IMO Brees was particularly good at getting the ball out quick and moving in the pocket. I think he would have done okay here.
I'll admit, having had rotator cuff problems myself (which ended my college baseball career) I thought C-Pepp was the safer pick. If you were take injuries out of the equation though, it would have been Brees no question. Ironically, I thought at the time Brees could end up like Pennington after an injury like that
I remember the arguments. And yes, Saban followed the advice of the team doctor's (from what we are led to believe) so he can't be faulted for making the choice. Water under the bridge at this point, let's talk about something more relevant, like why Ginn instead of Quinn?
Culpepper was particularly good at throwing on the run and doing a particularly good imitation of a power RB when the passing game broke down. When he lost his mobility, he didn't have the poise in the pocket to transition to a pocket passer.
ACtually, wasn't is Nick Satan that made the choice for Culpepper over Brees? but I despise him just as much as Wanny!!
Moss was a viking in 04 I believe, I think he missed a couple of games, and yes, that was Culpepper's year, I think he was racing Manning for TD totals if I remember correctly.
Jury on all three of those is still out. Two have had one good year and one hasn't even had one good year.
Yeah, but when most rookie QBs falter early the ones that don't really shine. They're only going to get better for the most part.
well, if we're gonna rehash the past, then we should do it logically. no way we take Ginn #9 overall if we already have Boldin and Ginn. It has nothing to do with Ginns status on this team. It just makes sense given the hypothetical team that we "could" have had. Although logic might say that we wouldnt have been picking at #9 if we had those pieces in place. And who would our coach be if we had Brees, Boldin, Holmes, and Ronnie? Perhaps Cameron would still be here. Maybe Saban wouldnt have bailed. Nah...probably Cameron.
I think everything involved with being an NFL QB started to click for Brees his last year in San Diego -- the one that kept Rivers on the bench. The game had slowed down, and his decisions were, in general, very good. He had become a great passer. Obviously, one can't substantiate this, but I have no doubt he would have done well in Miami. Depending on how imaginative Saban and his OC would have been letting Brees throw the ball, I think the sky would have been the limit. At the time, the injuries to him and Culpepper had to factor, but I remember being totally let down when we pulled the trigger on the Culpepper trade and Brees signed with New Orleans within minutes. I think he wanted to be in Miami at the time. My poor son was in the car with me when I heard the news, and he had to listen to my lamenting over and over. Alas, we could also have blown the 2nd round draft choice instead of giving it up in a trade, and that's always more fun come draft day. One thing's for sure, even when his receivers -- Bush, Colston, Moore, or any of that company -- get hurt, the machine that is the New Orleans offense just keeps chugging away, and Drew Brees is the straw that stirs that drink. Kudos to Sean Payton for letting his grip it and rip it. That's a fun offense to watch.
All true. In a perfect world, those skill positions would have been set and Willis is there for the taking. Kinda like how Oakland had a chance to draft Cutler, then could've taken Calvin Johnson the next year. Instead, they opted for Michael Huff (bust) then had to take Russel in 2007.
i know that and agree, but I think it's a little early to be anointing them franchise quarterbacks yet.
Admittedly, I have not watched either of Oakland's first two games. If he did well in those two games, they were the first two.
Huff was definitely looking like a bust but has played well the last two games. Both games Oakland D has played relatively well. I think Seymour was a HUGE pickup for them.
I know it is way too early to say that Flacco, Ryan and Sanchez will all have good careers, but I think they all are pretty much in the driver's seat as the Ravens/Falcons/Jet's franchise quarterbacks. I know Sanchez has only played two games but I think it is safe to say from his two victories that he will likely be their QB this year and probably for many more years. Time will tell. I didn't start this thread so much to play the "What If" game....but I think the bottom line is the one position that you have to get right is the QUARTERBACK spot. You can miss on most other positions and substitute other people, but your QB is the face of your organization and the leader of team. Your QB affects everything you do, the system your run, the plays you call. It also affects the type of receivers and running backs you have and how you use them, and also has a big impact on your line and their blocking schemes. We can either play musical chairs with the QB spot and try a new guy every year, or we can take a really critical look at the QBs we have and ask whether we have our franchise QB. I think Pennington is above average and did a great job last year, but I don't know if he is a guy who can take us to a Superbowl. So we have to decide on whether Henne or White are our future franchise QB. I don't think either one is a franchise QB. We can continually draft a QB in the 2nd round like we have the last three years (Beck, Henne, White), or we can draft a Tim Tebow/Sam Bradford/Colt McCoy next year in round one, and make him the franchise QB. I think the problem is most fans want to win it all right now and the coaching staff is always under pressure to win or get fired. We either have to be patient with Henne and White and hope one will emerge as the franchise QB, or we have to draft another one.
Culpepper was the logical pick over Brees. Essentially you had a QB in Brees coming off a shoulder injury (throwing) while in C-Pep you had a guy coming off a Knee injury. Now I believe if we had a better line C-Pep would have been pretty good. Well he got us good when Oakland came to Miami......
I agree with your first sentence. Further, Saban apparently had some medical info, or believed he had some medical info, or alluded to the fact that he had some medical info (which could have been a lie), indicating Brees condition was less than solid. C-Pep performed just as the Minnesota fans said he would; he choked under pressure. I went into it with an open mind as I never really watched much Minny ball. I'd heard the rep though and saw enough in that first night vs. Pitt to tell me that season was going to be a loser as long as CPep was QB. I watched 2 more games and saw more of the same and said I would not watch the Phins again as long as that guy was the QB.
And Brees choked under pressure in San Diego. In fact the only time he did well was when the Chargers drafted his replacement and all pressure was let off of him. Then when he was starter the next year, he choked and got hurt. It wasn't like Brees was a shining quarterback with the only question being his torn rotator's cuff. The guy sat as a rookie, had two ears of being a bad quarterback. Had one amazing year, and then came back down to earth the next year and got hurt.
