We're underway! Who is your first week top 2012 draftable performers? For me the focus was mostly on the QBs Drew Luck looked really good in limited playing time Nick Foles with a monster game over a bad Northern Az team Ditto for Landry Jones against Tulsa Dominique Davis had a great game in a loss to SC Kellen Moore - like his game, hate his height Brandon Weeden throwing 3 INTs against Louisiana-Lafayette was not inspiring Who else caught your eyes?
Speaking of Sophomores, Maryland QB Danny O'Brien looked good for a Freshman last year when I saw him and only one game against Miami, but looked good tonight imo. Bad decision on the redzone interception and a few tipped passes but overall, not bad. I had no doubt he'd put them in at least field goal range on their last drive.
Robert Griffin III has something special about him. I'm not an expert by any means but he was spectacular against TCU who had the #1 D in NCAA last eyar and returned almost all of its starters.
Lot of people think Griffin is a 1st rounder. Regardless of what you think of that opinion, he has rare talent. Big arm, mobile and rarely makes mistakes. I think his TD to interception ratio heading into this season was 40-10.
They didn't return almost all of their starters. They lost more than half of their defense. They had 6 new guys out there.
Ok. they still were widely expected to have a top defense again, and are traditionally a very strong defensive team
I was wrong. But TCU was still expected to have a good defense and likely will by the end of the season. Even if their D is not as good Griffin was still incredible.
Before Griffin got de-railed with an injury he was on his way to being the next big ticket item for debate in terms of a guy that could blow up your traditional thoughts about the QB position. I haven't reviewed Matt Barkley's full game yet but from what I saw he looked very good. Ryan Tannehill was OK...but we're talking very low difficulty level. His level of responsibility was akin to what you would have a freshman quarterback try and do in his first big start. All of it was easy stuff. Only two throws were interesting, and of those one of them to me was a bit of iron pyrite. Ryan Lindley on the other hand could have a long season, but adversity provides the context for great prospects to emerge. His receivers are terrible. How could San Diego State plan so poorly at that position? Demarco Sampson and Vincent Brown leave. That's fine, it happens. But because of that you're left with your most experienced receiver being a white non-scholarship walk-on with all of 4 catches in his career, a guy who converted from cornerback to wide receiver just this year, and a cornerback that never even converted just got asked to go out there and run some post routes? Really? Lindley overcame against Cal Poly, and threw 4 TDs to boot, but they'll have to play teams like TCU, Michigan and Boise State this year. Those could be painful experiences. Luckily he's gained a bunch of weight, will help with the hits he's going to take waiting for receivers to get open. Brandon Weeden throwing 3 INTs against LA-Lafayette is less than inspiring but I haven't watched the INTs so we'll see. He started out slow last year as well. I was rather hoping that was due to inexperience, not recurring habit.
So what's your thoughts on Griffin CK? I admit, that the game against TCU was the first time I've seen him and was absolutely blown away. More impressive than Cam Newton was in his first few games last year and you know I was an early Newton lover. Barkley was very good. I didn't see the other guys but it's hard for me to get on Tannehill for being in a simple ofense when he has literally just started playing the position. Let's see how he looks at the end of the year in terms of being asked to do more complex stuff. Right now I see 4 first rounders (Luck, Barkley, Jones and Lindley), then conceivably Griffin, Tannehill and even Kirk Cousins could sneak in there. Next year is the time to rgab one, regardless of what Henne does.
I suppose what we need to remember about Tannehill is that for 2 years he was a receiver at Texas A+M. I know he played QB in HS, albeit as a dual threat guy, but the learning curve will be different to that of a Lindley or a Foles or a Luck, etc.
It's totally understandable for him to be where he's at, but at the same time, you're not a premium NFL prospect just because it's understandable for you to be where you're at. They'll ask him to do more in other games and that's where things will get more interesting. He's learned really fast and I like him as a prospect, just right now I feel like I know more about Lindley than I do Tannehill. It's still 6 guys for me, Luck, Barkley, Lindley, Jones, Weeden, Tannehill, in no particular order. I haven't seen any reason (yet) to add Kirk Cousins to the list. Robert Griffin though...has always for me been a wildcard that's hovering satellite to that group of 6 and could crash into it at any moment. That's still what he is for me though, it's not a group of 7 yet, IMO. Also I just know that Kellen Moore is going to be this year's Mike Kafka/T.J. Yates for me as well. Say what you want about the height or size or whatever, but the guy throws 60 yards without problem and he sees the field so friggin quickly and accurately that he'll have a shot at the next level. Can't blame him for becoming a master of the offense he's studied for countless hours since High School. He could be a coach by the time he leaves school, for sure. I remember during Bill Parcells' draft special he was talking about these spread quarterbacks, and he was trying to explain a difficult concept to explain, about how what you have now are these guys that have been in that style of offense so long that they've mastered every nuance of it and taken it to new levels, and that actually provides NFL coaches with a basis for translation. He underplayed the spread stigma on that basis. When you watch it, you get this feeling like he's specifically talking about Kellen Moore (if you know Kellen Moore as a prospect, his backstory, etc).
Weeden's a sure fire 3rd rounder who won't go in the 1st b/c of his age..... but damn he looks good. His chemistry in the redzone with Blackmon is a thing of beauty.
If Kellen Moore can put on another 15+ pounds, I don't see why he can't develop into the next Drew Brees type incredibly successful system QB.
Nice little QB battle between Weeden and Foles there. Brandon was like 79% completion, Foles something like 72.5%. Both good 7+ YPAs. Weeden a 2/1 ratio, Foles 1/0. Brandon had some ground to make up after throwing 3 interceptions to UL Lafayette last week. Two of those got returned for TDs. It'll be interesting how the NFL treats Weeden's age and especially his injury history. There's a fair chance that they're not going to be kind to him for those things AT ALL...like I would be fine with taking him in the 2nd round because I feel he's a great prospect talent-wise, but I could envision by draft weekend him falling all the way to like the 5th or 6th round based on injury history and the age factor. Wherever he goes, I feel like he's destined to be a steal. What always struck me about him was not just the throwing talent which is there, but the feet and the poise in the backfield. Not easily rattled, and he doesn't take sacks. I believe he's got two sacks so far in these two games. The box score didn't register a sack but they did register a -9 yard run, so I'm just going to assume that was a sack until I see the game, lol. Against UL Lafayette he had one sack. He got sacked an insanely low number of times last year, especially as it relates to the number of attempts he had...and when you watch, it's not necessarily because he's doing all three-step drops or because his offensive line is just that good. The man is just poised, has a ton of confidence in his arm and in his ability to find the open man. He doesn't necessarily move with the intention of breaking clear of pressure, he moves with the intention of buying just enough time and just enough of an angle to hit the guy he wants. That's a really, really good sign...to me. It speaks highly to so many different aspects of a guy's game. It shows he has supreme confidence in his arm, which he should because he's a former 97 mph fast ball pitcher. It shows that he generally develops successful plans prior to each play, and isn't often surprised by what happens after the play starts. It shows that he can keep his eyes on the field even while sensing the pressure that surrounds him. And when it gets right down to it, it shows a level of focus. At least, that's what I read from it.
Is he that unheralded kid who really impressed people this summer while playing with the big boys?..... or am I thinking of someone else?
Sammy Watkins (WR, Clemson) will be a freshman All American and future 1st round pick. As impressive of a player he is, his work ethic and dedication is even more noteworthy. BTW, this Tiger offense is absolutely loaded in talent. ..... and 6'5 280lb freshman DE, Corey Crawford, could end up a top 15 pick.
He is going to enter the draft as the all time winningest QB in ncaa history and 2 inches is going to drop him. He is going to be great value for someone. Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk
He actually plays QB at my former High School. He is one hell of a player that could have gone anywhere in the US if he was a few inches taller. I heard rumors that Peterson had Patti sit down with Moore and they basically told him that he could be their next Moore. Should be fun to watch him there soon.
Jake Stoneburner albeit vs subpar opposition, has tremendous hands and is looking very difficult to cover.
Zach Brown (UNC) has a near Cam Wake type burst. Man he can get to the QB in a hurry from a 2 pt stance. Also looks good in coverage. Playmaker, this kid. Reminds me a little of Lawrence Timmons, too. If he can carry another 15 lbs, which is possible b/c he has a nice base, he could become an outstanding pass rushing 34 OLB. Watching Brown reminds me of the steal the Bucs got in Dekoda Watson. He's jumped onto my potential 1st round wish list.
UNC running back, Gio Bernard (St Thomas Aquinas), is definitely a guy to keep an eye on. Small powerful runner with awesome balance & vision. Could become a special player in the Ray Rice mold.
Rutgers WR, Mohamed Sanu, seems like a potential 2nd or 3rd rounder. Big kid, runs fairly well for his size. Phenomenal hands. Solid possession receiver who looks like he can also make plays down field and in traffic. Ok ability with the ball in his hands.
It was a tough loss, but you guys need to pay attention to Vick Ballard from Mississippi State. He is the most underrated runner in college football.
lol. Wofford's not a bad team. They have a solid offense, and Clemson's not the same against the run without an immediate replacement to Jarvis Jenkins in the middle.
