If Tom Brady Went Down…
November 5th, 2021
One-game Band-Aid?
It is a horrifying thought, but not one that should be dismissed easily, especially when Mr. Seven Rings is 44.
Do the Bucs have the requisite backup quarterbacks to get through a month until, hopefully, Tom Brady could return from injury?
Over at Football Outsiders, Joe’s good friend Mike Tanier has most NFL backups grouped into two categories. One is “GTM” or “get you through a month.” The other is “GTG” which means “get you through a game.”
For Tanier, both Bucs backups Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask are the one-game variety of backups.
The “get you through a game (GTG)” category is vast. It includes most of the veteran backups for hire, some of whom deserved GTM status at the start of their extended tours of the league. It’s also the best category in which to place a mid-round pick in his first or second season. Tom Brady is backed up by two GTG quarterbacks: Blaine Gabbert (who slipped from GTM circa 2019) and Kyle Trask. Gabbert could scramble-and-screen his way to a scratch win if called upon, while Trask could imitate Mac Jones briefly given a custom game plan. Neither is Trubisky or Love.
Trevor Siemian is best thought of as a GTG quarterback at this point in his career: his last relevant experience before Week 8 came way back in 2017. Taysom Hill is also best thought of as a GTG backup, even though Sean Payton tried to make him a Win With starter and some readers may regard him as a punt returner/meme. Hill got the Saints through a month last year, but only because the Broncos started an undrafted rookie receiver at quarterback in one of those games and two of the others involved the Falcons.
Joe understands this may disturb some, but with the Bucs schedule (mostly soft), Gabbert may perform well. As for Trask, he’s way too much of an unknown.
Yes, yes, yes, Joe knows Trask played well with the Gators, duh. He wouldn’t be on the roster if he didn’t. Thing is, Vanderbilt, Missouri, South Carolina and MAC and Sun Belt directional schools are not on NFL schedules.
November 5th, 2021 at 9:04 am
….Licht & Arians get fired for the 2 bozo’s we have as backups
November 5th, 2021 at 9:10 am
If Brady goes down the TV goes off. No way do we win with Gabbert AND this defense.
November 5th, 2021 at 9:12 am
Oh boy, the way this D is letting up points, which one can throw up 30+ to secure a win? Answer NEITHER! Brady goes down, Bucs go down period.
November 5th, 2021 at 9:13 am
Pete- That’s why they’re back-ups. It’s rare to have NFL caliber starters at back-up QB positions.
If Trask were the #2 guy I’d be a LOT more worried. Gabbert has legit experience. He’ll do fine in a “back-up” role.
November 5th, 2021 at 9:25 am
We have never seen Gabbert with this good of offensive line and receiving group. Not sure why we know that he would fail. I will go with Joe on this one.
November 5th, 2021 at 9:37 am
what the Hell is wrong with you people???????? Do you sit around and wonder what you will do if you miss the rapture??????????? Talking bout “downer Debbies”
November 5th, 2021 at 9:38 am
@DBS….that defense??????
My friend is just one bad game!!!! Come on…stop being crying babies!!!!
November 5th, 2021 at 9:41 am
What Geno said. If the GOAT goes down, we became a 60/40 run/pass team. Typical Gabbert game would be like the were doing with Jameis–10 of 15 for 105 yards, touchdown. Lenny and Rojo 20-25 carries each. I believe our line can pull that off
November 5th, 2021 at 9:43 am
We’ll be fine. I bet TB has rubbed off a lot of knowledge on these guys. Though BG didn’t look great when put in this year…….they would need to get the rust off.
November 5th, 2021 at 9:44 am
zzbuc You don’t watch the games do you? One good game against the Bears where YOU call people Hero’s? Give me a friggin break.
November 5th, 2021 at 9:51 am
Spare me almost every single team season is probably a wash without the starter. For a long stretch most teams playoff hopes dwindle.
November 5th, 2021 at 9:58 am
Brady has been incredibly robust throughout his career. The missing season was from a late, dirty hit to the knees.
Brady will eventually fall apart, but I wouldn’t worry about that until it actually happens. At that point the Bucs will return to being a lower tier team, which on the surface sounds awful. But it also gives Tampa Bay access to some of the most promising QB prospects in the draft. That beats draft hell, when a team finishes just well enough to miss a wild card spot and miss out on the higher draft picks.
November 5th, 2021 at 10:02 am
I think at this point we could find a way to still make the playoffs but I have yet to see anything remotely inspiring about Gabbert other then he knows how to run the full offense.
November 5th, 2021 at 10:20 am
I honestly would feel better with Trask over Gabbert. That’s how little faith I have in Gabbert.
November 5th, 2021 at 10:23 am
@DBS…with all due respect seems to me YOU don’t watch the game…..We have a GREAT running defense and a bad secondary with TONS of injuries….
Just check the stats and our record on the last 16 games, and who won the SB, when you check that please comeback with a serious answer…
Have a great day Sir
November 5th, 2021 at 10:54 am
For what it’s worth, Gabbert would definitely start over Trask this season. Rookie QBs need time, and from what we saw during the preseason, Trask is far, far from being ready.
November 5th, 2021 at 11:33 am
First off, there’s little doubt that BA would go with Gabbert if Brady missed 1 or more games. He’s the #2 QB, he’s been with BA for several years, and he knows the offense. Little doubt he’d be a game manager QB, but that’s fine if it leads to wins.
BTW he’s not as bad as some make out … playing with THIS offense. Been in 3 games this year (clean-up duty obviously), and is 5-of-6 (83%) for 56 yds. No TDs, but he hasn’t been sacked (that’s a good thing). Not much of a runner either (OK, 6 kneeldowns for -4 yds) out of his total of 23 offensive snaps. Take away the kneeldowns and that means that Bucs are rushing twice for every pass that he’s thrown. End-of-game, trying to run out the clock … makes sense. But I’d expect to see us rushing a lot more with Gabbert in there than we do when Brady’s at QB. And against most teams we probably could win like that, as long as we don’t turn the ball over & dominate the TOP.
November 5th, 2021 at 11:46 am
Are you ppl numb down there? Don’t even put that in the air. WTH is wrong with you bums? If Brady goes down the ship goes with him!!
November 5th, 2021 at 11:53 am
If it’s a game or two of course it’s going to be Gabbert. If it’s for the rest of the year it’s Gabberts as long as he can hold on to it. I’m calling it, Atlanta over the Saints.
November 5th, 2021 at 11:57 am
Trask also beat the best defense in college football in Georgia. Just to be fair.
But if Brady goes down so do the Bucs.
November 5th, 2021 at 12:15 pm
DBS … nailed it with, “If TB12 goes down the TV goes off.”
All our hopes are tied to TB12. We’re Super Bowl Champions and playing for another Super Bowl because of TB12. Losing TB12 would be a long, hard fall.
I’d be back next season but this season would be over.
November 5th, 2021 at 12:21 pm
When Brady goes down? So will our Bucs.To survive a brady-less team, your Defense has to be playing lights out. And thus far, Our D is fell a couple of notches. Remember, we are the team who gets beat by backiups and not..the other way around.
November 5th, 2021 at 12:32 pm
Bucs would be finished. Goobert is horrible.
November 5th, 2021 at 12:48 pm
Don’t jinx us, but that is why we want to know how Trask is doing as a Brady student, is he getting gold stars stapled to his forehead, or just wasting time/
.
November 5th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
Trask played Alabama defense better than any quarterback that played against ALABAMA last year. Still don’t understand the hate Trask gets from a lot of yall !!!
November 5th, 2021 at 1:49 pm
We’re not going to the SB with or without Brady.
November 6th, 2021 at 7:03 am
Izod most the hate comes from Trask beating up on the haters College teams but at least Trask has good morals and we know the talent is there. Look at Mac Jones he was thrown into the mix and was beat early but he has come around nicely. I just hope we don’t need to see any backups until Brady’s ready to retire
November 11th, 2021 at 11:44 am
Trask is an obstacle to the sports media’s effort to make the quarterback position look like the cornerback position.