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  • Roger Staubach "came out late" 5 years past his days at The Naval Academy. After he joined the Cowboys in 1969 he went on to win two Super Bowl rings and earned 6 Pro Bowl selections amongst other awards. Needless to say, what he accomplished in the pro's was truly remarkable. His accomplishments after retiring from football have been equally impressive. Roger was/is a true American hero and role model the ilk of which will be hard to duplicate.

  • Aaron Rodgers was 20. And skinny. And really should've gone #1 overall anyway.

    I don't think there are many set rules that make it easy to predict the best player over the course of a career, but PFO came into existence on its excellent stat about QBs with at least 30 starts, at least 60% completion, and drafted by the 40th pick: They're gonna succeed.

    If you want a guy to play early, you look for someone with a lot of starts and production. Playing creates muscle memory and instinctive play that can't really be replicated. The production speaks to having the "clay."

    But man, you can find examples of guys who succeeded from every which kind of background. Favre played on a shitty team. Brady was a 6th round pick. Rodgers was 20 and a faller. Brees is 6' tall and never won anything. Flacco played for Delaware and Ben for Miami of Ohio. Cam Newton only started one year and allegedly needed lots of time to "get it."

    You want arm talent. You want a quick release and consistent accuracy. You wanna see film of the kid making NFL throws with zip, deep outs. You want intelligence and inherent leadership qualities. You want a guy who's gonna put points on the board for you. You want a guy who either fits your offense... or a guy you'd mold an offense around.

    In the end, you do your homework and you have the strength of your convictions. If you believe Hundley is gonna be a superstar after a year or two of NFL coaching, you might take him over someone who seems more Day One Ready because you like Brian Hoyer an awful lot.

  • What? Did Rodgers start college when he was 16? How could he have had 4 years in college and come out at only 20? 22 maybe.

  • No, he was 20 (so is Manziel). I think he was a Junior.

  • Rodgers played most of his last season at 20 (turned 21 in December). So he was 21 when he was drafted. He was born Dec. 2nd, 1983. He's about to turn 30 in his 9th season.

    EDIT: He played one year of Juco and two years at Cal. Did NOT exhaust his eligibility. Was a Junior. Think Alex Smith was 20 his last year, too.

  • No, he was 20 (so is Manziel). I think he was a Junior.

    @shep said:

    No, he was 20 (so is Manziel). I think he was a Junior.

    OK, here are his college stats;

    http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/aaron-rodgers-1.html

    But, he was born on 12/2/1983, and was taken in the 2005 draft. So he was 21 when drafted, turned 22 later that year.

    What this does not say is if he had a redshirt year....and was actually a 4th year junior....or a true junior in his final year.

    I had heard this "trivia" question on TV somewhere....that no SB winning QB ever came out after only 3 years. Given that he was only 21, it is highly possible that that statement was wrong.

  • Interesting: Manziel, a red-shirt sophomore, has "played" the same number of seasons as Rodgers and will also turn 21 in December. He'll be a "young rookie," playing his first season at just 21.

  • Right, Gip. He was only three years out of high school, no redshirt. Turned 21 late in his Junior year and declared. 21 for most of his rookie year, also true of Alex Smith and, likely, Johnny Manziel. A lot of rookies are 23.

    Manziel is completing 73% of his passes for more TDs and fewer sacks than his Heisman year. I think he has a solid chance to be a two-time winner. Man, I really think the guy would be a blast. Would have no problem with him watching Hoyer for a year.

  • Right, Gip. He was only three years out of high school, no redshirt. Turned 21 late in his Junior year and declared. 21 for most of his rookie year, also true of Alex Smith and, likely, Johnny Manziel. A lot of rookies are 23.

    Manziel is completing 73% of his passes for more TDs and fewer sacks than his Heisman year. I think he has a solid chance to be a two-time winner. Man, I really think the guy would be a blast. Would have no problem with him watching Hoyer for a year.

    @shep said:

    Right, Gip. He was only three years out of high school, no redshirt. Turned 21 late in his Junior year and declared. 21 for most of his rookie year, also true of Alex Smith and, likely, Johnny Manziel. A lot of rookies are 23.

    Manziel is completing 73% of his passes for more TDs and fewer sacks than his Heisman year. I think he has a solid chance to be a two-time winner. Man, I really think the guy would be a blast. Would have no problem with him watching Hoyer for a year.

     

    He has to learn to slide instead of dropping his shoulder and trying to run over defenders, that shit won't fly in the NFL. Regardless of how anyone feels about him "personally" the guy is exciting to watch.

  • Ideal situation for Manziel would be to watch Hoyer for a year. No, definitely not to learn how to slide!

    It's an ongoing debate whether a rookie learns more playing or watching... but when a kid's as young as Manziel, I think I'd be just fine with the latter.