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Backup Quarterbacks · NFL explained.

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Speaker 1: dot up work dot com. So Mike White, with a
1:09
Speaker 1: four hundred and five yard performance, the second quarterback since
1:14
Speaker 1: nine to throw for four hundred or more yards in
1:19
Speaker 1: his first career start, and the Jets are gonna win
1:23
Speaker 1: as improbable a game as I think we've ever called.
1:30
Speaker 1: That was backup quarterback Mike White of the New York
1:34
Speaker 1: Jets two weekends ago, with the game winner over the
1:38
Speaker 1: then a f C leading Cincinnati Bengals. He even caught
1:42
Speaker 1: the two point conversion to go up three. It was
1:46
Speaker 1: truly a backup quarterback performance to remember Mike. So I'm
1:51
Speaker 1: a d d Ki kabwala as always here with my
1:54
Speaker 1: buddy Mike, yam and Mike. Come on now, look at
1:56
Speaker 1: my phone was blowing up. You know, I grew up
1:58
Speaker 1: in the Northeast. I have plenty of family members that
2:00
Speaker 1: are Jets fans that are all of a sudden going
2:02
Speaker 1: to Mike White. Is he our guy? A performance that
2:05
Speaker 1: I don't think anyone is going to forget and add
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Speaker 1: one particular person. I don't know if you saw this story,
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Speaker 1: someone one one hundred and twenty four thousand dollars bending
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Speaker 1: one thousand on Mike White to lead the league in
2:18
Speaker 1: passing in week number eight. The odds to one just insane?
2:23
Speaker 1: Was it his dad? Uh? You know what, I actually
2:25
Speaker 1: don't know if it was his dad, but certainly wouldn't
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Speaker 1: surprise me the confidence that a family member would have
2:31
Speaker 1: in Mike White to lead the charge. It really was
2:33
Speaker 1: a spectacular performance and Mike. That takes us to this
2:37
Speaker 1: week's episode of NFL Explained, where we're talking about what
2:42
Speaker 1: else but backup quarterbacks. Week eight one was absolutely the
2:47
Speaker 1: week of the backup quarterback. Mike White of the Jets,
2:51
Speaker 1: Cooper Rush of the Cowboys, and Gino Smith of the
2:54
Speaker 1: Seahawks all got the starts and lead their teams to victories.
2:59
Speaker 1: And Trevor Simeon and p J. Walker, they came in
3:01
Speaker 1: addy when Jamis Winston and Sam Donald left their games
3:04
Speaker 1: with injuries, and they out wins too. Unfortunately, this past weekend,
3:08
Speaker 1: Week nine not exactly fortuitous for backup quarterbacks, but it
3:11
Speaker 1: was still intriguing. Simeon he lost a close one to
3:14
Speaker 1: the Falcons. Jordan's love, my god, we've been waiting on
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Speaker 1: this one. He just couldn't get it done against the Chiefs,
3:19
Speaker 1: filling in for Aaron Rodgers. But Jakobe Berset he got
3:22
Speaker 1: the w for the Dolphins against the Texans. It wasn't
3:25
Speaker 1: necessarily a memorable performance though. Then there's my guy, Mike White.
3:28
Speaker 1: He gets to start for the Jets again and it
3:30
Speaker 1: was looking good. But gets injured at the end of
3:32
Speaker 1: that first quarter and his backup, So the backup to
3:35
Speaker 1: the backup Josh Johnson, he comes in. And it's notable
3:38
Speaker 1: because Johnson has been under contract with Get this, thirteen
3:41
Speaker 1: NFL teams plus stints with three teams in the UFL,
3:44
Speaker 1: the a F and the XFL the Jets. They lost
3:47
Speaker 1: to the Cult, But Johnson, how about this man? He
3:49
Speaker 1: sets a career high with more than three hundred passing
3:52
Speaker 1: yards and three touchdowns. Now the backups lone star. And
3:56
Speaker 1: I say that because he's from Texas and he played
3:58
Speaker 1: for the Long Horns. See what I did there? That
4:00
Speaker 1: was the Cardinals Cult McCoy who got the surprising star
4:02
Speaker 1: when Kyler Murray couldn't go and he actually took down
4:05
Speaker 1: the Niner. I mean backup quarterback ridiculously important position, wouldn't
4:09
Speaker 1: you say? So? We got us thinking add right, like,
4:12
Speaker 1: what can we actually explain on this podcast about the
4:15
Speaker 1: backup quarterback position, because it does feel relatively obvious. The
4:19
Speaker 1: backup quarterback is the guy that just goes in when
4:22
Speaker 1: the starting quarterback can't get some run. Right No no, no,
4:24
Speaker 1: no no no, Mike. Backup quarterback might be one of
4:28
Speaker 1: the single most difficult positions on an NFL team. He's
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Speaker 1: not just the most popular guy in town when the
4:36
Speaker 1: starting quarterback is not playing well. Although the backup quarterback
4:39
Speaker 1: is often the most popular guy in town when the
4:41
Speaker 1: starting quarterback is not playing well. Ignorance is bliss. I
4:44
Speaker 1: think it's a good way of saying it. You don't know.
4:46
Speaker 1: What you don't know is always what's really popular on
4:49
Speaker 1: talk radio. And it doesn't matter where you live or
4:51
Speaker 1: what city some of the fan bases are. Everyone loves
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Speaker 1: the backup until sometimes the backup has to play. But
4:57
Speaker 1: add not always the case, because you're right, this thing
5:00
Speaker 1: is nuanced here. It's the obvious portion of it, which
5:03
Speaker 1: is what I just stated before. Up quarterback you go
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Speaker 1: in when the starting quarterback can't. But take me through
5:10
Speaker 1: this and some of the conversations you've had with some
5:12
Speaker 1: other backup quarterbacks and why it is such a difficult job. Well,
5:16
Speaker 1: I'm going to start with the story, and I feel
5:19
Speaker 1: terrible for our listeners that I'm constantly pulling Steelers stories,
5:23
Speaker 1: But the truth of the matter is is that the
5:24
Speaker 1: Steelers organization has been one of the most successful organizations
5:27
Speaker 1: in the NFL over the course of the last few decades.
5:30
Speaker 1: And I have spent the last ten years of my
5:32
Speaker 1: life living in Pittsburgh, and so there's a lot of
5:35
Speaker 1: familiarity there. Let's go back to two thousand fifteen. Mike,
5:39
Speaker 1: I'm covering a game in Pittsburgh. Ben Roethlisberger has been
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Speaker 1: hurt all week, and so his backup, Landry Jones, was
5:46
Speaker 1: prepared to be the starter against the Cleveland Browns. Landry
5:50
Speaker 1: Jones goes in to start against the Cleveland Browns and
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Speaker 1: a few plays in, I don't even know if it
5:55
Speaker 1: was five plays, Mike, he hurts himself. He comes out,
6:00
Speaker 1: and guess who goes in? Ben Roethlisberger, who was the
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Speaker 1: backup that day for whatever reason. In Roethlisberger goes in.
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Speaker 1: He throws for three touchdowns, three d and seventies something yards.
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Speaker 1: It's a tremendous epic performance. Everyone says, Wow, Ben doesn't
6:14
Speaker 1: need to practice, he doesn't have to do anything. And
6:17
Speaker 1: what he does as soon as he gets out of
6:19
Speaker 1: the stadium is called Charlie Batch. Charlie Batch, who was
6:23
Speaker 1: the veteran quarterback who was his backup for seven years
6:28
Speaker 1: or so in Pittsburgh. And as Charlie tells, it to me,
6:32
Speaker 1: Ben says to him, I couldn't even text this to you.
6:36
Speaker 1: Kudos to you. How did you possibly do this every
6:40
Speaker 1: single week? And the reason is the backup quarterback doesn't
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Speaker 1: get reps with the first team. The backup quarterback doesn't
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Speaker 1: get reps running the plays that are in the script
6:52
Speaker 1: or in the playbook or on the call sheet for
6:55
Speaker 1: that particular week. The backup quarterback often has to run
7:00
Speaker 1: scout team, which is running plays of the opposing team.
7:03
Speaker 1: But guess what, Mike, the backup quarter back better be
7:06
Speaker 1: prepared if his number is called at some point on Sunday,
7:10
Speaker 1: which is what we saw with several of these players,
7:13
Speaker 1: and so the preparation piece. Actually, I talked about this
7:16
Speaker 1: with Bruce Gradkowski, who was a starter as a rookie
7:19
Speaker 1: with the Raiders and then spent much of his career,
7:22
Speaker 1: very long NFL career as well, spent a lot of
7:24
Speaker 1: his career as a backup in a variety of different ways,
7:26
Speaker 1: which we'll get into. Bruce said, it was so much
7:30
Speaker 1: harder to prepare as the backup quarterback than it was
7:34
Speaker 1: to prepare as the starter. Wow, which I think in
7:37
Speaker 1: some ways it's like preparing for this massive test every
7:39
Speaker 1: single week. I mean, we heard Kurt Warner tell us
7:41
Speaker 1: a little bit on a previous episodes the work week
7:44
Speaker 1: for him and the amount of studying that was taking place.
7:47
Speaker 1: The advantage of Kurt had was he knew he was
7:49
Speaker 1: going to be out there, and yet for backup quarterbacks
7:51
Speaker 1: that's not always the case. I would imagine add the
7:55
Speaker 1: relationship between starter and backup so significant in terms of
7:59
Speaker 1: the preparation, but also this competitiveness. Most guys want to
8:04
Speaker 1: be able to compete and go out there and play,
8:06
Speaker 1: but I think that dynamics sometimes is lost when we
8:08
Speaker 1: talk about those relationships. That situation Mike is so different
8:12
Speaker 1: depending on the circumstances of being the backup. So let's
8:16
Speaker 1: go back to my friend Bruce Gradkowski. When he was
8:19
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati, he competed with Andy Dalton, so he was
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Speaker 1: there to see who the starter was a few years later,
8:28
Speaker 1: he's in Pittsburgh, and as he put it, he knew
8:30
Speaker 1: there was no competing with Ben Roethlisberger. If Ben Roethlisberger
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Speaker 1: went out one Sunday and threw ten interceptions, it didn't matter.
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Speaker 1: Bruce was not going to be the starter. And so
8:40
Speaker 1: the role is very different. I actually asked Bruce about
8:43
Speaker 1: that piece of it. Though when you are the quarterback,
8:45
Speaker 1: you are used to being the man, the person in
8:49
Speaker 1: charge you run the show to the majority of backup
8:53
Speaker 1: quarterbacks still sort of feel that they can do it.
8:55
Speaker 1: Is there a competitive piece to that? And what Bruce
8:59
Speaker 1: said is the most important thing is that you recognize
9:02
Speaker 1: in this league your opportunity is going to cut, so
9:06
Speaker 1: you just stay ready. But the worst thing you can
9:08
Speaker 1: be is to be a backstabber. So you obviously have
9:11
Speaker 1: to help your teammate in whatever way you can. And
9:15
Speaker 1: I'll use Bruce as an example. If you're helping a
9:17
Speaker 1: young guy like Andy Dalton, who's a rookie who's never
9:20
Speaker 1: done it in the league, then maybe Bruce is kind
9:22
Speaker 1: of showing him the way a little bit. Maybe he's
9:24
Speaker 1: showing him how you organize offensive meetings, what you do,
9:27
Speaker 1: and then stepping back and letting Andy run those meetings.
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Speaker 1: If you're the backup to Ben Roethlisberger, well then you're
9:33
Speaker 1: just when he comes off on the sideline and he
9:35
Speaker 1: wants to talk about, Hey, what was that covered to
9:37
Speaker 1: shell right there? You need to be able to tell
9:39
Speaker 1: him what you saw from the sideline and help diagnose it,
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Speaker 1: and I've had many a starting quarterback tell me that
9:46
Speaker 1: there is nobody that can relate to exactly what is
9:49
Speaker 1: happening on the field except for his backup quarterback. It
9:53
Speaker 1: makes sense, and I think those relationships are so meaningful,
9:55
Speaker 1: But to your point, they're really different. I think depending
9:59
Speaker 1: on the team and that dynamic. I remember Jake Plumber
10:02
Speaker 1: telling me the story when he was in Denver and
10:04
Speaker 1: Danny Cannell was his backup order back. Not only were
10:06
Speaker 1: they close friends, which according to Jake, is not always
10:09
Speaker 1: how it is. You know, you can spend a lot
10:11
Speaker 1: of time with some people inside, you know, a quarterback room,
10:14
Speaker 1: it doesn't necessarily mean it's all kumbaya once you go
10:16
Speaker 1: and leave there. But he said it was never like
10:18
Speaker 1: he was worried that Danny was trying to gun for
10:20
Speaker 1: his job. Danny was doing all the things that could
10:22
Speaker 1: help him succeed on the football field, which I think
10:25
Speaker 1: is what you're speaking about. But then there's other dynamics
10:28
Speaker 1: in play. And I'm actually thinking back and I think
10:30
Speaker 1: a lot of people who are sports fans, maybe they
10:32
Speaker 1: watch inside the n b A and they see Kenny
10:35
Speaker 1: Smith out there. I remember Kenny telling me one time
10:37
Speaker 1: when he was playing for the Rockets. You know, you
10:40
Speaker 1: don't want to leave a game, and all of a
10:42
Speaker 1: sudden your backup comes in and you sit there and
10:45
Speaker 1: you go, well do I want him to do well?
10:47
Speaker 1: He's like, there's like this really weird dynamic in the
10:50
Speaker 1: back of your mind that says like, hey, am I
10:53
Speaker 1: am I gonna go and lose my job? That next
10:55
Speaker 1: man up sort of mentality. And I think that's what's
10:58
Speaker 1: interesting here at play To your point, some guys embrace
11:01
Speaker 1: that role a d D and other people when it's
11:03
Speaker 1: a quarterback competition, for example, I would imagine that backup
11:06
Speaker 1: is sting there, going when am I going to get
11:08
Speaker 1: my chance, as opposed to the situation Plumber and Danny
11:11
Speaker 1: was in, which is, hey, no, no, this is Jake's job.
11:14
Speaker 1: I'm not trying to compete to try to, you know,
11:16
Speaker 1: basically become that starter. So once again, interesting dynamics inside
11:20
Speaker 1: that locker room. But that's one of those things that's
11:22
Speaker 1: so heartwarming, right Mike, Like, think about the image of
11:26
Speaker 1: Cooper rush winning going down in the bowels of the
11:30
Speaker 1: stadium and Dak Prescott on basically one leg, hopping and
11:34
Speaker 1: trying to chase him down to hug him and Dak
11:37
Speaker 1: being so excited. Addy, I actually think it's a really
11:40
Speaker 1: good point when it comes to Dac he's confident in
11:42
Speaker 1: that role. Is Zack Wilson confident after what he saw
11:46
Speaker 1: Mike White? Do? I think that's a bigger question that
11:48
Speaker 1: will get some answers on a little bit down the road.
11:51
Speaker 1: But one really quick thing, Mike, Let's not forget that
11:54
Speaker 1: when it comes to quarterbacks, pedigree and especially draft pedigree
11:59
Speaker 1: can make a difference. The team is going to have
12:01
Speaker 1: a lot more patience for a first round pick like
12:03
Speaker 1: Jay Cutler who doesn't necessarily have a monster rookie year
12:07
Speaker 1: or a Peyton Manning who didn't have a monster rookie year,
12:10
Speaker 1: than it is for perhaps a sixth round selection, unless
12:14
Speaker 1: that six round selection is Tom Brady getting drafted number
12:17
Speaker 1: two overall like the Jets took Zack Wilson. That might
12:20
Speaker 1: change that conversation, But the patient's meter not always a
12:23
Speaker 1: long leash when you consider the conversation circling Miami with
12:27
Speaker 1: tah who clearly after the trade deadline is still going
12:29
Speaker 1: to be a member of that Miami Dolphins team. But
12:31
Speaker 1: just something that is looming You're right. Where you're drafted
12:34
Speaker 1: certainly plays a factor. But coming up here, add I
12:37
Speaker 1: think Chase Daniel actually has the best job in the NFL,
12:41
Speaker 1: arguably in all of sports. Trust me, I'm going to
12:44
Speaker 1: make the case. And the words of my man Diddy,
12:47
Speaker 1: I wish I could really say, is my guy. I'm
12:48
Speaker 1: just a fan. It's all about the Benjamin's that's coming
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Speaker 1: dot up work dot com. Back here on the NFL
14:20
Speaker 1: Explained podcast, Mike m and A d D. Kinka Wallah
14:22
Speaker 1: with you. Let's not forget a d D. You know
14:24
Speaker 1: we've got the holiday season around the corner. You and
14:26
Speaker 1: I have been going back and forth on this mail
14:28
Speaker 1: bag episode. I know we've gotten some questions on social media.
14:32
Speaker 1: Do encourage some people to continue to fire off some
14:35
Speaker 1: questions that you'd like us to answer at Mike underscore.
14:38
Speaker 1: Yam at a kinka walla and you can always use
14:41
Speaker 1: the hashtag NFL explained, but a d D. I said
14:44
Speaker 1: that I thought Chase Daniel was the guy that had
14:49
Speaker 1: the best job in all of sports. And this is
14:52
Speaker 1: a guy that hasn't necessarily made a ton of headlines,
14:55
Speaker 1: but as a backup quarterback, I'm going to make the
14:57
Speaker 1: argument for you here. This is a guy that's in
14:59
Speaker 1: his twelfth season and on his sixth team. He's actually
15:02
Speaker 1: been able to win a Super Bowl as a backup
15:04
Speaker 1: to Drew Brees when he is with the Saints. Then
15:06
Speaker 1: he played for the Chiefs, the Eagles, the Bears, the Lions,
15:09
Speaker 1: and now he's backing up Justin Herbert in Los Angeles
15:12
Speaker 1: and adity. Going back to what we talked about earlier
15:14
Speaker 1: in the show, Herbert's the guy and he knows it.
15:17
Speaker 1: So that relationship, you would imagine it's pretty good because
15:20
Speaker 1: everyone's got a defined role. But really what makes the
15:23
Speaker 1: case for him to be the guy that's got the
15:26
Speaker 1: best job? In my mind? Six teams, only five career starts,
15:29
Speaker 1: so a little less abuse on that body. He's played
15:31
Speaker 1: in sixty nine games, but he's never been a team starter.
15:35
Speaker 1: On day number one, twelve years in the League of
15:38
Speaker 1: d D and this is where it gets good. Forty
15:41
Speaker 1: million dollars in total earnings. Our research team, they're so fantastic.
15:46
Speaker 1: How about this? A hundred and fifty three thousand dollars
15:50
Speaker 1: per past attempt. That to me is as wild as
15:54
Speaker 1: the numbers get. So for me, when I look at
15:56
Speaker 1: the average salary for backup quarterback at two point two million,
16:00
Speaker 1: I'm kind of wishing I hit the gym a little
16:01
Speaker 1: bit harder and I don't know, maybe give myself an
16:04
Speaker 1: opportunity to be a backup quarterback at Mike. I would
16:08
Speaker 1: never be satisfied being a backup. I would never be
16:11
Speaker 1: satisfied being number two. And yes, that is a very
16:15
Speaker 1: very impressive career, a testament to his ability to stick
16:20
Speaker 1: around and the fact that people wanted him to stay.
16:23
Speaker 1: I mean, you think about how many coaches try, how
16:26
Speaker 1: many gms try to bring in a young quarterback who
16:30
Speaker 1: would be cheaper, who could be a shiny new toy,
16:33
Speaker 1: who could potentially one day be the next guy, and
16:38
Speaker 1: yet Chase Daniel keeps beating those guys out. Valued for
16:42
Speaker 1: his ability to digest and read and help share the
16:47
Speaker 1: playbook help support his starting quarterback on game day and
16:52
Speaker 1: during the week, and the value in that. Yes, yes, yes,
16:55
Speaker 1: again give credit where credit is due. But I wouldn't
16:59
Speaker 1: want to be anybody's backup. I'm the one that would
17:01
Speaker 1: want to win the Super Bowl myself. Mike k per
17:04
Speaker 1: Passe attempt. That's I'm gonna say, like, I get it.
17:07
Speaker 1: I know where you're coming from. Three k per Passe attempt,
17:11
Speaker 1: but you know you do. But you bring up a
17:12
Speaker 1: really good point, Mike, when you talk about the nature
17:15
Speaker 1: and demeanor that is necessary to be a long time
17:19
Speaker 1: backup in the league. And this actually takes me to
17:21
Speaker 1: a story that will go back to Charlie Batch. Frank
17:23
Speaker 1: Reich is the current head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
17:27
Speaker 1: Frank Rereich was a quarterback in the NFL for a
17:29
Speaker 1: long time. When Charlie Batch was a rookie in the NFL.
17:32
Speaker 1: Who was his backup? It was Frank Reich. And frank
17:35
Speaker 1: Reich had come from Buffalo where he and Jim Kelly
17:39
Speaker 1: used to game plan together and take that to the coaches.
17:43
Speaker 1: So Frank comes in. He's Charlie's backup, their quarterback coach
17:47
Speaker 1: at the time, in Detroit is Jim Zorne and Frank
17:51
Speaker 1: and Charlie are game planning together, and Charlie told me
17:55
Speaker 1: that he learned how to be a backup quarterback, how
17:59
Speaker 1: to be an unbelievably vital member of the fifty three
18:04
Speaker 1: man roster, even if you ever gone on the field
18:06
Speaker 1: from Frank Reich. Which leads to another point, right, and
18:10
Speaker 1: that is quarterbacks, backup quarterbacks who win super Bowls. To me, like,
18:15
Speaker 1: that's always kind of the end game. By the way,
18:17
Speaker 1: just one other point that you just made on Frank Reig.
18:20
Speaker 1: He's got an opportunity once again. And look we're seeing
18:22
Speaker 1: it right now in Indianapolis. But you can also win
18:26
Speaker 1: championships as a coach and seeing things differently. So how
18:29
Speaker 1: about this, I'll be the backup quarterback in one k
18:32
Speaker 1: per past attempt. I'll go into coaching everything that I've
18:35
Speaker 1: learned as a backup. I take it into the coaching profession.
18:38
Speaker 1: Win a Super Bowl that way back towards my way
18:40
Speaker 1: into a championship at DD. I like it, all right,
18:42
Speaker 1: whatever you say, Let's go back to backup quarterbacks who
18:45
Speaker 1: had unbelievably successful stints in their backup roles when called
18:49
Speaker 1: upon which speaks to their excellence as backups. And since
18:53
Speaker 1: we were talking about Frank Riich and we talked about
18:54
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills and the Jim Kelly, how about we
18:56
Speaker 1: go back to the season. And that's when Jim Kelly
19:00
Speaker 1: got hurt in a wild card playoff game against the
19:02
Speaker 1: Houston Oilers. And guess who came in, d D DA dada,
19:05
Speaker 1: Frank Reich. And do you know the whole that Frank
19:08
Speaker 1: Freich faced thirty five to three, And do you know
19:12
Speaker 1: what quarter Mike the third quarter? And do you know
19:16
Speaker 1: what Frank Reich led his Buffalo Bills to do, score
19:19
Speaker 1: twenty eight unanswered points, they won the game. Frank finished
19:26
Speaker 1: one thirty fods for touchdowns, one of the all time epic,
19:34
Speaker 1: epic backup quarterback performances in the playoffs, which speaks to
19:40
Speaker 1: his preparation, his ability to be a gamer, and the
19:44
Speaker 1: fact that he wasn't, like you, Mike, yam sufficiently satisfied
19:47
Speaker 1: to just be a backup and collect a paycheck. To
19:50
Speaker 1: be clear, unsaid'd be satisfied. I said I would go
19:53
Speaker 1: and do it for the past attempt on the forty
19:55
Speaker 1: million dollar career earnings. But look, Frank's not the only
19:58
Speaker 1: guy that has been able to accomplish that. There's plenty
20:01
Speaker 1: of other backups recently. And should you go back even
20:04
Speaker 1: a little bit further back in stree as you made
20:06
Speaker 1: reference to Frank right, but Nick Foles is certainly a
20:08
Speaker 1: guy that I think is an obvious one. Speaking of
20:10
Speaker 1: Frank right, Carson Wentz the whole thing, it all comes
20:13
Speaker 1: full circle. But he took over in week fourteen, and
20:15
Speaker 1: we know what falls was able to do Tom Brady
20:17
Speaker 1: and Drew bled So you go way back in the
20:19
Speaker 1: day winning a Super Bowl and handling business and the
20:23
Speaker 1: rest of sort of history from a Brady front. Yeah,
20:25
Speaker 1: but that's totally different. Come on, Tom Brady took over
20:29
Speaker 1: for Drew Bled so week three of the season, Nick
20:32
Speaker 1: Foles a week four. Yeah, well look, I mean, look,
20:36
Speaker 1: you're the starter day one or you're not. I just
20:38
Speaker 1: mean Brady was the starter. Brady was the starter in
20:40
Speaker 1: week three. Yes, he went into the game week two,
20:42
Speaker 1: but it was week three that Brady started for the
20:44
Speaker 1: first time. He had a whole season to build a
20:47
Speaker 1: rapport in a chemistry with his teammates to get to
20:50
Speaker 1: those playoffs. Nick Foles doesn't take over until Carson Wentz
20:54
Speaker 1: gets hurt in week fourteen, Nick Foles finishes the season
20:59
Speaker 1: two and one, and then they go on that amazing
21:01
Speaker 1: Super Bowl run. I mean, and he was the first
21:05
Speaker 1: backup Corps are back to become a Super Bowl m
21:07
Speaker 1: v P since Tom Brady, who I think really wasn't
21:10
Speaker 1: kind of a backup, because if you started starting week three,
21:13
Speaker 1: are you really a backup at that point? I mean,
21:15
Speaker 1: I guess technically, but not really. You are the one
21:18
Speaker 1: to find the silver lining, I guess. And the judgment
21:21
Speaker 1: on Brady, and I'm just saying it's a little bit
21:23
Speaker 1: overstated right here, just like when we talk about Tom
21:26
Speaker 1: Brady's lack of athleticism. I mean, come on, Tom Brady
21:29
Speaker 1: was drafted to be a major league baseball catcher, and
21:32
Speaker 1: the Montreal Expos were willing to pay him like a
21:34
Speaker 1: second or third round pick and thought he was going
21:36
Speaker 1: to be a Hall of Fame catcher. So I am
21:38
Speaker 1: tired of hearing about how Brady is not an athlete
21:41
Speaker 1: and just a product of his work. The man is
21:43
Speaker 1: an athlete. So similarly, let's not overstate that Tom Brady
21:47
Speaker 1: won the Super Bowl as a backup because that was
21:49
Speaker 1: his team. To be fair, That's not the narrative I've
21:51
Speaker 1: ever thrown out there in terms of Tom Brady and
21:54
Speaker 1: can you tell I feel strongly about you can tell
21:56
Speaker 1: you can tell you're fired up any other backups in
21:59
Speaker 1: your mind that that certainly resonate for you that have
22:01
Speaker 1: been able to have success in the Super Bowl. Well,
22:03
Speaker 1: you know, Brett Farve was a backup warner. He only
22:07
Speaker 1: started that first Super Bowl year in St. Louis because
22:10
Speaker 1: the starter got hurt in the preseason. Doug Williams is
22:14
Speaker 1: sort of the craziest story ever. I mean, in seven
22:18
Speaker 1: he started two games, he lost both of those games,
22:22
Speaker 1: and then it was suddenly decided that he would be
22:24
Speaker 1: the starter in the playoffs. And what did he do?
22:28
Speaker 1: Lead the Washington football team to a Super Bowl championship
22:31
Speaker 1: over John Elway and the Broncos. I mean, it sort
22:36
Speaker 1: of begs the question, if he's throw for three dred
22:37
Speaker 1: and forty yards in the Super Bowl and you're the
22:39
Speaker 1: Super Bowl m v P, why weren't you starting all year?
22:42
Speaker 1: So there's something to be said for that. But there
22:43
Speaker 1: are examples, and Super Bowl is obviously the extreme one,
22:47
Speaker 1: but there are examples. A deity of some quarterbacks who
22:50
Speaker 1: when they get that opportunity to start, are able to
22:53
Speaker 1: capitalize down the road as a starter for another team.
22:56
Speaker 1: One that comes to my mind the Packers obviously with
22:58
Speaker 1: Matt Flynn. Remember he got an opportunity back Aaron Rodgers
23:02
Speaker 1: dealing with Smith Shoes and Flynn comes in. Then he
23:05
Speaker 1: scores a mass a contract from the Seahawks where he
23:07
Speaker 1: was getting twenty six million guaranteed. So to me, like,
23:10
Speaker 1: there's those examples where guys were able to put that
23:13
Speaker 1: pan out. Maybe you shouldn't give a contract based on
23:17
Speaker 1: one game, you know, I mean, it was a hell
23:19
Speaker 1: of a game fo passing yards, six touchdowns, agreed, But
23:22
Speaker 1: maybe you need a bigger body of work before you
23:25
Speaker 1: hand out a big fat contract like that. Yeah, but
23:27
Speaker 1: these backups who get that opportunity, like this is what
23:30
Speaker 1: they're living for, right that preparation you get a chance,
23:33
Speaker 1: you exceed the expectation level and you're kind of hoping
23:36
Speaker 1: that you get an opportunity to get it done somewhere
23:38
Speaker 1: us and Mike really officially, there are seven quarterbacks who
23:43
Speaker 1: did not start Week one but ultimately lead their team
23:47
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl, and one on the final week
23:50
Speaker 1: of the season. We talked about Nick Foles. We talked
23:53
Speaker 1: and argued a little bit about Tom Brady. There was
23:56
Speaker 1: Trent Dilfer who took over for Tony Banks about a
23:59
Speaker 1: quarter of the way into the season, and then one
24:01
Speaker 1: Super Bowl thirty five for the Ravens. Remember that tremendous
24:04
Speaker 1: defense they had. Of course, there was Doug Williams. Then
24:07
Speaker 1: you and I, as Giants fans, should remember this one.
24:11
Speaker 1: Jeff has Stutler won Super Bowl twenty five and he
24:15
Speaker 1: took over with just five games left in the season
24:18
Speaker 1: for Phil Simms. There was Jim Plunkett, who won Super
24:20
Speaker 1: Bowl fifteen. He took over the fifth game of the season.
24:24
Speaker 1: Earl Morrell, who took over for Bob Greasy fairly early
24:27
Speaker 1: in the season about five games in, six games in.
24:30
Speaker 1: He won all eleven of those games and started all
24:34
Speaker 1: the way through the a f C Championship game. I
24:36
Speaker 1: do need to say he led the Dolphins to a
24:38
Speaker 1: perfect seventeen and oh season. He didn't actually get the
24:41
Speaker 1: start in the Super Bowl though, so he started a
24:45
Speaker 1: big chunk of the season. He got them there. He
24:48
Speaker 1: didn't start in that game, but I feel like we
24:50
Speaker 1: can give him an astros sort of credit right there.
24:52
Speaker 1: And then of course, you can't forget about Roger Staubach,
24:55
Speaker 1: right because he won Super Bowl six. He started Week
24:58
Speaker 1: eight and the Cowboys won ten straight games with him
25:01
Speaker 1: at the helm. An elite class. But it shows you, too, Mike,
25:04
Speaker 1: how important it is to spend at least some money
25:07
Speaker 1: on your backup quarterback. But again, this all goes back
25:10
Speaker 1: to when you think about your preparation as a backup quarterback.
25:15
Speaker 1: You have to fill so many different roles. Right. If
25:18
Speaker 1: you're the backup to a young guy, you're a mentor,
25:20
Speaker 1: you're a coach, you're a teacher. If you're the backup
25:23
Speaker 1: to an older guy, you might be a therapist. In
25:26
Speaker 1: some ways, you know, you're kind of a personal assistant
25:30
Speaker 1: or an assistant to the offensive coordinator with what you
25:33
Speaker 1: see and what you can possibly share. At all times,
25:37
Speaker 1: you're a guy that has a ton on your plate
25:39
Speaker 1: because you need to make sure you're helping who you
25:41
Speaker 1: need to help, that you're learning that week's offense, that
25:44
Speaker 1: you're running the scout team on many occasions, unless you
25:47
Speaker 1: know your team has a third quarterback, and you have
25:50
Speaker 1: to be ready even without the physical preparation. I mean,
25:54
Speaker 1: I'll tell you every practice that I'm at the only
25:55
Speaker 1: time that I ever see the backup quarterback really take
25:57
Speaker 1: reps with the ones is in like run game stuff,
26:02
Speaker 1: you know, and handing the ball off is not the
26:03
Speaker 1: same as practicing throwing at your first wide receivers. Now,
26:07
Speaker 1: I'm with you, and I think you've painted a great
26:08
Speaker 1: picture with some of your conversations with backup quarterbacks. I
26:12
Speaker 1: think we can leave everyone with this idea, and I
26:14
Speaker 1: think it's a great quote and it puts into full
26:17
Speaker 1: context with some backups are dealing with Chris Wanky, who
26:20
Speaker 1: was an NFL backup for a long period of time,
26:22
Speaker 1: I think you put it best. He said, you've been
26:24
Speaker 1: sitting around all day and now you're running with the bulls.
26:27
Speaker 1: You're running for your life, and you have to process
26:30
Speaker 1: all of this information. You know, you haven't even had
26:32
Speaker 1: physical reps with the first team. This is violent sport.
26:36
Speaker 1: A d D. It could be dangerous for some of
26:38
Speaker 1: those guys out there who maybe aren't necessarily prepared, But
26:41
Speaker 1: a d D. It has been awesome going through some
26:43
Speaker 1: of the nuance that comes with the backup quarterback position.
26:46
Speaker 1: If you've got a favorite backup quarterback, we'd love to
26:48
Speaker 1: hear from you. On social media at Mike Underscore. Yeah,
26:52
Speaker 1: at a Kinka wala use that hashtag, NFL explained and
26:55
Speaker 1: if you have a question just fire it our way.
26:58
Speaker 1: It could come up. In a later episode of the
27:00
Speaker 1: NFL Explained podcast, A d D. Great job today. Well
27:04
Speaker 1: it was a lot of fun, all right, my cam
27:06
Speaker 1: that is backup Quarterbacks explained. America's most reliable network is
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