2014 Rookie QB Watch: Week 2

By Liam Madigan-Fried  Derek Carr: As most analysts and fans alike predicted, Derek Carr didn’t show the poise of an All-Pro right out of the gate despite ending the game with a 94.7 QB rating. However, Carr showed good judgement and flashes of passing brilliance by going 20 for 32 with two touchdown passes in his first game as a pro against the New York Jets. Unfortunately, Carr just couldn’t keep up the consistency much past the first quarter. After throwing for his first NFL touchdown, he went scoreless through the second and third quarters, before finding James Jones in the endzone during the fourth quarter, for his second and final touchdown of the night. It wasn’t a great night for Raider fans who expected to see a revamped offense. Instead, the performance left many people, including myself saying “what the hell happened with Maurice Jones-Drew?” Jones-Drew only ran for 11 yards on 9 carries in his first game for a franchise that he’s supposed to be helping ‘rebuild’ (and I use that term loosely). To make matters worse for the Raiders, Jones-Drew injured his hand late in the Jets game, and is questionable for the upcoming game against Houston. While the Raiders offense underwhelmed, they were not solely to blame for the loss against the Jets. Jets running backs Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson put up a combined 170 yards on the ground- included a 71-yard touchdown run by Ivory that clinched the victory for the Jets. Safe to say the flurry of offseason moves the Raiders made on defense don’t appear to be working as planned. If things continue like this, Carr could find himself on the bench in a week or two. The Raiders have Matt Schaub waiting in the wings and may sit Carr with the blind hope that Schaub can revert back to whatever got him and the Texans to the playoffs in 2012. My prediction is the same as last week, Schaub will give an amatuer-esque performance in his last few chances of being a starter, before the Raiders decide to ditch the vet and develop the rookie instead. Johnny Manziel: One team whom I think has remained very clear about their intent to develop their star rookie (despite what everybody else has been saying) is the Cleveland Browns with Johnny Manziel. Despite last Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh, Brian Hoyer and company did not make it easy for the Steelers defense come the second half, garnering 24 unanswered points in total, ending the game at a respectable score of 30-27. There were whispers and rumblings before the game and in the weeks leading up to it, that head coach Mike Pettine would want to use some sort of package to utilize Manziel; well that didn’t happen. As he said before the start of training camp, and I respect him for sticking by it, is that the Browns are not going to let jersey and ticket sales determine their depth chart. If those things are truly not going to be factored into any decisions, Hoyer has made a pretty good case right off the bat as to why he should be the starter- as those 24 points came as the result of four straight scoring drives right after the start of the second half. Hoyer also showed great confidence and production in the up-tempo offense, completing 80.0 percent of his passes from the no-huddle (NFL.com). In closing, don’t expect to see Mr. ‘Money’ Manziel starting anytime soon. I think it’s true that The Browns believe him to be the future of the franchise, but in that regard I don’t think they want to push their baby bird out of the nest just yet. But, Manziel fans beware, this is Cleveland we’re talking about. Hoyer didn’t come to the city as a rookie, therefore he may have some sort of immunity to the the QB curse of the city. So if he plays well over this and maybe even next season, Manziel might get the boot in Cleveland. Teddy Bridgewater: 32nd overall pick Teddy Bridgewater is patiently waiting for Matt Cassel to step aside and give him his moment in the very small amount of sunlight that Minnesota has to offer. The only thing is, Matt Cassel seems to be hogging it all. Last sunday against the St. Louis Rams, Cassel was 17 for 25 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson managed to run for a total of 102 yards on three carries, throwing off a Rams defense who had honed in on Adrian Peterson. Peterson by his usual standards had a pretty tame night, putting up only 75 yards on 21 carries with no touchdowns. Still, Peterson is going to remain the biggest weapon for the Vikings offense this year, and with this revelation of talent on the ground rushing for Patterson last Sunday, the Vikings may have found their bread and butter for the 2014 season. As long as Cassel can stay consistent in his game play and decision making, there’s no reason why he can’t utilize the weapons to make a convincing run at the playoffs this season. As for Bridgewater,  I just don't see him getting a lot of playing this time season. As as long as Cassel continues to play like a franchise quarterback, Bridgewater will remain on the bench. Only thing I can be sure of at this point, is that Bridgewater will definitely see more time than Christian Ponder in 2014. Blake Bortles: I’ve made no secret that Bortles is my favorite rookie quarterback, and based on last Sundays outcome in which the Jags gave up a 17-0 lead at halftime, it’s looking more and more like we might see him coming off the bench sooner than later. Chad Henne is nothing more than an average game -manager, and despite the fact that sources say the team rallied around him this offseason, his play may end up putting the team in danger of another disastrous season. The points scored in the first half were much more an attribution from spectacular plays made by undrafted rookie Allen Hurns, rather than the skill of the plain bagel quarterback Henne. With wide receiver Cecil Shorts III being held up with injury and Toby Gerhart failing as the work-horse back (42 yards on 18 carries), it seems like any kind of veteran support on the offensive side of the ball is unreliable thus far. What could the Jags do to turn it around? Simple, give it to the rookies. Bortles showed way more prowess in the offseason than any other rookie QB, so much so in fact that had it had come from Johnny Manziel, the anchors of ESPN may have jizzed themselves more than when Lebron won his second straight title. Then there’s rookie wide receivers Hurns and Marqise Lee, who together put up 172 yards receiving and two touchdowns. If veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis gets going, the Jaguars receiving corps could become a big threat to defenses this season. All the Jaguars need to turn things around is a quarterback with a big arm that can make plays and I firmly believes that Bortles is that guy.