Brooks Bollinger and Kevin O’Connell Jumble Detroit Lions’ QB Picture
by VoiceoftheLions on Sep 3, 2009 2:50 AM EDT
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PrintBrooks Bollinger and Kevin O’ Connell are Detroit Lions, and I’m not quite sure why.
When I first heard the news about Bollinger, I immediately went to my computer to talk about how it was only to get through the final preseason game while Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton sit out with injuries.
Then the O’Connell signing came to light. Now I’m beginning to wonder about Culpepper and Stanton.
Stanton has been a distant third and little more than an afterthought on the minds of the Lions’ coaches. Rumors began to float after the New England Patriots released O’Connell, that Stanton might be trade bait in the "Tom Brady’s backup" sweepstakes.
However, Stanton’s knee injury will take weeks to heal, and this is his third season (of three) with an injury severe enough for him to miss considerable time. That drops his stock considerably.
Culpepper has been steady and consistent, and perhaps even a favorite to win the Lions’ starting job. But he is due a roster bonus before the start of the season, and if the coaching staff has decided to go with Matthew Stafford, then Culpepper may also be trade bait.
Either way, the Lions now have five quarterbacks on the roster - again - and it’s unlikely to stay that way when the regular season rolls around.
That means either O’Connell or Bollinger is the odd man out… unless the Lions are going to blow everybody’s minds by dealing off/cutting Stanton and Culpepper.
Let’s just assume that won’t happen.
What has happened here, then, is that Bollinger and O’Connell have created their own quarterback battle. But instead of fighting for the starting job, they’re fighting for a roster spot.
O’Connell I can see hanging around for a while. Bollinger is still a question mark.
Think of Bollinger like an arm cast.
An arm cast is irritating, not terribly useful, limits your abilities, and shouldn’t be around for more than a few weeks. But unfortunately, due to injury, it is a necessary evil.
Chances are, Bollinger won’t see the start of the regular season, and he can go back to his budding UFL gig with the Florida Tuskers. On the other hand, he may find himself the Lions’ 2009 edition of Drew Henson.
Henson last year was a placeholder. His job was to take up space. To call him a stopgap is an insult to stopgaps, and the gaps they’re used for.
Henson actually got a couple of reps in the regular season, when the worst happened and every other quarterback was injured.
Bollinger needed those kinds of odds just to get a call from a team that hasn’t won a regular season football game in 21 months, and he probably won’t be around for week one, but like Henson, if more injuries occur during the season, the Lions just might get him on speed dial.
For the long term, though, Bollinger has had a few years on him in the league, so the idea that he is a "project" the Lions can develop is much less appealing when the guy is turning 30 this year.
O’Connell, however, can be a project. He was drafted in the third round by the New England Patriots last year, but was inexplicably released after being the favorite for the Patriots’ No. 2 spot.
It’s a little concerning picking up players the Patriots have given up on (they’re usually right… what’s Corey Dillon doing these days?), but it’s not like O’Connell is a 33-year-old journeyman looking for one last payoff or a title shot. He’s 24, and still learning the game.
Ultimately, neither of these signings is likely to affect the top battle between Culpepper and Stafford.
Culpepper’s injury is minor enough for him to stillbe questionable for Thursday’s preseason game at Buffalo, which means he could still win the starting job. Stafford, of course, is perfectly healthy, and is the Lions’ future regardless of what other quarterbacks are on the roster.
Stanton, though I like the kid, is developing a reputation for china doll fragility, and is looking at a team that has no real loyalty to him. So If O’Connell (or Bollinger) shows upside, and Stanton can’t stay healthy, his days may be numbered.
One thing is clear, though. With the Lions signing two quarterbacks as the regular season approaches, they are not just looking to fill injury gaps.
They’re auditioning for a roster spot.
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An interesting analysis....
….but I think there are other things in play. It’s well known that there were three other teams that put in a claim for O’Connell, what’s not known is whether they’d be willing to cough up a pick for him (I’m thinking no, as I would assume the Patriots were smart enough to try and find that out for themselves.). It could simply be that the Lions are ready to cut ties with yet another fragile MSU player that, or that they have a buyer for Culpepper lined up, or maybe both.
It’s interesting that the Patriots hit on guys like Brady and Cassel, but missed on Rohan Davey, and seemingly now O’Connell. Maybe they’ll institute a “No QB’s before the 6th round” approach.
Thank you.
Good write-up
I especially liked the Bollinger-armcast analogy. To be honest, I don’t care much about these two new QB’s, O’Connell may have potential but being released by the Pats doesn’t bode well for his future. I feel more for Staff more than anything.
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
Not High on Kevin O’Connell
If he cant cut it in NE, with their system/O-line/receivers then he is a long shot to make it here. He looked bad last friday against the Redskins, and to only play one year under Bilichik (or whatever) he must have not shown anything worth while.
When angry, count four; when very angry, swear. ~Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894
O'Connell, O'Connor, O'Donnell.....whatever
This guy is not even going to play a snap in the final preseason game. If you ask me, the Lions FO knew damn well that there were other teams who garnered interest in the young QB, so they utilized their waiver claim power and scooped him up in hopes that they could get something out of him in trade. However the likelihood of that idea coming to fruition is slim, considering the fact that most NFL organizations are smart enough to know that the Lions can not possibly keep 5 QBs and it is likely that O’Connell would be the first one to get cut. Why trade anything for a guy who they could possibly still get on waivers from the Lions? The Lions had the ability to take the first look at the kid, and they took it. Kudos to them for that. To think that the kid has any talent that would win him a roster spot this season is ludicrous at best (even though it has been said that Patriot backups are better than many NFL starters, I don’t buy it in O’Connell’s case, otherwise NE would not have cut him).
Brooks Bollinger is definitely a temp as well. While he will see playing time in tonight’s game, it is only for the simple fact that the Lions do not want Stafford playing the entire game. If they were not concerned with the rookie’s well being late in the preseason, and late into a preseason game, then Bollinger may have never even been signed, let alone thought of. Daunte Culpepper’s injury is minor. It is unlikely that he will play tonight, but depending on what the kid shows us this evening as the starter, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Daunte will still get the nod in week 1 against New Orleans. I have to admit, the odds are definitely against him in that aspect, but what if all of this “turf toe injury” stuff is more Schwartzian subterfuge? Until now, when has Jim Schwartz been so open and straightforward about ANY other injury??
The way I see it, if in fact Drew Stanton will miss significant time this season (say he is going to miss 4-6 weeks) then in all likelihood he will be placed on the IR (again). In my humble and honest opinion, he is far superior to Brooks Bollinger or Kevin O’Connell even if he is injury prone to some extent. If Stanton does go to the IR, I would be willing to bet that we go into the season with only 2 QBs (didn’t Derrick Williams play QB in HS?) and an emergency 3rd QB (which would also allow the Lions to carry an extra player on the active roster each week under NFL rules). If Stafford and Culpepper both go down, we know it will be the Kevin Smith show anyway right (at least for the remainder of any game that both Stafford and Culpepper could not return in)? Even Nick Harris could come in and hand off the ball. The Lions could (an would) then simply bring in a FA as needed. There is no reason to keep Bollinger or O’Connell, and I think the Lions FO and coaching staff are simply taking an extended look at what is available, as a contingency plan.
I agree, with only 1 healthy QB, they just need a warm body to throw passes
A backup QB off the waiver wire is better than no QB at all.
Our backup receivers still need somebody to throw to the football to them in practice and in the final preseason game.
I don’t really care if it’s O’Connell, Bollinger, or Drew Henson, just get somebody on the roster and hand ’em a helmet.
Can't argue... mostly...
I don’t think Bollinger has any shot to stick around come Week 1. No argument there. But Stanton could be out for several weeks, and there’s absolutely no reason not to give O’Connell an audition in that time. Now, getting cut by New England is always a bad omen, but even the men I consider gods of personnel evaluation can’t make a call on a quarterback beginning his second season after being a third-round pick.
The way I see it, O’Connell hangs around until Stanton is healthy, which should be roughly the trade deadline. At that point, the Lions shop BOTH QB’s, and see what they can get. I want to say they’ll keep Stanton on board, but if we can recoup a second or third round pick for a guy who will never see the field in Detroit, is anybody going to argue? Remember, the Stanton pick was two offensive coordinators ago, and one organizational overhaul ago. Nobody on the team right now has any loyalty to, nor anything invested in, Stanton. They’ll ship out whoever teams are most interested in. Until that point, Bollinger goes, O’Connell stays.
by VoiceoftheLions on Sep 3, 2009 4:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Would either of them have any trade value?
That is: “do you want this backup QB that the Lions don’t want, or that backup QB that the Lions don’t want?”
I have a hard time seeing teams bite very hard on that, even for a late-round pick or a backup player.
Maybe so...
You might be right, and the odds that either will be shipped off for anything notable is slim. But there WERE waiver claims in for O’Connell, and if the Lions make him look good on Thursday, that interest might increase to the point of being worth a fourth or fifth-round pick to some QB-deprived team (Denver?).
No idea how much interest there is in Stanton. He’s looked like a starter in preseason (albeit against third-stringers), but he has the approximate durability of a house of cards. On fire. In a hurricane. Still, if somebody looks past the injuries and gives him a shot, he might be worth something to somebody. I’m not talking blockbuster trade, here, I’m just talking about a late-round pick by a team willing to take a chance on one of the guys.
by VoiceoftheLions on Sep 3, 2009 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Seems about right
I haven’t focused to heavily on the situation myself, since it seems very auxilliary to some of the more important issues at the Lions at the moment.
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Sep 3, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions
The first thing I thought about the O'Connell pick-up was
that Detroit could be looking for a late round draft pick. Coming from the Patriots, O’Connell might have been a target for Kansas City or Denver. Cassel has a sore knee and with Pioli running the show, I wouldn’t think that O’Connell would be a stretch for KC. Likewise, with Josh McDaniels’ QB options, O’Connell could have found a home in Denver. It’s just an opinion but maybe Mayhew picked up O’Connell thinking that he might be worth something in a trade. I can’t see getting any more than a 6th or 7th rounder for him but looking at Mayhew’s past wheeling and dealing, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened.
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