I don't see why this is what the default response is every time someone suggests picking a non QB in the first round. It's like if you don't pick a QB in the first round, some think that means you can't pick one in the draft at all.
If the pick was up to me, I'd go Teddy. However, if the draft was today, I think the team would select Clowney. And being a defense first guy, it'd be kind of tough for me to get mad at that pick, even though I really want them to stop nickel and diming on the QB position.
Okay, the reason for it is because they are trying to make a case for a QB first overall, and if they listed possible QB candidates that could be had in the later rounds, it would kill their case so instead they list Keenum, Yates, and Schaub as the alternative.
Sammy is why I didn't want Hopkins as our first round pick last year because Hopkins wasn't the best receiver on his own team.Sammy isn't the typical sized receiver to draft at a high spot but he's big enough to play the outside and he's not too big to play the slot... O'Brien > Wes Welker. But he has a mar1juana arrest and you know McNair. I don't trust Robinson because all Auburn did was run so it's hard to judge his pass blocking. And I don't trust Matthews because Johnny was his quarterback and he's a jack rabbit so teams sometimes try more to contain instead of rushing up field. It's some good free agent tackles that won't break the bank out there. I would rather they throw some money at that spot. And Mack may be the "J.J. Watt" of pass rushers in this draft for Romeo's defense. He can rush the passer and he constantly makes plays in the backfield... High motor guy. He can also drop back in coverage. He causes fumbles and get interceptions and will run it back for a touchdown. He's a BEAST...
It's nothing about that. For instance, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick (the hottest commodities had after the first round most recently) would definitely go in the 1st round in their respective drafts if you were to have a redo today. So basically if there is none of those guys worth a 1st round pick why would you choose any one in the later rounds (while crossing your fingers) and just hoping you happen to luck up on a guy that remotely comes close. Again, this is going with you alls way of thinking that their is no QB worth a first round pick let alone first overall.
Ugh, this is getting frustrating. I never said that there was no QB worth a first round pick, I said there was no QB worth the first overall pick.....that's not the same thing. Basically what you just did was ask me to pay 50 bucks for a cheeseburger, I then said that there is no cheeseburger worth 50 bucks, so you then say if no cheeseburger is worth 50 cents, why would you ever eat one? Do you see how that doesn't follow? Also, it's not a "crossing your fingers" type situation, I'm not looking for my second or third round QB to come in and take over the world, I just want him to protect the ball and be a decent to good game manager....you know, the Seattle way. I'd be building a team to win with defense and the run game, not with a QB making 600 pass attempts a year.
LOL, you're frustrated, by own quotes. Basically you stated (since you believe in Cosell's quote) that there is not QB worth a top 10 pick... so that means you want a rookie 2nd or 3rd round pick (which is still pretty high in the draft) to come in and become average. Nothing more nothing less, just average. Hell why don't we just keep what we have so they can play average. "Game managing" is a lot tougher than you give these guys credit for doing. Guys like Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco were terrific game managers but they were still 1st round picks. For every Russell Wilson, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton, and Colin Kaepernick there is a Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, Pat White, Chadd Henne, Brian Brohm, and Kevin O'Connell and on and on. Just because you draft a guy in the earlier rounds expecting him to come in and be able to manage the game doesn't mean they will have that ability.
It is also about value. If there is a QB in this class that the Texans think can be the guy but maybe other teams aren't as interested in then they can draft him a round early or with the first pick of that round. According to a recent interview with Pete Carroll, Seattle was always high on Wilson and their draft room exploded when they got him in the third round. They targeted him but were not going to draft him in the 2nd or 1st since he wasn't graded out that high by any of the other teams. Now, of course, Seattle had no idea how good Wilson would be but they were excited enough to know that he was undervalued as a 3rd round pick. I would much rather the Texans try and get a good value QB in the 2nd or 3rd than reach for one with the first overall pick if you are not 100% certain he is the guy or not. I am intrigued by McCarron, Mettenberger, Brett Smith in the 2nd -4th rounds. Not sure how they will grade out but it would be intriguing if O'Brien sees something in one of these guys that the others don't and thinks they can be a starting QB. Smith seems like a possible underrated prospect but the knock will be who he played against in College.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=249124 this thread helps validate my point that it's not as easy as you guys make it seem to "find a QB later in the draft".
Greg Cosell: Spoiler <iframe width="610" height="377" scrolling="no" src="http://www.sports790.com/player/embed.html?autoStart=false&useFullScreen=true&mid=24331636&startButtonColor=0xA33335&share=http%3A//www.sports790.com/media/podcast-kbmeam-podcast-790interviews/greg-cossell-nfl-films-on-pgs-24331636/" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" ></iframe> LZ: Manziel, you're not sold? GC: I don't do it based on who's gonna pick who. In a given draft, you have to draft who's in that draft and stack your board accordingly. I've studied 10/11 QBs really hard. There is no QB in this draft that is a number one pick in a draft. That doesn't mean it won't happen. We know that. ... If you're grading QBs as absolute, there are no QBs in this draft that would warrant being chosen in the top ten in the draft. LZ: I see Manziel makes throws I like, I see him step into throws sometimes, sometimes he doesn't. The one thing that really does concern me is he doesn't anticipate windows (Cosell: Nope) and that's a big deal in the NFL. That's one thing that really does concern me. GC: I look at attributes negative and positive. Then you have to weigh those issues. Decide where the balance is and what works. Then you have to think about team. It's always easy to make comparisons and look at Russell Wilson. He was on a team with a dominate run game and dominate defense. That gets factored into his performance. Manziel is a see it-throw it passer. He's not an anticipation thrower. He's not a patient pocket player. If he doesn't see it right away, he'll be gone. That's what he's done up to this point. That's what we have to judge. Then you have to judge if these random improvisational plays, which he's unbelievable at, you have to decide how many of those he can make in the NFL. Can you live on those plays in the NFL? You have to look at his overall play. I've watched 450 of his drop-backs, there is a wide variation in his play. The consistency issue will always be concerning for any evaluator. Even when he plays well, how is he playing well? Does that translate to the league? No question he makes throws from the pocket. He's not an anticipation thrower. Guys in college are wide open. LZ: I see him make throws down..some Cover 2 throws that aren't easy. He can make those. No question I see some arm talent but anticipation is something that does concern me. Blake Bortles, you thought favorably about him? And thoughts on Bridgewater too. GC: Bortles: The more I watch, the more I thought there were some positives. He's not a great thrower. I would say he doesn't drive the ball. A quirky delivery (he pushes the ball as opposed to driving it). He's for the most part a pocket passer but can execute boot action and extend plays outside of structure. He showed timing, some anticipation. He needs a lot of work on footwork in the pocket. He has a tendency to throw with poor balance. LZ: Bridgewater - he didn't run for as many yards but incredibly active outside the pocket when he decides to run. He can make things happen on the move. He can run with his feet. Not as a big as people think he'll be. (GS: No he's not) He'll be smaller than people believe. What is his number one obstacle at the next level? Personally I think that...in fact I spoke to a coach that played against him and the coach told me, all said and done, he'll probably be 6'1 because he was right next to him. I think that his throwing skill set and movement will remind some of Russell Wilson. He throws the ball well. He has good feel. He's a guy who understands windows, timing, anticipation. You would say he has the arm strength to make all the necessary throws but doesn't have a gun. Not an extreme talent like "Wow, look at this kid throw the football." He has light feet, sets up quickly, asked to make decisions before the snap of the ball at the LOS and thought he did that extremely well. His delivery is compact. He showed pocket movement. For the most part, he was an efficient player. AC: If not Manziel, do you take another QB, Clowney or trade back? GC: I would personally take the person they have rated #1 on their board. You get into trouble when you reach and it's easy to do that at the QB position. There have been many, many teams have done that. Maybe the money doesn't kill you like it used to but if you draft a QB, and keep in mind, the days of sitting a guy are over, if the Texans hand the card to the commissioner and take Manziel, Bortles, whoever, that guy is the starter the second that card is handed in. You have to feel good about that. My sense is you build teams better when you draft the best player. LZ: When I watch Clowney, I realized the conversation about his demise was greatly exaggerated (GC: I agree) and number two, I don't think it's close--I think he's the most talented player in this draft. I don't know he's my favorite player but is there anyone better than Clowney from a NFL traits/talent/skill set standpoint? GC: You probably say no. I think that, I watched Clowney quite a bit, I need to do more work on him but I think that Clowney is a really, really talented kid. He got size, explosion, quickness, speed, balance, body control. The only thing I would say about him at this point and this can be taught: he's more of a great athlete rushing the QB than a natural pass rusher with bend and flexibility. There's a difference. As an everything, everything is a skill. He's more of an athlete who's a pass rusher than a pass rusher who understands how to do it. He can be taught that. He needs to learn how to use his hands. Almost every player coming into the NFL needs to learn how to use his hands. AC: I know what Texans fans are immediately thinking when you say something like that, is that kind of a comparison to Mario Williams? GC: Of course. And by the way, that turned out to be the right move, did it not? LZ: He's much more skilled as a pass rusher than Williams. (GC: I agree) He has a swim move inside. I think he's a more fluid football player. Mario may have tested well but Clowney is a see QB, get QB. Mario was so involved with the man in front of him. I was talking with a pass rush specialist, and I asked him, "I always look for guys who don't see the man in front of him." He said "That's exactly right. We call that seeing through the QB. There are certain pass rushers where the man in front of him is a guy he barely pays attention to." You like that. Mario was always so involved with the tackle trying to block him. Clowney is not that kind of guy. GC: No. And he has tremendous closing speed because he has great balance. A lot of guys can make that first initial move but it's what happens next. Clowney is really good at that because he has great balance and body control. He doesn't fall down or lose his balance after that first move. Any organization, I was having a great conversation with Sam R., former NFL coach, we were talking about team building and the big mistake you make is reaching for players because he's still in Cleveland and we were talking about the Browns, who have a lot of picks but the Texans with the number one pick, you have to draft a player who you have rated the best. If you reach, particularly at QB, even though the money isn't that big anymore, you're still ??? to that guy if you reach for him. ___________________________________ http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...-johnny-manziels-game?campaign=Twitter_nfl_cb That Johnny Manziel might run too much for his own good in the NFL is the longest-standing red flag, along with his size, about the former Heisman Trophy winner's pro potential as a quarterback. That Manziel tucked and ran despite having open receivers at Texas A&M, however, raises that flag a bit higher. But that's what NFL Media analyst and former Texans and Redskins personnel executive Charley Casserly told "NFL AM" he sees in watching film of the former Aggies star who could be the No. 1 overall pick to the quarterback-needy Houston Texans. "Pocket discipline. When you watch tape on this guy, there are times I'm not sure what this guy sees. You've got guys wide open and, boom, he takes off and runs," Casserly said. "He may be a victim of his (own) ability to make plays running the football, so he doesn't stay in the pocket. I'd want to watch tape with him, what are you seeing, why are you running when you don't have to run?" Manziel did a better job of staying in the pocket as a sophomore in 2013 than he did in his Heisman Trophy season of 2012, rushing for roughly half the yardage in his second year as a college starter while showing more pocket patience. Casserly, however, wants to see more. "Clearly the other thing, you've got to get a handle on this guy's maturity. When he goes to the big city, it's not going to be College Station any more," Casserly said. In a candid look at the draft's other quarterback prospects, Casserly had the following thoughts about Central Florida's Blake Bortles, Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, and Alabama's AJ McCarron: On Bortles: "This guy might be No. 1 when it is all said and done because he's a big strong-armed guy. When you watch the tape, in every single game I watched, he'll make some throws you can't explain, as far as making bad decisions. ... (Also) you'd like him to be a little more consistent on the accuracy to be the top pick." On Bridgewater: "Everybody talks about (Bridgewater's) body build, being a lean guy, they worry about his durability. What is his strength and size potential? (That's) something we want to look at. The other thing is vocal leadership. You want to get a good handle on that at the combine and in the spring." On McCarron: "Very productive quarterback, smart guy, but what I want to see (is) arm strength. I want to see this arm live. I just want to see at what level it's not strong. ... Is this guy Andy Dalton? I'm trying to make a positive out of that, but Dalton has his deficiencies, and one of them is accuracy, deep especially. Is he Andy Dalton, or is he a lesser Andy Dalton? That's my question on him."
Bridgewater will have to kill it at the combine 6'2 plus and at over 215lbs Clowney is looking like the top pick F John McClain
I agree. Anything under 215 will be a huge red flag. As weird as it is, none of his drills really matter because he's not a speedster, he's more of a pocket type QB so he can be slow and it doesn't matter. His measurements will be the most important.
I think he is going to have to show off top notch/borderline elite level arm strength too during the pro days. The more I watch Clowney...whew, not many qbs I would take over him in the last 10 -15 years Goes against my grain of thinking but...Clowney is a force of nature
Ominous somewhat that we are repeating 1st pick draft scenarios: David Carr vs Julius Peppers Vince Young vs Mario Williams Pick your QB vs Jadaveon Clowney Texans history says stick with Clowney
Now there's chatter that Manziel might skip the Combine so he can have more time to practice his throws. If true. that's weak sauce. http://www.universityherald.com/art...ounces-private-workout-in-college-station.htm
He better impress come his pro day The thing is, his arm talent is not questioned, its his ability to mentally play in an NFL offense
