Is Wolford a legit top end backup QB?

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PARAM

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And how many teams played their backup qb and didnt win,forget the SB, didnt make the playoffs?? How did it work out for 49ers last year? Dallas? What happened to the Eagles in 2019? Pittsburgh? Indianapolis? The list goes on and on.
Not even going in to the poetic license you took with "backup qb", Roger Staubach, lol

There are two reasons the backup QB is the most popular guy on the team.
1. If the starter screws up, he's gotta play so you keep him confident
2. He doesn't play, cause if he does, the season is over, with rare, rare, extremely rare exception. So as long as he's on the bench, your team has a chance
 

XXXIVwin

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It's not even about that really. It's about the fact he had a winning lottery ticket and he dropped it in the street outside the liquor store.

I took a lot of shit for saying the guy could play at this level and I still think he can. But the problem is guys like him don't get ten shots like the talented guys. They get one shot if they're lucky. Some of these guys never get a playoff start opportunity and they've been backups for years. It was a windfall for the guy and he screwed the pooch.

But back to the OP's question... The one who decides whether you're good enough is the coach. Not the GMs, fans, or media. And the coach started him for a playoff game so yeah asking if he's a backup is a dumb question IMO. That's already been answered by the coach.
I agree with you on Rams observations about 98% of the time, but not on this one.

Against Seattle, I don't think Wolford screwed any lottery tickets, nor did he dump any pooches outside of the liquor store.:zany:

IMHO Wolford played vs Sea the same way he did vs. Arizona-- moved great, made smart decisions, showed he could operate the O at a high level, and inspired his teammates and coaches. Only thing he did wrong was play too recklessly and take big hits (which maybe he'll learn from and maybe he won't). In fairness, the hit that knocked him out of the game was an illegal cheap shot (as Mike pereira pointed out during the broadcast).

IMHO Wolford played extremely well in his 5 quarters of football. I think he played well enough to earn him a ticket as an NFL-quality backup for many years. IMHO Wolford could have a long NFL career similar to Case Keenum-- backup for sure, maybe capable of starting.
 

sloramfan

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so others brought in backups and didn't make the playoffs like we did?? IE dallas ..philly. 49'rs...

hmm i wonder how the rams playoff hopes would have turned out if say.. wolford started week 5 and was in all year?

well. i would guess from what i saw, we would not have made the playoffs...

we need a better backup... just in case we do need to go 4-3 or 4-2 to make the post season....

IMHO it ain't happening with wolford... if it did, no one would be happier than i...

go rams

slo
 

dieterbrock

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so others brought in backups and didn't make the playoffs like we did?? IE dallas ..philly. 49'rs...

hmm i wonder how the rams playoff hopes would have turned out if say.. wolford started week 5 and was in all year?

well. i would guess from what i saw, we would not have made the playoffs...

we need a better backup... just in case we do need to go 4-3 or 4-2 to make the post season....

IMHO it ain't happening with wolford... if it did, no one would be happier than i...

go rams

slo
If the defense is going to throw a virtual shut out and score a TD of their own in each of his starts, its possible the ycould win some games with Wolford....
Stafford for the full season, an MVP season will do the trick. That's what I think of the backup qb....
 

Cjcinec

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Wolford showed wheels in his brief appearance but the Rams offense couldn’t score a touchdown against an Arizona team they had feasted on for 31 offensive points just a month earlier. He’s like most NFL backups in that he would not be a long term solution if your starter goes down. Best thing about Wolford is his contract. CHEAP!
 

PARAM

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That's why I'd like to see them draft a QB. We don't need one now. Stafford is like Goff, good for 16 games (17 games this season). And if we drafted one, he could sit and learn behind a stellar QB. But the best thing is, if he's been a good college QB, looks good in preseason, we could trade him if Stafford were to sign on longer term, probably for at least what we drafted him with.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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McVay started him in that playoff game so yes he's a legit backup QB. But I lost a ton of confidence in him when he didn't adjust after the Arizona game and went right back to doing what he did in taking vicious head shots.

In the end he only hurt himself. There aren't many opportunities to start playoff games for backup QBs. He blew it IMO and it's hard to trust that he's capable of not getting hurt if he has to start a few games. So IMO if there's a QB in the draft they like at any point after let's say round 3 then take him. Once Stafford wins his Super Bowl he's probably going to go back to thinking about money and security so it makes sense to take a shot on a dev guy each year and hope they hit.

I liked how Wolford kept the offense moving but they couldn’t get into the end zone at the end of most of those drives. That part turned me off a little.
 

RamFan503

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I just don't see teams allowing Wolford to continuously beat them with his legs. He's just not quick or elusive enough. My guess is that teams would spy him and make him beat them with his arm. And I just don't see the arm talent to take a team to the playoffs. That said, could he win a playoff game if the other team was gearing up for Stafford? Possibly. I still doubt it though.

I don't dislike Wolfy. I just don't buy his skill set. But I also agree with others that there is just too small of a sample size to form a strong opinion. I know he played well in that minor league. But I wasn't really impressed with how he started the Seattle game when the team knew he was the likely starter. Of course, without the cheap shot, we could have gotten a better idea. I just don't think he would have given us a good shot at a win.

Just keep holding that clipboard Wolfy. You look marvelous.
 

Loyal

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Honestly, not quite sure what point you're making here.

If your point is, "the odds of winning a Super Bowl with a backup QB are about the same as winning the lottery," I'd of course have to strongly disagree. I looked it up, and backup QB's have won the Super Bowl an astonishing NINE times!

The list:
Earl Morrall
Nick Foles
Kurt Warner
Tom Brady
Doug Williams
Jeff Hosteler
Roger Staubach
Trent Dilfer
Jim Plunkett

So of course I'd strongly disagree with your prior statement that, "If your starting QB goes down, your season is pretty much over."

So yes, backup QB's definitely CAN take their teams all the way to the promised land, and it's actually not as rare as one would think.

A totally separate question: "Is Wolford capable of taking this team all the way, if Stafford got hurt?" Obviously McVay seems to think the answer is yes. And I agree with McVay.
Earl Morrall never won a Super Bowl as the starting QB. Shula replaced him with a recovered Bob Griese for the title game, which is clear in my mind because it was so unjust that Shula did that to him after winning all of those games.

Nick Foles is a legit example

Kurt Warner? That's a hard one because I don't think Trent Green had ever started a game for the Rams at that point and so it seemed that Kurt just became the #1 QB for the whole 1999 season.

The rest are pretty legit...

As for our back up QB, it's not normally required that a back up QB to magically take over a team and lead them to the promised land. All he has to do is fill in for a few games, normally.
 
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CoachAllred

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I know that many will see this as controversial, because we debated whether Wolford would be a better starter than Goff.

With Saffold as QB, the debate of Wolford as starting QB have ended.

So how do we see Wolford as the backup?

To stir the pot, I will say that I think Bortles in 2019 was a better backup than Wolford in 2020.

Meaning, if Saffold goes down, I don’t see Wolford as the answer.



Have at me.
I know we have not seen much, but the fact that majority of the team were disappointed that
he couldn't go against Green Bay says a lot.( this is from Lindsey Thiry's article.)
Mcvay seems to have a lot of faith in him as well.

The guy has been one of the first guys in and last to leave every day since he was on the practice squad.
I think he could come in and give us a chance to win week in and out.
He is a cerebral guy who probably knows this system better than anyone on the roster at this point.

So to answer your question, I do believe he is a legit backup and I feel far more comfortable
with him than some of our backups from the past.
 

Merlin

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I know we have not seen much, but the fact that majority of the team were disappointed that
he couldn't go against Green Bay says a lot.( this is from Lindsey Thiry's article.)
Mcvay seems to have a lot of faith in him as well.
Yeah I remember not being surprised that the team waited for him to finish his interviews post-Arizona and went crazy when he came in the locker room. This is one hell of a group of guys we have on this roster IMO.
 

Reddog99

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Yeah I think Wolford is a decent backup. I think he could help the Rams win a few fans if Stafford went down. If he has a decent OL that would be even better. That said I don't think he could keep our season afloat if Stafford went down for an extended period of time. Just my opinion though.
 

Ramon Ram

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I would like to get a better look at Perkins as he has a big arm and is faster and more mobile than Wolford.
 

VegasRam

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I just don't see teams allowing Wolford to continuously beat them with his legs. He's just not quick or elusive enough. My guess is that teams would spy him and make him beat them with his arm. And I just don't see the arm talent to take a team to the playoffs. That said, could he win a playoff game if the other team was gearing up for Stafford? Possibly. I still doubt it though.

I don't dislike Wolfy. I just don't buy his skill set. But I also agree with others that there is just too small of a sample size to form a strong opinion. I know he played well in that minor league. But I wasn't really impressed with how he started the Seattle game when the team knew he was the likely starter. Of course, without the cheap shot, we could have gotten a better idea. I just don't think he would have given us a good shot at a win.

Just keep holding that clipboard Wolfy. You look marvelous.
Oh bullshit! You're just still in love with Mannion. :biggrin:
 

OldSchool

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Interesting this discussion is still going on since most of this board said he was a legit starting QB a few months ago.