Sorry if already posted. Davey may be ready to be Pats' backup QB 08:25 AM EDT on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 BY TOM E. CURRAN Providence Journal Sports Writer Journal file photo / Glenn Osmundson Rohan Davey has had a sensational season in NFL Europe, and with current Patriots backup quarterback Damon Huard free to shop for other offers, Davey could be ready to play second string behind incumbent Tom Brady. With the draft and rookie minicamp complete, the Patriots have passed the first checkpoint in their 2004 season. As the team-wide minicamp approaches and then training camp, it's clear some positions on this roster are well stocked. Wide receiver, for instance, and defensive line. But in two other places, it's another story. Backup quarterback and safety are positions where the Patriots are shallow. As spring turns to summer and summer fades to fall, New England will be working to shore up those spots before the Sept. 9 opener. Would the Patriots be comfortable beginning the season with Rohan Davey as the No. 1 backup to Tom Brady? Throughout this spring, Davey has been on fire in NFL Europe playing for the Berlin Thunder. This weekend, he was 10 for 17 for 149 yards and four touchdowns in a 33-29 win. He also ran for a score. In five games, Davey is 66 for 102 for 896 yards, 11 scores and only three interceptions. Since Brady took over as starter in 2001, there's always been a veteran quarterback behind him. First it was Drew Bledsoe, then it was Damon Huard. Davey was given every chance last preseason to leapfrog Huard on the depth chart but during the regular season, Davey was relegated to third string in 15 of the Patriots' 17 games. Huard, a free agent, has been allowed to look for other opportunities so the only quarterbacks on the roster are Brady, Davey and second-year man Kliff Kingsbury, who spent last year on injured reserve. Back in April, Belichick maintained that he's comfortable with all three quarterbacks. How he feels come August could be a different story. He is impressed with Davey's work, however. "He has gotten a lot of game experience, which is what we felt would be most beneficial to him," Belichick said Saturday. "I think he has handled it well." Coming out of LSU in 2002, Davey was seen as an excellent leader. That undeniably helped his cause in coming to the Patriots. Leading an offense and managing the game are as important to Belichick and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis as the ability to throw a 30-yard frozen rope to the sideline. "Everything he is going through is a good experience," Belichick said. "Every time the ball is snapped can be a learning experience for him over there. "From talking to him and from watching him on tape, I think that it has been a good experience for him and he has benefited from it. He has some guys over there that he has a little bit of familiarity with. "The most important thing for him is the experience he is getting on the field. We just can't give him that. We can go out here and run routes. We can go out here and hand off and run play action, but it is just not the same as the game conditions he is experiencing on the other side of the Atlantic." And that's why, despite Davey's production, Belichick reserves the right to add a quarterback with experience. At the end of last week, for instance, the team put a waiver claim in on former Illinois standout Kurt Kittner. Kittner wound up with Cincinnati, but Belichick will keep sniffing around. "If there is an opportunity for us to improve our team, with adding a player to any position, then we will always consider it," he said. Safety also bears watching. The Patriots took Florida's Guss Scott in the third round last weekend and North Carolina's Dexter Reid in the fourth. Those two players may well provide the first line of defense behind starting safeties Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson if either one goes down. "The big thing for the safeties is just understanding our defense, knowing what things apply in which situations, which adjustments go with which coverages," Belichick said. The amount of information these players need to process is daunting. How well the Patriots play on defense this season could hinge on how quickly Scott and Reid master (or at least grasp) where they are supposed to be and when. Their viability as safeties would pave the way for Wilson to play more often as a corner in different packages. It would also give the team a better read on whether Wilson could return to corner full-time down the road. But none of that is possible until the rookies buried on the depth chart at safety get their heads above water.
I think he's ready to be a #1 back up this year. If Brady gets hurt, he comes in for a few games, lights it up, then next year he'll be a hot comodity in free agency (I think he only has 1 year left on his contract). Go get em TIGA!
I hope he gets the chance to start somewhere in the somewhat near future, and with Brady at New England I doubt it will be there. Keep up the good work Ro!
Who thought Brady would ever get a chance with Bledsoe ahead of him? You never know, Ro just has to keep improving and be ready when the call comes when ever and where ever it is. :geaux: :lsug: :champs:
RO is good for NFLE (the NFL rookie league). If I remember it correctly, Lawrence Phillips (who dominated that league) looked like cheet when he played for the Fins, dropped to third string and then cut. How RO will do against guys like Jason Taylor And Zach Thomas are another story? Is he ready yet to step in? That means that if the #1 guy goes down RO has to lead New England to the promise land. Who knows, but I think he needs a few more years. In two years RO could be one of the greatest ever. He has potential.
