Las Vegas Raiders announced that veteran QB Kirk Cousins will be the #1 QB as the teams opens training camp, ahead of Indiana rookie Fernando Mendoza.
This brings up an interesting question, that appears to have no right answer; when is the best time to make your rookie QB the starter?
— Patrick Mahomes didn’t start a game until the last game of his rookie season; that seems to have turned out pretty well.
— Troy Aikman went 0-11 as a rookie QB; he started the first four games, and the last seven, but he wound up with a 105-75 record, winning three Super Bowls. Obviously, he is in the Hall of Fame.
— David Carr started right off the bat for the 2002 Houston Texans; he went 23-56 with the Texans, was only a starter for 5+ years. First time I heard the term “shellshocked” referring to a quarterback who was on a bad team.
— Dan Marino is obviously a Hall of Famer; he didn’t start a game until Week 6 of his rookie season. He led the Dolphins to the Super Bowl the next year, had a great career.
— Jared Goff didn’t start until Week 10 of his rookie year; Sean McVay came in for his second season and Goff was 44-30 under McVay, is 50-35-1 for Detroit.
— Peyton Manning started right off the bat; Colts went 3-13 his first year, but he wound up 150-77 with Indianapolis, won a Super Bowl.
— Three years ago, Carolina drafted Bryce Young, started him right away; they’ve gone 14-31 in his starts.
— Last year, Tennessee Titans started rookie QB Cam Ward all 17 games last year, went 3-14; they fired their coach after their season. Brian Daboll is the Titans’ new OC, which figures to help a young quarterback.
— My opinion is this; it has to be overwhelming to jump from college to the NFL; sitting and observing a veteran quarterback has to be beneficial. After the bye week seems like a good time to begin a new chapter. We’ll see what the Raiders do with Mendoza; their bye week this year is Week 13, kind of late to do that. I’m guessing we’ll see him around Week 9.
— Famous birthdays, July 30th:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 79
Billy Paultz, 78
Efren Herrera, 75
Ellis Valentine, 72
Clint Hurdle, 69
Ricky Horton, 67
Laurence Fishburne, 65
Chris Mullin, 63
Lisa Kudrow, 63
Terry Crews, 58
Hillary Swank, 52
Jake McCarthy, 29
— Braves 2-1, Mets 3-0
Total of only six runs scored in this doubleheader.
Carson Benge had the game-winning hit in the opener.
Chris Sale allowed two hits, struck out nine in the nightcap.
— Marlins 8, Phillies 6
Phillies led this game 6-0 in the fifth inning.
Griffin Conine’s 8th inning homer was the game-winner.
Phillies are 3-9 since the All-Star break.
— Orioles 10, Tigers 9 (12)
Detroit led this game 7-0 after the fourth inning.
Colton Cowser had the game-winning hit for Baltimore.
Spencer Torkelson hit his 100th career home run for Detroit.
— Royals 4, Twins 0
Randy Dobnak got his first MLB win in five years.
Tyler Tolbert doubled, homered, scored two runs.
Minnesota is 1.5 games out of the last playoff spot.
— Cardinals 3, Cubs 2 (10)
Ivan Herrera’s two-run double was the walk-off winner.
Only the third for the Cardinals in their last 12 games.
Dustin May gave up one hit in his five scoreless IP.
— Diamondbacks 3, Pirates 0
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed five hits in his 8th IP.
Gabriel Moreno hit a two-run homer.
Right now, Arizona would be one of the Wild Card teams.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Rangers. Wild Cards: Bronx, Red Sox, Guardians
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Arizona
