Gruden sounds high period. He sounds like that with a lot of quarterbacks. Heck, he sounds like that when he's talking to Mike Tirico. You can only hold on to hope for so long. The Texans are sending out signals now (and have been in Johnny's case) that they aren't going quarterback. Letting the fans get over it now.
here's the thing -- no. can't make the deep pass, small hands, and of course the slight build... the NFL's a big step up from the AAC... the kid's gonna get RGIII'd with one hit
Lol @ anyone who thinks "deep ball" is an important metric. Kid plays smart, he is light years ahead of any other QB in determining blitz pickups, huge trait necessary at the pro level. Definitely still weary and wouldn't mind taking Clowney or Mack (who played at BUFFALO ) instead of him, but he's the only QB worthy of a 1st rd pick.
I like three things about Teddy: 1. His intelligence- from all accounts he is a student of the game. The clip of him analysing a formation and coverages with Gruden impressed me. He is striving to get better. 2. Poise under fire. The stats tell us that he stays accurate when blitzed. Manziel and Bortles can't say that right now. 3. Experience in a pro offense. He is adept at making audibles and leading an offense. I would like it most if the Texans could trade back and select him at pick 4, but if O'Brien and the organization choose him with the first pick, I have no problem. I think he will be an excellent QB in the NFL.
A national writer pretty much sums up everything we've been saying the past month: http://grantland.com/features/teddy-bridgewater-blake-bortles-nfl-draft-pro-day-meaningless/ At this point though there's not gonna be any convincing either of the sides. So if you are anti-Bridgewater, just ignore this link and move on with your life. It'll save all of us the trouble. But of course you'll post. Who can stop you.
I like Teddy and think he will be the better QB out of the top three. It's just that there are other positions that are more deserving of the 1st pick than any of the QB's. At #4 would be perfect.
Do you mean like Clowney. Who said he is a hard worker and doesn't take plays off but only managed 3 sacks...??? Yes, that sounds very deserving.
The Teddy believers, I think, perhaps would have preferred: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-XCmb6t6Zw
Good ESPN Insider article on Bridgewater. Don't know if its already posted yet. Wouldn't mind trading up if he falls past 20. The risk/reward involved in investing a first-round pick in a quarterback is tremendous. Two years ago, famed NFL general manager Ernie Accorsi told ESPN's Colin Cowherd that no price is too high to pay if the quarterback turns out to be great, but, if he turned out to be a bust, the move could set a franchise back five to seven years. Although none of the quarterbacks in this year's class is considered a can't-miss prospect, it seems this type of home run or strikeout dichotomy is making teams think twice about selecting Louisville Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, in particular, with one of the first choices in the 2014 NFL draft. The puzzling part about this trepidation is there are an overwhelming number of factors pointing toward Bridgewater being as close to a sure thing QB prospect as can be found in any year's draft -- and, if he does slide, he could end up being a steal for the team that takes him. Let's take a look at the case for using a first-round pick on Bridgewater. The Parcells rules In his long tenure as a successful talent evaluator, Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells came up with a list of seven criteria he used when drafting quarterbacks. 1. Be a three-year starter 2. Be a senior in college 3. Graduate from college 4. Start 30 games 5. Win 23 games 6. Post a 2-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio 7. Tally a completion rate of 60 percent or higher Different eras of passing can lead to reasonable questions about how the rules are applied, but the idea behind them is important: It should help you find a durable, accurate and self-motivated passer who can hit big plays while avoiding mistakes and who will finish what he starts. It is extremely difficult to find first-round-caliber quarterbacks who meet all seven rules. In the BCS era (which encompasses the 1999 through 2013 NFL drafts), only nine players can make the claim to have done this (listed alphabetically): Drew Brees, Robert Griffin III, Byron Leftwich, Matt Leinart, Andrew Luck, Eli Manning, Chad Pennington, Philip Rivers and Tim Tebow. That group includes two quarterbacks who have won a combined three Super Bowls rings and three Super Bowl MVP awards (Brees and Manning), a player with five playoff berths and 79 wins as a starter (Rivers), another with playoff berths in all four years he started 10 or more games (Pennington), and two of the best young passing talents in the NFL (Griffin and Luck). In other words, six out of these nine prospects turned out to be pretty good picks. Bridgewater was a three-year starter with 36 starts and 27 wins, a 72-24 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 68.4 percent career completion percentage. He also graduated in December 2013 with a degree in sports administration, thus becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. The only area he comes up short in is being in his senior season before entering the NFL draft. That seemed to be something of a technicality, so I checked with Parcells, who responded: "I would give him a pass since he graduated. That shows motivation there." Bad decision rate Bad decision rate is a tape-based metric that measures how often a quarterback makes a mental error with the football that leads to a turnover opportunity for the opposing team. [+] EnlargeTeddy Bridgewater Andrew Weber/USA TODAY Sports Teddy Bridgewater had a very productive career at Louisville. This metric is important because it illustrates how adept a passer is at protecting the football. The bar for excellence here can vary depending on the type of system a quarterback plays in. In dink-and-dunk offenses, any BDR total of less than 2 percent is considered upper-tier and scoring around 1 percent is considered elite. For gunslingers, finishing below the 3 percent BDR level is a sign of superb play and scoring below 2 percent is elite. In his games against teams from BCS-caliber conferences, Bridgewater amassed an incredibly low 0.6 percent BDR. He had zero mistakes of this nature on short passes (aerials thrown 10 or fewer yards downfield) and had an astonishingly low 1.8 percent BDR on vertical passes (those thrown 11 or more yards). This stacks up extremely well against some of the best college QB seasons in recent memory, including Luck in 2011 (2.9 percent BDR, 1.6 percent vertical BDR), Griffin in 2011 (3.1 percent BDR, 7.0 percent vertical BDR) and Cam Newton in 2010 (1.7 percent BDR, 3.0 percent vertical BDR). Bridgewater's performance in this area might be even better than Griffin's or Newton's in the sense that he posted his BDR totals in a vertically based pro-style NFL offense versus the offenses Griffin and Newton played in. All quarterbacks have to make an adjustment upon joining the NFL, but this quality decision-making history bodes very well for Bridgewater to keep his mistake totals at a more than acceptable level in the pros. Performance when blitzed/under duress Bridgewater also displayed a Tom Brady-like ability to produce in situations when the other team blitzed or when the pocket collapsed and he was under pass-rush duress. According to ESPN Stats & Information, last season Bridgewater posted a 70.1 percent completion rate (second in the nation) and an 11.0 YPA (yards per attempt) mark when the opposing team sent five or more pass-rushers. Those aerials additionally netted an amazing 15-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Bridgewater completed 53.5 percent of his passes when under duress (defined as situations when a quarterback is forced from the pocket, forced to alter his throwing motion, forced to move within the pocket because of pressure, having a defender clear in his line of sight or being hit while throwing), a mark that ranked third nationally. Size Perhaps the biggest concern that has been raised about Bridgewater is that his lean frame could prevent him from being able to stay healthy for 16-game NFL seasons year after year. But, although it's true he doesn't have the prototypical 6-foot-4, 239-pound frame of someone such as Luck, the reality of the situation is he more than measures up in this area. His 6-2 height, which hasn't been as much of a concern, places him equal to Andy Dalton, Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers and Griffin. He also is taller than Brees (6-0) and current Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson (5-11). Bridgewater will need to put on some weight, as his 214-pound measurement at the combine and 208-pound measurement at his pro day are on the small side, but even if he bulks up to just 225 pounds for his NFL career, it would make him equal in weight to Rodgers and Brady and heavier than Sam Bradford (224 pounds), Jay Cutler (220), Dalton (220), Eli Manning (218), Matt Ryan (217), Alex Smith (217), Griffin (217), Brees (209) and Wilson (206). What this shows is Bridgewater can land anywhere within these parameters and be of comparable bulk to some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Ultimately, his frame is a factor worth considering, but I don't think it should be considered a giant red flag that prevents him from being drafted early. Bottom line There is no guarantee Bridgewater will become an elite NFL passer, and factors such as his lean frame and subpar pro-day workout appear to be causing some significant reservations for teams considering drafting him. But this is a player who rates out very well in two of the most critical factors to quarterback success -- decision-making and performance under pressure -- and who possesses the experience and intangibles to succeed at the next level. History shows players of this caliber are very rare, and that scarcity should make Bridgewater one of the top picks in the 2014 NFL draft. If he slides down the board at all, he could develop into one of this year's draft steals.
Great article, hopefully the Jags and Titans don't see it Jags would be flat out idiots to pass on him though
His draft stock seems to go a lot like aaron rodgers draft stock. They were both considered for the no. 1 pick, but for whatever reason they kept dropping.
He's really thought to be falling past 20? Yeah, if that happens trade whatever you have to and get him.
Yup, and if he can manage to sit on the bench for 3 years working on his game and trying to max out his frame before taking over the starting gig, he might find some success so long as he makes sure to always have his gloves with him. There is a reason he's falling though. He doesn't have the physical talent to be a successful NFL QB even though he's smart. Trading up is a possibility, but it would have to be fairly cheap because the Texans have a lot of holes they need to fill and can't be wasting a ton of picks on a QB project.
These "sources" that claim Bridgewater would fall are the same sources that were saying Geno Smith was a top 15 or even top 5 qb
You've got it backwards, the same people that thought Geno Smith was the top QB in the draft were the same people who thought Bridgewater was the top QB in the draft. It's the same fall albeit for different reasons and Bridgewater won't fall as far as Geno did. His lack of physical competence is a HUGE red flag because he doesn't get to play the real games on Madden.
1. The only place he is falling he is falling is in the media's eyes, the media tend to be very wrong 2. He has the physical talent to succeed
