After seeing the imposing figure of 6-5, 245 pound Cam Newton at the podium in the media room at Bank of America Stadium for the past seven seasons, it was, to be honest, a shock to the system to see another quarterback – especially one who was four inches shorter and 40 pounds lighter – standing in front of reporters; as Taylor Heinicke entered the room, he paused and looked up at the reporters gathered to ask him questions and the television cameras pointed directly at him. Perhaps he was soaking it all in. Perhaps he was just gathering himself for his first NFL press conference. He may not have even said the next sentence out loud on purpose – but it was audible as he gathered himself before stepping to the podium.
“Goodness gracious.”
Indeed.
After saying last week on the It Is What It Is podcast that he had the best job in America as the backup to Cam Newton, because “the guy never gets injured,” Taylor Heinicke is eating his words as he prepares for the first start of his NFL career – and his teammates can’t wait for you to see him.
“He’s confident and he’s looking good each day – I’ve seen him since OTAs and since camp that he was kind of ready, but now – his feet are under him and he’s comfortable with everybody around him so he’s going to be locked in and ready,” said Devin Funchess about the 25 year old whose only game action before coming to Carolina had been nine snaps in a 34-6 Christmas day loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers when he was with the Houston Texans – nine snaps and one completion for two yards. “He’s been at it and he’s been ready – I can’t wait to see what he can do on Sunday.”
“He can sling it, that’s for sure.”
One thing that makes him more prepared for his introduction to the NFL as opposed to quarterbacks that are called into action mid-game due to injury or other reasons is a trickle-down effect of the reason why he’s starting in the first place – as Cam Newton’s practice reps have gone down since Week 8 and Newton’s shoulder soreness forced the “new normal” of Wednesdays and Thursdays with little to no throwing, those first-team reps went to Heinicke; so instead of running the scout team for the past two months, Heinicke has been throwing to DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and Funchess.
But practice is different than a game.
Much different.
“You have to have something to measure him against – preseason is one thing, but regular season is completely different, it’s a whole different animal,” says Ron Rivera. “A whole different mentality [and] attitude – believe it or not, it does change; it really shouldn’t, but it does. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles it; I know I am – I echo the sentiments of his teammates.”
“I think a big part of it is in the past few weeks, he’s taken the bulk of the Wednesday/Thursdays and he’s looked good in practice, he really has, so I think guys are excited to see exactly where he is and what type of abilities he has and what he’s capable of doing for us. I know it’s definitely an exciting time for him and I know he wants to prove a lot of people that believed in him right, I know that’s a real big thing for an athlete.”
If that seems counterintuitive – most players want to prove their haters or doubters wrong – you’re obviously not familiar with how Taylor Heinicke operates.
And like B Rabbit in 8 Mile – he was wearing a black toboggan, after all – Heinicke knows his flaws and he’ll spell them out for the haters before they can point them out to him.
“I don’t have that huge, massive, rocket arm. I don’t run a 4.3. I’m six foot, 205 pounds, so it’s not like I’m going to run you over or run away from you or throw it 70 yards in the air,” said Heinicke. “[But] I feel like if I keep doing the right thing, whatever the defense shows, whatever the playbook tells me to do – just do that and let those playmakers do what they do with the ball.”
His greatest trait is not his arm that’s been used for two Hail Marys this season as Newton has tapped out of throwing the ball 60 yards or his athletic ability that he showed in the preseason as he dove for the pylon on a scramble for a touchdown – it’s his understanding of the playbook and what’s inside his head that will likely lead to a successful outing on Sunday against the Falcons.
Heinicke spent two years after college in Minnesota working with Norv Turner, so when he first came to Carolina, he was actually explaining the playbook to his teammates – it’s a complicated system to learn from a nomenclature standpoint but once you learn it, you’ve got it; so veterans like Newton and others were coming to Heinicke with questions as he battled to secure the backup quarterback spot – a spot that Ron Rivera hopes Heinicke could fill for a long time.
“Derek Anderson 2.0,” Rivera said with a grin.
Heinicke has taken many traits and bits of advice from the quarterbacks he’s crossed paths with over his four-year career – he’s spent time with Tom Brady, Deshaun Watson, Shaun Hill and Teddy Bridgewater, not to mention QB1 himself here in Carolina, but perhaps the biggest influence is not a fellow quarterback, but someone that Heinicke has been missing for years, someone that he thinks about all the time.
Brett Heinicke passed away during Taylor’s freshman season at Old Dominion University, a day before Taylor was due to head home for winter break, at the age of 50 – Heinicke was incredibly close to his father, crediting the elder Heinicke with his scholarship at ODU, where he amassed the fourth-most total offense in Division 1 history, as his father drove Heinicke to 10-15 football camps each summer and sent high school highlights to 250 different football programs around the country until Old Dominion came calling.
Heinicke’s mother and sister – his mother was his first call upon finding out that he would be getting the nod on Sunday and her screams of delight were evidence of her reaction – will be attending the game on Sunday, but he knows that his father would be there if given the chance.
As Heinicke spoke about his father, he became clearly emotional, choosing his words slowly and carefully.
“I’ll tell you one thing, he would have been at every game – he would be at every game, whether it was away, if it was in London, he would be there,” he said as his eyes glistened. “He would drop anything for me, which is what any great father would do.”
“He was my best friend. He was the best father.”
On Sunday, that’s exactly who Heinicke will be playing for – his mother. His sister. His friends. His family. His teammates. His father.
Those that believed in him.
