As we get ready for the flag to drop on free agency, it seems like Case Keenum is flying under the radar. He ended last season with a thud in the NFC championship game in Philadelphia, but he had a great season. He takes care of the ball and was able to move Minnesota’s offense.
Keenum was particularly good during the second half of the regular season, completing 71 percent of his passes, with 15 touchdowns versus 4 interceptions. Using the NFL’s complex “passer rating” system, he was the league’s leading passer during the second half of the season (the final eight games for each team), clocking in at 107.2.
Specifically, why are we hearing a bunch of chatter about where AJ McCarron might land? Seems like as well as Keenum played last year, he should be earning a lot more than McCarron. Relative to what he’ll be paid, he might end up being a much better deal also than Kirk Cousins.
Overall, 28 quarterbacks attempted at least 100 passes in both the first half of the season and the second half of the year. (That’s looking at the first eight games for each team and the last eight games.) Of that group, Keenum was the 2nd-most improved (using passer rating). And that’s not to imply that he wasn’t any good early in the year. In his first eight games, he completed 64 percent of his passes, with 7 TDs and 3 interceptions (in six starts).
Ben Roethlisberger was the league’s most improved passer last year, with his passer rating climbing from 82.7 to 103.6 when comparing the two halves of the season. Also up there was DeShone Kizer, who improved from being god-awful to just lousy.
On the improvement front, Joe Flacco is the other name that pops. He was remarkably bad during the first half of the year, but he was a lot more productive in his final eight game, with 6 more touchdowns, 3 fewer interceptions and 561 more passing yards.
Among the big decliners, Dak Prescott led the way, followed by the two principal figures in the first big move of the offseason (Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins).
Here are the numbers for those 28 who attempted at least 100 passes in both the first of the season and the second half. For each guy (and in each eight-game chunk) you’re looking at completion percentage, passing yards, touchdown passes and interceptions. The final column shows the improvement of each player’s passer rating.
| MOST IMPROVED PASSERS (2nd half of season) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | 1st (Pct-Yds-TD-Int) | 2nd (Pct-Yds-TD-Int) | Rating |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 61%-2062-10-9 | 67%-2189-18-5 | +20.9 |
| Case Keenum | 64%-1610-7-3 | 71%-1937-15-4 | +18.4 |
| DeShone Kizer | 52%-1144-3-11 | 55%-1750-8-11 | +17.0 |
| Philip Rivers | 61%-2028-13-6 | 65%-2487-15-4 | +14.9 |
| Joe Flacco | 64%-1290-6-8 | 64%-1851-12-5 | +14.3 |
| Jameis Winston | 61%-1920-10-6 | 67%-1584-9-5 | +11.8 |
| Matthew Stafford | 62%-2212-14-4 | 70%-2234-15-6 | +10.6 |
| C.J. Beathard | 53%-647-2-3 | 57%-783-2-3 | +7.8 |
| Jared Goff | 60%-2030-13-4 | 64%-1774-15-3 | +5.2 |
| Cam Newton | 63%-1841-10-11 | 55%-1461-12-5 | +3.4 |
| Jacoby Brissett | 60%-1642-5-4 | 57%-1456-8-3 | +1.5 |
| Carson Wentz | 60%-2063-19-5 | 59%-1233-14-2 | +0.6 |
| Andy Dalton | 63%-1739-11-8 | 57%-1581-14-4 | +0.2 |
| Russell Wilson | 62%-2305-17-6 | 60%-1678-17-5 | -1.1 |
| Josh McCown | 71%-1840-12-7 | 62%-1086-6-2 | -2.1 |
| Drew Brees | 72%-2214-13-4 | 72%-2120-10-4 | -2.3 |
| Matt Ryan | 66%-2157-11-7 | 64%-1938-9-5 | -2.9 |
| Blake Bortles | 59%-1657-10-5 | 61%-2030-11-8 | -3.1 |
| Tom Brady | 67%-2541-16-2 | 66%-2036-16-6 | -7.9 |
| Derek Carr | 64%-1654-12-6 | 61%-1842-10-7 | -8.4 |
| Eli Manning | 63%-1820-12-6 | 60%-1648-7-7 | -10.4 |
| Marcus Mariota | 63%-1519-6-5 | 61%-1713-7-10 | -11.1 |
| Trevor Siemian | 61%-1669-9-10 | 53%-616-3-4 | -11.9 |
| Jay Cutler | 66%-1306-10-5 | 58%-1360-9-9 | -13.6 |
| Tyrod Taylor | 65%-1628-10-2 | 59%-1171-4-2 | -15.1 |
| Kirk Cousins | 68%-2147-13-4 | 61%-1946-14-9 | -16.1 |
| Alex Smith | 69%-2181-16-0 | 66%-1861-10-5 | -21.8 |
| Dak Prescott | 63%-1818-16-4 | 63%-1506-6-9 | -23.9 |
—Ian Allan