After the departure of superstar Tom Brady, the hopes of the New England Patriots rest on the young quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Ex-position coach and successful coach Dante Scarnecchia names his weak points.

If you look back at the New England Patriots for the last year in which the franchise was faced with an uncertain future in the quarterback position, you can look back before the turn of the millennium.

In 1993, the Patriots signed Drew Bledsoe with the first pick in the draft, who would lead the team for nine seasons before being replaced by Tom Brady.

In 2020, the Brady departure to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was not thought possible, will create a situation in New England that has been unfamiliar for a long time.

As things stand at present, there seems to be a competition between Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer, with the former probably leading the way – at least in the medium term.

On the field, the team will definitely feel the change, as a long-time Patriots’ position coach recently stated.

Patriots with a bitter loss of experience
Visiting “SiriusXM NFL Radio”, former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who retired this off-season after 34 years with the organization, said that there would certainly be some problems with Stidham on the field at first.

“He’s a different kind of player in some ways. First of all, he doesn’t have the wealth of experience that Tom has. There’s no doubt about that and they have to admit it.”

And, for better or worse, adjust to some long unknown mistakes made by inexperienced quarterbacks.

Scarnecchia: These are Stidham’s construction sites
Either way, the Patriots will need to give their new hopes to their new carrier, even if things don’t always go smoothly. “Yes, there will be some situations where he holds the ball longer than they would like, but that’s a question of development in this league and they know that as well as I do,” explained the 72-year-old.

However, Scarnecchia sees the potential for a starter in Stidham: “You know, these young people just need time. But I would also say about Jarrett: he’s a smart kid and he’s a man who, if he doesn’t know it, will run.”

But here’s the crux of the matter: “He showed some real ability in the preseason last year. He knows when he has to get out of there (out of the pocket, editor’s note) and where the alternative points can be. And when he’s done that, he also knows that he’d better go down instead of trying to run through the opponents. In this league, you don’t just run through a lot of guys.”

In those four games, Stidham ran almost 68 percent of his passes for 731 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception, plus running for 88 yards. But he also scored nine times.

Scarnecchia: Here the Patriots have to support Stidham
Now, what Stidham needs most to take the next step is trust and support: “If I was still here, I would just say, ‘Hey, listen guys, we have to do everything we can to make this guy feel as comfortable as possible.

But he has no doubts about his ex-colleagues: “I’m sure that’s exactly what the people in charge of training the boys this year are saying. We have to support him as much as we can to make him feel comfortable, build up his confidence and become the kind of player that we want him to be and that he wants to be.