Quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan struggled at times as a starter last season for the 49ers, fumbling 11 times in eight starts. Last year's QB Ryan Fitzpatrick also struggled holding onto the football. Is O'Sullivan an upgrade over Fitzpatrick or are they equally as bad? Hopefully we will never find out.
BENGALSTRIPES – It has been a busy week for the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency, as the team filled two positions that were depleted in free agency.
First the team re-signed Cedric Benson, an obvious good signing that gives the team a capable workhorse at the running back position.
While that move was substantial, it was the moves the Bengals made the next two days that will be debated throughout the offseason and into the regular season.
Does the signing of Laveranues Coles give the Bengals a better receiving core, as opposed to one with T.J. Houshmandzadeh?
Or does Thursday’s signing of J.T. O’Sullivan give the Bengals a better No. 2 quarterback than Ryan Fitzpatrick?
Throughout his seven-year career (especially the last five seasons) in Cincinnati, Houshmandzadeh was the Bengals go-to guy on third downs. He unselfishly caught passes over the middle and usually paid the price. For that, as a fan, I am forever grateful for his effort.
Coles, on the other hand, could more effective in the vertical game. Even though he is 31, Coles can still fly, which wasn’t a strong suit (speed) of Houshmandzadeh.
As a Bengals fan, I will miss Housh and don’t want to rip on him to justify how Coles will be a better player.
But, I do have to mention one thing, Housh’s effort and desire to be a Bengal had to be questioned last season. Like normal he skipped as much training camp as he could, which actually set the team back.
Coles wants to be here, Housh doesn’t, so in that regard signing Coles is a definite upgrade.
O’Sullivan is a lot younger in NFL experience than his age (will be 30 in August) indicates. After being in the league since 2002, it wasn’t until the 2007 that O’Sullivan would throw his first NFL pass.
In 2008, he began the year as the starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers after beating out Alex Smith and Shaun Hill in training camp.
Since coming into the league as a sixth-round pick, O’Sullivan has also spent time with New Orleans, Green Bay, Minnesota, New England, Carolina and Detriot. He also played two springs for the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe.
Last year, O’Sullivan started the first eight games of the season, totaling a 2-6 record. He threw for 1,678 yards last season, completed 128-of-220 passes (58.2 percent) and had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 8-to-11 last season.
His most disappointing statistic might have been his 11 fumbles. Coughing up the football was also a problem of Fitzpatrick, who fumbled 11 times in 12 starts. He threw for 1,905 yards, completed 221-of-372 passes (59.4 percent) and had a touchdown-to-interception of 8-to-9 last season.
It would appear from the numbers that Fitzpatrick was the better option at quarterback, however O’Sullivan has a stronger arm and is not afraid to throw the ball downfield. O’Sullivan averaged 209.8 passing yards per start, while Fitzpatrick only averaged 158.8 per start.
Honestly I don’t know which quarterback is a better option, but Fitzpatrick had already proven not to be the answer, so in my mind O’Sullivan is a positive addition over Fitzy.
Overall, I am pleased with the Bengals signings this week. As of right now we don’t know if either signing upgrades the 2009 team over last season’s, but hopefully we never know about O’Sullivan. Coles, on the other hand, will be a hot topic all year.
