Originally posted by zozell:
I've been looking at a lot of posts regarding the signing of Carr, the departure of Hill and just the QB situation in general (Lord knows there’s a ton and I’m not really helping with this one hehe). A lot of people are saying that this move is going to hinder the development of Nate Davis. Some thought Nate should have been given the opportunity to compete for the #2 position this year.
I'm here to say that I think that we're doing everything exactly the way we need to do for Nate's progression and development. Look at it this way, if we didn't trade Shaun and sign Carr, it would still have been Smith, Hill, Davis. He would have still been the #3 regardless, so no difference there.
We also gotta keep in mind that this is not only Smith’s first time to be in the same offensive scheme for the 2nd straight year, but it’s Nate’s too, which is something we can’t say has been the case for ANY qb on our roster in the past I don’t know how many years.
We now have 3 QB's that can get the ball down the field, in an offense that can cater to exactly that. I think it's a great idea to bring him on slowly. He can definitely benefit from being behind both Smith and Carr, both of whom I am skeptical of being long term answers for the team though I hope I'm wrong. And again, being able to learn the same offensive system for two off-seasons in a row is going to be huge for his development.
Here is what I see for the future of Nate. He will be a 3rd stringer this year, next year he will earn the backup spot, and he will be the starting QB in the 2013 campaign. I see Singletary and McCloughan not wanting to make the same mistake they made with Smith. I think that's why they brought in Carr, they knew he was better than Hill and are hoping that he may be a surprise, but I don't think they are counting on neither Smith nor Carr. I think the majority of their eggs are in Nate's basket, though they won't admit it.
They are bringing him along just fine; nurturing him, not throwing him into the fire like they did with Alex and it will prove to be the best thing they could do for the kid. He will shock the league in 2 seasons... and we will look back at both Smith and Carr as a temporary quick fix, or band aids.
My only fear is this; I just hope he doesn't get swooped up by another team... because he's not a well kept secret any more. When TKO was on NFL Network, Rich Eisen was asking him about Nate, and he was talking him up, and at the same time, I’m sure his performance as the best rookie QB in the pre-season last year has gotten him some buzz around the league. Hell McNabb noticed it. We gotta do everything we can to keep this kid on our roster, because he will start eventually and he will be GOOD!
I almost completly agree with you. The only thing I see differently is that I would hope that Nate is starting by 2012. Until then lets hope either Alex or David can play relatively well. I'm not going to hold my breath but who knows?