Is there a QB debate?

I don't know whether Dobbs is the answer or not, we'll see. I'm not putting too much into it yet. What I am putting stock in is that O'Connell is looking like he might figure out the QB of the future issue we've had.

I don't think it's a coincidence that in a year and half under O'Connell, Kirk has been at his best in his Vikings career. It was a super small sample size but to see Hall, a 5th round rookie come in and look pretty smooth after just a week of prep as a starter is also encouraging. The work that he's done with Dobbs in such a short timeline gives me a lot of hope. It's really impressive and it gives me hope that he gets it at QB and may be the guy who finally id's and builds our franchise QB.

Depending on how the rest of the season goes, this is proving the point a lot have been saying, that Kirk may not be necessary. That there is a hope for life after Kirk. Proof that we don't have to be afraid of the ghosts of Spurgeon Wynn, Christian Ponder and Brooks Bollinger if we go with a Rookie or a Bridge QB. Maybe it doesn't work, but I think O'Connell has earned that shot to give it a try.

We could consider whether those teams were open to turning their starting QB job over to a 4th-round pick (by another team in most cases).

• The Steelers had Ben Roethlisberger, age 35 and in the 3rd year of a 5-year deal, plus Landry Jones and then they picked Mason Rudolph in the 3rd. Dobbs' style is so unlike Ben's, and Rudolph probably seemed more similar. 
• The Browns had D. Watson when Dobbs was there and had previously acquired Jacoby Brissett to keep the job warm for him; they never gave Dobbs any snaps.
• It's hard to excuse his stint with Tennessee as them not giving him a chance. Maybe they preferred the idea that Malik Willis would seize the job, but when he did not, Dobbs got a couple starts and disappointed, arguably costing them a playoff spot. If he had impressed that coaching staff as a potential long-term starter, I think they would have retained him. Instead they drafted Will Levis.
• His stint with Arizona is tough to assess. He did some good things, but the team was terrible and arguably trying to tank. I doubt the coaching staff had any interest in Dobbs succeeding with them; they are either committed to Murray or chasing Caleb Williams.

The situation is important, not just the supporting players and scheme, but coaches being open-minded and willing to change the kind of plays they call to suit players' strengths. I will never believe that Pat Mahomes would have inevitably become the player he is if Chicago had drafted him instead of Trubisky.

I understand the arguments against the likelihood Dobbs is our new long-term QB. Hell, you can find a post by me around November 1 where I cite the odds against either/or 4th-round picks and anyone who has bounced around teams. We're probably going to learn that Dobbs is Just A Guy overall.

But - the last two games have been among the most entertaining by the Vikings in years. And sometimes the odds fall in a weird way...think of Jim Plunkett. I'm holding on to the fairy tale a while longer.

And that's the whole point of my QB statements. QB's and Coaches go together or they don't. Some coaches shouldn't be coaching. Just because you make a good OC doesn't mean you will be a good Head coach. Vince Lombardi was the OC in New York before he went to the Packers. What was his big thing in Green Bay? Defense. Can you imagine a team averaging 14.7 ppg on defense over 8 years? And people wonder why they won 5 championships in 8 years. Do that today and I can guarantee you will win at least 3 Super Bowls.

And the question comes up is how much work did he get with the starters on those teams?  How much work does any 2nd string or 3rd string player get with the starters?  It's easy to dismiss him because he's been on 7 teams.  Doesn't mean that he can't do the job. Just means that they didn't see the possibilities in what he could do.  Remember Favre was drafted and had a coach who refused to let him play, then traded him.  Not starting on another team has no bearing on a QBs true ability on your team.    That's one of the problems with judging QBs.  People judge them by what they did on their last team(s). Not what they can do with the current team around them.   My bet is AZ never changed a single play to play to Dobb's strengths. 

"If you can't bring better X and O knowledge stay on the sidelines." XD XD XD
You take yourself way too seriously.

Josh Dobbs homies!! Love this young stud. TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!

But Josh Allen was 5 years younger when he corrected his accuracy issues. The Ringer has an excellent article about it. Part of it was getting Diggs and Beasley. Part of it was throwing on 1st Down against Defenses looking for running plays.

And a big part was him working with a private QB Coach in the offseason to fix his footwork and tweak his throwing motion.

Josh has 5 more years of muscle memory to unlearn if he wants to be great. That's hard to do. Yes, throwing on running downs to great Recrivers will naturally help his accuracy, but it won't fix the mechanics.

To me this is the classic case of letting good be the enemy of great. If I thought Dobbs at age 29 was all of the sudden going to fix his footwork while continuing to make smart decisions in the pocket and use his feet at the right time I'd be all for him as QBOTF provided he continues to play at a high level.

But the odds of that happening this late into his career are slim.

After looking at the excellent information provided by Uncle paying Dobbs market rate doesn't save Minnesota much in '25 when ideally the next window opens. And you're already in year 2 of Nix/Daniels/Travis Rookie deal.

If that 2nd Round pick hits in '25 you get that year, with 34.5m on the books for QBs and the next to win the Superbowl before you have to extend him. With Year 1 of that window not reaping the full benefit of having a QB on a Rookie Contract.

Even viewed strictly as a high end Bridge QB I'm not sure there's enough upside and savings over 1 more year of Cousins and spreading out the dead money more.

Personally, I'm going to enjoy the ride but then root for a 1st Round pick with the upside to be great. But it's easy to see how this could go any number of directions.