BRADY ...(8000) (21800) (21800) (UFA)
MALLETT .(670) ...(804) ....(938) (UFA)
KAFKA ................(555) ....(645) (UFA)
BRADY (6043/225, age 36) - I'm not getting into an analysis beyond stating the obvious - that he's a different thrower than he was a decade ago, but still elite and that he's at an age when arm-strength and mobility begin to diminish. However, Brady has never been particularly mobile and rarely relied as much on arm-strength as he has on football smarts and a quick release and, thus, could remain elite well beyond the age when strong-armed, mobile QBs should have hung up the cleats. Roster-wise, he'll likely be around as long as he wants to be and all salary cap considerations stat and end with his contract. IOW, I doubt that he'd have a problem with re-structuring to reduce his portion of the total 2013 cap-hit via extending his years under contract.
MALLETT (6066/253, 25) - Two years in and he's taken only a handful of regular-season snaps (beyond kneel-downs) and completed 1 pass in 4 attempts for 17 yards and one INT. My impressions of him from pre-season appearances (though even those seem to have been relatively limited) are athletic and strong-armed with inconsistent touch/accuracy and often ponderous in his reads. Not really enough evidence for anything close to a thorough evaluation, but he certainly doesn't jump out as being a guaranteed long-term successor to Brady.
KAFKA (6031/225,26) - This is a guy I actually wanted the Pats to draft in 2010 in a late round (and they did work him out pre-draft), but Philly took him in the 4th. Very smart and agile (4.10 short-shuttle, 6.78 3-cone) with a quick release and excellent accuracy on short/intermediate throws between the numbers. Became the starter for Northwestern only in his Senior year and posted 319/492 (64.8%) for 3430 yds, 16 TDs/12 INTs (Ebert was one of his WRs), and tacked on 150 short-yardage carries for 299 yds and 8 TDs. In the 2010 Outback Bowl, he lost to Auburn by a FG in OT while throwing 47/78 for 532 yds/4 TDs (and 5 INTs, unfortunately). As the only QB for either team who knew what he was doing, in the 2010 Shrine Game he engineered a great comeback GW drive in the final seconds with a TD pass to TE Andrew Quarless. If not for a dropped pass in the end zone, he would have repeated this feat for Philly in a week-3 game at ATL in 2011, coming on in Q4 emergency relief of Vick. In two seasons w/PHL, he went 11/16 (68.8%), 107yds, 0 TDs/2 INTs (both against the Giants). A scrappy, aggressive, gunslinger type (which is where the INTs come from) with a decent arm and few mechanical flaws, I'm very interested to see what the Pats coaches can do with him. The only reason he was even available was that he broke his non-throwing hand at the start of 2012 pre-season and the Eagles moved on with Foles as their backup (the Pats had him in for a workout right after 2012 final cuts).
I'm not idolizing Kafka, but I already have much more confidence in him than I do in Mallett being able to step in for Brady on a moment's notice, take charge of the team and get the job done, at least in the short term. With Kafka on the roster, I'd be much more at ease with the Pats trading away Mallett, or, maybe better, converting him to TE. Kafka may not end up on the 2013 roster, but I believe he was brought in as real competition for Mallett, rather than merely as a Camp arm.
UNIT CAP HIT for 2013 = $22.2M
MALLETT .(670) ...(804) ....(938) (UFA)
KAFKA ................(555) ....(645) (UFA)
BRADY (6043/225, age 36) - I'm not getting into an analysis beyond stating the obvious - that he's a different thrower than he was a decade ago, but still elite and that he's at an age when arm-strength and mobility begin to diminish. However, Brady has never been particularly mobile and rarely relied as much on arm-strength as he has on football smarts and a quick release and, thus, could remain elite well beyond the age when strong-armed, mobile QBs should have hung up the cleats. Roster-wise, he'll likely be around as long as he wants to be and all salary cap considerations stat and end with his contract. IOW, I doubt that he'd have a problem with re-structuring to reduce his portion of the total 2013 cap-hit via extending his years under contract.
MALLETT (6066/253, 25) - Two years in and he's taken only a handful of regular-season snaps (beyond kneel-downs) and completed 1 pass in 4 attempts for 17 yards and one INT. My impressions of him from pre-season appearances (though even those seem to have been relatively limited) are athletic and strong-armed with inconsistent touch/accuracy and often ponderous in his reads. Not really enough evidence for anything close to a thorough evaluation, but he certainly doesn't jump out as being a guaranteed long-term successor to Brady.
KAFKA (6031/225,26) - This is a guy I actually wanted the Pats to draft in 2010 in a late round (and they did work him out pre-draft), but Philly took him in the 4th. Very smart and agile (4.10 short-shuttle, 6.78 3-cone) with a quick release and excellent accuracy on short/intermediate throws between the numbers. Became the starter for Northwestern only in his Senior year and posted 319/492 (64.8%) for 3430 yds, 16 TDs/12 INTs (Ebert was one of his WRs), and tacked on 150 short-yardage carries for 299 yds and 8 TDs. In the 2010 Outback Bowl, he lost to Auburn by a FG in OT while throwing 47/78 for 532 yds/4 TDs (and 5 INTs, unfortunately). As the only QB for either team who knew what he was doing, in the 2010 Shrine Game he engineered a great comeback GW drive in the final seconds with a TD pass to TE Andrew Quarless. If not for a dropped pass in the end zone, he would have repeated this feat for Philly in a week-3 game at ATL in 2011, coming on in Q4 emergency relief of Vick. In two seasons w/PHL, he went 11/16 (68.8%), 107yds, 0 TDs/2 INTs (both against the Giants). A scrappy, aggressive, gunslinger type (which is where the INTs come from) with a decent arm and few mechanical flaws, I'm very interested to see what the Pats coaches can do with him. The only reason he was even available was that he broke his non-throwing hand at the start of 2012 pre-season and the Eagles moved on with Foles as their backup (the Pats had him in for a workout right after 2012 final cuts).
I'm not idolizing Kafka, but I already have much more confidence in him than I do in Mallett being able to step in for Brady on a moment's notice, take charge of the team and get the job done, at least in the short term. With Kafka on the roster, I'd be much more at ease with the Pats trading away Mallett, or, maybe better, converting him to TE. Kafka may not end up on the 2013 roster, but I believe he was brought in as real competition for Mallett, rather than merely as a Camp arm.
UNIT CAP HIT for 2013 = $22.2M