@diehardbrownsfan said:

We hoped with Charlie Frye and Brady Quinn, too.

I'm perfectly fine with Hoyer starting the rest of the year, and even if he plays well we draft Bridgewater if we can. Then we explore Hoyer trade opportunities, or make it a competition to make Teddy earn it.

@shep said:

Interesting match up between them today.. and the winner was Geno.

Geno threw 2 absolutely gorgeous deep balls including the game winner to Holmes. Dropped that one in so sweetly that the DB never had a clue it was there... Holmes barely moved a muscle to catch it. I think it was the prettiest I've seen this year.

@shep said:

Tajh Boyd is built like a running back. His release has been timed dead even with Aaron Rodgers, fastest ever. He's had a "quiet" but good season so far, including sitting out the second half of a route, but he played very well on the road in an EXTREMELY loud and hostile NCSU environment the other night.

Shep I think your hard on for Qb's get in the way of what you truly see some times.

I saw him over shoot some easy throws more than once and make some awful decisions.

I know you like to get the peanut gallery on your side but let's be objective at the same time.

@diehardbrownsfan said:

Agreed. He looked very solid his first game and I'm sure he'll study his mistakes and get better. Forget drafting a rookie if Hoyer can be good.

@shep said:

Take it from bottom to top...

You say DA, I say Phipps... same story, different era...

Agree on running ability being desirable. I have zero problem with QBs who can run. It's a great bail out skill. I just don't like running QBs.

You mentioned Rodgers and Smith as able runners. I'll add Luck to that list. I believe Luck is the Colts leading rusher at present.

Your three leader examples are interesting. I agree they are all leaders, but think they are all different kinds of leaders.

• Luck is an "awe-shucks" Peyton Manning type of leader leading by example and with his presence. Minimizes himself and his role; praises others and their contributions.
• Wilson is a "quietly confident" leader with a raging inferno inside ala Brady. Has some sophistication about him that draws people in and the fire to kick ass as needed. Like first group this one also minimizes self and praises others.
• RG3 is a "Me; I'm-the-leader; This-is-my-team" leader like Steve Young or even Labron James. This group says "me me me, but I can't do it alone." This group is in a word, arrogant. Arrogance is the one human trait I cannot abide.

So my question has to be... in which group do each of the prospects fall?

As for Boyd's release... In the one game I saw him play I want to say that it did not strike me as being super fast. Want to say he points the ball in the wrong direction as he raises it, but that might be Teddy B.

Yup, I overlooked Can Newton as a safe running QB. But his QB stock has fallen ever since his rookie season.

But E.J.'s a man, if you get me. He has presence. He meets great and can win over a locker room pretty fast. That was a huge part of his late rise and it does matter.

And hey... he's the 9th rated passer in the NFL right now. I think the Bills feel really, really good about their pick. The Browns loved him above all others, too... but didn't pull the trigger. They could've had Tannehill or Manuel the last two years and both are looking like serious keepers.

I'd add Cam Newton as a guy physically equipped to run and survive. But it will be an issue. RG3 is pretty amazing on every conceivable level but I do fear that he's a bit "frail."

Tajh Boyd is built like a running back. His release has been timed dead even with Aaron Rodgers, fastest ever. He's had a "quiet" but good season so far, including sitting out the second half of a route, but he played very well on the road in an EXTREMELY loud and hostile NCSU environment the other night.

His intangibles are said to be off the charts. He's a leader, like RG3, Luck, and Wilson. He's a great teammate with zero blemishes on his character record. Somebody tried to compare him to Troy Smith which is probably both casually racist AND, uh, body-ist. Yeah, they're both 6'1" ish and black and built "thick," but Smith had serious mechanics issues and Boyd would destroy Smith in the 40. They're both fiery leaders, though.

BTW, easy to forget that Alex Smith times at 4.6 (same as Newton)... but it showed Thursday night. He bailed out of some heavy rushes, turned them into gains. You don't have to be a "runner," per se, but being athletic and mobile is becoming more and more of a necessity. Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers are good examples of guys you don't design runs for... but they can run.

Weeden... ah, shit. I so wanted to buy in. But he's Derek Anderson with a better personality.

@tour2ma said:

I agree, Shep, there's at least one in every draft. Just that so few are easy to project to the NFL. Luck was the only can't miss I've seen recently. It's why I think you have to find at least one in every draft to take a flyer on.

Just like Seattle did with Russell Wilson. Clearly they did not know he was going to be as good as he is when they took him, but they had an idea he might be really good.

And Boyd may be one... I just have not seen it yet.

For the record:

• I was not a Geno fan, and I disagree that he is playing "pretty damn good ball." Geno has made some gawd-awful decisions both games so far. He was bailed out in one instance and literally posed to have praise rained upon him for being nudged a split second late OB and his kicker making a long field goal.
• I liked EJ, but like most running QB's I fear for his longevity... as was my case against RG3.

There are only 2 running QB's in the NFL right that I think have low risk of injury, i.e., not significantly higher than the average pocket passer... Kaepernick and Wilson. Both have a combination of physical stature and running wisdom that I think serve them well.

Anywho... I'll keep looking...

I plan on watching Tahj Boyd during my next week at work so I will have to comment on my opinion of him later.

A lot of people seem to be hating on AJ McCarron but I believe he averaged the 2nd highest yards per attempt or yards per completion last year. Correct me if I am wrong.

No doubting Manziels skill but I just don't like him as a person. If you can't follow simple rules, no matter how stupid some of them are, then how can we trust him to be our franchise QB.

Just like Seattle did with Russell Wilson. Clearly they did not know he was going to be as good as he is when they took him, but they had an idea he might be really good.

And Boyd may be one... I just have not seen it yet.

For the record:

• I was not a Geno fan, and I disagree that he is playing "pretty damn good ball." Geno has made some gawd-awful decisions both games so far. He was bailed out in one instance and literally posed to have praise rained upon him for being nudged a split second late OB and his kicker making a long field goal.
• I liked EJ, but like most running QB's I fear for his longevity... as was my case against RG3.

There are only 2 running QB's in the NFL right that I think have low risk of injury, i.e., not significantly higher than the average pocket passer... Kaepernick and Wilson. Both have a combination of physical stature and running wisdom that I think serve them well.

Anywho... I'll keep looking...

So that's the "bad QB draft." Nobody's saying next year is a bad QB draft. It's going to fall between "good" and "great" depending on how Carr progresses (huge night) and whether Hundley and Mariota decide to come out. Bridgewater is almost the lock #1 overall and Boyd will press him.

I happen to like Boyd best.

@tour2ma said:

McCarron is not spectacular, but for the team I think the Browns are building, he just feels like the right fit.

Saw Derek Carr for the first time last nite. Did not know he was David (Please stop sacking me) Carr's "little" bro.

The "Pro's":

- Good size; nice post game interview poise; put up big numbers; high character

The "Con's":

- ugly mechanics; ugly (wobbly) passes; questionable arm strength

@cuwoohio said:

My take on Manziel is he has football instincts. He feels pressure, and finds open receivers. His lack of size doesn't matter with his movement skills. I've never been thrilled with Bridgewater or McCarron, and I haven't seen the others play much.

I think Manziel has talent.... but....

Against Bama this year JM made some good plays, but there were too many "alley-oop" passes for my taste. The one down the middle of the field was simply a piss-poor decision that worked out. The jump balls to Evans (who BTW is a red-shirt Sophmore) were undoubtably by design, but are not the type of play you can make on a sustained basis at the next level... not since the days of RC Owens anyway.

Although he can run, I think he is a scrambler first. May be the 2nd coming of Fran Tarkington. I also think like Fran, he has a knack of avoiding the big hit, so longevity is not a major concern.

The "problem" I see with JM is that I think he is a reckless glory hound. And a reckless QB who craves the spotlight is the last thing you need on a Defense oriented team. This is compounded by the fact that he is not likely to be a first rounder... so some team will take a chance on him in the 2nd (or most certainly 3rd). I believe that they will very quickly find that they drafted a QB controversy.

@tampadawgs said:

My take on Manziel is he has football instincts. He feels pressure, and finds open receivers. His lack of size doesn't matter with his movement skills. I've never been

thrilled with Bridgewater or McCarron, and I haven't seen the others play much.

With the other pick in the first get a good CB - WalterFootball has us taking Roby, which would be amazing.

I'd go OG in round 2 to fix the run game.

@shep said:

It's shaping up to be one of the better QB drafts of recent past. Tons better than last year and it turns out two starters came out of 2013. And they both already look the part.

If so, that's going way out on a limb..

don't know if its been posted but pretty predictable speculation

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000247630/article/report-brandon-weeden-not-viewed-as-answer-at-qb

@shep said:

you're funny.

@cbus-brownie said:

There isn't one! Bridgewater, Boyd, Manziel, etc are not the answer. We need an Andrew Luck type of guy that simply isn't in this upcoming draft.

You can beat the strategy of the trade to death, everyone gets it! But it doesn't work without the right guy at the end of this!!

@tour2ma said:

No, not really a Cam fan.

Just looking at possible options the FO may be looking at to kickstart winning with a veteran/experienced QB - specifically the Chud/Newton connection.

@jafbf said:

Not a Cam Newton fan... He proved me wrong his rookie year, but not his sophmore. We're in the tie breaker season.

@thenew23 said:

I just hope our FO realizes we don't HAVE to use our top pick on a QB. We can use our 2nd 1st rounder, or even a 2nd or 3rd on a guy like McCarron or Carr.

Don't know Carr, but a game managing QB like McCarron is just what is called for opposite a staunch D. And think of the picks we;d amass trading down...

My personal darkhorse was MSU's Tyler Russell, but he's been dinged (concussion) and we definitely won't be shopping in the latter rounds for a project QB.

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

that's a joke right?

cuz after signing LBs and DEs all off season we pick another DE?

GTFO.

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

We have always picked for need over BPA. Who are you kidding?

Taking a 5th round CB in the third round is not picking BPA.

Im not high on any of the qb's this year none are 1st rd. top 5 talent IMO.

I would keep an eye on marcus mariota though from Oregon. As of now I would be giving him a hard look in the 3rd, but don't see chip kelly letting him slide past the second... especially the way vick played last nite.

The kid has speed, great arm, athleticism, and seems to make some good decisions. If he can run that style of offense at Oregon he should be able to make the transition to the pro game. One down side is he is young.

And that's all hinging on whether he declares for the draft or not.

Given the weak qb class he just might.