The Taylor Heinecke Thread

[TheGreeK1973]

1 hour ago, lavar703 said:

McCoy never played like this for any extended period time in the NFL. Heinecke is Heinecke. I’m tired of the silly comparisons to Fitz as well. I genuinely have no idea how good he actually is but if he continues playing like this it might be time to just accept the fact we found a good QB by pure dumb luck. And it could just be me getting overly excited but this is the first time since 2012 that I feel like the QB stepping on the field gives us a real chance to win. Everyone here knows how pessimistic I am but there’s something to Heinecke. If it keeps happening week after week we as a fan base are going to have to stop coming up with excuses for why he's good. That will just be the case and we just lucked out. It’s rare but it happens. 

Thank you Lavar, excellent post that has covered me fully.  Let me add the only reason Heinecke is not thought right now as a good starter is because he was picked of the street and not a 2nd round pick a few years back.  That is the only reason.  Right now all our number one picks on D are playing average at best.  If they can get it together and Taylor doesn't have to go 100 miles every week with his hair on fire to play catch up I see him learning and winning.  

Edited October 3, 2021 by TheGreeK1973

[turtle28]

2 hours ago, lavar703 said:

Heineke has better numbers than that in three games. I’m just going to enjoy this Heinecke stuff until it stops. 

You’re right & same. 

[RSkinGM]

It's so obvious he's limited physically. Maybe he can win on brains and heart . Maybe he's Tinkerbelle--"I believe, I believe" .. 

[Thaiphoon]

5 hours ago, lavar703 said:

McCoy never played like this for any extended period time in the NFL. Heinecke is Heinecke. I’m tired of the silly comparisons to Fitz as well. I genuinely have no idea how good he actually is but if he continues playing like this it might be time to just accept the fact we found a good QB by pure dumb luck. And it could just be me getting overly excited but this is the first time since 2012 that I feel like the QB stepping on the field gives us a real chance to win. Everyone here knows how pessimistic I am but there’s something to Heinecke. If it keeps happening week after week we as a fan base are going to have to stop coming up with excuses for why he's good. That will just be the case and we just lucked out. It’s rare but it happens. 

Agreed on all of this. Especially the bolded.

I'm going to give my comparison to Taylor's style of play so far (*) 

But before I do, I want to explain why I hate doing these comps to certain players. Because as soon as I say "he reminds me of a <player>" someone will give it back to me and say "you said he's just as good as that <player>" or later will say "people compared him to <player>" even though I never said any of those things.

Now...again. I'm only going by what I see on the field and how I feel just watching him play. 

You know what his style of play reminds me of? What memories it evokes from me?

Forget Fitz

Forget Romo (besides some of the escape-ability)

Think Bret Favre.

The willingness to throw it up there and let his WRs make a play. And the willingness to do that even though he JUST almost threw an INT (most young QBs would shrink on the next throw and be gun shy). The escape-ability (Favre had some). And the ability to make something out of nothing on a play. And also to find his 4th or 5th read and allow them to make the plays to win (see the McKissic TD at the end where Heinicke went through 4 reads before rolling left and then cross back and hitting JD).

He just reminds me of Favre (with a little bit weaker arm).

Now, he can improve on things by throwing earlier on routes (2 of the almost INTs were because he threw too late), and not throwing off his back foot. But I like the ride I'm on so far.

(*) I fully understand that he could just go belly up and tank badly from here on out. I'm just saying what I've seen so far and the image it conjurs up. And no, I'm not saying he's a HOFer. Just his style of play reminds me of a young Favre. 

[Thaiphoon]

2 hours ago, RSkinGM said:

It's so obvious he's limited physically. Maybe he can win on brains and heart . Maybe he's Tinkerbelle--"I believe, I believe" .. 

True. But you don't need a cannon of an arm to be a good/great QB. When Jeff George threw the ball it whistled through the air. I don't remember him being too successful like other QBs with lesser arms.

Does this mean, if we had the chance to get one of the QBs we will salivate over, that we should not pick that guy? Nope. Just that if, somehow, we ended up #19 again and Heinicke balled out this year, I wouldn't be too heartbroken if we took another position in the 1st round (especially since it's looking like maybe 2 QBs are worth a top pick right now).

[Thaiphoon]

4 minutes ago, Thaiphoon said:

Agreed on all of this. Especially the bolded.

I'm going to give my comparison to Taylor's style of play so far (*) 

But before I do, I want to explain why I hate doing these comps to certain players. Because as soon as I say "he reminds me of a <player>" someone will give it back to me and say "you said he's just as good as that <player>" or later will say "people compared him to <player>" even though I never said any of those things.

Now...again. I'm only going by what I see on the field and how I feel just watching him play. 

You know what his style of play reminds me of? What memories it evokes from me?

Forget Fitz

Forget Romo (besides some of the escape-ability)

Think Bret Favre.

The willingness to throw it up there and let his WRs make a play. And the willingness to do that even though he JUST almost threw an INT (most young QBs would shrink on the next throw and be gun shy). The escape-ability (Favre had some). And the ability to make something out of nothing on a play. And also to find his 4th or 5th read and allow them to make the plays to win (see the McKissic TD at the end where Heinicke went through 4 reads before rolling left and then cross back and hitting JD).

He just reminds me of Favre (with a little bit weaker arm).

Now, he can improve on things by throwing earlier on routes (2 of the almost INTs were because he threw too late), and not throwing off his back foot. But I like the ride I'm on so far.

(*) I fully understand that he could just go belly up and tank badly from here on out. I'm just saying what I've seen so far and the image it conjurs up. And no, I'm not saying he's a HOFer. Just his style of play reminds me of a young Favre. 

Here let me do it for you guys.

"OMG, you're comparing him to Favre. I can't take anything else you say seriously"

There. We're all done with the overreactions to my post.

[Woz]

46 minutes ago, Thaiphoon said:

Think Bret Favre.

The willingness to throw it up there and let his WRs make a play. And the willingness to do that even though he JUST almost threw an INT (most young QBs would shrink on the next throw and be gun shy). The escape-ability (Favre had some). And the ability to make something out of nothing on a play. And also to find his 4th or 5th read and allow them to make the plays to win (see the McKissic TD at the end where Heinicke went through 4 reads before rolling left and then cross back and hitting JD).

I'll admit I have seen that gunslinger attitude out there and thought of Favre. So you're not alone in that thought. However

46 minutes ago, Thaiphoon said:

He just reminds me of Favre (with a little bit weaker arm).

? A little bit weaker? That's awfully generous to Heinicke.

Edited October 4, 2021 by Woz
Weird spelling there, Woz ...

[Thaiphoon]

4 minutes ago, Woz said:

A little bit weaker? That's awfully generous to Heinicke.

Well, TBH it's been quite a long time since I've seen Bret play. I remember he had a great arm. Not the greatest I've seen, but pretty great.

I think Heinicke's arm is better than he's showing and it is because of weird decisions to throw off his backfoot, etc... on a moment's notice. He's definitely not top end as strong as Favre, I just think his arm is stronger than what we've seen so far. Sometimes he throws the ball and I'm like "where'd that arm come from?" So that's why I hedged.

[mar29020]

its ridiculous people compare him to colt mccoy, he is way better.

[turtle28]

5 hours ago, mar29020 said:

its ridiculous people compare him to colt mccoy, he is way better.

People can disagree all they want, I don’t think the comp is too far off. He also played as good or better than this vs the Colts a few games later in the 2014 season when he put up 392 yards & 3 TDs while almost out dueling Andrew Luck.

I can see the Romo & Favre comps or even as I said before Joe Theismann, but we are years off from Heinicke being considered in that class. He would have to be our starter for the rest of this year, next year and then I can see point to that. To me it’s the style of play, it’s the size, the leadership, the moxy & similar arm strengths which points me to Colt McCoy.

I don’t think it’s a slight at all to compare Heinicke at this point to Colt. Yes, that could change if Heinicke proves a heck of a lot more over the rest of this year and future years but I think Heinicke fits into the more great career back up category that Colt fits into rather than the franchise QB category.

[MikeT14]

7 hours ago, mar29020 said:

its ridiculous people compare him to colt mccoy, he is way better.

No it's not. They have similar styles, play, and arm strength. Just because he might be better than Colt doesn't mean he can't be compared. He might just be what everyone thought Colt SHOULD be. Someone else said Russell Wilson, but he doesn't have that arm. That's why someone like Colt is closer. I've seen Matt Barkley too, but with better wheels. 

[offbyone]

6 hours ago, turtle28 said:

People can disagree all they want, I don’t think the comp is too far off. He also played as good or better than this vs the Colts a few games later in the 2014 season when he put up 392 yards & 3 TDs while almost out dueling Andrew Luck.

I can see the Romo & Favre comps or even as I said before Joe Theismann, but we are years off from Heinicke being considered in that class. He would have to be our starter for the rest of this year, next year and then I can see point to that. To me it’s the style of play, it’s the size, the leadership, the moxy & similar arm strengths which points me to Colt McCoy.

I don’t think it’s a slight at all to compare Heinicke at this point to Colt. Yes, that could change if Heinicke proves a heck of a lot more over the rest of this year and future years but I think Heinicke fits into the more great career back up category that Colt fits into rather than the franchise QB category.

Don't curse Heinecke by comparing him to McCoy.  McCoy was a crutch for gruden.  

[turtle28]

1 hour ago, offbyone said:

Don't curse Heinecke by comparing him to McCoy.  McCoy was a crutch for gruden.  

There was nothing wrong with having Colt as a back up. Even in the games he played after that 2014 season like after Alex got hurt in 2018 he gave us a chance to win vs the Texans and in the Dallas game he did have 3 ints but I remember at least one of them being fluky, one of them was a great play by the defender and then I think the other was a tipped ball by the WR or something in the Redzone. In the game Colt got hurt vs Phila in 2018 he started off the game 4/4 for 50 yards.

He was pretty bad vs the Patriots in 2019 but he also hadn’t taken a snap since he had broken his leg 10 months before.

Colt wasn’t awful for the Giants last year either.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Heinicke is playing better than Colt did but I think the comp makes sense for all the reasons I talked about before; athleticism, leadership, competitiveness, moxy, size and sadly not the strongest arm but certainly something he can get by with bc he knows where to go with the football and is usually accurate unless he’s throwing for his back foot.

[Woz]

22 hours ago, Thaiphoon said:

Well, TBH it's been quite a long time since I've seen Bret play. I remember he had a great arm. Not the greatest I've seen, but pretty great.

I think Heinicke's arm is better than he's showing and it is because of weird decisions to throw off his backfoot, etc... on a moment's notice. He's definitely not top end as strong as Favre, I just think his arm is stronger than what we've seen so far. Sometimes he throws the ball and I'm like "where'd that arm come from?" So that's why I hedged.

Awhile back I went to a preseason game and happened to sit near a guy who was an ex-player. No one really memorable, just a jobber (I cannot remember his name, it's been like 14-15 years). Anyway, he said he spent some time with Green Bay. He said the first time he caught a ball from Favre his hands stung from the velocity Favre launched it at him.

Like I said, I do agree he has that Favre mentality. I just don't know if he's got the tools to cash the checks his attitude wants to write. I would love to be wrong on this.

[RSkinGM]

I rewatchd the final drive. The throws to Carter and Humphries were top shelf, really nice throws, on time, some zip, very accurate. Then to find McKissic as the fifth read at the end.. wow . I can't decide yet if he's gonna be The Guy or not . Guess he is for the time being .Sure saw some really bad throws too. I know this much- can't wait for Sunday .