. A better argument about the fact that he regressed under Carroll and others could be made but that just adds more credence to the fact that Parcells did a great job with him when he had him. If Parcells doesn't value a franchise QB why did he draft Bledsoe #1 overall?
Phil Simms? The fact that he wasn't sold on him right away isn't relevant. The fact is Simms did develop into a just short of a hall of fame worthy QB under Parcells and he won a SB with him. Chuck Knoll very nearly dumped Terry Bradshaw but he still gets credit for developing him and that took a while.
The list of coaches that developed two rookies into SB level QB's is pretty darn short. Parcells is on that list.
He doesn't get credit for developing Pennington but he does get credit for recognizing his talent. IMO if he had not suffered the shoulder injuries he was on his way to becoming a pro Bowl QB. Parcells also took a journeyman in Vinny Testaverde and coached him into by far his greatest year in a season which was but a couple plays short of a SB. Quincy Carter is a bum but Bill guided him to becoming a respectable QB.
IMO the track record speaks for itself.
DL, I can stipulate with Bledsoe. I believe that Parcells did have significant influence on his development however, Bledsoe himself credits most of his developement to his position coach, at the time. These are not my words but Bledsoes. I do believe that Bledsoe regressed under the coaches to come later but that too is part of the over all picture that is Bledsoe. It is a good question you ask in the Why Bledsoe? I personally believe that the answer to this question stems from the changes in the NFL since 1993. I think that at that time, it was probably easier to take a QB number one over all and try to develop him. In todays NFL, it is much more difficult because if you miss, you pay for it dearly. There is no question about this. That is the truth of the matter. I believe that this is why Parcells is hesitant to invest in a Big Time QB in the Draft.
Simms, to me, is not a success story from a Parcells perspective. There is too much of George Young and the organization basically making Parcells accept Simms. It is no secret that Parcells did not want to play Simms. If left to his own devices, Simms may not have gotten the chance to succeed in later years. All he accomplished was because Parcells was forced to keep and play Simms. I liken Simms to Troy Aikman in this sense. Does anybody believe that Jimmy Johnson developed Troy Aikman? If you ask Aikman, he will tell you that it was Norv Turner. I believe the same is true for Simms and Parcells. I think that eventually, both got comfortable with how they needed to work together to have success. I also believe that if Parcells would have had the power to be GM in those early years, Simms and he would never have had success together.
I agree that Parcells saw the talent in Pennington but then, so did everybody else. The issue with Pennington was his arm. Could he get it done in the NFL? Would it last? These are questions that surrounded this player when he was coming out. Parcells elected to take him but now, where is Pennington and that franchise? I don't dispute the fact that it is very subjective as far as the injury is concerned. It's a chicken egg thing but the fears that many had with Pennington are realizations at this point in his career. That is a simple fact. Having said all of this, he is still a none issue in this dicussion. He was never developed by Parcells. He's a none issue.
I mean, Carter, Vinnie, whichever scrub QB you would insert here, none of them were developed to the point of being able to take over games and win them, IMO. Simms really wasn't either. They all had there odd games here and there were they were very good but by and large, none of them were the types of QBs who could step in and win games for you. Why? Parcells does not believe in that.
This is what is mystifying about this discussion to me. To me, it is clear why Parcells has never been very good at developing these kinds of QBs. He doesn't believe in the idioligy of it all. Quincy didn't win games. He had his best seasons because he played on the best team he'd ever had since coming into the league. Carter was limited more under Parcells then anybody. This is not development. It is limitation. I agree with that strategy in the case of Carter but it is not developement IMO. Same with Vinnie. Vinnie had great years with Parcells while at the Jets because he had a great team around him and was not asked to do much on offense. Parcells offensive game is simplicity. It doesn't ask the QB to do a great deal. Of course, this is a relative statement but in comparision to other offenses, it's extremely light. Chris Simms, is going to be a much more capable QB, assuming he continues to develope, then his father ever was. Chucky is a Coach who does know how to develop QBs. His methodoligy is very different then Parcells. I think it's interesting that Parcells never drafted Simms. He was certainly there. He was there at the right price. His physical skills were evident. Yet Parcells elected to pass on him. I don't know.
I believe, as I have said many times throughout this post, that Bill Parcells is a great great coach. I do not believe he is very good at developing QBs. I believe it is because of how he believe football games should be won. It is just not conducive to development of great QBs IMO.
