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When asked about Curtis Painter yesterday, Jim Caldwell answered with this:
(Curtis’s) status is still the same, it hasn’t changed. One of the things I think is that you have to take it all into consideration—how well they do in practice, how much material they know and understand, how they can regurgitate it, and obviously the performance is an issue as well. You have to look at everything that occurs. You all don’t get a chance to see who was supposed to be where on what route, what was supposed to happen in this situation, and there are a lot of other factors that go into dropped passes and things of that nature. Sometimes I think one can get a bit ahead of themselves and not give an individual a fair shake. He is still our second-string quarterback. We believe in him. He is going to develop and grow. It just takes a little time. That is not an easy position to play.
The Colts head coach has spoken. Now, it's your turn. The poll is below. As you vote, I'll throw another quote at you, courtesy of Bill Polian:
You can get something from the practice field, but not everything. They don't keep score at practice. They only keep score when the lights go on.
Keep that in mind when you make your selection.
BTW: I've gone back and looked at 49ers preseason game last Sunday. Painter was terrible and it was obvious. All three of his INTs were poor throws. Caldwell's "there are a lot of other factors that go into dropped passes and things of that nature," line is just him protecting Painter from the media, who are rightly asking why Curtis was simply handed the back-up job without earning it.