Philadelphia Eagles: Who are Jake Fromm and Mike Glennon?

Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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After the tiniest bit of a quarterback controversy that was quickly squelched out with an impressive Week 15 showing, the Philadelphia Eagles look primed to allow their season to sink or swim on the arms and legs of Jalen Hurts.

And as for the New York Giants, Philly’s Week 16 opponent? Yeah, not so much.

With Daniel Jones on season-ending IR, the Giants initially turned their eyes to Mike Glennon, a 32-year-old (largely) career-backup, in the hopes of keeping their playoff chances alive, but after watching the 6-foot-7 journeyman amass an 0-3 record, Joe Judge and company finally changed course. With the season effectively over and their playoff chances at less than 0.1 percent according to FiveThirtyEight, the GMen are reportedly turning their attention and offense over to none other than Jake Fromm, the former Georgia quarterback who spent most of the season on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad.

Is Fromm going to magically fix the Giants’ season and lead the team on an incredible run, or could his status as a starter be a decoy to get the Philadelphia Eagles to prepare for one type of quarterback only for the in-game performer to be one with a very different style of play? Either way, it might be wise to know the strengths and weaknesses of both quarterbacks just in case.

Neither of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 16 foes are particularly formidable.

Jake Fromm and Mike Glennon took two very different paths to the NFL.

The former was a five-star recruit out of Warner Robins, Georgia, who picked Georgia over Alabama and Michigan State and led his team to a 36-7 record over that tenure. While Fromm’s arm isn’t what most would call NFL-caliber, as he puts even less mustard on his deep balls than Jalen Hurts, plus-on-filed IQ – ignoring his questionable off-field decision making – and experience running a pro-style offense allowed him to get drafted in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills, which in and of itself was a questionable decision considering how desperate his set of skills is to Josh Allen.

Had the Bills not lucked into the unique opportunity to sign former top-2 pick Mitchell Trubisky as their backup quarterback, Fromm might still be a member of the Bills today as the team’s second quarterback sandwiched between Allen and former third-round pick Davis Webb, but fortunately or not, depending on your perspective, that isn’t how things shook out.

After spending the entire season on the Bills’ practice squad, the New York Giants swooped in and signed Fromm two days after Daniel Jones suffered his injury, and the rest, as they say, is history.

If the Philadelphia Eagles do, in fact, face off against Fromm on the day after Christmas, they’ll be tasked with slowing down an offense that will largely deek and dunk their way down the field on short-yardage passes while hoping their offensive line holds up well enough to keep him upright since he’s not a particularly effective mover outside of the pocket.

And as for Mike Glennon? Well, he was drafted for his measurables, not his pedigree at North Carolina State. Measuring in at 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, Glennon is a huge pocket passer with a cannon for an arm. While he’s not the most accurate quarterback in the business, as his 60.2 career completion percentage is below average by NFL standards, he’s capable of making any throw on the field, even if it takes him a while to get them off and they don’t always connect.

That, unfortunately for the Giants, is the good news. The bad news? Glennon might just be the least-athletic quarterback in the NFL and has taken 79 sacks in 38 career appearances.

While being a Jalen Hurts-level asset isn’t a requirement to be an NFL quarterback, and many of the league’s best quarterbacks, like Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Matt Stafford, aren’t particularly formidable threats to run the ball, when you add up Glennon’s inaccuracy and slow processing power, you’re met with a quarterback who isn’t going to win too many games even as a backup.

Fun fact: Don’t feel too bad for Glennon; he’s made $31.9 million over his nine-year NFL career.

Next. Making sense of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Christmas Day roster moves. dark

If they had their say, who would the Philadelphia Eagles rather face off against in Week 16, Jake Fromm or Mike Glennon? In a perfect world, probably Glennon, but frankly, neither option is all that alarming, as neither will likely ever sniff a starting spot in the NFL again.