Gibran Gets His Chance

Gibran Hamdan will be the third quarterback off the bench tomorrow in Indianapolis. This will be the first time he has ever taken a snap against NFL competition. Last week, QB Dave Ragone (St. Louis) played in the fourth quarter against the Colts. He was 7 of 11 for 80 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Hamdan might press a little bit because he knows this is his one shot to show he has what it takes to make it in the real NFL. What he did in Europe got him to this point, but it means nothing.

David Greene played well in the Dallas game and Hamdan won't be given enough time to do substantially better than him. Greene was 7 of 11 for 53 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions against the Cowboys. Hamdan needs to do at least as well as Greene did against Dallas to maintain the time sharing arrangement for the rest of the preseason games. Greene did not put up big yardage or make down-field throws, but that is not what the team will expect out of the emergency quarterback.

If you watch Philip Rivers, he completes short, safe passes and tries to move the chains. Brad Johnson is asked to do the same thing for the Minnesota Vikings. When the third quarterback comes in for the Seahawks, the offense is built to allow him to manage the game, complete passes, and methodically move down the field. The idea is to minimize costly mistakes and allow the defense to help win games. Hamdan is used to being a star in Europe and making big throws. If he tries to do that on Sunday, or in the NFL in general, then he has a good chance to throw a lot of interceptions and incompletions. Hamdan needs to know his place in the offense and take what the defense gives him.

This game will also give us a chance to check out Shaun King. He was available as a cheap veteran option to bring in as a third quarterback. He will be the third quarterback for the Colts and should be playing at the same time as Hamdan.