Webb Has Value To 2013 Vikings
Joe Webb went from “too talented not to have on the field” to “get him out of here” as fast as any player not involved in a scandal that I can think of.
That will happen, of course, when you put up a stinker the way Webb did in the Wild Card round, against the Packers, that resulted in a 54.9 quarterback rating and a loss. The quarterback rating doesn’t describe just how bad Webb’s performance was, however, as most of the good came after a whole ton of bad and when Green Bay’s defense had already declared victory.
Many assume that Webb’s inability to show up in the big game means he will be gone as soon as the Vikings can find a replacement. I don’t think that is necessarily the case.
Besides having all of the same excuses that Christian Ponder has benefitted from this season, such as depleted receiver options and an offensive coordinator that inexplicably went away from his strengths, Webb presents unique value in 2013.
That value stems from a point that I plan on beating to death this offseason: the Vikings have a ton of mobile quarterbacks on their 2013 schedule, as I pointed out here. All six of the Vikings losses in 2012 came against shifty quarterbacks and they project to play nine games against mobile quarterbacks next year, and that isn’t even counting what Chip Kelly manages to put together in Philadelphia.
That means the Vikings defense has to improve in this area. Of course a big part of that will consist of offseason personnel moves such as upgrading at linebacker and keeping Antoine Winfield in the fold. Other than putting the best players on the field to keep these quarterbacks from taking off, preparation in also going to be key.
Who better to prepare a defense, by running the scout team, than a fleet footed, option running quarterback like Webb?
Webb is sure to never be as good as Cam Newton or RGIII, but if he can at least be effective at pretending to be them then he may already have a role carved out for him that keeps him on the roster in 2013.
Besides, at a salary of $575,000, it is hard not justifying him sticking around as an asset to not the offense, but the defense.