If someone wants to pony up a second rounder for him, by all means I’d be happy to hand him over. Personally, I haven’t seen enough out of Mallet in three preseasons to make me think he’s ready to be a starter in the league. His inconsistency issues have continued and he hasn’t shown as much progress as I’d like.
But there is something to be said for having a quarterback who’s been in the system for a while in back of Brady, especially as he gets up there in age. Mallet might not excel running the offense as it’s tailored to Brady, but if he ever had to play in a real game, the gameplan would play to his strengths.
And maybe it would give the “deeeeep threat” crowd finally something to be excited about.
I’m looking closely at quarterbacks in the draft now. With four years left on Brady’s deal we’re entering the sweet spot to develop a potential heir. As I’ve said many times, I think Belichick will see replacing Brady as one of the great challenges of his career. The kind of thing that I think he’ll be determined to attempt.
Obviously the Aaron Rogers-Brett Favre model is the ideal. And I don’t think anyone is holding their breath for a Peyton-Luck scenario.
The biggest question is philosophical. Do they stick with a pocket passer in the mold of Brady/Mallet. Or do they try to develop more of an athlete? It’s simple math. A quarterback who can run a bit puts so much additional stress on a defense and it seems clear that is where the game is heading. There are few Andrew Lucks who can throw but run when he needs to. There are even fewer Cam Newtons.
If the Super Bowl proved anything about offenses it’s the value of a quarterback who isn’t necessarily flashy, but doesn’t make the killer mistakes and plays within himself. I think over everything else, that is the kind of guy the Pats will try to develop behind Brady.