He didn't make the schedule. He can only play the teams on the schedule. To knock him down or berate him because Louisville didn't play a tougher schedule is just nuts.
Exactly. It just shows how nuts this whole process is. Some fans and media "experts" over-analyze and look for reasons to knock candidates. No one who knows a whit about the game and about QBs can look at Bridgewater and the other candidates and even begin to compare the others to him. It's not even close. He's head and shoulders above the rest. I don't care about what tools Bortles may have. He's only played well for one season (Sanchez anyone?), and didn't play that well in the big game to end the season. Manziel is a playmaker and creator, but he's not the passer or QB Teddy is. Make Manziel basically stay in the pocket and throw, and he's not nearly as effective. Let him run, and he'll get killed. Carr's good, but nowhere near as good as Teddy, nor has he played well as long as or as consistently as Teddy.
Ive been saying for a while that i do not think that this is really that great a QB draft. I think ill be proven right in the end. I think they are all over hyped. While im not saying they will all suck....I dont think there is a prospect that is a cant miss deal.
We'll see. I totally disagree. I think Teddy will be a star. If Carr doesn't wind up on a team with a crappy OL like his brother, he has a chance to be a very good QB. I think Garoppolo has a chance to become a very good starter as well. Manziel could be a star if he stops running and looks to throw the ball instead. IMO, those 4 are the only ones who have a chance to become very good, but if they do, how many other drafts had 4 QBs who became very good? Zach Mettenberger and Blake Bortles both have a ton of talent and have a shot as well. McCarron will probably stick as a career backup simply because there are so many bad QB in the NFL. Boyd might develop into a decent to pretty good QB. If Fales lands in the right system, he might be a decent starter. even Braxton Miller and Bryn Renner might develop into decent/quality backups. Personally, I don't like Aaron Murray, but he's supposedly very smart and has a decent arm, so even he has a shot as well. I don't know anything about the kid from Wyoming, Brett Smith, but even he is supposed to be pretty good. While I don't hold out much hope for Logan Thomas or Stephen Morris, they have talent, so who knows. How many other drafts have had this many QBs who not only had a chance of sticking in the NFL, but becoming quality players? Just because there's not a slam dunk QB or two at the top of the class, doesn't mean that it's not a good draft for QBs.
How many other drafts were a total hype machine all year long after a weak draft for QB's the year before? I think this draft does a have a few starting QB's in it. I'm just not sure where they stand in the current pecking order. In terms of value I'd rather spend later picks on the 6th to 8th QB's in this draft than prime picks on the first 3. You're more likely to actually get a starter out of the prime guys but the cost is going to be very heavy and a team or two are going to wind up bleeding after making the pick. Two of the most hyped QB's in 2011 that were drafted in 2013 wound up going in the 4th round in Matt Barkley and Landry Jones. The difference between Teddy Bridgewater and either one of them might well be that Bridgewater decided to come out as a Junior and is landing as his hype is peaking instead of on the way down a year later. Juniors and Sophomores instead of Seniors. That's the major difference between the 2013 and 2014 drafts from my point of view.
Yeah no. Well said. I'm a little higher on AJ and Murray then you are but pretty much spot on. There are easily 5-6 QBs in this draft better than anyone in last years draft and the top 8 or 9 will all have more of an impact then all but maybe 2 from all of last year. If Mettenberger didn't get hurt, he was looking like a first round talent. And reading about that kid from Wyoming Smith, I agree with you he seems to be pretty talented. Solid solid QB class this year. _
I don't pay attention to hype. I use my eyes. I don't give a crap what the media says. Most of us know more about the game and are better judges of talent than those hacks. I never thought that either Barkley or Jones were worth a crap. If you really think that either are even remotely close to Bridgewater in talent,then I don't know what to say other than I don't think you could be more wrong.
I like what I see out of Bridgewater. He doesn't look like a great QB though. He's one of those guys who is going to come out of a second-tier school and either raise his level of play considerably or wind up in the realization that NFL defenses are 10x better than what he faced in college. Taking him in the top 5 is an extraordinary gamble and you'd better have the goods around him or you're going to be very disappointed in the results.
The guy who pops into my head is Brady Quinn. He was being compared to Tom Brady before the draft and everybody thought the first two picks were going to be the cerebral, cool, methodical Quinn or the strong-armed bomber in JaMarcus Russell. They were all half-right and 100% wrong at the same time. I think if Bridgewater goes to Houston on the 1 he'll have a much better career than he is likely to have anywhere else in that top 8 or so. He'll have real weapons around him in Houston. Everywhere else he goes he's going to have to work very hard with not enough talent and it's really going to be on him to make it all happen.
I don't think you have watched a Louisville game. Most of their talent is on defense. Bridgewater is constantly pass rushed, has to make throws with bodys around him, receivers are prone for the dropsies. Only has one decent receiving option in actuality. He is more than ready for the pros
QBing in the NFL is all about whether or not you can through under pressure. Quinn never had to do that at Notre Dame, thats why I never got the tom Brady comparisons
According to the National Football Post, three general managers with a "serious interest" in this year's quarterback-draft class compare it to 2011's. Per reporter Jason Cole, one GM added "except there’s no Cam Newton." Aside from Newton, the 2011 class included Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker and Christian Ponder. In other words, a bunch of flops. All four players went in the first 12 picks. Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater is generally considered the top talent in this year's class, followed in varying order by Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel, UCF's Blake Bortles and Fresno State's Derek Carr. With as many as seven QB-needy teams picking in the top 10 this May, reaches like 2011's are a definite possibility.
Tom Brady doesn't throw well under pressure. Tom Brady throws brilliantly when he has the opportunity to make a throw without pressure. That's what the Pats offense is all about these days and has been for several years now. It's all about getting him into one of a half dozen throws within a second and a half to two seconds and doing that out of different formations to disguise who is going to be catching the same pass over and over again. The reason the Jets beat the Pats when they do is that Rex Ryan puts QB's under as much pressure as anybody in the NFL and even Tom Brady is not immune to that when it is working.
He's terrible when he is under pressure. It's noticed by defenses. He had this intimidation factor for a few years and that's gone now. Teams are not afraid to blitz him and haven't since moss left.
Brady's doesn't throw well with a man in his face, however he can manipulate the pocket well when confronted with outside pressure
Giants SB x2 showed the whole picture to the national media. TWICE. Pressure up the middle is very hard to handle for QBs - and Tommy boy is not an exception to that. I've been screaming out to get better DL for ages because of that too. [Even though, I must admit, I didn't do it because of the success Giants had against Brady; I was more or less following the train of thought from Jim Johnson's double A-gap stuff.] And Jets finally got 3 premier talent [with a few licking their chops at the sideline] once and for all; it took less than a second for Brady to eat the grass on a few plays. I couldn't be a happier man at that sight. ================================================= [To not hijack the thread] Pressure up the middle is very hard to handle for any QB - and that includes the greatest ones like Peyton or Brady. If you are not mobile, you are dead in the water. [This was why Walsh almost religiously choreographed the entire progression, from 1st look to 3rd/4th look, making his QBs simulate the pressure from the DL coming after them. It paid dividends heavily.] Thus, one 'not handling the pressure well' shouldn't be such a knock on the QB. No QB does well in that situation. Not recognizing the incoming onslaught is quite another - and that's where the problem comes. And really there is no prognosis for this; I am not looking at the arm of the QB any more for this reason. To me, arm is the discriminating factor, not the distinguishing factor. As long as the QB can recognize the intention of the defense, he should be able to make something out of any given play - Oh yeah, unless that said QB happens to be the china doll named Chad Pennington.
This is all fluff pieces put out there by people trying to hurt TB stock. There is no other explanation, baffles me. The kid is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of all the other QB's in this draft on almost every level. Especially from the Football IQ aspect in regards to a pro offense. Bridgewater has been taught to read whole defense, not just one half or quarter, but the whole field. He had to learn this because his offensive coordinator gave him complete control of the play calling, complete control, and he excelled at the responsibility. He is more NFL ready, by far. It's not even close. Teams would have to be out of their minds to not take TB as the first QB in the draft. It would be a huge mistake. I still haven't heard what the big knock is on this kid? What possibly has him ranked lower then the other QB's in this draft? I don't see it at all.
I still think we take Garoppolo in the second if he is there. I have the weirdest feeling that he will be a franchise guy.
