NoCalMike

Howell vs Wentz as the backup are two completely different situations. I don't think the coaches want Howell to see the field this season, unless it was an emergency no choice situation. So all these previous weeks where Heinicke was playing mediocre but the team was winning, there was never a scenario Howell was coming in unless Heinicke was hurt. However, now you have an actual QB1 behind Heinicke, so it is fair to ask if the leash on your QB2 is about to get shorter. Lets say on Sunday the team goes into halftime down by a TD & Heinicke had a 7 for 15 70 yards & INT in the first half. I wouldn't be so sure that Wentz wouldn't be coming in for the 2nd half.

The way Rivera answers questions about the QB situation it seems like he is indirectly saying that now that Wentz is healthy, he wants him coached up and ready for the inevitable switch, but also feels that it is "right thing to do" in letting Heinicke keep starting until the team loses again. Now I think the Giants are a beatable opponent even with Heinicke at QB, but I also think that with Wentz healthy and on the sideline vs Howell, it is going to make Heinicke's leash a lot shorter, so maybe he throws a pick or the coaches just seem him missing too many opportunities out there, and because there is a legitimate option sitting there ready to come in, the switch could come at any time. The 49ers defense is going to be a tough task for any QB, especially with the current O-line, but I could also see Heinicke remaining the starter going into that game (assuming they beat the Giants this week) and Rivera letting Heinicke go out and have a rough half or even full game and using it as justification to put Wentz back in as the starter.

Well I used that term because I think it would still be too early to rule out some of the more zany mathematical possibilities.

The reason why the Giants game is so pivotal is because out of the 3 remaining games, 2 of them are against NFC Contenders and they likely would need to upset one of them to get to 9 wins. If they beat the Giants then to get to 9 wins, they likely just need 1 more win between the 49ers, Browns, & Cowboys. Needing to only win 1 of the last 3 versus 2 of the last 3 is huge.

I also want to be in a situation where we can look at the performance against the 49ers as a barometer for how we will look against potential playoff caliber teams during the stretch where every team is looking to play their best football. There is a chance that they end up matched up against the 49ers in the first round, and I wouldn't mind having already seen what the two teams have for each other. Their chances to win have gone up due to Purdy being the QB, but that team is so stacked and so well coached that it is going to be a tough one regardless of who is under center.

I think we are in if we beat the Giants & Browns. 9 wins will get us at least the 7th seed. Beating the 49ers and/or Cowboys would be bonus wins and possible nab us a higher seed. If they lose to either the Giants or Browns then they have to go and win a game they're definitely going to be underdogs going into. The Cowboys could be resting some starters Week 18 which could help the cause.

If the coaches are planning on handing the reigns over to Howell in 2023 and keeping Heinicke as a back up (who is also a FA at end of season I believe?) Then okay, but if they are flirting with bringing Heinicke back to be the starter while they continue the search for a franchise QB? Nah.

I still am sticking with my theory that the O-line is the main factor in sticking with Heinicke over Wentz. I don't think the coaches think Heinicke is a better QB than Wentz by any means, but I do think they think Wentz is not suited to succeed with this Oline. It's not like Heinicke is lighting it up behind the Oline either, nor is he really being any kind of duel threat with his legs necessarily, I just think the coaches feel weighing each QB's pros & cons, they feel Heinicke's pros are a better fit right now.

I think the major questions going into the offseason at the QB position, is whether the coaches think Howell is franchise QB caliber and/or if he is ready to begin the journey as the starter in 2023. If their minds are made up that he is ready to start Week 1 next season, I think that gives you more flexibility with how you approach the back up spot.

I am telling ya'll we do not want Jimmy G running this offense, unless they basically mimicked the style of plays being called for Heinicke. He is not a vertical passer, he excels in the WCO, a quick timing based offense where he drops back 3 steps, makes his read and gets rid of the ball. That stuff you saw Wentz doing earlier in the year before the O-line got hurt? That isn't Jimmy G. If Scott Turner is still the OC after this season, and at this point I think he will be, Jimmy G is not the QB to run it.

I don't know what team will do it, but I really want the Eagles to lose one more game before Week 18. If they go into that game having something to play for it would be big for us.

The current identity is necessity due to the O-line. Going into the season the offense we see now is not what the plan was, but things had to get modified. Once the O-line is fixed (hopefully in the offseason) and the QB position is upgraded, we will see more of what the coaches were intending. The best part is they can keep much of the running game the way it is, but the passing game will be more dynamic.

Here is where I am at with Howell. Realistically it is too early to make any final judgement. The guy has the physical tools, but so do most QBs that are drafted. This is what I will say though, assuming Wentz is gone after this season, that leaves Howell & Heinicke on the roster (is Heinicke a FA too though?). Through Heinicke's entire time here he has been mostly ranging from average to mediocre. He has no arm, his footwork is not good, he often throws off his back foot, his size affects his ability to see the field in the pocket (that would be the one area Howell could have an issue with too, tbh) and if you are watching the tape after the games, he is missing things out there that leaves points on the board. I am not talking about plays that the defense blows up, but rather plays where he has a pocket, but simply locks onto someone pre snap and never even seems to look the other way. He misses easy throws like Logan being wide open, and he also completely missed Dotson in the endzone after he worked a defender on a drive they had to settle on a FG from the 5 yard line. Heinicke is out there primarily for 2 reasons, his mobility can buy an extra half second or so, and his knowledge of the offense. Otherwise, the guy has no business out there. Howell being a 5th round pick who needs to work on some mechanics, I can understand why he isn't playing this season, it makes sense, however if you are telling me he needs more than a single offseason in order to go out and play as well as Heinicke is right now? I'd be concerned with what the coaches think his ceiling is.

Before the Jimmy G injury, I felt like the 49ers would be the team every opponent would have hated to face in the first round, especially teams like Dallas & Minnesota. That big physically powerful (and super fast) defense that can take so much of what you want to do away. Now with Purdy in there, it will be interesting to see how much they are going to put on his plate should teams start selling out to stop the run game. He looked good in relief, but that isn't abnormal, and it will a situation to keep an eye on after the kid has more film on him available to coordinators. As far as the Eagles vs Giants this week goes? I look for the Giants to approach with a similar game plan as we did and I am very interested to see what sort of adjustments the Eagles will make in combatting it. The main difference is the Giants don't have the array of skill position players for Jones to throw to and I think that will be their ultimate undoing in the game.

I think too sometimes people confuse being mobile with being a "running threat" at QB. Even earlier in this season Wentz was sometimes taking off on scrambles and gaining positive yards. It wasn't like he was unable to do it in certain situations, but I wouldn't call him mobile at all (at least not since his injuries). I've seen our defense through the years give up plenty of scramble yards to QB's not known as being mobile QBs. Some QB's you have to gameplan for their mobility, but for the other QB's it doesn't mean they can't or won't do it when they have to, it just isn't something that they regularly do.

I am thinking the coaches are viewing the Heinicke vs Wentz QB situation more due to the state of the O-line. I have to believe if the O-line was better, like even middle of the pack in the NFL then Wentz would be starting once he is healthy. Heinicke's play has just been too mediocre to justify keeping him in there. The bigger question is do the coaches still see value in bringing back Wentz for a season or two while revamping the O-line, if they feel Howell needs more time to develop behind the scenes.

I'd be interested too if the mood on Heinicke changes drastically if one of these games where he throws 3-4 "turnover worthy passes" actually end up as turnovers. With how close most of these games have been, any one of those pass attempts being picked off could have changed the outcome. I know we can't play the what-if game, but since it is happening every game, the odds are that they will run into a game or two in the future where those types of passes do end up as turnovers. The 49ers game could get super ugly in that way, really quick.

If Chase Young could play QB, he'd have been playing a month ago. 😬

Right now behind this O-line, I am not sure what QB would have success. Yes, good QBs would be better than Heinicke, but that is a low bar. Ron went into the season with the assumption the O-line was going to be a lot better and then injuries started piling up and here we are. I am not a Wentz believer, but I do think with a better O-line he is absolutely the better option, the flipside is what can I expect from Wentz behind this awful O-line? Heinicke is supposed to be the mobile QB that can hurt with his legs, yet he is still getting hit after a ton of throws, so much that a handful of times over the past couple of games, he has got up pretty slow and shaking his arm out. If Ron & Co. don't get some more depth in here from I don't know where, Heinicke might be playing on borrowed time as it is.

Was the face-mask call missed though? Meaning, did the officials see it and ignore it or were they simply out of position to see it due to how it happened? A helmet literally rolling on the ground by an official seems pretty hard to ignore even if the official didn't see how the helmet ended up on the turf. Also, that holding on Sweat being missed, you mean to tell me two players isolated away from everyone else, don't have any officials' eyes on them to see the holding? I don't mean ignored like the officials simply didn't care and purposely didn't call it, I am more wondering how they did not notice either infraction.

The calls missed against the NYG seemed so egregious it feels more like the penalties were ignored than missed. How does a helmet roll by an official and he just casually strolls by it like nothing is strange. The holding of Sweat on that run, it isn't even subtle as the blocker is grabbing his jerseys with both hands, arms stretched out.......like what is going on here?

As much as I am over Heinicke being the QB, I will at least give him props for doing what he does, behind a terrible O-line. For his small size, he has absored a ton of punishment yet still plays on. I understand why he gets the "moxie" tag.

Unless Flowers is asking for too much money and/or isn't in football shape.....why is he sitting on the couch at this point in the season?

Heinicke has been mediocre. He just has, and arguing about it is getting old. It doesn't mean we can't win games with him at QB, but they are all going to be these close types games. For all the time of possession domination we continue to have from game to game, not scoring more points isn't just a small issue, it is an outright problem at this point, Does that mean he isn't the best option on the roster due to how bad the O-line is? Perhaps not, but I will say, Heinicke isn't the mobile scrambling QB we remember him being. Maybe it is because he is taking so much punishment that he doesn't want to risk absorbing more by taking off with the football, or the accumulation of hits have just worn him down, but he isn't exactly escaping much nor are the coaches doing any designed runs out of the RPO for him, so while Wentz may be a statue, removing Heinicke's legs from the equation further limits what his abilities are. Whether people want to admit it or not, we all know damn well on that pass to Dotson, we breathed a sigh of relief when Dotson did the spin move and got into the endzone because if he had gone down from the initial contact, there is a good chance they never end up tying the game up.

Normally I'd like this spot, but being flexed to SNF when we gotta fly to SF for a Saturday game immediately after is kinda eh.....I sort of wish they had flexed it to the Saturday afternoon before. Oh well, the game is going to be huge! I am glad it is the home game that is on national tv at least.