QB Questions
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Warning, this is long from a guy who does not consider himself a great eye for projecting successful NFL QBs ahead. That said, I've been very good at spotting some overhyped QBs I never saw getting all their God-givens to carry over to the field. That being the case, can I just ask why there is so much love and adoration for Kizer out there among fans and popular draft sites while the guy everybody needs to refrain from too early on is Watson?
Yes, I see the game is changing at the college level to spread offenses almost exclusively and/or those that do not resemble pro style passing attacks. Back as far as 99, our first 4 choices were:
1) Tim Couch in Hal Mumme's playbook-free offense
2) Donovan McNabb from SU's veer option offense
3) Akili Smith in the Oregon spread
4) Daunte Culpepper from UCF's spread offense
- 3 of them started for at least 3 years on teams that went to the playoffs at least once. They did it.
As recently as 2015, the top 2 QBs were FSU's Jameis Winston and Oregon's Marcus Mariota. It was thought by many that Jameis played in an offense more conducive to the NFL style while many theorized Mariota would be the one who would take longer to develop. If you look at who has had the better TD to INT ratio while their teams improved - it has been Mariota as his team improved from 2 wins to 9 wins. I would also venture to say that he has less to work with at WR than Winston especially since Kendall Wright is rarely ever healthy enough to be the weapon he was thought to be pre-draft.
When I saw the matchup between OSU's Barrett and Clemson's Watson, it was crystal clear which guy had better pre-snap diagnosis leading to better vision for the quick split second decisions necessary for success. I think the forgotten intangible with Watson is vision, which leads to how decisive he becomes against the speedier and more talented defenses like Ohio State and Bama (ready to stockpile the NFL draft).
When it comes to Watson, people can't wait to say yeah but he has that big, gifted WR that allows him to trust his throws. You don't say! If he's not decisive enough to be on time - it isn't going to matter how tall his best WR is en route to an incompletion. Those smaller NFL windows battling NFL closing speeds with less time to throw - count on vision as early as pre-snap reads up until the throw is launched. Vision is the difference between being decisive and undecisive. It's not like the big target tool is new when Jameis Winston counted on a tall target like Kelvin Benjamin before Cam Newton had to. And then, TB drafted a huge target like Evans to line up on the other side of another big target like Vincent Jackson. Not for nothing but Gronk seems to be a fave of Brady's when healthy so the big target becomes an efficient tool for all QBs not just Watson here.
The first year I saw Ben Roethlisberger he was in "don't lose it for us asshole" mode fresh off the lips of Pro Bowl Guard Alan Faneca. Okay, so they ran the ball and used gadget plays in the passing game with Bettis or Ward throwing TD passes while Ben frequently rushed his way out of passing pockets to first downs before the game slowed down to his comfort zone. That sounds absurd typing that for a team that finished 15-1. Having said that, I think Ben's first pass was an INT in Jax after many reports out of training camp and preseason indicated he had trouble getting it all down early (like most rookies changing from college offense to a pro offense). Later on, I'm guessing at the urgence of the ownership investing in Ben requested Todd Haley's mission to de-programming Ben's habit of from scrambling too often/prematurely to finishing the progressions or get to the check down to live another down. This is an example of the Coach getting his QB out of his comfort zone to reach a higher level of development. There was a little turbulence at first; because Ben was successful moving the chains with his legs. IMO, he's become an elite passer since Haley challenged him to tap the elite skill set above and beyond the legs. It's worked and it'll probably add years to his career as a result of it.
So why all that? Is it possible that we may be overlooking something very special in Watson for another QB that may not end up very special in the end? I read about all the goodies Kizer possesses but I don't think his coach saw a Watson type of leadership or talent he could trust so Zaire won the job in 2015 until an ankle injury to Zaire gave Kizer the starting job. Coach Kelly found reasons to play both QBs throughout the time Kizer was there. A bionic arm on a QB without vision means what? In fairness to Kizer, I haven't seen very much of him. He's 12-11 as a starter in a place his own coach didn't want to start him in 2015 or keep the other QB from game day reps. The challenge here won't be any easier. If he's not that special at ND - what makes him the answer to all our prayers? Does he have any signature wins against programs he wasn't supposed to beat? What's causing all the love? I remembered Jamarcus Russell getting a lot of last minute love in a QB draft class that didn't look much different than this one.
Looking back to when Joe Montana wasn't supposed to be considered for an early round because of some less than pedestrian passing stats as well as the old missing arm strength intangible taking a front seat to vision of a special QB. The right coach with the right system looked at why and how he won thinking we have the Otto Graham pioneered MidWest Coast Offense for an athletic QB like you (and later on guys like Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Steve Young, Daunte Culpepper, Rich Gannon, Brad Johnson and even the career best passer ratings of Randall Cunningham & Michael Vick that nobody saw coming). A lot of passing outside the pocket opportunities for guys people couldn't crib sheet into an exclusive pocket passer only comfort zone. Even Tom Landry was once reluctant to hand over the reigns from Roger Staubach sharing reps with Craig Morton to giving it all to Roger full time. But, every once in a while a QB comes along with something that cannot be special unless you let him do his thing. Roger's unique greatness eventually meant Landry ran out of excuses as to why Roger was only a part time starter as the Hall of Fame career got underway. That was a pretty compelling story of a Football Life about Staubach if anyone watched it. Bill Belichick was even in the story talking about how Roger always just accomplished the unthinkable under some very duress circumstances most guys could not escape. An old school mentality favoring exclusive pocket passing wasn't any better than war at stopping Roger from stepping into his fate. Even back then, the college spread/option QB wasn't supposed to emerge into any thing special at the next level as high as the football IQ of Tom Landry. For a guy that wasn't supposed to be very reliable to that version of modern day passing game - he sure helped his team erase a lot of late deficits with his arm.
When a game reaches the last 2 minutes and there is no more margin of error left, do you want a guy out there that can BEAT a defensive opponent as great as Alabama? I heard this was the top rated defense of all time. In order to do that, didn't he have to beat Ohio State 31-0? I don't think this is a strong enough QB class for me to see many, if any, guys ahead of him. That won't be any more popular than Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson were pre-hindsight 20/20. But, if we're going to draft a QB inevitably - what's the enormous hurry to write this kid off? If mobile Qbs were going away, would Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Dak Prescott, Marcus Mariota, Carson Wentz, Alex Smith, Tyrod Taylor, Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill have all been starting in 2016? It's a product of what college football is becoming shaping our supply and demand of QBs in draft classes. This trickles down to high school meaning there's far less Peyton Mannings or Tom Bradys in training today for the NFL of tomorrow...
Moral of the story, there continues to be guys like Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson getting drafted behind the more hyped QBs reminding me how often vision takes a back seat to bionic arms. There's no such thing as accuracy without it - just ask Kyle Boller, Brandon Weeden or Spergon Wynn-butdoesntwin
If you made it this far, I really appreciate your patience.
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I did make it that far and I also like the pick because under pressure, he produces. God knows he'll get plenty of opportunity for pressure here. Montana was an under pressure producer too. But will he still be there at round 2?
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I did make it that far and I also like the pick because under pressure, he produces. God knows he'll get plenty of opportunity for pressure here. Montana was an under pressure producer too. But will he still be there at round 2?
I did make it that far and I also like the pick because under pressure, he produces. God knows he'll get plenty of opportunity for pressure here. Montana was an under pressure producer too. But will he still be there at round 2?
Thanks for reading it all Aggies! There's a lot of teams that either have old QBs or a shakey depth chart so I'm guessing he'll be gone. For example, he'd be a huge upgrade to Brock Ostrich on a team that might get JJ Watt back on the field working in tandem with Clowney. Sound like a nice margin of error for a Qb that can see a lot better than an Ostrich?
I welcome the only Defensive Coordinator to earn a Superbowl Ring in New Orleans while understanding Revenge of the Nerds is a sequel. "Come get some!" -
c
Weaknesses- Very poor footwork, often flat-footed in the pocket
- Leaves plays on the field with underthrown deep balls and balls behind receivers
- Takes many big hits and has injury history (broken collarbone, finger, torn ACL)
- Incredibly talented offensive weapons at Clemson (Mike Williams, Jordan Leggett, Artavis Scott, Wayne Gallman, Deon Cain ) helped mask deficiencies
Text from a national scout who's team is considering Deshaun Watson early. "Every throw is predetermined. Zero reading of defenses."
12:30 PM - 20 Jan 2017
Charlie Campbell@DraftCampbellText from a national scout who's team is considering Deshaun Watson early. "Every throw is predetermined. Zero reading of defenses."I like Watson, but he needs to go to a team that has a qb already. The Browns don't have that luxury at all. Reports are thatthe niners are working to trade down with the Redskins for Kirk Cousins...maybe in the second round, butI'd take Trubisky at one. And maybe even trade up from 12 to get Solomon. Watson might be a huge steal,but I don't see him in the top half of the first round unless you have most of your team intact already. -
Watson offers nothing we couldn't get from Tyrod Taylor as a FA -- other than the ability to get injured more frequently.
The more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you. "When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less." Paul Brown -
Skip Bayless was over the moon for Manziel, Tebow and Weeden, when they came out. Every time he talked about why he loved them so much, he cited how well they played in College. Watson is the best college QB, but when it comes to the NFL I can't get too excited about 6'2" 215 lb. running QBs, especially one who doesn't read the whole field. Furthermore, he doesn't have the arm talent of Kizer or Trubisky from what I've seen.
edit: I've watched all the videos of Kizer on Draftbreakdown.com and while he had a worse record this year, his personal performance was better. The entire team around him, including the coach, were rat shit this year. I wasn't able to watch the defense, but just about every time a new drive started, the opposition had scored. Give this kid a defense, some reliable receivers and a team that's bought in to the coach's vision, and lets see what happens.
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Skip Bayless was over the moon for Manziel, Tebow and Weeden, when they came out. Every time he talked about why he loved them so much, he cited how well they played in College. Watson is the best college QB, but when it comes to the NFL I can't get too excited about 6'2" 215 lb. running QBs, especially one who doesn't read the whole field. Furthermore, he doesn't have the arm talent of Kizer or Trubisky from what I've seen.
edit: I've watched all the videos of Kizer on Draftbreakdown.com and while he had a worse record this year, his personal performance was better. The entire team around him, including the coach, were rat shit this year. I wasn't able to watch the defense, but just about every time a new drive started, the opposition had scored. Give this kid a defense, some reliable receivers and a team that's bought in to the coach's vision, and lets see what happens.
Skip Bayless was over the moon for Manziel, Tebow and Weeden, when they came out. Every time he talked about why he loved them so much, he cited how well they played in College. Watson is the best college QB, but when it comes to the NFL I can't get too excited about 6'2" 215 lb. running QBs, especially one who doesn't read the whole field. Furthermore, he doesn't have the arm talent of Kizer or Trubisky from what I've seen.
edit: I've watched all the videos of Kizer on Draftbreakdown.com and while he had a worse record this year, his personal performance was better. The entire team around him, including the coach, were rat shit this year. I wasn't able to watch the defense, but just about every time a new drive started, the opposition had scored. Give this kid a defense, some reliable receivers and a team that's bought in to the coach's vision, and lets see what happens.
Appreciate you weighing in on that Royce.
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Watson offers nothing we couldn't get from Tyrod Taylor as a FA -- other than the ability to get injured more frequently.
Watson offers nothing we couldn't get from Tyrod Taylor as a FA -- other than the ability to get injured more frequently.
I bet there's a lot of people sharing your opinion on the Tyrod Taylor comparison. We shall see...
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Just thought i would point out the North Carolina had an even worse defense than Notre dame. (ND 42nd and NC 63rd) Clemson had 8th best. Watson is at best a System QB who has a relatively weak arm combined with spotty accuracy and even worse footwork. He's not in a position to succeed because of singular effort. It's because the team he's playing for Clemson is one of the best in the country whether he played or not. Some College QB's are very successful at being College QB's but not at being a PRO QB. Colt McCoy/Tebow/Vince Young/Manziel all come to mind when I think of Watson. Great College Ball players but its almost a different sport in the pros.
βThat being said I also don't see the love for kizer. He looks as good as his team played this year. In big games he looked constantly shaky and rattled and failed to read the field. Even saying that I think he is a better pro prospect than Watson and that's only from a potential pro ability standpoint.and in all honesty Trubisky outplayed both of them this year and if he had 2 years of play at this level. Easy Number 1 pick and we'd all be talking about how lucky we are to get him.... but he does not... so I'm just glad my job isn't on the line deciding on if he's a franchise guy or a one year wonder.
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Just thought i would point out the North Carolina had an even worse defense than Notre dame. (ND 42nd and NC 63rd) Clemson had 8th best. Watson is at best a System QB who has a relatively weak arm combined with spotty accuracy and even worse footwork. He's not in a position to succeed because of singular effort. It's because the team he's playing for Clemson is one of the best in the country whether he played or not. Some College QB's are very successful at being College QB's but not at being a PRO QB. Colt McCoy/Tebow/Vince Young/Manziel all come to mind when I think of Watson. Great College Ball players but its almost a different sport in the pros.
βThat being said I also don't see the love for kizer. He looks as good as his team played this year. In big games he looked constantly shaky and rattled and failed to read the field. Even saying that I think he is a better pro prospect than Watson and that's only from a potential pro ability standpoint.and in all honesty Trubisky outplayed both of them this year and if he had 2 years of play at this level. Easy Number 1 pick and we'd all be talking about how lucky we are to get him.... but he does not... so I'm just glad my job isn't on the line deciding on if he's a franchise guy or a one year wonder.
Just thought i would point out the North Carolina had an even worse defense than Notre dame. (ND 42nd and NC 63rd) Clemson had 8th best. Watson is at best a System QB who has a relatively weak arm combined with spotty accuracy and even worse footwork. He's not in a position to succeed because of singular effort. It's because the team he's playing for Clemson is one of the best in the country whether he played or not. Some College QB's are very successful at being College QB's but not at being a PRO QB. Colt McCoy/Tebow/Vince Young/Manziel all come to mind when I think of Watson. Great College Ball players but its almost a different sport in the pros.
βThat being said I also don't see the love for kizer. He looks as good as his team played this year. In big games he looked constantly shaky and rattled and failed to read the field. Even saying that I think he is a better pro prospect than Watson and that's only from a potential pro ability standpoint.
and in all honesty Trubisky outplayed both of them this year and if he had 2 years of play at this level. Easy Number 1 pick and we'd all be talking about how lucky we are to get him.... but he does not... so I'm just glad my job isn't on the line deciding on if he's a franchise guy or a one year wonder.
Some valid points Caine; but how many points did it take to beat Bama? And the only time Clemson lost - how many points did Pitt need to outscore them?
The only 2 times I saw Trubisky his team lost. I saw some things I liked but his tendency to lock onto the primary Receiver was the Pick 6 that ultimately became part of the margin of victory Stanford celebrated.
I welcome the only Defensive Coordinator to earn a Superbowl Ring in New Orleans while understanding Revenge of the Nerds is a sequel. "Come get some!" -
c
Weaknesses- Very poor footwork, often flat-footed in the pocket
- Leaves plays on the field with underthrown deep balls and balls behind receivers
- Takes many big hits and has injury history (broken collarbone, finger, torn ACL)
- Incredibly talented offensive weapons at Clemson (Mike Williams, Jordan Leggett, Artavis Scott, Wayne Gallman, Deon Cain ) helped mask deficiencies
Text from a national scout who's team is considering Deshaun Watson early. "Every throw is predetermined. Zero reading of defenses."
12:30 PM - 20 Jan 2017Charlie Campbell@DraftCampbellText from a national scout who's team is considering Deshaun Watson early. "Every throw is predetermined. Zero reading of defenses."I like Watson, but he needs to go to a team that has a qb already. The Browns don't have that luxury at all. Reports are thatthe niners are working to trade down with the Redskins for Kirk Cousins...maybe in the second round, butI'd take Trubisky at one. And maybe even trade up from 12 to get Solomon. Watson might be a huge steal,but I don't see him in the top half of the first round unless you have most of your team intact already.c
Weaknesses- Very poor footwork, often flat-footed in the pocket
- Leaves plays on the field with underthrown deep balls and balls behind receivers
- Takes many big hits and has injury history (broken collarbone, finger, torn ACL)
- Incredibly talented offensive weapons at Clemson (Mike Williams, Jordan Leggett, Artavis Scott, Wayne Gallman, Deon Cain ) helped mask deficiencies
Text from a national scout who's team is considering Deshaun Watson early. "Every throw is predetermined. Zero reading of defenses."
I like Watson, but he needs to go to a team that has a qb already. The Browns don't have that luxury at all. Reports are thatthe niners are working to trade down with the Redskins for Kirk Cousins...maybe in the second round, butI'd take Trubisky at one. And maybe even trade up from 12 to get Solomon. Watson might be a huge steal,but I don't see him in the top half of the first round unless you have most of your team intact already.Thanks for the input Cal!
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Zombo I don't know if you have a name for camp Patrick Mahomes but has The MaHomos already been flooated?
WSS
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1) All other things being equal, you can't teach height and arm strength.
2) It's somewhat of a crap shoot drafting a QB.
3) Go back to #1.
(do we know for sure that Kessler isn't the Joe Montana?)
BEING A BROWNS FAN IS A TEST TO SEE HOW MUCH YOU CAN TAKE -
Just thought i would point out the North Carolina had an even worse defense than Notre dame. (ND 42nd and NC 63rd) Clemson had 8th best. Watson is at best a System QB who has a relatively weak arm combined with spotty accuracy and even worse footwork. He's not in a position to succeed because of singular effort. It's because the team he's playing for Clemson is one of the best in the country whether he played or not. Some College QB's are very successful at being College QB's but not at being a PRO QB. Colt McCoy/Tebow/Vince Young/Manziel all come to mind when I think of Watson. Great College Ball players but its almost a different sport in the pros.
βThat being said I also don't see the love for kizer. He looks as good as his team played this year. In big games he looked constantly shaky and rattled and failed to read the field. Even saying that I think he is a better pro prospect than Watson and that's only from a potential pro ability standpoint.
and in all honesty Trubisky outplayed both of them this year and if he had 2 years of play at this level. Easy Number 1 pick and we'd all be talking about how lucky we are to get him.... but he does not... so I'm just glad my job isn't on the line deciding on if he's a franchise guy or a one year wonder.
Some valid points Caine; but how many points did it take to beat Bama? And the only time Clemson lost - how many points did Pitt need to outscore them?
The only 2 times I saw Trubisky his team lost. I saw some things I liked but his tendency to lock onto the primary Receiver was the Pick 6 that ultimately became part of the margin of victory Stanford celebrated.
Some valid points Caine; but how many points did it take to beat Bama? And the only time Clemson lost - how many points did Pitt need to outscore them?
The only 2 times I saw Trubisky his team lost. I saw some things I liked but his tendency to lock onto the primary Receiver was the Pick 6 that ultimately became part of the margin of victory Stanford celebrated.
Tom, Can you name a pro quarterback that hasn't made the same mistake? If you read the scouting report on Watson, he's doing pretty much the same thing. Mitch is more accurate, and has the better arm. Plus, to get distance on his throws Deshawn is heaving arcing rainbows to areas. Where he had Williams to bail him out. Not terribly impressed by his arm strength- we'll see if he dares to throw at the combine, IMO it's very average.
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Flugelhorn
Great post and I think Watson is the real deal. Coming closer to draft day when reality turns into wishful thinking.....With all the qb's coming out of this draft and with Dak Presscott doing so well...this might be a '84 qb draft.
I'm a firm believer that if you put a person in the right position they can do very well.
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Some valid points Caine; but how many points did it take to beat Bama? And the only time Clemson lost - how many points did Pitt need to outscore them?
The only 2 times I saw Trubisky his team lost. I saw some things I liked but his tendency to lock onto the primary Receiver was the Pick 6 that ultimately became part of the margin of victory Stanford celebrated.
Tom, Can you name a pro quarterback that hasn't made the same mistake? If you read the scouting report on Watson, he's doing pretty much the same thing. Mitch is more accurate, and has the better arm. Plus, to get distance on his throws Deshawn is heaving arcing rainbows to areas. Where he had Williams to bail him out. Not terribly impressed by his arm strength- we'll see if he dares to throw at the combine, IMO it's very average.
If you read the scouting report on Watson, he's doing pretty much the same thing. Mitch is more accurate, and has the better arm. Plus, to get distance on his throws Deshawn is heaving arcing rainbows to areas. Where he had Williams to bail him out. Not terribly impressed by his arm strength- we'll see if he dares to throw at the combine, IMO it's very average.
Before I address some of your points - it's important to understand if Cleveland honored your wish of Trubisky it would need to be done at #1 overall which turns down the pick of the litter at immediate defensive impact. If QB will be inevitable early somewhere, my alternative recommendation for Watson would be 1) after we drafted our defensive guy at #1 overall and 2) no queer eye for any other guy within a supply and demand that concerns me or 3) or not taking Watson in lieu of drafting more sic em, sock em and sack em.
To your points. So after Watson aced the challenges of defenses like Ohio State and Alabama with vision and poise, you've church moused him down into if he dares to show up to the combines? Just out of curiosity, what will the combines assure me? He'll have all day to throw against no pass rushes and no corners to wide open receivers running the right routes? Yeah, because that's exactly the utopian perks our QBs have been enjoying in Cleveland since 1999. I'd rather watch film that includes defenses challenging mechanics, time to throw, accuracy, poise and vision so I can see how he handles the types of situations he'll see plenty of at the next level.
Now we're back to the same arm strength issues that made Joe Montana an early round no no? A bunch of teams gift wrapped a Hall of Fame QB to SF in a mid round with some really pretty bows and ribbons.
The only MVP we've witnessed here in Cleveland over the last 50 years was supposed to have arm strength issues. Do I need to pretend Brian Sipe never existed? He threw for over 4000 yards when that was unheard of. Seems to me vision and poise has been very helpful to QBs like Sipe and Montana especially when it was time to erase a deficit late in the game. I've been hearing about bionic arms and prototypical QBs since we traded Paul Warfield to draft Mike Phipps at #3 overall. The only time we've aced the first round at QB was in the 85 and it required a supplemental draft to do so. Today, we have a t-shirt featuring a bunch of QBs that weren't keepers inclusive of some bionic arms like Weeden and Anderson.
Throughout countless Dalton rainbows before/after he improved his arm strength up to snuff, his team won the AFC North a few times because there have been very tall pot of gold targets like Eifert and Green seemingly at the end of every rainbow in the end zone.
Have you ever wondered why there's still QBs showing up to be successful every decade without bionic arms? Could it be they have the vision (beginning at pre-snap diagnosis) up until their release so that their throws are on time enough to fit the NFL's smaller windows. If you add poise to that it's easy to see why some of these guys consistently erased 4th quarter deficits when the margin of error was all the way down to 1 mistake = no dice.
Trubisky doesn't have the big body of work for me to share your comfort with. I also asked Gipper if he could give me any signature wins of him beating a more talented team like say a Rodgers over USC or Kosar over Nebraska or Montana over Texas but I never got an answer. Trubisky gave Stanford a great big almost but he threw a pick 6 locking onto his primary target - so guess who got the W? If this happens against your better opponents in college, what makes you think it gets any easier at the next level when he has to read progressions against more complex defenses on a bad team with less time to throw in a faster league vrs better closing speeds?
Now let me ask you this - how many QBs that could only start 1 year in the ACC went on to become NFL franchise saviors?
My logic here is if he was slow to catch on and emerge in college - what makes the gig in Cleveland even easier for him after the tiny body of work? You better make sure you remember this if we end up turning down immediate defensive impact at #1 overall to take Trubisky. You know as well as I do that some years the supply and demand of football messiahs at QB in round 1 became absolute stinkers and franchise sinkers. While many (including me) argue Couch wasn't a bust - McNabb was drafted #2 overall by the team coming off the worst record in football. Which guy frequented post seasons and Conference Championship Games? Our franchise had Tim Couch and Akili Smith rated ahead of McNabb while we chose Scott Milanovich over Kurt Warner in our expansion draft. Man, did that ever set the precedent ahead. I'm willing to look past unpopularity of Watson as an NFL prospect here today like we should have looked at McNabb more so than the veer option he played in. Does he see the field at the speed of the game? What college defenses have more NFL prospects than Alabama and Ohio State so you tell me... I've been wrong before though (especially with QBs)...
I welcome the only Defensive Coordinator to earn a Superbowl Ring in New Orleans while understanding Revenge of the Nerds is a sequel. "Come get some!" -
Some valid points Caine; but how many points did it take to beat Bama? And the only time Clemson lost - how many points did Pitt need to outscore them?
The only 2 times I saw Trubisky his team lost. I saw some things I liked but his tendency to lock onto the primary Receiver was the Pick 6 that ultimately became part of the margin of victory Stanford celebrated.
Tom, Can you name a pro quarterback that hasn't made the same mistake? If you read the scouting report on Watson, he's doing pretty much the same thing. Mitch is more accurate, and has the better arm. Plus, to get distance on his throws Deshawn is heaving arcing rainbows to areas. Where he had Williams to bail him out. Not terribly impressed by his arm strength- we'll see if he dares to throw at the combine, IMO it's very average.
Tom, Can you name a pro quarterback that hasn't made the same mistake?
John Elway against us every single time we played him.
If you see a college guy in a college offense training him to throw to a pre-determined primary route every time to the extent a ranked opponent spots him locking onto his primary target in the film room - they're well prepared to make the pick 6 on game day like Stanford did. That's a bad habit perfected that many first round prospects have never been able to successfully de-program.
All that time draft publications quoting various NFL scouts that Brady Quinn was Pro Ready seemed to overlook his frequency to lock onto Jeff Smarzdija when he wasn't counting on his legs to pick up the first down. That didn't seem nearly as ready for the world of reading progressions against more complicated defenses in a faster league with less time to throw against better closing speeds. But Shep argued with me right up until the draft that we needed him at #3 overall with his logic you just reposted on this board last week "if you don't have a QB you need to get one..." That's all fine and dandy if the supply of a football messiah at QB cooperates with our need. As it turned out, many of us were very thankful we drafted Joe Thomas at #3 overall before we traded up to draft Quinn in round 1. When Derek Anderson's skill set began to decompose after the Cinderella midnight came early, many of us wanted to see what we had in this QB we had the balls to trade up into round 1 for. To this day, arm strength never dictated their short period of starting nearly as much as vision or a lack thereof. As Weeden painfully reminded us, it's tough to be accurate throwing when he couldn't see downfield very well. Add his lack of poise to that and you have Weeden throwing a ball up into the end zone seats as time expired vrs Baltimore. Vision was the reason Hoyer easily outplayed Weeden with the same teammates.
That won't stop guys from ranking arm strength ahead of vision. It's the most underrated intangible for QB prospects heading to a more complicated league with faster players. That said, we've also seen a lot of you can't tackle or block what you can't see meaning it's pretty important for other positions as well.
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Flugelhorn
Great post and I think Watson is the real deal. Coming closer to draft day when reality turns into wishful thinking.....With all the qb's coming out of this draft and with Dak Presscott doing so well...this might be a '84 qb draft.
I'm a firm believer that if you put a person in the right position they can do very well.
Flugelhorn
Great post and I think Watson is the real deal. Coming closer to draft day when reality turns into wishful thinking.....With all the qb's coming out of this draft and with Dak Presscott doing so well...this might be a '84 qb draft.
I'm a firm believer that if you put a person in the right position they can do very well.
Thanks man! I don't think Watson is nearly as bad as people are painting him out to be.
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I loved Sipe, too... but the phrase "QBs like Sipe and Montana" should never be uttered... not even in a limited sense.
Any QB with Sipe-like numbers (56% completion and 1:1 TD-INT ratio) would not last two seasons in today's Cleveland atmosphere.
Arm strength and physical statue are no substitute for a high QB IQ, and if I have to set my slider towards one end, then I would chose IQ... but I really don't want to choose.
"When you have a shared vision it is a lot easier to make unpopular decisions." - Paul DePodesta "When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less." - Paul Brown Complete 2017 Browns Board Mock: http://thebrownsboard.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=46196 -
I loved Sipe, too... but the phrase "QBs like Sipe and Montana" should never be uttered... not even in a limited sense.
Any QB with Sipe-like numbers (56% completion and 1:1 TD-INT ratio) would not last two seasons in today's Cleveland atmosphere.
Arm strength and physical statue are no substitute for a high QB IQ, and if I have to set my slider towards one end, then I would chose IQ... but I really don't want to choose.
I loved Sipe, too... but the phrase "QBs like Sipe and Montana" should never be uttered... not even in a limited sense.
Any QB with Sipe-like numbers (56% completion and 1:1 TD-INT ratio) would not last two seasons in today's Cleveland atmosphere.
Arm strength and physical statue are no substitute for a high QB IQ, and if I have to set my slider towards one end, then I would chose IQ... but I really don't want to choose.
I hear ya. As you know, Sipe played on some bad teams that helped bring that TD:INT ratio in the wrong direction. He mixed in a nice 3 year stretch where he averaged over 4000 yards passing on a team chasing many late deficits. I think what I enjoyed so much about him was despite all his imperfections/limitations inclusive of some forgettable first 58 minute stretches from him at QB - his will to win in the final 2 minutes regardless of what he had around him making me forget this was a guy that wasn't supposed to be starting in this league - let alone consistently winning while doing so. Pretty cool to see him start our Kardiac Kids era that would eventually resurface in the 80s with my other favorite QB Bernie Kosar.
Thought you might find this interesting in terms of re-visiting some familiar names and fond memories - here's a list of stats from him and those he threw the football to in 1980:
QB Brian Sipe 337 of 554 for 4,132 yards 30 TD 14 INT
WR Dave Logan 51 rec 822 yards 4 TD
WR Reggie Rucker 52 rec 768 yards 4 TD
TE Ozzie Newsome 51 rec 594 yards 3 TD
RB Greg Pruitt 50 rec 444 yards 5 TD
FB Mike Pruitt 63 rec 471 yards 0 TD
Other Contributors:
WR Rickey Feacher 10 rec 244 yards 4 TD
WR Keith Wright 3 rec 62 yards 3 TD
WR Willis Adams 8 rec 165 yards 0 TD
WR McDonald Oden 3 rec 18 yards 0 TD
RB Calvin Hill 27 rec 383 yards 6 TD
RB Charles White 17 rec 133 yards 1 TD
FB Cleo Miller 2 rec 8 yards 0 TD
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