How does Fox justify keeping Peete as starter

I have read several reasons why Fox is leaving Peete in as starter. He doesn't make mistakes, he knows the offence... yada yada. The fact remains he arm strength is suspect, he is inline for social security any day now and to the best of my knowledge he didn't lead the first team to a touchdown in the pre-season. If it were up to me, if he struggles very much at all in the first few weeks, pull him and put in Delhomme

 

furthermore he was the only QB to turnover the ball if my memory serves me correctly... if that isn't a mistake we should bring in Ryan Leaf

 

It should also be noted that it wasn't the DB that made the play, it was Peete who created the interception by underthrowing the deep ball. He won't make that mistake much, but notice the other QBs didn't. Sometimes DBs make good plays and INTs happen, not on Peetes...

What I can't figure out is that we hear all this shit about Peete being such a game manager and not making mistakes:

381 att | 223 comp | 58.5 % | 2630 yds | 15 td | 14 int

77.4 qb rating | 22 rushing att | 14 yards rushing | 0 TD

(media guide doesn't list fumbles, and we know he had a few)

record in 2002: 7-7

I expect a lot more from a guy who's a "game manager". Fact still remains that he won't win you games, so if you get behind, you are screwed. We saw defeat snatched from the jaws of victory against Green Bay when we were in the Red Zone and Peete tried the QB draw. Peete & Henning's fault there... I'm still pissed off at that.

 

I expect a short leash. Jake D will get the first shot, and I'd hope he'd get a fairly long leash. Let's not make this a revolving door.

 

i don't have an answer for the decision. i said, however briefly, in another thread that aside from going "inside the numbers", you see the offense being very sluggish under peete. i've heard all the "lost weight, best shape in years" lines, but i've seen him look shaken, and even downright confused at times, as evidenced by poor throws and decisions. there could easily have been a few more turnovers credited to peete this preseason. delhomme and weinke, irregardless of which unit they faced, were MUCH more effective.

as for the "no mistakes", neither of them have a turnover, nor have they mismanaged the clock. no way dos peete last long as the starter. geez, look at his overal record and performance through the years.

 

I am basically in agreement with the "why Peete" feelings. I do think it will be a short leash and Peete will be in only as long as he scores points and wins. I read Fox's comments of being able to win with all 3 of the qb's as saying, don't win and your out.

However, I have a different recollection of that quarterback draw play last season. I seem to remember watching a replay broken down and the defense was set up perfectly for that call. What failed was the execution by the offensive line and either a running back or fullback totally missing a blocking responsibility. Based on the defensive alignment, the call was not a bad one, the execution however was horrible. That happened a lot last season and imho had a lot more to do with our offensive ranking than did play calling. Anyways, that's just my recollection of that play so I would lay the blame either on the positional coaches, and Henning for not having the players ready to execute properly, or I blame the players for allowing themselves to be so utterly unprepared. Peete did nothing wrong on that play, and the call was not a bad.....the offensive line and a back screwed it up.

 

Dan Henning's offense , or lack thereof, is extremely boring and conservative, so is Peete.

Maybe they want to keep Peete in there so his wife shows and gives everybody someone hot to appreciate?

BTW, has Henning ever been successful?

 

i'd dearly love to see Jake start but am slightly happier with Peete than Weinke, who I thought sucked royally against PITT in the second half and reminded me of the things I hated about him last year. BUT QB controversies are not a good thing for the TEAM. relax and be supportive of Peete. change will come shortly unless Peete is successful. since fox is going with him, my first choice is that Peete is successful cuz that means we're winning games.

let's not forget that the fan sentiment was heavily with Fasani and even Weinke, despite how bad he looked, last year over Peete. but then Fox looked like a genius when Peete won the first 3 games. Peete was 7-7 last year when weinke most likely woulda been 1-13 (and that's giving him the benefit of the doubt that he could have won one game.)

>> We saw defeat snatched from the jaws of victory against Green Bay when we were in the Red Zone and Peete tried the QB draw. Peete & Henning's fault there

only difference between that play and B-line's QB draw in GB was that Peete was a better runner and, well, B-line's draw worked. also, worse case we shoulda got a field goal last year to send the game into OT against a Packer defense that was worn out. it was a safe play and had hope due to the element of surprise. plays work and everyone is happy as hell, they don't and your kicker misses a chippy FG and the coach and players become idiots that folks stay pissed about for years.

 

Hennin has won a Super Bowl with Bill Parcels. As far as Peete goes, well Parcels once said if you have a 8-8 QB thats what you get. IMO thats what we have at best in Peete. I doubt he will be on a "short Leashe" though. Delhome is a solid backup that should be our starter.

 

Here's another reason: The players love Peete. The fans don't, but the players apparently do. From the Foxhole:

<<On naming team captains: Offense, we have (quarterback) Rodney Peete and (wide receiver) Muhsin Muhammad. Defense, we have (safety) Mike Minter and (defensive tackle) Brentson Buckner. On special teams, it is (wide receiver) Karl Hankton. The players voted on it. You are allowed six, and I can appoint one the day of the game. To me, that is a big honor.>>

I think the fact that Peete and Hankton were elected captains tells us alot about why Fox is slow to pull the plug on them. The fans may be screaming for Weinke/Delhomme, but apparently the players aren't. (yet). Maybe Fox is playing the psychology of the team as much as anything.

Minter and Buckner are no surprise. I didn't know Moose was regarded as a leader in the lockerroom. Nice to see this.