I guess it's another example of how stats lie.
Fitz drops 3 passes in the first half of the first Seahawks game (I included link).
9:53 in 1st QTR [agreed - dbs]
14:56 in 2nd QTR [Kirk & Williams were open in the flats, but Rosen never took his eyes off Fitz, breaking across the middle, and forced a pass into double coverage. Fitz could've come down with it but the announcer said it was "broken up" and Fitz thought he was "interfered with". Some blame to go around on this one. -dbs]
:15 in 2nd QTR (granted he was hit on this one but he had both hands on the ball) [high pass hung Fitz out to dry for a big hit by Wagner. Fitz got his hands on it, but i wouldn't call it a catchable ball or a drop. -dbs]
When crediting drops, they look at the accuracy of the throw and credit accordingly.
OK, i was curious enough to go back and judge
Rosen's performance for myself.
1st QTR
1-10-ARZ 18 (10:02) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass incomplete short left to D.Johnson (7 yard pass thrown well wide of DJ)
2-10-ARZ 18 (9:57) J.Rosen pass incomplete deep middle to L.Fitzgerald [B.Wagner]. (15 yard pass, should've been caught)
3-10-ARZ 18 (9:52) (Shotgun) J.Rosen sacked at ARZ 9 for -9 yards (J.Reed) (play not shown in video)
1-10-ARZ 28 (4:34) J.Rosen pass short right to C.Kirk pushed ob at ARZ 39 for 11 yards (SL.Griffin). (Nice play (!) with Rosen rolling out and hitting a wide open Kirk in stride in the flat, allowing 10 yac)
1-10-SEA 37 (2:32) J.Rosen pass incomplete deep left to C.Kirk. (29-yard pass, could've led Kirk a little deeper and hit him in stride for a TD, but definitely should've been caught. Kirk dropped it when he hit the ground.)
2-10-SEA 37 (2:26) J.Rosen pass short left to J.Nelson to SEA 33 for 4 yards (T.Flowers). (quick out to Nelson behind the LOS)
3-6-SEA 33 (1:41) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass short right to C.Kirk to SEA 26 for 7 yards (E.Thomas). (WR screen to Kirk, hit him at the LOS and he ran for the 1D, nearly fumbled)
2-11-SEA 27 8 :24) J.Rosen pass deep left to C.Williams for 27 yards, TOUCHDOWN [Q.Jefferson]. The Replay Official reviewed the pass completion ruling, and the play was REVERSED. J.Rosen pass incomplete deep left to C.Williams (E.Thomas) [Q.Jefferson] (nice pass under pressure - though Rosen never looked at another receiver option - and Williams was double-covered, but Rosen put it where only Williams could catch it... too bad he didn't get both feet in bounds)
3-11-SEA 27 8 :18) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass deep left to L.Fitzgerald to SEA 11 for 16 yards (T.Thompson). (nice play - Fitz looked to be his second read)
2nd QTR
1-10-SEA 11 (15:00) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass incomplete short middle to L.Fitzgerald (J.Coleman) (Kirk & Williams were open in the flats, but Rosen never took his eyes off Fitz, breaking across the middle, and forced a pass into double coverage. Fitz could've come down with it but the announcer said it was "broken up" and Fitz thought he was "interfered with". Some blame to go around on this one.)
3-3-SEA 4 (14:13) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass incomplete short right to C.Williams (Kirk was WIDE OPEN in the end zone, but Rosen threw the ball well behind a covered Williams. Ugh.)
1-15-ARZ 10 (11:23) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass short left to L.Fitzgerald to ARZ 16 for 6 yards (T.Flowers). (easy quick-hitter)
1-10-ARZ 42 (5:24) J.Rosen pass incomplete deep middle to J.Nelson. PENALTY on SEA-Q.Jefferson, Illegal Use of Hands, 5 yards, enforced at ARZ 42 - No Play
3-5-SEA 24 (2:28) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass short left to L.Fitzgerald to SEA 18 for 6 yards (SL.Griffin) (under heavy pressure, Rosen waited for Fitz to gain a little separation, and hit him for the 1D... nice play!)
1-10-SEA 18 (2:00) J.Rosen pass incomplete deep right to C.Kirk (J.Coleman). PENALTY on SEA-J.Coleman, Defensive Pass Interference, 17 yards, enforced at SEA 18 - No Play
1-10-50 8 :30) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass incomplete short right to D.Johnson [F.Clark]. PENALTY on SEA-F.Clark, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at 50 - No Play
1-5-SEA 45 8 :26) (Shotgun) J.Rosen scrambles up the middle to SEA 40 for 5 yards (J.Reed). R11 Timeout #2 by ARZ at 00:18
1-10-SEA 40 8 :18) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass incomplete short middle to L.Fitzgerald (B.Wagner) (high pass hung Fitz out to dry for a big hit by Wagner. Fitz got his hands on it, but i wouldn't call it a catchable ball or a drop.)
3rd QTR
2-12-ARZ 28 (14:15) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass short left to C.Kirk to ARZ 31 for 3 yards (T.Flowers) (high pass to the flat; wasn't much running room anyway)
3-9-ARZ 31 (13:34) (Shotgun) J.Rosen scrambles up the middle to ARZ 39 for 8 yards (E.Thomas) (probably got the most he could've out of this play - Fitz might've been breaking open, but Rosen was already scrambling by then)
3-10-ARZ 25 (3:37) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass incomplete short middle to R.Seals-Jones (B.McDougald) [F.Clark] (Rosen held the ball too long, then threw way off-target to Seals-Jones; looked to have better targets with a quicker pass)
1-10-ARZ 24 8 :54) J.Rosen pass short right to D.Coleman pushed ob at ARZ 29 for 5 yards (B.Mingo) [N.Jones] (Rosen spent a long time in the pocket, didn't look as though anyone was open, so he dumped it off for a few)
4th QTR
2-11-ARZ 33 (14:22) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass incomplete short left to R.Seals-Jones. (ball was thrown late and behind Seals-Jones, but should've been caught for a short gain)
3-11-ARZ 33 (14:17) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass incomplete deep middle to L.Fitzgerald. (ball was uncatchable and into heavy coverage, but no one appeared open past the sticks)
1-10-ARZ 20 (11:38) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass deep right to R.Seals-Jones to SEA 49 for 31 yards (B.McDougald) [F.Clark] (great pass in stride and over the coverage!)
1-10-SEA 49 (10:51) (Shotgun) J.Rosen Aborted. M.Cole FUMBLES at 50, recovered by ARZ-J.Rosen at ARZ 46. J.Rosen pass incomplete short left. (Rosen rolled left, then threw it away after the shotgun snap bounced to him)
2-10-SEA 49 (10:45) J.Rosen pass short left to D.Johnson to SEA 19 for 30 yards (B.Wagner). (screen play which was actually set up very nicely, allowing Johnson a big gain)
2-13-SEA 22 (9:07) J.Rosen pass deep left to C.Williams for 22 yards, TOUCHDOWN. SEA-E.Thomas was injured during the play. (play action and the O-line provided time for Rosen to find Williams and make a nice throw between defenders to tie the game at 17!)
1-10-ARZ 24 (7:11) J.Rosen pass incomplete short right (broken play? Rosen rolled right and threw it away)
2-10-ARZ 24 (7:06) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass short middle to D.Johnson to ARZ 29 for 5 yards (F.Clark) (quick-hitter, thrown a little high)
3-5-ARZ 29 (6:29) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass short left to D.Johnson to ARZ 35 for 6 yards (B.Wagner). (nice quick slant for a 1D)
2-8-ARZ 37 (5:10) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass deep left to R.Seals-Jones pushed ob at SEA 42 for 21 yards (B.Wagner; B.McDougal). ARZ-R.Seals-Jones was injured during the play. (great throw into tight coverage)
2-8-SEA 40 (3:52) (Shotgun) J.Rosen pass short right to C.Kirk pushed ob at SEA 33 for 7 yards (J.Coleman) [P.Ford]. (pass was a bit high and late, but good enough)
Bottom line - yes, there were some drops, and Rosen made some very good plays. But he also threw late and off target a bunch of times, and missed open receivers, as one would expect from a rookie. He did play better than his 15-27 180 yards 1 TD/0 int stat line, but to say that "
He could have easily been 25-27 for for close to 300 yards and 2 TD's" is a wild exaggeration to the plus side.
There was enough good to provide some hope for a positive future for Rosen - but i'd have a lot more hope if Rosen had built upon this performance and shown more and more in each subsequent game. He had a lot of factors working against him, but i'm concerned that i didn't see that happen.
...dbs