FanPost

48 Seconds of Joe Webb

Here's the latest update on Joe Webb. He was the 4th starter in the Carolina/Patriot game on Friday. Blanchard, who has been pretty bad all pre-season long, came into the game as the 3rd string QB with the ball at Carolina's 2 yard line and 3:52 left in the 4th quarter. He left the game at the 2 minute warning with an injury after being pancaked by the Patriots's 308 pound DT Jerel Worthy. Blanchard left the game after four plays that included two completed passes of 4 yards and -7 yards and two scrambles of 8 and 6 yards.

Joe Webb entered the game with 2 minutes remaining. The ball was at the Carolina 36, and it was 2nd and 4. Carolina was losing 30 to 0. 48 seconds of game time later, Joe Webb completed a touchdown pass from the 3 yard line. Those 48 seconds were Joe's only action. He ended the night 3 of 4 for 64 yards. He had a 16.0 yard average, 1 TD and a 156.2 passer rating.

Here's how he did it.

2 & 4 @ Car 36: Joe Webb threw a 7 yard slant route to WR Marcus Lucas. (The same Marcus Lucas who cost Webb an interception in the first game by bobbling a ball that hit him in the gut). Webb's ball was high. Lucas reacted to it as though he didn't see it until the last moment. I think it was a catchable ball, but it wasn't a good throw. The ball was incomplete.

3 & 4 @ Car 36: Webb needed 4 yards, and in classic Webb fashion, he threw a 30 yard pass downfield. It was a great throw with some nice off-speed touch on it. The coverage was very tight and Pilares was tackled right away at the New England 34.

1 & 10 @ NE 34: Webb had nice pocket protection on this play as well as the previous two, and he got his throws off quickly in each instance. On this play, Webb threw a strong throw to Tony Clemens in tight coverage down the left hand side of the field. Clemens made a nice play 20 yards down field and picked up another 10 yards after the catch.

1 & 3 @ NE 3: On a play action pass, Webb found a wide open TE to the right side of the end zone for an easy touchdown. Webb started to roll right before hitting D.C. Jefferson in the end zone. Had Jefferson not been open, I have no doubt that Webb would have found a way to run the ball in himself; one way or another that play was going to produce a touchdown.

So Webb looked good. In fact, over the last two games, he really couldn't look any better. Overall, he's had a very impressive pre-season. Sadly, that doesn't mean he'll find a permanent spot on Carolina's roster. Worst case scenario, Webb makes the final 53 while Newton (who hasn't looked great) continues to recover. I think Carolina will have one or more players returning from suspensions after week 4. That might be when Webb gets released if the Panthers don't want to carry 3 quarterbacks. Hopefully that doesn't happen. It would be better for Webb to be released right away so that he has a chance to land with another team that needs a QB.

JDogg926 put together a nice list of QBs who are currently listed as the #2 QB on their teams. His point was that there's a dearth of NFL talent at the backup quarterback position. It'll be difficult for Webb to break onto a team at midseason, but I think he stands a good chance of making a squad if he is released as Carolina gets down to its 53 man team.

Here's JDogg926's list: TJ Yates, Drew Stanton, Brandon Weeden, Mark Sanchez, Charlie Whitehurst, Case Keenum, Jordan Palmer, Tyrod Taylor, Bruce Gradkowski, Matt Moore, Chase Daniel, Derek Carr, Kellen Clemens, Ryan Nassib, Dan Orlovsky, Luke McCown, Thad Lewis, Blaine Gabbert and Tarvaris Jackson.

Last season 21 of 32 teams carried three quarterbacks, so I think with Webb's play so far this pre-season he's got a pretty good chance to land somewhere so long as Carolina doesn't hold onto him until after the 4th regular season game. If he gets cut at that point, I think it will harder for a team to bring him on and have him learn their playbook.

And as always, Webb has to have a good outing every game this pre-season in order to have a shot to stick. The odds are against him, but he continues to deliver with the opportunities he's been giving. He certainly made the most of his 48 seconds in Friday's game.

For those of you who are just catching up, here's a quick summary of Webb's stats so far this pre-season:

Game 1 vs. Buffalo: 16 of 28; 57% completion; 180 yards, 6.4 Avg.; 1 TD; 1 INT; 1 Sack 73.5 rating; 4 rushes for 30 yards. (Note: 55 yard completion nullified by holding penalty; interception due to a horrible play by WR Marcus Lucas (see below); On the downside, Webb was close to getting two balls picked off; Webb received Player of the Game).

Game 2 vs. Kansas City: 2 of 3, 66% completion; 27 yards, 9.0 avg., 1 sack; 95.1 rating (Note: Two perfectly thrown balls were dropped by receivers. Otherwise, Webb would have had a perfect game going 4 of 4 for 60 yards with 1 TD and 1 sack).

Game 3 vs. Patriots: 3 of 4, 75% completion; 64 yards, 16.0 avg.; 1 TD; 0 yards rushing; 156.2 rating

So who knows how things will turn out this pre-season? Nonetheless, Joe Webb has once again done the near-impossible. He's managed to make a case for himself as a QB after having spent the entire previous season as a wide receiver. It's a treat to see him play and only the crankiest Vikings fan can possibly root against this guy. He's 100% a class act.

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.