Ryan Mallett "sensational" during workout; Could Dolphins be interested?

Mallett showed me enough in the Sugar Bowl to have zero interest. Not much more athletic than Henne and IMO falls apart under pressure. Looks great in drills though. And there's something going on in that head other than football. Watching him on the sidelines during tight games was disturbing. NO THANKS

 

As for the particulars of how you've graded these plays and designated which ones he was "forced to change direction" and which ones he was not, MOST of them I can agree with. But there are some that are very questionably designated.

For instance you've said that Play #07 (1:19 in the video) is one where he was not forced to change directions. On the other hand, you've designated Play #09 (1:46) as one where he was "forced to move". I find the fact that you've designated these two plays differently to be suspect. If anything, they should be graded exactly opposite. You seem to be against a quarterback using subtle movements to beat pressure, and on Play #09 all Ryan Mallett does is take one short step up into the pocket before releasing the ball with a defender wrapped around his legs. Whereas, on Play #07, the guy he wanted to throw the ball to wasn't looking for it yet, and there was a linebacker blitzing freely up the middle, both of which forced him to turn his throwing motion into a pump fake, pull the ball down, scramble forward through the pocket and release the ball while running.

Take Play #10 (1:53) as another example. You've said that he was not forced to change direction. But clearly that's exactly what he does. He sets up in the pocket right in the middle of the hash marks at the 37 yard line. Problem is, that LDE is outside rushing Dominguez and has beaten him soundly and is aiming directly for that spot. Mallett senses him and is forced to step up and to the right. By the time he releases the ball, on the run, he's actually OUTSIDE the tackle box, at the 40 yard line. Let's say instead of throwing the ball at a receiver, he threw the ball into the 3rd row of the stands. Well, there would be no intentional grounding penalty, because he was out of the pocket. So he goes from middle hash at the 37 yard line to right hash at the 40 yard line, which is a distance of 7 yards by the way, and somehow he wasn't forced to move? How did he get there then? Was he just standing still and then teleported from one spot to another spot 20 feet away? Yet if you look, he does literally the EXACT same thing on Play #13 (2:26), and you've correctly designated this as a play where he was "forced to change direction".

Take Play #15 (2:43). He's clearly setting up to throw at the 11 yard line, right on the left hash. He sees Cameron Heyward busting straight up the middle and starts moving to the right. By the time he's released the ball he's nearly middle of the hashes at about the 12 and releasing the ball on the run. How could this POSSIBLY be a play where he was "not forced to change directions"?

How does Play #20 (3:43) have the look of a designed play? Look at the OLs, are any of them releasing to the left to block for the runner? Look at the route concepts in play elsewhere on the play. It was a normal play but an abnormal defense. This is what you want, a QB that reads the overload blitz from his right and is decisive about how he's going to beat that blitz. Because of the blitz, the linebackers on the side of the running back's flare route are forced to rotate into the zones vacated by the blitzers. Mallett makes a quick decision to step up into the pocket to avoid the overload blitz and get the ball to a running back that is flaring in the opposite direction of the rotation of the linebackers to that running back's side. It was a really keen decision on his part and I have no doubt it would have gained a lot of yardage, but if he just sat there and was NOT decisive about it, and didn't move to avoid the blitzers, he'd have been toast.

As for Play #23 (4:20) you say he was not forced to change direction. I don't get it. He moves no more or less on this play than he did on Play #20, which you admit was one where he was forced to move (with the stipulation that you thought it looked designed rather than decisive). On #23 he reads the blitz from the right side and steps up further into the pocket than he should, in order to make sure he stays clean. How was Play #20 any different?

Then on Play #24 (4:27) again you say "not forced to change direction". I can only take it that you're saying that stepping up into the pocket and releasing the ball on the run doesn't count because he's running vertically in relation to how he started. That's fine and good but there are several plays above where you designated the guy as having been forced to change direction when that's exactly what he did, step up into the pocket vertically.

And Play #27 (4:58) you've said he was not forced to change directions. That's just ridiculous. I shouldn't even HAVE to address this one. It's plain for anyone to see that he recognizes the overload blitz from the left side WHILE dropping back and immediately begins sprinting to the right in order to get away from it. He goes from dropping straight back to sprinting to the right as hard as he can, and then whipping the ball to his receiver at a dead run while a defender is wrapped around his ankles. The notion that anyone would disqualify this play from seeing how a guy would deal with pressure in the NFL is absurd.

I don't disagree with your designation of Play #32 as being forced to change direction, but how is it different from the play above at #29 where he sprinted out to the right similarly to avoid pressure? Also, you say I'm too easy on him, but this is a play where I criticized Mallett for not seeing the green dog (delayed) blitzer. I said, and mean it, that he got lucky on the play. He sprinted right into the teeth of the delayed blitz, because he saw Von Miller crashing Dominguez' inside shoulder, and he wanted to get away from that. He got lucky that the guy that blitzed him just was not very disciplined or athletic, and so all he had to do was keep sprinting right and the guy lost contain. What I was communicating when I said he didn't see the green dog blitzer and he got lucky is, this was a play not unlike one I criticized of Colin Kaepernick where against a corner blitz he spun out to the side of the corner blitzer and that cornerback lost contain, allowing Colin to run 20 yards for a big TD against Boise. My criticism there was, were you good? Or just lucky that this is college rather than the pros?

But Play #34 (6:57), again I have trouble finding the consistency of your designations. You say this is one where he was forced to change directions. I don't get how. It was a designed play-action roll out to the right side. He's rolling to the right off the play-action just as the play is designed, and his vector never changes despite the pressure. Yet on Play #27, which was NOT a designed sprint out, he has to improvise a sprint to his right off a straight non play-action drop, because of an overload blitz. He doesn't get credit for changing directions on that one but he does on a designed play-action roll out? I don't get that. On this one he continues rolling the same direction, and really his speed doesn't even change. He underestimated the speed of the guy that was in pursuit, and released the ball too late, which allowed the guy to hit him and affect the accuracy of the throw.

On Play #36 (7:25), I think I just have to point to our philosophical differences. You don't like a guy handling pressure by side-stepping it or stepping up into the pocket or otherwise keeping your eyes up field so that you can keep the play alive. You'd rather the guy pull the ball down, sprint out and shake a defender, then re-acquire the field and find someone that's uncovered. That's a philosophical difference. On this play he CLEARLY moves to avoid a defender. He sees the defender busting through the line as he drops back and when he plants his back foot, he moves to the left to avoid the guy and make the throw. This is a classic Dan Marino move, but for you...he gets no credit. It's not a move that applies to the pro game, so you say. I disagree very strongly.

Play #40 (8:11), not pressured? The entire right side of the line is collapsing in a heap of bodies hurtling straight toward him! Not pressured? He CLEARLY senses it and makes the decision to change directions, step to the left, and make his throw.

As for the rest I don't need to grade it as they're run plays.

Based on correcting your incorrect grade designations, I would say that he completed 19 of 27 passes (70%) when forced to change directions instead of simply backing up and throwing off his back foot, or continuing the same pace and direction of his designed roll out. That would mean he was 8 of 15 (53%) on passes where he was generally trying to get away with backing off the defense and throwing off his back foot. And altogether on the two types of ways of dealing with pressure, he was 27 of 42 (64%).

As for the basis of your wanting to differentiate between the plays, I suppose it's interesting to differentiate which plays he's actually forced to step up or sprint out in order to avoid pressure, as opposed to the ones where he backs up and throws off his back foot...but I don't find much value in it. In the NFL, quarterbacks are regularly required to do both. And the guys he models his game after, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, are experts in the art of sensing pressure early (which Mallett does, consistently), moving subtly and decisively to avoid it, and making the throws. Our own Dan Marino was the king of that, which makes it surprising that you want to give Ryan Mallett no credit for plays where he reacts to pressure the way pros do.

 

I'm in a place for the next two weeks where I have limited ability to watch videos (weak signal) so I can't rewatch the ones above. I know that there were two or three plays that I debated when I went through them before but I will stick with my conclusion since I can't rewatch them. And more importantly I'll stick with my overall conclusion that Mallet's lack of athleticism will be a hindrance in the NFL and as a result I can't give him a first round grade. The way pressure comes in today's NFL game requires the QB to move to succeed or to be such a film rat that he recognizes things so fast that he can anticipate. I don't see enough reason to believe that Mallett can do that in the NFL.

 

If there's a work stoppage, then Mallett is not a guy I feel comfortable giving months of free time to.


That's a drive by shooting waiting to happen. lol. J/k.

 

Nice post, and thanks for the work.

The importance of 3rd down success is one of the reasons I haven't given up on Henne....... and as similar as people say Mallett is to Chad, I don't see the correlation when it comes to converting 3rds.

 

OK...first of all, how did you watch a twelve minute video and comment on it five minutes after CK posted it?

Second, are you kidding me? Ryan Mallett looked awesome out there under CONSTANT pressure every play. I will even say that I thought I saw a little Marino in him. We need to draft this kid if we can.

 

Yes, there definitely is a little bit of Marino in the way he feels the rush and moves to avoid it.

 

Reminds me more of Phillip Rivers just have that feel about his game, I know Rafi doesn't like his game, to me he has the sort of mindset it takes to be great in the NFL, in that sense he is the polar opposite of Chad Henne, Mallet would be the type of guy to talk smack with Jay Cutler during pregame warmups..I like that in a Qb.

I like that in players in general, I think Sparano and Irish have combed the roster looking for Compliant players, not Cocky, Aggressive ones, their "makeup" is a detriment to performance imo.

It forces them to perform, to not take the easy, but mostly unproductive completion, to push the ball.

Of all of the things I've seen from Rook Qb's really since I've started rewatching football in 06, it is how meek these guys are, like they are "quite humble and hardworking never making mistakes nor plays", what happened to the gunslinger Rookie Qb who had no fear?

I have not seen one in a very long time.

 

The post five minutes later was based on my watching the video CK had posted in the Club several days earlier. I then posted a play by play review of the video CK posted here. I'm not sure if it was the same compilation each time but obviously it was made up of many of the same plays.

I didn't see Marino. I saw a skinnier Druckenmiller.

 

I like cockiness in a QB. I just don't think it makes up for all flaws. And I really don't think it makes up for a poor work ethic. My guess is that Mallett will come in and once he gets his shot have a couple of big games and then disappear.

 

Something else I noticed in your video was that Ryan Mallett runs a very nice play-action pass. Something Dan Marino was very sloppy at, imo.

 

That's true. Mallett, not unlike Newton, has some pretty big hands and he's able to run some good play-action fakes.

 

Moves like Dan Marino, play-fakes like Boomer Esiason, and throws like Drew Bledsoe. What's not to like?

 

mallett is the only QB I saw in this year's draft that has a "chance" of being special. Having said that, I think he's a helluva roll of the dice. I think he's decent value once you get past the ten pick but you have to be willing to completely bust on the pick to take him. He is the defeinition of boom or bust. He reminds me a bit of Flacco and that didnt turn out too poorly for the Ravens so if we do go that direction I will cross my fingers. He is wildly inconsistent. Whether that goes away I dont know

 

You talked about that mindset of Mallett, thats whats so facinating about his projection, he might just have that specific type of cockiness that translates,like a young Rothlesberger..

Thats where the comparison ends for me, Roth can do it alll....for me, iam doing my best to not just fall in love with the arm..its been a personal weakness of mine in evaluating QB's...but man, if you want someone who's gonna stand big and tall in the pocket, survey and deliver with velocity and touch, he's the guy.

 

for those who correlate work ethic and the way an athlete takes care of his body, his work ethic is poor.

 

Has feet like the Lady Liberty?

 

For all this talk about how all these QBs suck and we should just pass on all of them, or so and so is the only guy that "might" make it...there are going to be 4 or 5 QBs taken in the first round a Draft that is going to be as free from "need picking" as any we've ever seen.

Think about this for a moment. It's a stretch to think about a rookie QB starting in the best of times. The lockout and inability for a rookie to acclimate to the team and offense for quite a while, makes that even more difficult. The season is in question period, so picking based on current needs makes less sense anyway. Meanwhile, with free agency coming AFTER the Draft, a team can enter the Draft thinking...if I don't get a shot at a quarterback at what I consider to be the right value for him, I'll just hit the free agent market (when it comes). It's not going to be full of talent, but there are going to be guys with starting experience changing teams this free agency, one way or another (Matt Hasselbeck, Carson Palmer, Vince Young, Kevin Kolb, Marc Bulger). In most drafts, free agency has already passed. Teams that didn't get a good QB know heading into the Draft that they need to get one. That leads to more need picking.

In THAT environment, IF teams do indeed take 4 or 5 quarterbacks in the 1st round as some people are suggesting they will, to be sitting here saying none of the QBs are worth a damn or that maybe only one of them will make it, etc...you're betting pretty damn hard against a collective body of guys that collectively have centuries of football experience and knowhow.

 

According to national football post we have set up a private workout with mallett at the end of the month.

 

Chad Henne is far worse.