Geez... the people who don't want the Texans to draft Bridgewater really have to reach to come up with reasons, especially as each of the previous reasons get shot down. He is too skinny. He weighs 214lb His hands are tiny. His hands measure out 9 1/4 He can't be too smart... he avoids the media. Reporters rave about his press conference, one says his was the best. He isn't smart as measured by Wonderlic. He isn't very smart, he touted Johnny Unitas This latest one... he is gutless. Make a list of QBs who didn't throw at the combine. Did Andrew Luck? Or was he "gutless"? I suspect year by year you will see the top rated Qbs not throwing at the combine, and the second tiers throwing. Does it help those second tier QBs? Did it help Russell Wilson?
That's a bit of a stretch, but okay, I'm sure you can back that up. No, it's that he has a small frame, which isn't the same thing but it was positive that he managed to put on some weight to be only slightly underweight for an average QB. They are small, pointing out that they are slightly larger than the minimum threshold isn't an argument otherwise. I'm pretty sure no one said that, but it's a fun strawman anyway. He IS smart. There's no way of knowing that yet, but that's not a knock on Teddy. Literally no one said that. Quite possible. Ducking out on throwing at the combine certainly WAS a gutless move. Had RG3 thrown at the Combine, you can bet Luck would have. Since there were only 2 legit QB's in that class in conversation for the top pick, he didn't have to. Basing this off of 2 drafts. Smart. Absolutely, sometimes. He wasn't a "second tier" QB prospect, he was third tier.
Just watched the Baylor vs UCF game. I really do not see what they hype is with this guy. He looked terrible under pressure, seemed to have awful balance in the pocket always falling off his throws, and missed way too many reads. I just don't see it. Scouts do, so I guess I am missing something here.
My opinion is that people decide who they like or dislike on emotion/whim and then fill in the "why" after the fact.
What you forget is Bortles was throwing against potential NFL secondary talent. Louisville has a safety that is projected to go in the top 20 of the draft this year and they have ranked players on that defense coming out of high school. Teddy was going against _ mehhhh.... Bortles has more signature wins this year than both Teddy and Johnny. And Teddy didn't even play a ranked team. I think the Texans would be crazy to draft Blake but I can see why they would consider it because between Clowney, Teddy, and Johnny... Why not. We'll see how he looks tomorrow. But Cam didn't have a good showing at the combine either when he threw. Being willing to go out there and participate when the entire world can tear you apart shows a guy with nerves of steel that can handle pressure and it shows coaches he's open to criticism. Especially when he's considered a top pick and could just wait until his pro day. And if Blake looks good tomorrow and impresses again on hos pro day. I'm a lil worried.
That was the first thing I noticed too. Literally every pass from the pocket, he's falling backwards. Combine that with the happy feet he gets when he's been in the pocket for more than a second or two and he just looks something between high strung and afraid. I guess you never know what is actually in someone's head, but that is what it looks like.
Can someone tell me what the difference is between Pre-Draft Bortles and Pre-Draft Gabbert? Because I heard the same BS being spewed about Gabbert leading in to the draft and that pick set the already set back franchise back even further. Theyre pretty close to the same and I will have nightmares watching anything close to Gabbert on our team....to me Blaine may be the worst QB I have ever seen live.
The guy obviously has potential. He looks like he will run in the low 4.7's and he is a big guy. I just think that running from the quarterback position is such an overrated skillset. I would rather draft a guy who knows how to slide around back there. I will say that in the bowl game, I saw Bortles do a little bit of this, but TB does it a ton. The best QB in the leagues like to slide in the pocket. I think the media is riding Manziel's hype train a bit too much, as all I see from him is, run like hell when pressure arrives. It is almost like his greatest strength will be his biggest weakness in the pros. I have a feeling, if it weren't for bad orgs drafting early, he would probably go day 2.
Did you see how Manning looked under pressure in the super bowl. Or Schaub, Eli, etc. Pressure does that to quarterbacks. Don't forget he ran for 93 yards and a TD in that game as well. We can't sleep on the fact he's a duel threat and he's good running in the open field. Schools wanted him to play tight end. It wouldn't surprise me if he runs a 4'5-4'6 40...
Can you explain exactly why you think he is worth a number 1 pick? He has failed everyones eye test, which to me is the most important indicator of talent. If I watch a guy and say "That guy is pretty ****ty" thats because he is. I have seen this scrub live a few times and always commented on how god awful he was. Do you believe that he has any ability to be great? He is nothing more than a media hype train that happens every year to spice up ratings and you have bought on house on the land youve been sold by ESPN.
Manning is basically a walking laundry list of things you shouldn't do as a quarterback. Manning has happy feet even when he isn't pressured, he throws a ton of wobbling lame ducks etc. I actually saw a really long story about all the things he does wrong during the season. And the funny thing is, a lot of these things were things he didn't do when he entered the league. I guess if you are Peyton Manning's QB coach, are you really going to try and tell him he's doing things wrong? It was kind of the same way with Brett Favre. Once you've proven results, you have a lot more rope to hang yourself with. The fact that they do them, however, doesn't mean everybody else should get a pass. BTW, if Bortles runs like a tight end, he'll probably end up running a 4.7 - 4.8. There were only 2 TE's at the combine who managed to run 4.6 or better - A.C. Leonard from Tennessee St. ran 4.5 and Eric Ebron, who people are describing as an athletic freak and is pretty much a lock to be the first TE selected was a 4.6 on the nose. Beyond Ebron, Amaro was 4.77 and the other two names I've heard at the top, Niklas and Seferian-Jenkins didn't run. Mayock repeatedly pointed out that every TE who has run 4.6 or better in the last decade has been drafted.
The only quarterback I compared Blake to is Cam and that's who he looked like in the game against Baylor. But you go right ahead and think I was comparing him to Manning or whatever.
It seems like a hard habit to break, and one that will be even harder to break with Newton as your RT. God the Texans line sucks. Sometimes I have second thoughts about drafting OT with a trade down and getting the best defensive player available with a later first rounder.
And a slow delivery and whacko feet under pressure. Maybe I am being too critical because I am comparing him to Bridgewater but it is not even close between the too.
