Jarrett Stidham's QB Coach Blames His Struggles on His College Coaches

I'm a guy who spent the better part of last year fully prepared to witness the dawn of the Jarrett Stidham Era in New England. I stood on the ramparts of Castle Jarrett ready to follow him into battle. With posts about how Skip Bayless called him "the next Tom Brady." Another about how Chris Simms said he's better than Tua Tagovailoa. Various ones about the praise he received from college scouts. And one about his impressive howitzer that may have actually been a wrinkle in his jorts. 

Even after the Patriots signed Cam Newton in late June, I was never fully convinced Stidham wouldn't be the QB1 until the reps in training camp started to add up. Then it became clear whom the coaching staff trusted. Obviously from that point on, none of my faith in Stidham was rewarded nor my optimism validated. When Newton got Covid, he was replaced by Brian Hoyer. When Newton went weeks between even moderately effective passing performances, Stidham still watched from the sidelines holding a blue tablet, and only left the sidelines to mop up when the offense had crapped itself yet again. 

Why the coaching staff showed so little faith in him is still a mystery. This, after all, was one of the mostly heavily recruited high school prospects in the country. He chose Baylor but noped out of there in the wake of a scandal that didn't involve him. Went to Auburn. Was drafted in the 4th round. But couldn't get a sniff of the action on a team that was consistently taking knees at the end of the half rather than trust their starter. But now we at least have some reasonable speculaton as to why, from someone who's worked close with Stidham:

Source -  [Chris] Palmer, the quarterback consultant who works with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence, Sam Darnold and Jarrett Stidham, did a great job helping to answer the No. 1 question people around here have about Stidham.

Why? Why isn’t he further along? …

"What people don’t realize is Jarrett had as far to go mentally in terms of what he knew about football between college and pro as anybody I ever worked with,” said Palmer on Tom Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast. "People don’t know this. Art Briles’ offense (at Baylor, where Stidham started his college career)? Basically nothing in it would help you play in the NFL. The way you read defenses … I’m not saying it wasn’t prolific … but none of it translates. 

"Gus Malzahn’s offense at Auburn (where Stidham spent one season before coming to New England) I think is even further from the NFL than Art Briles'. … What they expect you to know at Auburn for offense is the furthest thing from NFL offenses. Then I think the Patriots offense is the most complex. 

" … The gap he had to make up was the most significant gap I’ve seen. Out of anybody I’ve trained for the NFL Draft -- and I’ve trained over 35 guys and 10 of them started as rookies, I do this every year -- I’ve never seen a gap like that." …

"This guy watches as much tape as anybody. He studies as much as anybody. … I think it’s the quarterback’s job (to learn it). You get a chance to play for the greatest coach in American sports history, Bill Belichick? Then what you do is you figure out a way to learn it and catch up or you get beat out. I don’t think they need to dumb it down for anybody. And I definitely don’t think they need to dumb it down for Jarrett."

This to me is fascinating. And something that needs to be kept in mind by the 98% of people who are convinced Stidham is a "bust" (and I don't see how you can ever use that word to describe the 133rd pick in the draft, but whatevs). The reason Stidham dropped to the 4th round wasn't lack of talent. It was his tape at Auburn. College scouting is very much a game film-based endeavor. And he was a terrible fit in AU's run option-heavy system. If he'd stayed at Baylor instead of transferring and losing a year, he would likely have kept on the trajectory that had him expected to go among that top tier of QBs who entered the 2018 draft. Your Josh Allen and Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson. Instead he had a final year of film that showed him running an attack that was all wrong for a conventional drop back pocket passer and scouts had to look beyond what they're eyes were telling them. 

And the "gap" Chris Palmer mentions counts. It's part of the equation. He has a longer learning curve than most QBs in his situation. By no means am I ready to anoint him the starter on a team that's suddenly got talent on the edges for the first time in a couple of years. But rushing to give up on this guy based on last year is self-defeating. By Stidham's final game, Gus Malzahn had taken over the play calling duties. And in the Music City Bowl against a Purdue team that had held Dwayne Haskin's Ohio State to 20 points, Stidham put up 56 points in the first half. In all he went 15 for 21 for 373 yards and 5 TDs. I think that's a more accurate projection of what he's capable of in the right scheme than what we saw from him in college or at the ends of blowouts this season. 

So while we don't have to make him the QB1 right now, giving up on him now could cost us in the long run. The guy who works with him all offseason agrees. Don't let this talent go to waste just yet.