It would be so much easier to buy your analysis of Coker Mitch if I could block out the way you pimped several UDFA QBs like Preston Parsons and Shane Boyd. Sorry, I just can't do that. I'm rooting for you to be right though, as I like Coker too.
The odds of any UDFA QB ever getting a legitimate chance to start an NFL regular season game are so astronomically small.
When Hank Aaron delivered his famous induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame speech, the irony is that he hardly mentioned baseball---the focus of his speech was "opportunity."
How often does a UDFA QB have just a single opportunity to start an NFL game?
In Kurt Warner's case---it took a devastating end of the pre-season knee injury to the Rams' starter Trent Green and then an extraordinary vote of confidence from HC Dick Vermeil, who decided that, no matter what, he was going to stick with Kurt Warner. At the time, virtually every NFL pundit and fan thought Vermeil was flat-out delusional and out of his mind.
Typically at best a UDFA QB's biggest hope is to make an NFL roster as the #3 QB.
In order to get a chance strange things have to happen---like they did twice for QB Ryan Lindley (6th Round pick) who was the only QB standing when all other QBs were injured.
The reason why so many high draft pick QBs get the chance is the expectation that comes with being a high pick and the pressure on the coaches to deliver on those expectations.
Even a 2nd round pick like Drew Stanton has found himself every year in a situation where his team signed a FA starter or drafted a Matthew Stafford to take over the job. Even when Stanton was traded to the Jets and Rex Ryan where it looked like he was finally going to get his chance to win the starting job, Ryan turned around and traded for Tim Tebow which caused Stanton to ask to be traded---which he was---to the Colts---who then drafted Andrew Luck. Then when Stanton went with BA to AZ and for a while it was looking like he would finally have his chance, the Cardinals make the Carson Palmer trade.
What it takes for a QB to succeed in the NFL is (1) a head coach who is committed to him; (2) a grace period where the QB can work his way through the early mistakes that are inevitable for any QB getting his first full two seasons of action.
Look at what the Seahawks did after they drafted Russell Wilson---not only did they show tremendous faith in him, they stuck with him through his early struggles.
To this day, I believe that if Preston Parsons had been given a chance to start, he might have surprised the NFL. He had the size (6'4, 235), intelligence, poise and one of the smoothest deliveries I have seen in young UDFA QBs.
Parsons in his two years with the Cardinals never got a chance, because Jake Plummer was the starter and the team had drafted Josh McCown in the 3rd round.
After his two year stint with the Cardinals, Parsons played for the Broncos (made the roster) and found himself behind Jake Plummer again and, of course, 1st round draft pick Jay Cutler.
As for Shane Boyd---I loved the way he played for the Titans in a pre-season game versus the Cardinals---he was hitting all his passes and just when the Cardinals got pressure on him he was scrambling for first downs. This was in 2005---there were no Russell Wilsons in the NFL back then---so there really wasn't a market for diminutive scramblers like Boyd. But he did play for the Cardinals in 2006 as the #3 QB behind Jeff Blake and Josh McCown, both of whom were struggling so badly that I was saying why not at least try Boyd. My remarks then were made partly out of desperation---even if Boyd was given a chance it would have been hard to imagine Dave McGinnis sticking with him long enough for Boyd to get his feet wet.
Boyd had a few more NFL gigs after that...a couple of years with the Texans, but never got the chance to play in a game.
At least other teams were intrigued by Parsons and Boyd---so I guess I wasn't the only one.
What fascinates me about QBs---is they come in all shapes and sizes---and you never know. Some of the lesser heralded ones like Kurt Warner and Tony Romo surprisingly found themselves at the right place and right time and then seized the day and proved so many people wrong, including all 31 teams that missed out on them. Plus, while physical talent is certainly a plus, when you look at Warner and Romo, neither one of them is a super stud athlete---neither is Tom Brady, for that matter. It often comes down to intangibles like smarts, sheer competitiveness and leadership.
