motife
04-23-2006, 02:22 PM
QB standouts offer distinct possibilities
Young, Leinart, Cutler differ in strengths, faults
Posted: April 21, 2006
On the Packers Bob McGinn
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Green Bay - Statistics tell National Football League personnel men that Matt Leinart was better at Southern California than Peyton Manning was at Tennessee and Jay Cutler was better at Vanderbilt than Brett Favre was at Southern Mississippi.
Their eyes tell them they've never seen anyone quite like Vince Young of Texas.
"I'd like to have any one of those guys," said Jim Gruden, a long-time scout who now serves the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel consultant. “Iââ⠀šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢d take my chances because they’re all pretty good.â€ÂÂ
Twenty-one personnel people, including six who will make the decision for their organizations, were asked by the Journal Sentinel in the last two weeks which of the top quarterbacks had the best chance to turn out as a bust. Gruden was among seven who either replied none or wouldn't answer.
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Of the 14 scouts that offered an opinion; nine said Young, three said Leinart and two said Cutler.
Nevertheless, Young ran a competitive second behind Leinart in a poll of the 21 scouts who also were asked to rank the four best quarterbacks in the draft on a 1-to-4 basis. A first-place vote was worth four points; a second-place vote was worth three and so on.
Leinart was the No. 1 choice of 11 voters whereas six tabbed Young and four took Cutler. Leinart led with 71 points, followed by Young with 61, Cutler with 55, Alabama's Brodie Croyle with 10, Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst with 9 and two players, Oregon's Kellen Clemens and Alabama-Birmingham's Darrell Hackney, each with 2.
This class of leading quarterbacks is so compelling because each player is so distinctly different.
Leinart is an old-fashioned pocket passer, poised and accurate and a leader of men. Adapting the NFL passer rating system to the college game, Leinart's rating of 110.7 was even better than the player often compared to him, Manning, who finished with 99.5 for the Volunteers from 1994-'97.
"I'm a believer in Leinart," said Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian, who made the tough call of Manning over Ryan Leaf with the No. 1 pick in 1998. "He's been beaten over the head as much as Peyton Manning, which is kind of a very interesting syndrome. But I think he's shown everything there is to show."
The Trojans won two national championships with Leinart and were seconds away from winning a third in the Rose Bowl when Young intervened.
In a performance for the ages, Young passed for 267 yards, ran for 200 more and the Longhorns prevailed, 41-38.
After that game, NFL people envisioned a player almost five inches taller than Michael Vick with better passing skills and comparable running talent.
"The chances of you hitting on a big-time player would be Vince Young," general manager Tom Heckert of the Philadelphia Eagles said. “Talent-wise, Vince Young is way above Leinart.â€ÂÂ
While Leinart and Young were starring for upper-crust programs, Cutler was fighting the good fight down south at hapless Vanderbilt much like Favre had done at Southern Miss from 1987-'90. Cutler's aggressive style often has been compared to Favre's, and his passer rating of 82.7 was better than Favre's collegiate mark of 75.9.
"He has all the physical attributes," Buffalo Bills national scout Marc Ross said. "If he played at SC or Texas, those teams wouldn't miss a beat and probably would be better. For him to make Vandy competitive every week showed a lot about his fortitude and his will to win."
For every scout who sees only hits, there are two others who can't forget the inevitable misses. Since 1986, a total of 25 quarterbacks have been single-digit selections. A whopping 32% can be categorized as busts, including Kelly Stouffer, Andre Ware, David Klingler, Heath Shuler, Leaf, Tim Couch, Akili Smith and Joey Harrington, and three others (Rick Mirer, Trent Dilfer and Alex Smith) were keen disappointments.
“Iââ⠀šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢m not real enthused about these three quarterbacks,†one personnel director said. “Iââ⠀šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢m glad we don’t have to pick one. (Philip) Rivers would be better than them all coming out. Same with (Ben) Roethlisberger.â€ÂÂ
Leinart's shortcomings were hard to see given his All-American supporting cast. But scouts say his arm is no better than average, question his ability to move and escape, worry about two shoulder operations and two concussions and wonder about his budding interest in a Hollywood celebrity lifestyle.
“Itââ €šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s not like, ‘Hey, if we’ve got any chance at all today, it’s on you, big boy,’â € one middle-aged personnel director said. “He has not been asked to win a game. And he looks like me physically.â€ÂÂ
Young might have been a man among boys in college football but the NFL has ways of exposing quarterbacks with a score of 15 on the Wonderlic intelligence test, a funky delivery and minimal experience operating from under center.
"He's a special athlete but I don't like his mechanics," another personnel director said. "I think he's going to have a long learning curve unless a team absolutely wants to change the way that they do things. He’s going to struggle with reads that are more than 1-2. I think he’s going to be a headache to game plan for but I think teams will catch up to him and that will be that."
As well as Cutler performed as a four-year starter, his record was just 11-35. His arm is lively but he often forces the ball into coverage. Lightly recruited out of Santa Claus, Ind., he has come almost from nowhere.
"When was the last time a big-time quarterback came from a bad team?" a general manager said. "I know he's playing with crummy players and all that but . . . they lost to Middle Tennessee State. Plus, he's throwing off his back foot all the time.
"It's a little scary."
Young, Leinart, Cutler differ in strengths, faults
Posted: April 21, 2006
On the Packers Bob McGinn
Green Bay - Statistics tell National Football League personnel men that Matt Leinart was better at Southern California than Peyton Manning was at Tennessee and Jay Cutler was better at Vanderbilt than Brett Favre was at Southern Mississippi.
Their eyes tell them they've never seen anyone quite like Vince Young of Texas.
"I'd like to have any one of those guys," said Jim Gruden, a long-time scout who now serves the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel consultant. “Iââ⠀šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢d take my chances because they’re all pretty good.â€ÂÂ
Twenty-one personnel people, including six who will make the decision for their organizations, were asked by the Journal Sentinel in the last two weeks which of the top quarterbacks had the best chance to turn out as a bust. Gruden was among seven who either replied none or wouldn't answer.
Advertisement
Of the 14 scouts that offered an opinion; nine said Young, three said Leinart and two said Cutler.
Nevertheless, Young ran a competitive second behind Leinart in a poll of the 21 scouts who also were asked to rank the four best quarterbacks in the draft on a 1-to-4 basis. A first-place vote was worth four points; a second-place vote was worth three and so on.
Leinart was the No. 1 choice of 11 voters whereas six tabbed Young and four took Cutler. Leinart led with 71 points, followed by Young with 61, Cutler with 55, Alabama's Brodie Croyle with 10, Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst with 9 and two players, Oregon's Kellen Clemens and Alabama-Birmingham's Darrell Hackney, each with 2.
This class of leading quarterbacks is so compelling because each player is so distinctly different.
Leinart is an old-fashioned pocket passer, poised and accurate and a leader of men. Adapting the NFL passer rating system to the college game, Leinart's rating of 110.7 was even better than the player often compared to him, Manning, who finished with 99.5 for the Volunteers from 1994-'97.
"I'm a believer in Leinart," said Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian, who made the tough call of Manning over Ryan Leaf with the No. 1 pick in 1998. "He's been beaten over the head as much as Peyton Manning, which is kind of a very interesting syndrome. But I think he's shown everything there is to show."
The Trojans won two national championships with Leinart and were seconds away from winning a third in the Rose Bowl when Young intervened.
In a performance for the ages, Young passed for 267 yards, ran for 200 more and the Longhorns prevailed, 41-38.
After that game, NFL people envisioned a player almost five inches taller than Michael Vick with better passing skills and comparable running talent.
"The chances of you hitting on a big-time player would be Vince Young," general manager Tom Heckert of the Philadelphia Eagles said. “Talent-wise, Vince Young is way above Leinart.â€ÂÂ
While Leinart and Young were starring for upper-crust programs, Cutler was fighting the good fight down south at hapless Vanderbilt much like Favre had done at Southern Miss from 1987-'90. Cutler's aggressive style often has been compared to Favre's, and his passer rating of 82.7 was better than Favre's collegiate mark of 75.9.
"He has all the physical attributes," Buffalo Bills national scout Marc Ross said. "If he played at SC or Texas, those teams wouldn't miss a beat and probably would be better. For him to make Vandy competitive every week showed a lot about his fortitude and his will to win."
For every scout who sees only hits, there are two others who can't forget the inevitable misses. Since 1986, a total of 25 quarterbacks have been single-digit selections. A whopping 32% can be categorized as busts, including Kelly Stouffer, Andre Ware, David Klingler, Heath Shuler, Leaf, Tim Couch, Akili Smith and Joey Harrington, and three others (Rick Mirer, Trent Dilfer and Alex Smith) were keen disappointments.
“Iââ⠀šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢m not real enthused about these three quarterbacks,†one personnel director said. “Iââ⠀šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢m glad we don’t have to pick one. (Philip) Rivers would be better than them all coming out. Same with (Ben) Roethlisberger.â€ÂÂ
Leinart's shortcomings were hard to see given his All-American supporting cast. But scouts say his arm is no better than average, question his ability to move and escape, worry about two shoulder operations and two concussions and wonder about his budding interest in a Hollywood celebrity lifestyle.
“Itââ €šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s not like, ‘Hey, if we’ve got any chance at all today, it’s on you, big boy,’â € one middle-aged personnel director said. “He has not been asked to win a game. And he looks like me physically.â€ÂÂ
Young might have been a man among boys in college football but the NFL has ways of exposing quarterbacks with a score of 15 on the Wonderlic intelligence test, a funky delivery and minimal experience operating from under center.
"He's a special athlete but I don't like his mechanics," another personnel director said. "I think he's going to have a long learning curve unless a team absolutely wants to change the way that they do things. He’s going to struggle with reads that are more than 1-2. I think he’s going to be a headache to game plan for but I think teams will catch up to him and that will be that."
As well as Cutler performed as a four-year starter, his record was just 11-35. His arm is lively but he often forces the ball into coverage. Lightly recruited out of Santa Claus, Ind., he has come almost from nowhere.
"When was the last time a big-time quarterback came from a bad team?" a general manager said. "I know he's playing with crummy players and all that but . . . they lost to Middle Tennessee State. Plus, he's throwing off his back foot all the time.
"It's a little scary."