http://finnation.com/?p=2906 Run of the mill mock, but I like Ponder and Marecic at FB/ILB. Good SI feature on Marecic: "Owen Marecic sits on a wooden stool in Stanford's Athletic Hall of Fame room, his long blond locks twisted into a bun and his 6'1", 244-pound build evoking an odd cross between Grandma Moses and the Incredible Hulk. A few feet away a clutch of cameras and microphones await coaches and teammates to be interviewed, and on either side of Marecic are glass cases containing relics of and tributes to Stanford athletes who rose above the rest. The whole room radiates limelight, which Marecic always does his best to deflect. Asked about the most gratifying aspects of playing football, he doesn't talk about knocking an opponent on his back. What Marecic revels in is "having the whole defense work together to stop a play, or having the whole offense work together to achieve some greater goal." Marecic says this in a voice as soft as a lullaby, the last thing one would expect from a man Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh calls "the perfect football player." "In 30 years of being in college and pro football, I haven't seen a guy like him," says Harbaugh. "He does everything right, all the time, the first time. He has everything—strength, humility, intelligence. He's everything I envisioned being as a football player." As the Cardinal's starting fullback and middle linebacker Marecic (pronounced mah-REE-sik) isn't just perfect, he's unique: He is the only player in I-A who is starting on both sides of the ball. In last Saturday's 68--24 blowout of Wake Forest he played 52 snaps in the first half—27 on defense, 25 on offense. (With the game's outcome secure he played sparingly in the second half.) A handful of players have started both ways in the last 20 years, most of them at wide receiver and cornerback, such as Georgia's Champ Bailey (1996--98) and Ohio State's Chris Gamble (2001--03). Unlike those two Marecic, a senior captain, is playing a brutally concussive combination that was the province of such football legends as Jim Thorpe, Bronko Nagurski and, more recently, Chuck Bednarik, the so-called Last 60-Minute Man who had menaced opponents as center and linebacker for Penn back in the 1940s before moving to the NFL. "On a team like ours middle linebacker is the identity of the defense, and fullback is the identity of the offense," says Harbaugh. "That's where real football players play. Vince Lombardi would be proud of Owen Marecic." continued... Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1174606/index.htm#ixzz1KRg30LpM
lol, this is probably the worst Fins mock draft I have seen yet. We take a QB that was projected 5th-6th round 3 months ago with the 15th over all pick? I rather go all defense again than take any of these QBs in the first. Then we go Delone Carter in the 3rd, when there is a chance that Jones, Murray, Thomas, and Hunter will be all available with that pick? I know a lot of you like Rob Housler, but I have rated as my number 6 or 7 TE available, so I wouldn't be too happy with that pick in the 4th round. If we snag him in the 5th or 6th some how...then I'm fine. But, I rather target DJ Williams, Virgil Green, or Julius Thomas in the 4th (basically whoever of the 3 are available at that time). Brandon Fusco? I don't know anything about the guy, so no comment. Owen Marecic? No thanks. We are set at FB with Polite and I would like to deviate away from the "throwback team" mentality. Give me Jock Sanders or Dwayne Harris or Ricardo Lockett or any other guy that can make plays on offense and special teams. K.J. Black seems like a guy that has no shot at making the roster. A 7th round QB from Prairie View. Again...would rather go with special teamers or other projects that could at least create competition. Mario Fannin is a nice pick. I like him. Cameron Bradfield? Known nothing about him either, so w/e. Just sayin. This is not an appealing draft at all. I'm hoping we really focus on moving our picks in this draft, though. Trade down in the 1st and pick up a 2nd + later round pick. Then move our two 7ths and 6th to grab another 5th.
Ponder was never projected as a 6th round pick. His floor was the 2nd round round. Adam Schefter is now saying that he and Dalton will go in the late 1st. If Ponder is the target, I would prefer to trade down to 25 or so. He’s the most pro-ready QB in the draft.
Ponder was graded by many as a early two, possible late one before last season. He's always been highly thought of.
Marecic is the kind of player you see on Championship caliber teams. If we have a chance to draft him w/o costing us a TE or stud COP back, he would do nothing but make us better as a team.
Can't tell if you guys are being serious. nfldraftbible and walterfootball both had him at 4th-6th round before the senior bowl. Every mock draft I saw had him going in the 3rd round or later. Quote from Mel Kiper in January: "Christian Ponder, average arm, super smart, he was was the only player from an FBS school that already earned his MBA going into his senior year this past season. Accuracy is good. I thought he was somewhat of a poor man’s Chad Pennington going into the year. I think his stock has slipped a bit, you know he had the injury this year he had to try to work through. I thought he was maybe a second round pick early in the year if he would have had a real good season. I think third to fifth round for him." I don't think highly of Kiper, but he is usually pretty good at projecting rounds where players are taken. Mike Mayock didn't even have Ponder on his top 5 QBs right after the senior bowl. During the season, his stock slipped a ton. Then it obviously went up after the senior bowl and combine.
I can assure you that we’re being serious. Ponder has always been well-received among scouts and draftniks. Walter Football? They rank players depending on personal biases (their continual “Cam Newton is an idiot” stuff) and workout numbers. By the way, NFL Draft Bible’s big board has Ponder as the 10th best player in this draft. So...
Wes Bunting of National Football Post ranks Ponder as the #1 QB in the draft. That may be a little over the top, but it indicates a little more how widely he is highly regarded. http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/college_big_board_rankings.html&position=qb I'm no expert, but I cannot see a single thing about Gabbert that would make me rank him as a better prospect than Ponder.
Interesting rankings. They have Opie Taylor, oops, Andy Dalton, as the 195th player and a 6th rounder. Can someone tell Peter King about this? EDIT: While I wouldn't think of him as a 1st rounder, the 6th round and 195th ranked overall seems a little ridiculous.
Hair on the head is a largely overrated adornment. I am sure you, Telly, Yule, and Col Kurtz would agree.
yes I would...... except for when it's cold, then I sometimes wish I had it back. lol. Hey, how do you like David Paulson? He seems like a stud in the making from what I've seen.
I agree with you. The one concern with any TE in that offense will be how well they can run block inline. They don't get to do it much.
You guys are missing the point. I'm aware Ponder is one of the top ranked QBs now and is projected to go in rounds 1-2, but I stated that before (a few months ago) he was projected no higher than the 4th round. Fact of the matter is, he had a pretty average season in a weak ACC conference (defense wise) and has an injury history. Before the senior bowl/combine/workouts/meetings, noone had this guy going in the 1st or 2nd. Again, let me throw this out there: I am aware he is one of the top QB prospects now, but 4-5 months ago, he was not. I like Ponder, but there is no way in hell I would take him with the 15th pick. The earliest I would take him is the 3rd-4th round, because I don't see QB as much of a need as all of you think.
He was considered a possible 1-2 going into this year. He got injured, his stock slid, he got healthy, it went back up.
What Alen said. Ponder went from a 1st rounder to a 2nd rounder to a borderline 1st rounder. He was never projected as a 5th or 6th rounder. That’s crazy talk.
And that's exactly what I'm saying...So I'm not sure what you are getting at...His stock was around 4th-6th round for a few months because of the injury and because he didn't do anything special last season. If he didn't have a strong senior bowl, then he would still be a lower round prospect. Again, I like the guy. But, there is no way in hell he has 1st round talent, especially with his injury questions. Apparently you missed my post with all the proof. I know noone likes Mel Kiper, but I even posted a quote from him that had Ponder as a 3rd-5th round projection (this quote was in January). Now, Kiper has him as a late first, early 2nd. And Kiper is pretty close usually with projections in terms of where a guy may be drafted roundwise. Ponder's projection went from 1st-2nd, to 4th-6th after his average season/injury, then back up to 1st-2nd after senior bowl/combine/etc...
Mel Kiper is not consensus anything. He’s one guy. This is like citing only Todd McShay to prove that Jake Locker’s stock has fallen when McShay was the only guy pushing Locker as deserving of the #1 overall pick last year.
Come on, dude. I posted 3-4 sources, including Mike Mayock as well. I don't understand your reasoning...It's not like Kiper had him projected 5th round and everyone else had him projected 1st-2nd. That's too big of a gap. It's not like Kiper was that far off of everyone else a few months ago. Sure he could have. If he laid an egg at the senior bowl and had a poor combine/didn't throw at the combine, then he would have stayed at his previous projection (4th-6th round). The senior bowl and all the events that followed shortly after brought his stock back up to what it was entering the season (that being the 1st-2nd round). I just think there are too many concerns with Ponder. 1. Being his injuries. 2. Being his inconsistency. 3. Being his lack of success. Etc... Say what you want about the talent around him at FSU, but look at the elite QBs. They find ways to win, no matter what talent is around them. 4 losses in 08, 6 losses in 09, and 4 losses in 10 for a top program like Florida State. Again, I like Ponder. But, he is not worthy of a 1st or 2nd round pick imo, even though he may be projected there now.
That's kinda how I see it. Or a team trading up back into the first with someone like Chicago or Seattle to make sure they grab Ponder before anyone else (ala Joe Flacco).
When you see Ponder dropping to the 4th-5th round status, or whatever, then coming back up, that is just how the media portrays him. None of them, or us, really know if NFL teams were doing the same thing in regards to Ponder's value. In Dec/Jan before he was drafted, for example, the media draft gurus also considered Philip Rivers about a 3rd rounder. Questions on his arm strength and passing mechanics they said. Then right before the draft, like a month or so before, he shot up to the first round. IMO, they raised him based on how much interest teams were showing him as for private workouts, interviews, etc. I honestly cannot see how Gabbert is any better than Ponder. IMO, nothing that Ponder does can Gabbert do much better. I'd rather Mallett or Locker than either though.
If this is back in 1983, would Ponder (or Mallett for that matter) still be considered a borderline 1st/2nd round draftee? I honestly don't think so.
At least we can agree on some things. Still, do not want us to take a QB at all in this draft though.
You don't think billion dollar franchises and an insane pressure to win now doesn't force teams to overdraft QBs in a pass dominated league? A lot of these guys need developing. 1st round & "developing" don't necessarily go hand in hand. 20+ years ago these guys were drafted later where they belonged and allowed to develop accordingly.
I couldn't tell you, nearly twenty years ago I was just being born. I would tell you that those GM's back in the day probably understood the importance of the quarterback position as they do today if I had to guess. Sure the league has changed but you gotta remember at that time, there was the Run-N-Shoot, the Coryell offense, the WCO and all of that good stuff. Those offenses were big on the passing game too. Those guys understood the importance of the position. Bill Walsh won it with two different guys. Don Coryell would've won it if he had a respectable defense. Dan Marino would've won something if he had a better defense, etc.
