Taysom Hill and the new 3rd QB Rule

AsylumGuido · 09-06-2023, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by BakoSaint

I don't think Haener's suspension explains much with Taysom's designation, I don't think they are totally related. Whether Haener is on the roster or not, you gain an extra active slot by designating Hill a QB and putting him in as the #2 QB during the game and designating Winston the emergency QB who doesnt take a roster spot. Haener being suspended just means that for the first 6 games you would not have had the option to argue Hill was a TE, keep Carr, Winston, and Hill active, and argue to designate Haener the emergency QB on the basis that Hill is not a QB which the NFL could argue as long as Hill takes QB snaps. But if you really wanted to play that card, you could still have played it the other 11 games much easier if you didnt actively designate Hill a QB now.

I think its possible the emergency QB rule was written with a 'screw the Saints' aspect. Its possible the league would have considered Hill a bona fide QB no matter what we did, because he played QB in college and had more QB snaps and starts than any other converted QB in the NFL, so the league could take that advantage and turn it in to a disadvantage where every other team gets an emergency QB but we can't advantage because our TE took too many wildcat snaps before the rule existed so he disqualifies us from having an emergency QB unless we make him our #2 QB. The Saints might have been expecting to be able to have Carr and Winston active, Hill active as a jack of all trades, and Haener as the emergency QB until they got the fine print of the rule, then realized the fine print prevented that, then decided making Hill the #2 QB for in game replacement purposes was their best option. Arguably the Saints were actually better off before the rule existed. Before the rule, no team got an emergency QB, and the Saints were free to use Hill however they wanted without disqualifying themselves from a benefit available to all other teams.

What?

Nevermind.

BakoSaint · 09-06-2023, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by AsylumGuido

What?

Nevermind.

Before Haener's suspension, if we were willing to let Taysom Hill be the first QB who would come in mid-game if Carr was injured, we could designate Winston the emergency 3rd QB who doesn't take an active spot in games, and have an extra player active for special teams.

After Haener's suspension, if we are willing to let Taysom Hill be the first QB who would come in mid-game if Carr was injured, we could designate Winston the emergency 3rd QB who doesn't take an active spot in games, and have an extra player active for special teams.

No difference. Does that make sense?

The only way Haener's suspension would make a difference would be if we were planning to have Haener fill one of those roles, game day #2 QB or emergency QB. I am not sure that would have been practical any which way. There is no indication Haener was ahead of Winston on our QB depth chart. To use Haener as our emergency QB while still having Carr, Winston, and Hill active, we would have had to argue to the NFL that Hill was not a QB under the rule, because the rule says you can't have an emergency QB if you already have 3 active QBs. The way the rule was written, that might have been hard to argue, because it included a broad definition of a QB and Hill was a QB in college, had QB starts in the pros, and regularly took snaps at QB. But if we could have argued that and been able to use Haener as the emergency 3rd QB, I guess Haener missing 1/3 of the reason makes that route slightly less viable but not much. If we had preferred to go that route so that Winston would come in if Carr went down and Hill could focus on his Athlete role, I think we would have stuck with it regardless of the suspension. We could have just given Bailey Zappe or Will Grier a tryout those 6 weeks if we were not comfortable with Hill being the first to step in for Carr and didn't think we needed the extra special teams slot.

09-06-2023, 04:56 PM	#1
AsylumGuido 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bossier City, LA Posts: 26,553	Re: Taysom Hill and the new 3rd QB Rule Originally Posted by BakoSaint I don't think Haener's suspension explains much with Taysom's designation, I don't think they are totally related. Whether Haener is on the roster or not, you gain an extra active slot by designating Hill a QB and putting him in as the #2 QB during the game and designating Winston the emergency QB who doesnt take a roster spot. Haener being suspended just means that for the first 6 games you would not have had the option to argue Hill was a TE, keep Carr, Winston, and Hill active, and argue to designate Haener the emergency QB on the basis that Hill is not a QB which the NFL could argue as long as Hill takes QB snaps. But if you really wanted to play that card, you could still have played it the other 11 games much easier if you didnt actively designate Hill a QB now. I think its possible the emergency QB rule was written with a 'screw the Saints' aspect. Its possible the league would have considered Hill a bona fide QB no matter what we did, because he played QB in college and had more QB snaps and starts than any other converted QB in the NFL, so the league could take that advantage and turn it in to a disadvantage where every other team gets an emergency QB but we can't advantage because our TE took too many wildcat snaps before the rule existed so he disqualifies us from having an emergency QB unless we make him our #2 QB. The Saints might have been expecting to be able to have Carr and Winston active, Hill active as a jack of all trades, and Haener as the emergency QB until they got the fine print of the rule, then realized the fine print prevented that, then decided making Hill the #2 QB for in game replacement purposes was their best option. Arguably the Saints were actually better off before the rule existed. Before the rule, no team got an emergency QB, and the Saints were free to use Hill however they wanted without disqualifying themselves from a benefit available to all other teams. What? Nevermind.

09-06-2023, 05:19 PM	#2
BakoSaint 1000 Posts + Join Date: Dec 2018 Posts: 2,331	Re: Taysom Hill and the new 3rd QB Rule Originally Posted by AsylumGuido What? Nevermind. Before Haener's suspension, if we were willing to let Taysom Hill be the first QB who would come in mid-game if Carr was injured, we could designate Winston the emergency 3rd QB who doesn't take an active spot in games, and have an extra player active for special teams. After Haener's suspension, if we are willing to let Taysom Hill be the first QB who would come in mid-game if Carr was injured, we could designate Winston the emergency 3rd QB who doesn't take an active spot in games, and have an extra player active for special teams. No difference. Does that make sense? The only way Haener's suspension would make a difference would be if we were planning to have Haener fill one of those roles, game day #2 QB or emergency QB. I am not sure that would have been practical any which way. There is no indication Haener was ahead of Winston on our QB depth chart. To use Haener as our emergency QB while still having Carr, Winston, and Hill active, we would have had to argue to the NFL that Hill was not a QB under the rule, because the rule says you can't have an emergency QB if you already have 3 active QBs. The way the rule was written, that might have been hard to argue, because it included a broad definition of a QB and Hill was a QB in college, had QB starts in the pros, and regularly took snaps at QB. But if we could have argued that and been able to use Haener as the emergency 3rd QB, I guess Haener missing 1/3 of the reason makes that route slightly less viable but not much. If we had preferred to go that route so that Winston would come in if Carr went down and Hill could focus on his Athlete role, I think we would have stuck with it regardless of the suspension. We could have just given Bailey Zappe or Will Grier a tryout those 6 weeks if we were not comfortable with Hill being the first to step in for Carr and didn't think we needed the extra special teams slot.
BakoSaint 1000 Posts + Join Date: Dec 2018 Posts: 2,331