Who is the best quarterback to ever play at Eastern Illinois? The answer isn't necessarily a dead giveaway so if you're going to take a stab, you better be ready to argue.
That may be one reason Saints coach Sean Payton asked former Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for his take on the subject at the NFL Scouting Combine last year. It would get the kid thinking.
Another reason? Pride, perhaps.
When the Patriots traveled to West Virginia to partake in joint practices with the Saints this week, it placed two of the best Eastern Illinois quarterbacks to ever stand behind center -- Garoppolo (Class of 2014) and Payton (Class of 1987) -- on the same practice fields at the same time.
There are two other high-profile quarterbacks to have attended Eastern Illinois: Cowboys signal-caller Tony Romo and longtime NFL head coach Mike Shanahan. But when you look at the numbers, the question of "the best" comes down to two names: Payton or Garoppolo.
And if the numbers were taken in a vacuum, discounting the evolution of the passing game throughout football over the course of the last 25 years, the choice between those two wouldn't be all that difficult.
Garoppolo broke Payton's record for total yards in a season -- twice. He also set the mark, surpassing Payton, for passes completed in a season -- twice. And in Garoppolo's senior year, he beat Payton's mark for passing yards in a season, set in 1984. Garoppolo holds the Panthers single-season record for touchdown passes as well.
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For his career, Garoppolo set the high-water marks in touchdown passes (118) and total touchdowns (127), but Payton has the edge in career 300-yard passing games (22) -- one better than Garoppolo.
So how did Garoppolo answer when Payton -- one of 32 men capable of making sure Garoppolo was gainfully employed a few months later -- asked him which Eastern Illinois quarterback was best?
"I’ll keep the answer private for now," Garoppolo said. "You’ll have to ask him."
Spoken like a true member of the Patriots, which is what he became after New England selected him in the second round.
"I’ve never really seen his game film, but he was a stud back then," Garoppolo said of Payton's college career. "Apparently, he was setting all the records and all that stuff, so he must’ve been pretty good."
Payton's club has seen Garoppolo's college game film. Every team in the league has, Payton explained before Wednesday's practice.
"He was someone that obviously everyone was aware of," Payton said. "He was drafted high. He had a fantastic career. His story might've been a little bit different obviously than Tony's, where [Romo] was an undrafted free agent, although they were both guys that were at the combine and both guys that were scouted.
"Clearly, as an alum, every once in a while you pay attention to how the school's doing . . . It's had a pretty good football tradition and it'll be good to see him out here, throwing the ball around, and hopefully doing well."
Asked if he could break down his own game and compare it to Garoppolo's, Payton responded: "A comparison? There's too many other breakdowns for that."
Garoppolo is in the midst of an important stretch during his second professional preseason. Patriots starter Tom Brady is currently scheduled to serve a four-game suspension -- a ban that could potentially be erased if it goes to federal court -- which would leave Garoppolo as the team's likely choice as starter.
During joint practices against the Saints, he'll see a variety of looks and situations that he hasn't seen previously this summer while working against his Patriots teammates. He was challenged on Wednesday, completing what was essentially an up-and-down session. But toward the end of the practice, during a pair of two-minute drills, he was at his best.
In one of the two-minute periods Garoppolo went 4-for-5 and hit undrafted rookie tight end Jimmay Mundine for a score. It was a stretch that left Garoppolo feeling positive.
"Yeah, it’s always good to convert a two-minute drill," he said. "You try to mimic the game as best you can, and that comes up a lot in an NFL game. To come out here and convert on both of them, it’s pretty good."
Good enough to build some momentum for the second of two joint workouts with the Saints on Thursday?
"It can’t hurt," Garoppolo said. "It definitely can’t hurt, but it’s a long practice. There are going to be ups and downs, but as a quarterback, you have to stay levelheaded, keep going, next play, next play, and if you keep doing that, good things will happen."