Thompson strikes me as a QB who’s skill set is actually better suited for an RPO scheme, and not whatever the hell Whipple was asking him to do.
RPO’s, when correctly schemed, can actually negate a lot of OL pass-pro issues. If you have decent tackles and terrible interior lineman, you can essentially take your interior lineman out of the equation by moving the pocket to wherever your best lineman are. It gets the QB on the edge and gives the pass rushers multiple things to worry about, as opposed to doing a 5 step drop and praying our OL keeps the pocket clean for more than 1.5 seconds.
That’s part of why you hear Rhule say the burden of protecting the QB goes 1. Coaches 2. QB 3. OL
Whipple, on the other hand, believed in 1. OL 2. QB 3. RB 4. Receivers getting open 5. Coaches