Yes. Sixth time was a charm for Joe Flacco. He finally had a good playoff game on his sixth try. Matt Ryan has only had two whacks at the ball.
No but it does change the validity of the statement "Joe Flacco has performed well in the playoffs" or even the statement "Joe Flacco has performed better than Matt Ryan in the playoffs" both of which seem to lack evidence.
Incidentally there's some chatter that this report is not true and that Kalil has not yet decided which way he's leaning. Colin Cowherd says that one of USC's star players is returning but he won't say which one. Don't know how valid that is. If it's T.J. McDonald, which would make sense to me, then that doesn't scare me about Barkley. The only reason Kalil staying would scare me about Barkley is because I've literally heard Matt Kalil say that whichever direction Matt Barkley goes, that's where I'm going.
If we land Luck, Barkley, or RG3, I'll be INCREDIBLY psyched for 2012. If we miss out on all three......ugh!
Gonna have to change the title of this thread! http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/spo...otball-matt-kalil-matt-barkley-nfl-draft.html College football players have until mid-January to declare for the NFL draft, but that didn’t stop USC tackle Matt Kalil from waking up to what he called "mayhem" Thursday morning. A website reported that Kalil, who is weighing whether to turn pro or return for a final season with the Trojans, was “set to return,” citing a source close to the situation. "I woke up to mayhem," Kalil said. "I guess it was kind of a glimpse of what’s going to be happening. "I'm not close to making a decision. That will probably happen in the next couple weeks. No decision has been made. I just started thinking about the process I’m going to go through to make the decision.
Here are some stats that KB posted in another thread: Matt Moore: 86.6 passer rating, 7.2 YPA, 60.4%, 1 TD per 22 pass attempts, 1 INT per 37 pass attempts Matt Ryan: 86.5 passer rating, 7.0 YPA, 60.7%, 1 TD per 22 pass attempts, 1 INT per 41 pass attempts The other difference in stats is that Moore has played in 31 games and Ryan has played 58. IMO Ryan has had far greater talent around him than Moore has and he has spent much more time in the offense. I don't see much to reasonably conclude that Ryan has been much better than Moore over his career. I see both as guys who have yet to prove that they can lift their team. You could say the same thing about Flacco btw. If wouldn't feel it was a mistake to pass on Ryan unless he were a franchise QB. I don't see much evidence that he's shown himself to be a franchise guy. He might arguably be around 10th at the moment, but I would say that he's still on the outside looking in.
It isn't. I was just needling the guy. Those stats are quite interesting. I would argue that Matt Moore is more inconsistent than Ryan. But I'm too lazy to look up the stats. And your point that "Ryan may be a top 10 QB, but still isn't a franchise guy" is interesting, but I guess I just disagree.
To me the difference between a franchise guy and someone like a Matt Moore is that the franchise guy's production STAYS in that territory whereas the Matt Moores of the world peak into that area time to time but never last. If Matt Moore shows that he can consistently play this way then all the power to him. I have my doubts.
Sports writers are not experts though , some may be , but the fact they are writing about sports does not automatically make them very astute . There were experts though that rated Newton very high , those are more who fans should take direction from if they can't establish that themselves.
I believe that this year you can add Tannehill and Manning, 5 options, and just get one, and be happy...Should be able to do that because of filled QB positions on other teams.
IMO top 10 does not equal a franchise QB. I define a franchise QB as one that makes you a perennial contender even when the surrounding talent is not great. That ability to lift the team is what separates a franchise guy from the many that can put up stats and do well as long as everything is going well. Ryan has not demonstrated that ability to lift a team yet. In fact, he's generally proven the opposite. He needs the running game and/or defense to lift him.
Kalil going pro!!! http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nfl/...s-usc-trojans-matt-kalil-enter-2012-nfl-draft
http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/usc/post/_/id/10972/where-matt-barkley-and-t-j-mcdonald-stand This is looking good for us, I really think when all is said and done Barkley comes out. They already lost two top Juniors.
And that article speculates that Barley will be a top 15 pick. That would put him right in range for our probable #6 to #12 finish. Obviously at this point, he could still go up or down, but I don't think he has the type of characteristics that build your draft hype. I really would not be surprised if he'll be there when we pick without the need to even trade up.
I really see us having to trade up. Ultimately, it depends on where the Browns and Redskins pick. Also whether or not the Browns trade for Flynn. I'd trade up in a heart beat just to guarantee the fact that we will get our QB.
