If Mallett was black and played football like he currently does, he would absolutely be 2nd on my board. I'm not anti black quarterback. You give me a black quarterback that is a pure drop back passer that doesn't run, and I will like him. I am anti run first, athletic, option style quarterback, which is what Cam Newton is. And Cam Newton hasn't ripped apart any defense with his arm the way he has with his legs. He's clearly a run first athlete that happens to play quarterback, and he has not shown the mental aptitude to be an NFL passer.
This is completely false. While Cam Newton is certainly an excellent runner—if he played running back he would be among the best in the country at that position—but his first, second, or even third option is not to run. He is a passer who can run effectively when he needs to. The guy is more Ben Roethlisberger than Vince Young.
To add, Cam Newton had 242 rush attempts to 246 pass attempts this season. Quick. Name me the last college quarterback who had a 1:1 rush to pass ratio who went on to become a successful NFL QB over the long haul.
Big Ben was much more of a passer when he came out. Like I said. Show me another QB with a 1:1 run to pass ratio that succeeded in the NFL. Also, show me a QB with that ratio that isn't considered more of a runner than passer. Netwon's first option is clearly running the ball. Auburn runs the inverted veer out the wazoo. The majority of Gus's offense is based around the inverted veer and the zone read, and when they throw the ball, they set it up via their running game. They do not ask Cam Newton to make any complex reads or many reads period. When they pass, they basically tell Cam that if he doesn't like what his first read looks like, run the ball.
While true that Newton has about the same number of rush attempts as pass attempts, that just tells me he had some 450+ pass plays called, and half of them turned into rushes after Newton went through his progression decided to take off. This is confirmed by watching him play. My recollection is that Vince Young had far more designed runs—though less total attempts—than Newton. Auburn did the same thing with Newton that Florida did with Tebow: they put the ball in his hands and let him win games for them. The guy’s passer rating is incredible—better than Sam Bradford’s best year. Better than Tebow’s, and Boomer will tell you I was on board with Tebow as a legitimate NFL QB prospect. There’s no reason Newton can’t or won’t be the same. Of course, he’ll probably be off the board #3 overall to Cincinnati.
Except that he played one of (if not the best) defenses in college football in Alabama that took away his ability to run the ball and he still beat them with his arm. That game alone made me a believer in Newton. His NFL success for me will come down to how much work he wants to put into it. If he's going to take the Vince Young approach and just try and skate by on his talent and not put in the work to become great, he won't succeed. But if he goes out and puts in the work and cleans up what he needs to work on, IMO he will be an excellent QB in the NFL.
I wasnt big on Cam Newton either until I watched the Alabama game. That game made a believer out of me because they took the run away almost completely. I saw him throw the ball away when he needed to and when he did throw it he was on the money. Not sure about going through his progressions or any of that stuff but his passing performance against an outstanding defense converted me. I'd definately snatch him up if he somehow fell to our pick.
The point about a QB that runs that much is a somewhat valid because many times that player HAS to run to be so successful. I don't think that's the case with Newton. He runs because he can much like Vick is doing in the NFL right now. With Newton though, I think he would be having just as much success if he were in a pro offense where the bulk of the plays were from the pocket. Like dbergan said, just look at what he did against Alabama. Not only are they an outstanding defense, but they took away his option to run the ball and he beat them with his arm. That should speak volumes to his ability as a passer. Again though, like you bring up as I said before it will come down to how great he wants to be. Really though has he given us any reason to doubt his work ethic? If what Boomer said was right, he's a gym rat that is absolutely willing to put in the work.
And that is how it should be , his sucess should be largely dependent on his propensity to work and take this seriously. As I previously mentioned , he has strong recommendations from former Auburn pro players , they love what they see and expressed that to me. Wonder if some people didn't feel Warren Moon could be an NFL QB.... oh yeah , right , he went undrafted .... the same player who ended up in the HOF .
Part of me hopes Luck returns for his senior year........ then we trade our 1st back to a team drafting in the early 2nd (for their 2nd and 2012 1st)..... then hope their 1st ends up becoming a high pick so we can trade up for Luck if no one on our roster emerges next year.
Waiting a year isn't the right option imo. I think this is how it unfolds , Henne comes back and isn't the defacto starter , but has the chance to be if he earns it. Miami drafts a QB high , someone they have a conviction on , not one that is "there when they draft". Miami signs a veteran QB that has some upside , for me I hope that is Jason Campbell. I think he has the chance to have a second half of his career much like say Rich Gannon did , much , much better.
I, Simon Clancy, have just been on the CBS affiliate KFSM, giving an interview to John Engleman and Mike Irwin, for Universal Draft.com, about Ryan Mallett, the top QB's in the 2011 draft and the Arkansas receivers and DJ Williams. I was on for 26 minutes.
BTW , seeing that the three of you are in scattered places and the often cited "planet theory " for drafting players , I always thought you should have named your scouting endeavour Planet Draft , or The Planet Draft , well you get it
Interesting that your interpretation of American was basically mimicking a legal document. That's pretty damn awesome! How did they enjoy your Dick Van Dyke impression?
I asked him the same thing when he announced he was going on the show. Boom, it’s time to drop this whole amateur scout thing and use your position at the Beeb to get some roles in radio dramas and commercial jingles.
I realised my typo in the original!! Yeah it was nervewracking. But I was supposed to be on for 5 minutes and stayed through 4 breaks becasue they asked me too and ended up with 26 mins on air. One of the guys called me a "machine". Which was funny. I decided against the DVD impression. Last minute.
This is the fallacy of looking at the stat sheet and making an evaluation of a player. You have to take into account his ability to go through progressions and read complex coverage schemes when evaluating him as an NFL prospect. If you looked at Chris Relf's passing numbers from the Arkansas game and the Ole Miss game this season, you would probably think he's a passer. He's nowhere near a good passer though. Gus Malzahn's passing offense is very quarterback friendly in that the reads he asks his QBs to make are designed to not make the QB think much. He has predetermined reads for his quarterbacks. For instance, Auburn runs a lot of smash routes. It is a very easy read to make for the QB. His read is the stop route. In his presnap read, if the CB is off, he throws the stop route. If the CB is up, he throws the flag route behind him. After the snap, if neither of those options are there, Gus gives Cam the green light to take off and run. When watching Cam complete passes, you should notice that a majority of the time, he is throwing to wide open players. That's the design of the offense. Gus uses a lot of misdirection and a lot of strange formation shifts to confuse the defense. Once again, the play called typically tells the quarterback who will be open. So, Cam Newton has not been asked to make complex reads or play in a pro style offense that doesn't spread the field out and confuse defenses with misdirection and formation shifts. Also, the running game of Auburn is based off the inverted veer play, centered around Cam Newton. Those 242 rush attempts weren't pass attempts that he ran on. They were runs that were called runs.
That right there is the fallacy and tells me you just haven't seen many of his games. It's OK though, doctors are busy saving lives.
I have a question to the people who have major question marks about Mallett. Would you feel more confident about taking him if the Dolphins somehow got Harbaugh? I think I would.
Haha, I figured there was no changing your mind on that topic Alen. I just feel like while there are real concerns with Mallett there are some pretty good tools to work with as well. A guy like Harbaugh might be able to minimize the bad and maximize the good.
