Glennon, Starting Rookie QB in the NFL

If you are similar to me, the first time you heard of Mike Glennon was when you were perplexed as you discovered that we drafted him in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft.  So we do due diligence on researching as much as we can, but obviously they will show mostly good points on television about any prospect, Glennon included.  Then we have Draft Phantom and jBen to inform us on Glennon during the off-season.  It seemed as though the consensus was that Glennon was a project pick to sit for a year behind former starter Josh Freeman.  And should we see Glennon as our starting quarterback this season, then rest assured our season has gone to crap.  (Although, being an FSU fan I have memories of Glennon beating FSU.)

The improbable happened.  After three games, Glennon, affectionately known to some as Beeker, was named starter for the 0 – 3 Bucs with an anemic offense as the points for (PF) average was 11.3 points per game (ppg). In his first game, Glennon threw two interceptions.  One of them helped tie the game and eventually we lost to the Arizona 13 – 10.  That game, Glennon had one touchdown and two interceptions.  Things did not bode well aside from the fact that we scored more on offense in that Arizona game than we did in the previous two games, a touchdown against the Saints and a field goal against New England.  (We had a pick six courtesy of Mason Foster against the Saints.)

I do not recall when the moniker “game manager” came about, but many other names came about to describe Glennon such as career back-up.  At that point, I have yet to create a bias for Glennon unlike Draft Phantom or jBen.  There are many flaws to Glennon if you have had previous knowledge of him.  Draft Phantom has a very succinct evaluation of Glennon.  The vast resources that Draft Phantom has collected gives him an immense advantage of comparison, evaluation, analysis as well as projection.  His draft prospect annual is very thorough.  Sometimes, though, a prospect or two breaks away from their mold.

Fast forward to the Detroit game from game 3, the Arizona game, I denoted that a Glennon led offense was on par of that of an Andrew Luck led Colts’ offense as well as a Cam Newton led Panthers’ offense.  That would rank them somewhere in the middle of the league for points average per game.   On the heels of the Detroit game, Mike Glennon was awarded the Offensive Rookie of the Month for November.  With so much vitriol being bandied about for and against Glennon, there seems to be mass confusion between projection and production, past and present.

Glennon’s first game production, let us recall, was one touchdown, two interceptions, 193 yards thrown, and a completion rate of 55.8%.  Since then to this week, after being embarrassed by the Lions, Glennon has thrown 12 touchdown, three interceptions, averaging 221 yards per game, and an average completion rate of 63.6%.  In that span, he set a franchise rookie record for throwing a touchdown in consecutive games as well as an NFL rookie record.  In fact, his nine game yards per game average of 218 yards per game is equal to that of Cam Newton right now and five yards less than Russell Wilson.

After the bye week, the offense is averaging 21.625 ppg.  That would put the team’s offensive production rank at 23^rd overall, instead of the cumulative 30^th ranking.  The 23^rd ranking would sandwich the team below a Matt Ryan led offense and above a Tannehill led offense.  We faced the Panthers twice in that nine game span and they are the only team we scored under 20 points against, 13 points in the first meeting and 6 points recently.  A Carolina team that whose defense is allowing only 13.1 ppg.  But as I mentioned, the previous week we were averaging (after the bye) 23.8 ppg on offense, which is on par with the Colts and Panthers.  Then again, we only had 22 yards rushing against the Lions and 66 yards rushing against the Panthers in the last two games.  I am surprised we won one game out of the two games.

What is amiss is the defense, in the nine game span after the bye, is allowing 25.0 ppg.  Instead, I read how Glennon is simply a game manager or career back-up.  Glennon is helping this offense produce points as a rookie.  It seems as though his past should dictate his future, all the while neglecting his present production.  I lack the bias on Glennon, but have been creating it ever since he has taken over.  He’s a rookie.  Given time, he can produce wonderfully as he was rewarded with an Offensive Rookie of the Month award.  Still, I lack the bias to make a projection on his future.  Glennon may not possess the pizzazz of more talented quarterbacks, but he is accomplishing something many cannot say and that is starting for an NFL team.  The one thing I can say for a certainty is that Glennon is a rookie quarterback who is an NFL starter.

Can we not let Glennon dictate his own fate?