Titans Release Zach Mettenberger; Claimed by the Chargers

[CSBill]

 

My reasoning is simple: I think Mettenberger has a better chance (albeit slightly) to not lose the game if he has to play, whereas EJ legitimately lost the Jacksonville game when all he had to do was not turn the ball over.

 

Homer

 

Time to stop on the EJ lost the Jacksonville game, it was one game, and you've seen Mettenberger play how many of the 10 games he's lost?

[Bakin]

 

I refuse to have my intellect questioned by someone that quotes wins as an individual stat.

 

Also by someone that can't spell Mariota.

No one says it's an individual stat.

It just so happens that Mett led teams lost every game he played.

Hmmm.

well I guess he was really good and the team stunk?

Try again. 12 TDs and 22 Turnovers.

 

EJ is about a million times better than this punk.

[26CornerBlitz]

The former Titans' QB shall henceforth be known as Muttenberger.

[YoloinOhio]

Titan Insider

 

@terrymc13

There has been suggestion Zach Mettenberger may have requested his release from #Titans. Am told by reliable source that was not the case.

[Punching Bag]

Chargers suggested to put a claim on him since his coach from Titans is coaching there

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/204062/chargers-should-take-flyer-on-qb-zach-mettenberger

 

They have 2 developmental QBs competing for 3rd slot but not sure Chargers need a 3rd QB with Rivers playing 160 games straight as starter.

[thebandit27]

 

Time to stop on the EJ lost the Jacksonville game, it was one game, and you've seen Mettenberger play how many of the 10 games he's lost?

I've watched Mett about 6 or 7 times.

 

And yes, when a guy is directly responsible for 21 consecutive points against, he's primarily responsible for the loss.

 

He was horrible...and this is coming from an EJ fan.

[reddogblitz]

Actually, in the second half he threw a horrible should-have-been easy pick in the end zone that was dropped. The play that gave the Bills the lead was a defensive interception returned for a TD. And he totally choked on the Bills' final possession. Let's not blow up what he did in that half as Montana-esque.

So now almost picks count?

 

Shady fumbled on the 2.

 

Would have been nice if our bully D had been able to stop them on that last 86 yard drive.

 

Plenty of blame to go around in that game.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

@RapSheet

The #Titans have released QB Zach Mettenberger, who was the primary backup last year.

 

 

Meh ... I mean MeHhenberger

Yes to Zach.

 

I'd dump EJ for a conditional pick if you think you can get one.

 

They won't do it, but I would.

 

Yeah why not.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

The former Titans' QB shall henceforth be known as Muttenberger.

 

I was thinking mutton like lamb chops

[Punching Bag]

 

Meh ... I mean MeHhenberger

 

Yeah why not.

 

Or trade for Skelton since I hear the wisest thing to do to get him as QB is trade a 1st round pick for him.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

 

Or trade for Skelton since I hear the wisest thing to do to get him as QB is trade a 1st round pick for him.

 

better than ej

[/dev/null]

It's sad when we're arguing which backup QB sucks worse, EJ or Mettenberger

[machine gun kelly]

I was listening to MTC yesterday with Pat Kirwan, and his comment was interesting. Mettenberger's QB rating over his 10 starts was a 14. I think he said 14.1, but don't quote me. Now the Titans are a bad team, but a 14. I guarantee EJ is higher, and he is a sunk cost. We're not cutting him. His salary is pad for with the rookie contract. It's the only reason we haven't cut him.

 

There is a 100% chance we cut him in 2017, but not this year. He knows the system, and if you cut him, and go with another veteran, they cost even more money. In a year where we are trying feverishly to sign Gilmore to a rich deal, we're not going to add to our bottom line another QB who would cost $2-5mil, whether it is Mettenberger or anyone else. If we wanted a back up, the guy I would have wanted is Hasselback. At 40 years old he had the most wins last year as a back up on an average team. Indy has won in years past b/c Luck is fantastic. He was really hurt last year, and the rest of the team did not look good. With all that said, I stand with my original comments about why we are going to stick with EJ.

 

Anyway, off to work guys.

[eball]

I was listening to MTC yesterday with Pat Kirwan, and his comment was interesting. Mettenberger's QB rating over his 10 starts was a 14. I think he said 14.1, but don't quote me. Now the Titans are a bad team, but a 14. I guarantee EJ is higher, and he is a sunk cost. We're not cutting him. His salary is pad for with the rookie contract. It's the only reason we haven't cut him.

 

There is a 100% chance we cut him in 2017, but not this year. He knows the system, and if you cut him, and go with another veteran, they cost even more money. In a year where we are trying feverishly to sign Gilmore to a rich deal, we're not going to add to our bottom line another QB who would cost $2-5mil, whether it is Mettenberger or anyone else. If we wanted a back up, the guy I would have wanted is Hasselback. At 40 years old he had the most wins last year as a back up on an average team. Indy has won in years past b/c Luck is fantastic. He was really hurt last year, and the rest of the team did not look good. With all that said, I stand with my original comments about why we are going to stick with EJ.

 

Anyway, off to work guys.

 

I'm guessing Kirwan was referring to ESPN's "Total QBR," not the traditional QB "rating" we're used to seeing. With the QBR an "average" QB should be around 50 (if I understand the stupid statistic correctly). So 14 still sucks, but it's not as bad as a traditional QB rating of 14.

 

Edit: yep, I just looked it up. Mett was a 13.6 on ESPN's scale, good for 79th in the league among all QBs (qualified or not). EJ was a 37.0 (62nd), Tyrod was a 67.8 (7th among "qualified" QBs).

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Would rather have this guy over Cardale Jones, thats for dam sure.

 

Why?

 

As has been correctly pointed out in the Fitzstandoff, one reason Osweiler got the big bucks from Houston is that they're paying for potential. Cardale Jones was drafted for potential.

 

Mettenberger has played enough that GMs around the league have a pretty exact idea what they're getting, and it isn't pretty.

[Blokestradamus]

No one says it's an individual stat.

It just so happens that Mett led teams lost every game he played.

Hmmm.

well I guess he was really good and the team stunk?

Try again. 12 TDs and 22 Turnovers.

 

EJ is about a million times better than this punk.

 

The point is that Mettenberger was a long term project. He shouldn't have been starting in his rookie year. The same with EJ. It was sheer incompetence that both saw the field as rookies.

 

If you throw someone to the wolves before they're ready, no good is coming from it.

[Hanoverbills]

I here about how bad EJ is. He only has 16 starts and I looked up other QB in there first 16 starts and Alex Smith first 23 starts 17 tds , 27 int. and 21 fumbles. Joe Flacco in his first 16 starts 14 tds ,12 int. and 11 fumbles. Blake Bortles first 16 starts 16 tds and 20 int. 21 fumbles in 29 starts. Andrew Luck first 16 games 54.1 com. pct , 10 fumbles 23 tds and 18 int. EJ Manuel first 16 starts 19 tds,15 int and 9 fumbles. 59.1 com pct. Manuel only has 16 starts as a pro. Yes there is guys like Cam Newton that start out the gate and we say wow. And there are others. Payton Manning only had like one win in his first year and threw a ton of int.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Hanoverbills

[thebandit27]

I here about how bad EJ is. He only has 16 starts and I looked up other QB in there first 16 starts and Alex Smith first 23 starts 17 tds , 27 int. and 21 fumbles. Joe Flacco in his first 16 starts 14 tds ,12 int. and 11 fumbles. Blake Bortles first 16 starts 16 tds and 20 int. 21 fumbles in 29 starts. Andrew Luck first 16 games 54.1 com. pct , 10 fumbles 23 tds and 18 int. EJ Manuel first 16 starts 19 tds,15 int and 9 fumbles. 59.1 com pct. Manuel only has 16 starts as a pro. Yes there is guys like Cam Newton that start out the gate and we say wow. And there are others. Payton Manning only had like one win in his first year and threw a ton of int.

 

On its face, the above would seem to support EJ's chances of turning things around.

 

In context, however, we see a guy that played decent football as a rookie, and severely regressed in year 2. He followed that up with a horrid training camp in year 3 that saw him land at No. 3 on the depth chart (despite playing well in 2/3 of his preseason time), and when he had the chance to come in and show progress in place of an injured Taylor, he pretty much screwed the pooch.

 

I really like EJ. He was the only QB I had any interest in from the 2013 draft, he's a very good kid, and he works as diligently as you could ask of him. He just isn't showing any progress, and seems to be regressing.

[26CornerBlitz]

@AdamSchefter

Chargers claimed former Titans QB Zach Mettenberger on waivers today, per source. Mettenberger reunited with San Diego OC Ken Whisenhunt.

[H2o]

I see Mettenberger landing in SD with Wisenhunt to be Rivers' backup

 

 

 

@AdamSchefter

Chargers claimed former Titans QB Zach Mettenberger on waivers today, per source. Mettenberger reunited with San Diego OC Ken Whisenhunt.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

 

 

Good call.

[prissythecat]

I here about how bad EJ is. He only has 16 starts and I looked up other QB in there first 16 starts and Alex Smith first 23 starts 17 tds , 27 int. and 21 fumbles. Joe Flacco in his first 16 starts 14 tds ,12 int. and 11 fumbles. Blake Bortles first 16 starts 16 tds and 20 int. 21 fumbles in 29 starts. Andrew Luck first 16 games 54.1 com. pct , 10 fumbles 23 tds and 18 int. EJ Manuel first 16 starts 19 tds,15 int and 9 fumbles. 59.1 com pct. Manuel only has 16 starts as a pro. Yes there is guys like Cam Newton that start out the gate and we say wow. And there are others. Payton Manning only had like one win in his first year and threw a ton of int.

 

 

So EJ an be as good as Flacco, Smith , or Luck? I'd extend him this instant.

[YoloinOhio]

I hope he can beat out Kellen Clemmons!

[atlbillsfan1975]

I hope he can beat out Kellen Clemmons!

would you be surprised if he did not?

[YoloinOhio]

would you be surprised if he did not?

um, no

[C.Biscuit97]

 

On its face, the above would seem to support EJ's chances of turning things around.

 

In context, however, we see a guy that played decent football as a rookie, and severely regressed in year 2. He followed that up with a horrid training camp in year 3 that saw him land at No. 3 on the depth chart (despite playing well in 2/3 of his preseason time), and when he had the chance to come in and show progress in place of an injured Taylor, he pretty much screwed the pooch.

 

I really like EJ. He was the only QB I had any interest in from the 2013 draft, he's a very good kid, and he works as diligently as you could ask of him. He just isn't showing any progress, and seems to be regressing.

Flip side, is he was given up for dead going into last preseason and made throws I haven't seen him make the previous 2 seasons. He played fine against Cincy, who were arguably playing the best in the NFL at that time. He had one of the worst 5 minute stretches in NFL history that would have buried most other Qbs and he was making playing with Marcus Easley and Chris Higan helped us take the lead.

 

He certainly has his flaws but his development was disgustingly bad. The only reason Taylor has a chance to be a franchise qb is because he got drafted by one of the best franchises in the NFL instead of one of the worst.

[Hanoverbills]

 

 

So EJ an be as good as Flacco, Smith , or Luck? I'd extend him this instant.

Nobody knows what EJ could look like down the road. Smith really looked bad his first couple years and then he played better. 49ers couldn't wait to get rid of him for Colin Kaepernick to be a starter and Colin was benched last year for Blaine Gabbert. You guys don't even like EJ as a backup. Some of you would rather have Mettenberger. Which I think is funny.

[C.Biscuit97]

Nobody knows what EJ could look like down the road. Smith really looked bad his first couple years and then he played better. 49ers couldn't wait to get rid of him for Colin Kaepernick to be a starter and Colin was benched last year for Blaine Gabbert. You guys don't even like EJ as a backup. Some of you would rather have Mettenberger. Which I think is funny.

The grass is always greener.

[thebandit27]

Flip side, is he was given up for dead going into last preseason and made throws I haven't seen him make the previous 2 seasons. He played fine against Cincy, who were arguably playing the best in the NFL at that time. He had one of the worst 5 minute stretches in NFL history that would have buried most other Qbs and he was making playing with Marcus Easley and Chris Higan helped us take the lead.

 

He certainly has his flaws but his development was disgustingly bad. The only reason Taylor has a chance to be a franchise qb is because he got drafted by one of the best franchises in the NFL instead of one of the worst.

 

Again, on its face, I'd agree with this post.

 

However, when I'm looking at EJ's performance last preseason, I'm seeing a guy that really only did well hitting deep passes against 2nd and 3rd stringers. I'm not trying to marginalize what he did, but let's face it, that extra second-and-a-half he gets to hold the ball while a guy like Deonte Thompson and his 4.3-flat speed get open downfield makes an enormous difference--one that he won't (and didn't) get during the regular season.

 

I also wouldn't call his performance against Cinci "fine". He ran the scripted plays nicely on the first drive, but followed that up with 4 consecutive possessions of 3 plays or less, with 3 punts and an INT (on which he underthrew Hogan on a wheel route that could've been a huge play). The inability to move the ball in the 3rd quarter squashed any chances the team had of keeping up with Cincinnati. Again, I'm not blaming him solely for that loss; I'm only saying that he didn't play well.

 

I'll always commend the kid's resiliency, as he bounces back from his poor stretches with decent play. The problem is that he could ill afford to put the team in a hole against Jacksonville, considering that he was largely playing with backups on offense. His 2nd quarter killed them.

[26CornerBlitz]

@FieldYates

Source: two teams other than the Chargers attempted to claim QB Zach Mettenberger, the Giants and Bengals.