I'd say we have them at C, LT, DE , IL and P. If Foster comes back healthy that is a wash, i know its a big IF but thus far Fosters career>Charles career. Id say we also have more offensive weapons overall and its not that close. I think Hopkins could be a number 1 WR on KC and OD could be a number 1 TE too. With the addition of a competent QB and good coach and a much easier schedule, I do not see why this team could not turn things around. It happens every year, a team that was in last place jumps to first in their division.
You're making a huge argument on the word "surefire". I'll make it easier. It looks as though Bridegwater will grade out a fair amount lower than RG3 or Luck. Lower than the Manning/Cutler/Roethlisberger trio a few years back. Higher than the Locker/Ponder/Gabbert trio. Higher than any QB last year. Putting him somewhere in the Sam Bradford realm of upside. I'll take Bridegwater over Bradford any day, but as of today Bridgewater isn't at some jaw dropping level of ability and upside that you cant afford not to draft him. We need QB more than anything but if another player at a different position grades out significantly better you cant ignore it. You have to maximize the hand you're dealt, this isn't poker, you cant bluff and win with Joey Harrington at quarterback. Some of y'all speak as if this year's draft only included today's versions Josh Freeman, Matt Flynn, Matt Cassel and Ryan Fitzpatrick that we'd have to take one over Clowney or Barr because, whelp, QB is important and you win Super Bowl's with QB's, so let's use our first pick on the best one available. If EJ Manuel was the best QB available this year and you guys were all over that bandwagon, telling me that you cant win without and QB and you have to take a QB, my God, I'd be delirious trying to talk sense into you guys and praying to God we didn't waste our pick on him. Luckily Bridgewater may be the guy. I just know if he were 2 years younger he would have been the 4th or possibly 5th (if Barkley came out) QB taken just 2yrs ago. *Sherman liked Tannehill. Clowney and Mathews on the other hand would still likely be top picks.
Awwwww my friend... GREAT POINT _ But take a look at Seattle _ that team is stacked. Same with San Francisco. I think Russell and Kapernick are two very good young QBs that were put in great situations. If we had teams like that _ by all means draft Bridgewater or Johnny with the #1 pick... But we don't _ this team is in shambles and it may take a great young QB like Luck to turn it around. Is Teddy (or Johnny) that QB....???
And what makes you think Teddy is the best...? Luck being a #1 QB prospect was kind of a foregone conclusion from his first year at college... Before the start of this year _ Boyd was considered probably the best QB prospect _ not Teddy... The QB draft is a beauty pageant and there are some cute chicks in this draft but no beauty queens and you don't spend a #1 draft pick on a cute chick. We did that with David Carr...
Curious if you can point to true scout comparative grading like this? Just curious to see/read. Not sure how this matters? He's not 2 years younger/this isn't 2 years ago.... it's today. Rodgers almost quite football and had to start the juco route before his 2 successful years at Cal. If we played the what-if game with him for 2 years prior nobody would have even known his name. I'd just point out that Luck wasn't a foregone #1 his first year in college. Also, before the start of the year, Bridgewater was consistently ranked as the top 1 or 2 QB for the 2014 draft. You can confirm both comments via Google searches (ie search 2014 mock draft on google, but advance search so you only get results from summer 2013 for example). Manziel is a much better example of a QB that has shot up the draft boards as a prospect over the last year... even though his game hasn't changed all that much.
Except that EJ Manuel wasn't considered by anyone to be a #1 type pick. There was never any consideration of him going in the top several picks. That's not the case with this year's QB's, and it's not as a result of need. There were several teams that needed QBs last year in the top 10 and no one picked him. The quality of QBs this year is not remotely thought of that way.
I've never said he was - ultimately, it's up to the Texans to decide that. My point is that this team needs to try to address QB. There are no good options in FA. There aren't likely any in trade. Thus, they need to grab the one they think is the best - not the one they think is the 3rd or 4th or 7th best by trading down or picking one in the 2nd round. It's rare that teams get that opportunity and they should take advantage of it. If the QB sucks, they'll have high draft picks the next couple of years anyway.
I know you can turn it around quick in the NFL, but there's no need to try and make something out of nothing (again, not saying Bridgewater isn't the guy). If you have to wait 2-3 years to find the right QB so be it. That's not how McNair thinks, but that's how a smart manager would handle the situation. That's what a Daryl Morey would do.
Next Aaron Rodgers? I'm sold Bucky Brooks! Manziel? Forget that party animal! Let Cleveland or Jacksonville take that gamble. Brooks: I think he's the best QB in this year's draft. The classic pocket QB. Can make all the throws on the field. Ability to run the game from the LOS. He's done it for 3 years. Full command over the offense. Does things you don't see at the collegiate level. He's the safest and most secure pick at the QB position in this draft. Only other player close to being a franchise caliber is Manziel. Competition for Bridgewater? You can make that argument but then I point to how they perform in big moments. We can talk about Bridgewater vs. Florida in the Sugar Bowl last year and this year vs. Miami that was down but full of NFL talent on defense. He picked them apart. Bridgewater did not disappoint in any way, shape or form (with all the hype before the year). Worthy of #1 pick and concerned and wear and tear at the NFL level? When you think about TB as the #1 pick, everyone will view the value of the #1 pick differently. His size and frame, Aaron Rodgers was 203/223(?) coming out of Cal. We've seen him and his game mature. I think the TB-Rodgers comparison is a very valid one. NFL comp? Look at how Rodgers plays now, how his game has matured, that's the kind of player Bridgewater is. Size, athleticism, how they manage the game, they play in a very similar fashion.
I'm telling you guys this teddy guy will be pretty good. He has been compared to Rodgers and also Andrew luck, not saying he will be but you have to take him
This is my favorite Bridgewater piece http://mmqb.si.com/2014/01/02/teddy-bridgewater-2014-nfl-draft/ As has been mentioned in this thread, most of today's elite QBs are on another level on the "QB Intelligence Quotient"... not that they're geniuses, but that they are really intelligent when it comes to understanding their position. Intelligent, and prescient. Maybe it's the Schaub/Kubiak factor, where it seemed there was none of that, and performance seemed a mere factor of calling the right 1 play at the right time, with no thought thereafter. It's hard even recalling Schaub alerting his line to potential blitzes and the like. On that front, love love love Bridgewater. Though he's also pretty good on measurables.
If we take career accomplishments out of it, our O-Line compared to their O-Line isn't even a comparison. We already acknowledge that O-Line is one of our biggest weaknesses. JJ Watt is obviously better than their DE, but they did have 3 LB/DL make the Pro-Bowl, and it's not even a debate on who to take out of Derrick Johnson vs. ANY of our ILB's. So basically we're better than them at 3-4 DE, and at P......to me that qualifies them as having a better roster than us...
Dude _ if O'Brien drafts a quarterback with the #1 overall pick and he suxks _ he may not never get a head coaching job again... Analysts like Tod, Mel, and Charlie Casserly may think Bridgewater is the best _ but that may not mean O'Brien and Smith think the same... When Harbough took over San Francisco _ he had the opportunity to draft a quarterback with the #7 pick but he didn't _ and all San Francisco pretty much needed was a QB, but they drafted defense and then took a QB in the 2nd and developed him. That's what I think O'Brien will do.
An absolutely EXCELLENT read, (long, but excellent nonetheless). And after reading some of the things he's had to do at Louisville to learn the offense, I'm convinced that the AJ McCarron, Bortles, and Johnny Manziel threads are a waste of time. He's gonna be the guy, he deserves to be the guy.
What is the relevance of this? Should BOB do what's best for the Texans or what's best for his future career prospects in case he fails with the Texans? Except they had a #1 overall pick already on the team that Harbaugh liked - and got to have a great season and lead them to a fumbled punt away from the Superbowl. They draft Kaepernick as a luxury, not a necessity.
What's best for O'Brien's career and what's best for the Texans is one in the same... And Smith is in that boat with him. And if Harbough liked Alex so much _ why did he spend a high 2nd round pick on a QB...??? And as soon as Alex got hurt on the field _ look what happened.
But at number 7 there was only guys like Locker and Gabbert and Ponder, all of which I put way below Bridgewater coming out of college. He may not get the hype Cam Newton had coming out of college, but I think Bridgewater has all the tools and brains to be a good quaterback in the NFL, and I would take a gamble on him with the first pick.
