I dont think Mike is wrong.
We saw a couple things.
1. The arm is real.
2. The accuracy is real
3. for 18 of his 19 pass attempts, the game was moving at the right speed for him.
Beyond that, the offense (and this team) performed on par with how it has for the overwhelming majority of this season. Offensively it produced 20 points (but was set up to score 26 with the two missed FG). We were gifted 2 very short fields on ST errors, and an INT for a TD by Fuller. Last time we saw that, the team scored a total of 23 points.. not much different.
I think the game flow allowed for things to be slowed down. He only attempted 19 passes. The early lead and the complete control on defense removed the desperation. Had we gotten out to these leads with any of our 3 QBs the game flow likely is the same. I don't think Howell did anything other than prove he deserves a chance. The offense was not totally transformed, though it does appear that the tools are there to change the dynamic on that side of the ball. It would not only take Howell executing, but an OC that can set him up to do it.
The TD play to Terry... I can't remember seeing that before now. The play design was good, and got the ball out relatively quickly with an easy read for Howell.
The INT was the opposite.. A bad throw by a rookie. Had Heinicke or Wentz thrown that ball... it would be a headline.. Howell is a rookie so he's afforded a learning curve. Now it's not about the INT, but how he develops off of it.
We saw a couple things.
1. The arm is real.
2. The accuracy is real
3. for 18 of his 19 pass attempts, the game was moving at the right speed for him.
Beyond that, the offense (and this team) performed on par with how it has for the overwhelming majority of this season. Offensively it produced 20 points (but was set up to score 26 with the two missed FG). We were gifted 2 very short fields on ST errors, and an INT for a TD by Fuller. Last time we saw that, the team scored a total of 23 points.. not much different.
I think the game flow allowed for things to be slowed down. He only attempted 19 passes. The early lead and the complete control on defense removed the desperation. Had we gotten out to these leads with any of our 3 QBs the game flow likely is the same. I don't think Howell did anything other than prove he deserves a chance. The offense was not totally transformed, though it does appear that the tools are there to change the dynamic on that side of the ball. It would not only take Howell executing, but an OC that can set him up to do it.
The TD play to Terry... I can't remember seeing that before now. The play design was good, and got the ball out relatively quickly with an easy read for Howell.
The INT was the opposite.. A bad throw by a rookie. Had Heinicke or Wentz thrown that ball... it would be a headline.. Howell is a rookie so he's afforded a learning curve. Now it's not about the INT, but how he develops off of it.