Tag Archives: san fransisco 49ers

NFL

Savage, Tom

to14f tsavage

Cards: Topps Finest 2015, Topps Prime 2015
Acquired: 2017, EBay

Tom Savage is a fierce competitor and a good study.  He started one season at Rutgers (2009) and put up solid numbers as a Freshman with 149 of 285 passing for 2211 yards and 14 TDs in 12 contests. He then lost the starting job after he busted up his hand in 2010 so Tom opted to transfer to Arizona and sat out a year. In the meantime the school fired its coach, so Tom transferred again- this time to Pitt where he was able to get one final year of eligibility in 2013. Savage posted 238 of 389 passing for 2958 yards and 21 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions. Scouts were intrigued. They felt that Savage was a nice sleeper for the right team. He has the right tools, build, a cannon for an arm, good football acumen, and is willing to just do whatever it takes.

Tom was projected to go in the 5th or 6th round of the 2014 Draft, and with a run on quarterbacks the Texans decided to pull the trigger selecting Savage in the 4th round. Pundits felt that Tom was the right fit, and Bill O’Brien the quarterback whisperer got his project to work on. He threw 19 passes his rookie year for 127 yards and an interception.

The Texans in the meantime continued to look at their quarterback options. 2015 went by and Tom didn’t throw a pass. It’d be in 2016 things got- well a bit crazy. The Texans decided to make a splash in free agency. Feeling that they were just a legitimate quarterback away from making that happen, Houston signed Denver backup signal caller Brock Osweiler to man the fort. Friction quickly grew between Bill O’Brien and Brock to the point the coach benched the erratic quarterback midway through a game against the Jaguars. Tom came in and lit a fire under the Texans guiding them to a win. For a second there fans thought that Savage was the answer at quarterback, but Tom would be concussed during a game against the Titans the following week ending his season.

During the offseason of 2017, Houston got rid of Osweiler while the Texans attempted to wait out the Cowboys for Tono Romo. Unable to make it happen the Texans named Savage the starter and then traded up and selected Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. Savage lasted all of 3 quarters into his first game against the new and improved Jaguars. It was really rough for Tom, but he was ever the team player. He’d return to the starting lineup again, after Watson tore his ACL, but suffer a vicious concussion against the 49ers ending his season. Highlights of his season included leading the Texans to a 31-21 win over the Cardinals on 22 of 32 passing for 230 yards and 2 TDs in Week 11, and in Week 13, when Tom threw for a career high 365 yards in a loss to the Titans. His final season numbers were 1412 yards on 125 of 223 passing and 5 TDs to 6 interceptions.

Moving into 2018 it really wasn’t known how the Texans would proceed further with the Tom Savage experience. It’s a shame really. I really like Tom and I still believe he can still ball in the league given the right situation. During the free agency period he signed with the New Orleans Saints where he lost a battle with Teddy Bridgewater to be Drew Brees backup.  He spent about a month on the roster of the 49ers, and as of the end of  2018 is a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

NFL, University of Texas

McCoy, Colt (3) ‘The Real McCoy’

Cards: Donruss Rookies & Stars 2010 Dressed for Success, Donruss Rookies & Stars 2010 Freshman Orientation, Score 2010, Score 2011, Playoff Contenders 2011*, Panini UT 2016.
Acquired: IP 2/10/18, Texas Meet Eat & Greet Bastrop, Tx
See Also: Colt McCoy, Colt McCoy (2)

About two weeks before the event Colt put up a flyer on his Facebook feed for the Texas Meet Eat & Greet, taking place at Texas Boot Company in Bastrop, Tx. This was literally 15 minutes from me so it made a lot of sense to go to. I arranged for time off from the wife and baby. (It was occurring on the same day we were celebrating our baby’s first birthday, but honestly I had earned the time off after taking care of both of them when they came down with sickness the previous week.) I got there at about 15 minutes late, because the party ran a little long, but that’s okay. I was able to find a spot on the grass and got a place in line inside.

I had a lot of cards I wanted Colt to sign, and as we know, in person events can be pretty dicey with making multiple requests, so instead of being greedy and asking for 10 or 12 autographs, I cherry picked out my favorite 6 and just rolled the dice. Previous experience had led me to believe that Colt wouldn’t have a problem and luckily I was correct. While the line was long, the event was pretty informal once you got to the front. Fans were taking their time talking to the players so I figured I had a good shot. It couldn’t have worked out better.

I opened with talking about Dunkin’ Donuts. I knew he owned a couple of shops. I was just shocked he owned the one right next door to us! I told him that I got donuts there on a pretty regular basis and they did a good job. He just wished that the could raise the sign a bit or get it above the Factory Mattress Warehouse they shared the lot with. It was a good chuckle. I told him that I knew 6 cards was a tall order, but did he mind signing them for me? He pawed through them and said sure. It was then that I almost blew it.

My friend Deadhorse, was a big old fan of McCoy’s. In fact he owned his jersey. When he found out that I was going to the event, he asked me if there was anyway I could get Colt for him. I said sure and I’d give it a shot. When I was talking to Colt I told him that my friend up in Ohio was a really big fan of his, and I wanted to get one for him. Colt looked at me and sarcastically responded, “Man, I don’t have any fans left in Cleveland.” It was actually a good laugh. I steered the conversation quickly, reminding him that, “Dude you beat New England, with the BROWNS. That amounts to something. I thought you got a bad wrap there in Cleveland.” He laughed and said true, and then we talked about the continuing failures of the franchise since then.

Later in the conversation we talked about how I had hoped that when he was a free agent that he signed with the Texans, but I was happy for him nonetheless in Washington.

Colt’s time in Washington has been pretty quiet since Kirk Cousins cemented the starting role at QB for the Redskins. He got in briefly during one game in 2015, going 7 for 11 for 128 yards and a TD, but outside of that he hasn’t seen any playing time whatsoever.

Cousins’ continuing contract debacle though will have a rippling effect through the league however. The Redskins started making moves in the off-season immediately trading for Chiefs QB Alex Smith and then sat on Cousins. Speculation arose as to if the Redskins were going to franchise Cousins an unheard of third time and then trade him away. In the end Washington went ahead and let him walk. Cousins signed with the Vikings, and McCoy continues to back up new incumbent starter Alex Smith.

NFL

Thompson, Dylan

Card: Sage 2015 (242/250)
Acquired: 2016, Box Breaker

Dylan Thompson played quarterback for the Ol’ Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, at South Carolina. While Dylan did not see any starting duty in his first 3 years at the school (behind Connor Shaw), he put up school record numbers in his final campaign in 2014. During his Senior year Dylan was 270 of 451 for 3564 yards with 26 touchdowns to 11 interceptions.

Thompson was not selected during the 2015 NFL Draft. He’d bounce on and off the roster and practice squad of the 49ers in 2015 and 2016, and the Los Angeles Rams in 2016 and 2017.

In 2018 things went in a new direction for Dylan as he was hired by the Detroit Lions as a Character/ Player Development Coach.