So let's just pretend for a second that Pennington comes back 100% healthy(big pretending). Drafting Cutler would not fill a need at all.
I have to chuckle at the pro-Ferguson folks.... they seem to think it's an absolute LOCK that he will be a pro bowl LT for ten years. Well, that's what the Bills thought, when they took an OT with the #4 pick overall in 2002. Well, that LOCK, OT Mike Williams just got released yesterday. Gallery hasn't sniffed the pro bowl either. As a pro-Cutler guy, I realise he could bust, but the Ferguson folks seem to think he's immune.... like he walks on water.
Its pretty simple.. Teams that don't have a QB don't pass on potential franchise Qbs when they get the chance..
As badly as I want a running back, I have to side with you. Chad is no longer our future. Too bad, but true. I just don't have a lot of faith in Leinart; I think their is potential hype there with him and, yes, even though he won the Heisman in 2004, I am still not convinced. Leinart had an all-world college cast surrounding him his entire time there practically. He will likely take some significant steps backward before he goes forward in the NFL. I like Young the best of them all. The Physical athleticism that the guy posesses at QB is incredible. I am not just tauting the run either. That is a "nice to have", but not overly important. Young can cause a lot of people to miss him in the backfield and buy time. I guy like this is hard to get a clean shot on. PLus, he looks like he could take some punishment and not get hurt. He has shown excellent command presence and a very good arm. I would also be fine with Cutler. He has all the tools to be a force in the NFL. He is not as athletic as Young though. He does have a rifle for an arm with workable mobility. Seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Obviously, he can take some shots too having gone through the "College of Hard Knocks" at Vanderbuilt.
What more could Leinart have done to convince people? Last year, he was praised as the next coming of Peyton Manning, but this year it seems like alot of people are jumping ship. The same could have been said about Carson Palmer, but he turned out to be the franchise QB the Bengals have been looking for. If anything, I think Leinart has a step up on the other QB's in the draft. He played for a former NFL head coach, ran an NFL-style offense, and has proven he is highly successful if given a talented team. And oh yeah, two national championships...he has success written all over him, and he would be well worth the risk.
That post kind of does the opposite for me, and I'll explain why I guess. The second coming of Peyton means great regular season records and stats, and completely folding under any adversity and pressure situations. Then blaming your teammates or refusing to give credit to the other team that beat you. That is precisely what I question: Leinart's leadership abilities and ability to play under pressure. He won two championships with basically no competition. The program was being touted as one of the greatest ever. As soon as he ran into some adversity, namely Vince Young and his Longhorns, Leinart folded like a cheap house of cards. That first half was just atrocious. To Leinart's credit, I do think he has more mental toughness than Peyton Manning, since Leinart did bounce back for the second half, but in the end the guy just did not get it done. All those weapons, and he managed to fail. Meanwhile Young basically carried his team and kept performing in clutch situations. You basically saw in the Rose Bowl what's been happening in the NFL for years: the overhyped media darling QB losing to a fan favorite clutch QB. I think Palmer was always a better prospect than Leinart, and most "experts" agree. A former NFL coach that...just wasn't good enough in the NFL. Two championships where everything went right for him, with an incredibly talented surrounding cast. Leinart simply has not proven that he can take a team to the next level by himself. Young and Cutler have. Young had more to work with than Cutler, and that's why people like them both. Young is the bigger gamble of the two I think, but I'd feel real good picking either him or Cutler. I think Leinart may have actually already reached his peak. Young and Cutler are so exciting because they've continued to improve each year, and we don't know just where their ceiling is. Leinart seemed to take a step back this year. That isn't what anybody looks for, either in sports or employment.
A few things: I actually thought Leinart had a great championship game this past season. It was overshadowed by Vince Young's performance, but I honestly thought he played at a very high level and did everything he could to pull out the win. Also, I wouldn't exactly say that Texas won because of Vince Young's performance. I honestly think it was more about the lack of performance by the USC defense. The defense struggled pretty much all year, and Young defintely exposed them big time. No way can Young pull out all those runs throughout the whole game against an NFL defense. Last season, Leinart was a huge prospect, even more so than Palmer IMHO. When Palmer was drafted, Leinart stepped in and USC did not miss a beat. People are down on Leinart at this point and I'm not exactly sure why. I have never seen Leinart back away from leading his team, and I have never seen him fail from a performance standpoint. I would not say that Leinart has reached his peak. He is still a college player, and he hasn't even been drafted yet. He most likely has a very bright future in front of him. Also, I honestly feel that he did not do anything for his stock to have dropped so much. He led his team to the national championship game, and put them in a position to win. I would not exactly call that "taking a step backwards." What more can you ask?
The USC defense is the same that got them to 34 wins or whatever it was in a row. No one ever thought it was a great defense, but the offense had before then been able to come through. Claiming Vince Young didn't beat them is taking away a lot of credit from VY. The man was just clutch, and you can't question his leadership skills. That's really what impressed me in that game, even more so that his athletic skills. I also sort of disagree and sort of agree with Young not being able to run on an NFL defense. There are some runs where he would have been stopped by an NFL defense where he wasn't by USC, but on a lot of other runs nobody was going to bring him down in time. Besides, if an NFL defense commits to stopping the run, they open themselves up to the pass. Vince's running ability is an asset, not a hinderance. I don't think Leinart's stock has so much dropped as a few others may have passed him. Others have shown overcoming adversity, which Leinart hasn't been able to show for whatever reason. And it's not like everyone is down on Leinart, theres a sizeable amount of people, like you, that still love the guy. That's cool. I just personally don't think he'll pan out and like VY and Cutler better than him. If I was Miami or some other warm climate team, I'd probably take Leinart. I just do not think he is the right fit for the Jets. I could maybe see him succeed in New Orleans or Tennessee, especially New Orleans, and have a good career. I just don't think he has the stuff of greatness in him. No one can be sure about how a player turns out, we can all just go on educated guesses and gut feelings. My gut tells me Leinart won't be great and Vince or Cutler will, while yours tells you Leinart will be great. Most people expect those guys to go within the top 4 now though, so that's pretty good company/expectations.
I really am not trying to take away from Vince Young and his performance during the championship game. But let's be realistic here. Before that game, he was a lower first round or even second round pick. Now, all of the sudden because of one game, he is a top 3 pick and a sure thing in the NFL. Personally, I would put my money on a QB with pure passing ability and strong mental composure. I am not trying to take away from Vince Young, but his #1 weapon is his mobility and running game. IMHO, an NFL QB must have pure passing ability, and his running game should be an added bonus. Not the other way around. Leinart has not done anything to show he cannot perform in cold weather situations.
For some reason every other OT in this draft has been forgotten by the D-brick lovers. Last I checked this was a very good Class for OT's. Just b/c an OT isnt drafted in the first round doesnt mean he's a "patchwork" player. What it boils down to is who has the higher grade from our scouting dept. If it's equal ground and completely head to head..you take the QB 10 times out of 10.
well so far it looks like alot more Brick supporters...but Cutler guys have convinced me more. I see no problem with taking Cutler and still taking Max Jean Gilles or McNeil or Winston or any of the other lineman that are heavy in this draft. I think this is the draft to address the QB first, then the O-Line. There are plenty of good O-Lineman in FA. Who can convince me to take D'brick? I been off and on his and the Cutler bandwagon since the end of the season.
I'll convince you right here, don't listen to any of them. Just use logic, you need a QB more than you need a LT...what do you do? pretty self explanatory.
Exactly. We already have a LT, but what the hell, why not use our #4 overall pick on one anyway....and while we are at it, we might as well draft a MLB in the second round...
you dont need to be convinced, you will be convinced on your own like 3 years from now when cutler becomes a huge flop, and then we have to rebuild again because we gave him a huge contract.
