FOXBOROUGH - Anfernee Jennings is one of the few players remaining on the Patriots roster who had crossover with Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham from his time in New England. His synopsis of the most talked-about man going into this game was short and sweet.
“Good quarterback,” he said. “Obviously, someone we have to prepare for and we can’t overlook.”
Go ahead. Let me know where you get a better scouting report online. I’ll hang up and listen. But seriously, for whatever reason, the Pats are treading lightly around what the veteran backup, now in his third spot, can do and what they remember from past experiences.
“This is a brand new team, a brand new defense I’m a part of,” Robert Spillane said when asked about his experience playing against Stidham. “A brand new offense that we're going to be going up against. So those past memories are long ago, and we're just going to focus on what they've been doing as an offense and go from there.”
“I’m not too familiar with him,” K’Lavon Chaisson admitted. “I haven’t played him. I played him in college (Chaisson at LSU, Stidham at Auburn). Just watching the film on him and seeing how he played in preseason games. I think he can make any throw he wants with a clean pocket. He’s got great mechanics and a great release time.”
Preseason is not the real thing. How many times have we seen that in our backyard? The list of players who were August warriors who didn’t even make this, or any other team, is long and easily forgettable. So would you look at Stidham’s 30-of-38 performance this summer and think ‘He’s got it’?
The reality is that it’s been 749 days since Stidham threw a pass in a game that anyone cared about. Yes, that’s how long it’s been, and that number will grow by several prior to kickoff. Otherwise, he’s been collecting dust as the #2 in Denver, first behind Russell Wilson, and over the last two years, watching Bo Nix run the show. But with Nix suffering an unfortunate ankle injury late in the Broncos’ Divisional round win over the Bills, Stidham’s time has come.
So who is he and what is he all about? Sean Payton’s actions, like Josh McDaniels’ before, show you that those two smart offensive minds believe there’s something there. One of McDaniels’ first acts as head coach of the Raiders was to trade for Stidham. Once he arrived in the Mile High City, Payton took a similar approach, inking the former 4th-round pick to a healthy 2-year contract worth $12 million (and giving him another deal this offseason). Yet, other than a couple of games with the Raiders (after McDaniels benched Derek Carr), Stidham’s never been given - or earned - the right to be the guy.
Yet Payton has often said that it’s the third year in his system where everything clicks for a quarterback, and Stidham has long proved he has the mental capacity for the game.
"I think 'Stiddy,' he's really, really smart," Broncos DL Zach Allen said. "He studies it, and he's like a second quarterback coach out there.”
Also, despite a radio station’s hint to the contrary, Stidham has put in the work. You can’t be Tom Brady’s backup and think you’ll survive without that level of dedication. Ask Matt Cassel, Brian Hoyer, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Jacoby Brissett. They’ll tell you what’s required and then the levels they had to go beyond that to not get sniped by Brady.
You also won’t survive in two-quarterback-rich systems like the ones he’s been in. McDaniels puts a lot on his signal callers. Payton is no different, and demanding to the point where he’s rubbed some guys the wrong way. But in the end, he’s gotten the most out of his guys, including late during his stint in New Orleans when Payton won five in a row with Teddy Bridgewater subbing in for Drew Brees.
“He's got the snaps that he has, the 400 so snaps that are in regular season action,” Mike Vrabel said. “And then they have a lot of snaps on what they want to do. So we'll have to be prepared for the plan and the things that they've shown. I'm sure there will be some things that they haven't shown. He's more than capable of going out there and operate. It's why he's a backup and one that was coveted around the league.”
As Vrabel mentioned earlier in the week, he was a player the Pats spoke to in free agency, no doubt in part because of McDaniels’ familiarity with him. Might that inside knowledge be an X-factor on Sunday, with the Pats’ OC spilling the tea on all that his former protege liked and didn’t like from their time together?
“I think every week, we try to use every resource that we have at our disposal,” Vrabel said. “Josh coached him a couple of years ago, so anything that we have that we can use to help us, we'll try.”
One thing that is evident is that Nix’s legs were a big part of Payton’s plan. He called three designed QB runs on the opening series versus the Bills and consistently moved the pocket to get the athletic Nix away from the rush. His ability to throw on the run is one of Nix’s true strengths, whether it’s inside or out of structure. Stidham isn’t that guy. He is much more of a straight drop-back, traditional pocket passer. That is something Payton will certainly embrace - he’s always structured his offense around the strengths of the quarterback - and considering the Broncos have an excellent offensive line, they should feel comfortable protecting him.
However, Denver’s weapons are impaired, much like the Texans were the week prior. Starting wideout Pat Bryant suffered a concussion in the win over Buffalo, and another, Troy Franklin, left the game with a hamstring issue. That left the Broncos with just three healthy receivers for a large portion of the game. Their health situation will need to be monitored closely, and it would be challenging given that it’s not the best group to begin with. So what was already going to be a difficult might step up a degree or two just based on who Stidham has at his disposal.
“He’s ready,” said Payton. “I said this at the beginning of the season that I feel like I have a #2 who’s capable of starting for a number of teams. I know he feels the same way. So watch out. Just watch.”