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The Five Game Evaluation For The Cowboys: Who Will Be The Backup Quarterback In 2016?
By Tom Ryle
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2015...uarterback-tony-romo-matt-cassel-kellen-moore
The season is over for Tony Romo, which also has ended any rational hope for the Dallas Cowboys. However, there are still five games to be played. Although the team would benefit psychologically from getting some wins (and would unfortunately surrender draft position at the same time), those games will also be a time for the staff to evaluate the performance of many players on the roster to determine what, if any, role they will have in 2016.
We all found out, to our dismay, just how dependent the team was on having Romo on the field, but we also found out just how important and poorly handled the backup job was. For the remainder of the depressing 2015 season, every offensive snap is also going to provide some valuable data to analyze with an eye to who will back Romo up next year.
Matt Cassel is now auditioning for the backup quarterback spot in 2016 and perhaps a season or two beyond that. He will be starting games at least as long as there is any mathematical chance to still get into the playoffs. The season is over for the Cowboys, but that does not mean they should quit trying and hoping for the biggest NFL miracle ever. Once that last chance is completely and irrevocably eliminated, then they may wish to do something else, but they also may feel that they need to continue evaluating what they have in Cassel. There is some value in working with a known quantity rather than starting the search all over again.
Although he was not more able to win a game than Brandon Weeden, he also had to play games with relatively little preparation. The staff is going to be looking for clearly perceptible improvement as he becomes more experienced with the system and playbook. (This is also a chance to see how Scott Linehan adapts as well, since there are certainly questions about how he did with that during the first stint on injured reserve for Romo.) Cassel also can show he is benefiting from more time to work with his offensive teammates. Getting a couple of wins would go a long way towards making him an attractive option to re-sign.
The Cowboys also will have a chance to find out more about Kellen Moore, who is reportedly something of a favorite of Linehan's. Assuming that is not made irrelevant by a change at offensive coordinator, the staff would probably like to get a better feel for whether there is anything to develop with Moore for the future. There are several ways they could go if there is deemed to be reason to retain him. The biggest payoff, although also by far the least likely outcome, is that they think he could be the eventual starter for the Cowboys when Romo is no longer part of the team. The odds are certainly very long against this, but with him available, there is no reason to not consider it. The second possibility is that he could become the backup quarterback in another season or two. He's a cheaper option than Cassel, and seven years younger. He could be a long term solution as the backup if he can show he is capable of winning about half the games he played if forced into a relief role, even if he never was able to become the starter. A third possibility, although also not all that likely, is that he might win the backup role over Cassel for next year...
By Tom Ryle
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2015...uarterback-tony-romo-matt-cassel-kellen-moore
The season is over for Tony Romo, which also has ended any rational hope for the Dallas Cowboys. However, there are still five games to be played. Although the team would benefit psychologically from getting some wins (and would unfortunately surrender draft position at the same time), those games will also be a time for the staff to evaluate the performance of many players on the roster to determine what, if any, role they will have in 2016.
We all found out, to our dismay, just how dependent the team was on having Romo on the field, but we also found out just how important and poorly handled the backup job was. For the remainder of the depressing 2015 season, every offensive snap is also going to provide some valuable data to analyze with an eye to who will back Romo up next year.
Matt Cassel is now auditioning for the backup quarterback spot in 2016 and perhaps a season or two beyond that. He will be starting games at least as long as there is any mathematical chance to still get into the playoffs. The season is over for the Cowboys, but that does not mean they should quit trying and hoping for the biggest NFL miracle ever. Once that last chance is completely and irrevocably eliminated, then they may wish to do something else, but they also may feel that they need to continue evaluating what they have in Cassel. There is some value in working with a known quantity rather than starting the search all over again.
Although he was not more able to win a game than Brandon Weeden, he also had to play games with relatively little preparation. The staff is going to be looking for clearly perceptible improvement as he becomes more experienced with the system and playbook. (This is also a chance to see how Scott Linehan adapts as well, since there are certainly questions about how he did with that during the first stint on injured reserve for Romo.) Cassel also can show he is benefiting from more time to work with his offensive teammates. Getting a couple of wins would go a long way towards making him an attractive option to re-sign.
The Cowboys also will have a chance to find out more about Kellen Moore, who is reportedly something of a favorite of Linehan's. Assuming that is not made irrelevant by a change at offensive coordinator, the staff would probably like to get a better feel for whether there is anything to develop with Moore for the future. There are several ways they could go if there is deemed to be reason to retain him. The biggest payoff, although also by far the least likely outcome, is that they think he could be the eventual starter for the Cowboys when Romo is no longer part of the team. The odds are certainly very long against this, but with him available, there is no reason to not consider it. The second possibility is that he could become the backup quarterback in another season or two. He's a cheaper option than Cassel, and seven years younger. He could be a long term solution as the backup if he can show he is capable of winning about half the games he played if forced into a relief role, even if he never was able to become the starter. A third possibility, although also not all that likely, is that he might win the backup role over Cassel for next year...
