Is David Blough Worth a Short-term Investment?
Something strangely positive occurred for the Lions on Thanksgiving afternoon. No, they did not get a win, but there is a possibility that they have found their backup signal-caller to the injured Matthew Stafford.
Stafford was posting career numbers under new offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell’s scheme, and he was on pace for 4,998 yards, 38 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions before fracturing the bones in his back. With the Lions eliminated from postseason contention, popular opinion suggests that he should sit out the remainder of the season to heal up.
In the meantime, the Lions had been starting Jeff Driskel, who played poorly against the Redskins thanks to two late fourth-quarter interceptions that cost Detroit the game. As it turns out, he had a hamstring injury, forcing him to the sideline to join Stafford, leaving third-string quarterback and undrafted rookie free agent David Blough to start against the Bears on Turkey Day.
Blough was doubted but managed to make the Bears-Lions game watchable. Completing 22 of 38 passes for 280 yards, two TDs, and a late fourth-quarter interception, he kept the Lions in yet another close game (the Lions also had the lead in all 12 of their games they’ve played this season). In addition, Blough became the very first quarterback since Matt Ryan back in 2008 to throw a touchdown pass on his first career completion.
With four games left, you might think a backup quarterback might not be worth a dynasty investment, and perhaps rightfully so. However, is there a case to be made that he could at least be worth a game or two? Let’s take a look at several plays from his game against the Bears to determine the answer.
It’s rare to find talented quarterbacks who also happen to be undrafted free agents. You only get so many Warren Moons, Kurt Warners or Tony Romos, and it’s way too early to suggest Blough could follow in their paths. However, he made quite a few impressive plays against the Chicago defense on Thursday, such as this play on third and nine.
At the very least we can say Blough has some mobility in him. As interior pressure forces its way up the A-gap, he steps up and wisely keeps his eyes downfield. He maintains some patience before eventually finding a wide-open Kenny Golladay crossing the middle of the field, and is successfully able to connect with him to move the chains.
Blough would later connect with Golladay late in the second quarter on this dime.
The Bears send a blitz up the B-gap, which the Lions’ pass protection is able to cover. This gives Blough more than enough time to pump fake and fire a rainbow to Golladay just outside the numbers. This is a beautiful throw on second and five and a great catch from one of the most exciting receivers at the catch point.
The Lions would only score six points after this point, but late in the game, Blough at the very least managed to make it interesting.
This is not the pocket movement you expect from an undrafted free agent. It was already a miracle when sixth-round rookie Gardner Minshew was making plays like this during his time as a starter, but here we have a player who wasn’t even drafted!
It takes him a while, but Blough resets himself multiple times before eventually firing this toward the middle of the field. The pass is a little high but also a catch Marvin Jones is expected to make. It’s a shame because Jones has also been great this season, and this was a great job by the QB to even keep the play alive.
So what’s not to like about Blough? Well, there are a couple of reservations, as we will list below.
First and foremost, Blough’s arm strength is not up to task. Obviously this is an undrafted rookie we’re talking about so we can only expect so much, but this is the arm strength you’d expect to see from Peyton Manning’s final season (ouch). It doesn’t help that his read is tightly covered on this play, and by some miracle he gets away with a dropped interception here.
Blough’s accuracy could also use some fine-tuning. Here you may think Danny Amendola is at fault for letting the pass slip away from his hands, but in actuality, Blough looks more at fault.
If you look closely, you can see Amendola is forced to adjust his position on what should be a completion more toward the sideline, but the throw from Blough is a little behind him. Granted, I guess one can argue this should’ve been caught, but given the circumstances, this is a tough catch to ask your receiver to make.
With all that said, is David Blough actually worth a short term investment? For now, I’m going to say no. His limited arm strength is one thing, but I think I’d be more inclined to say yes if he were making his debut much earlier in the season; With four games remaining I think it’s unrealistic to suggest a future dynasty investment in the making from a third-stringer.
Having said that, that we’re even having this conversation is a testament to how interesting Blough is. He’s a mobile quarterback that has confidence and keeps his eyes downfield, getting the most out of his skill set (or at least on Thursday). Depending on if he remains the starter for the rest of the season, this is one quarterback you may want to check out in the month of December.
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