Will get links but everyone is tweeting it right now as we speak. EDIT: http://twitter.com/BryanDFischer
It's probably better for us actually. We have no shot at him if he comes out this year, we might next year.
we arent going to have a shot at him next year either?! this isnt good for us because we need a QB now and this just pushes every other QB up the boards.
That's not necessarily true. Luck would have been taken by Carolina. I would honestly doubt they take the next best QB. IMO whichever QB would have been taken next will still be taken at the same spot.
Boomer called this the whole way. I never doubted him. Actually scratch that, I doubted him the whole time. But kudos nonetheless. Brandon Weeden has not declared yet, I personally think he will, but if he does then he will officially be the only COMPLETE player in the Draft at the quarterback position, for me. What do I mean by complete player? Especially since I've sung Blaine Gabbert's praises and said I have him rated about where I rated Matt Stafford who was a #1 overall? What I mean is every single aspect of a quarterback's game is in Brandon Weeden's arsenal. Every single throw, every single way that a quarterback can hurt you. He has one of the best arms in the Draft with accuracy that I believe is second-to-none. He consistently pops the mitt on the 10 yard comeback from the far hash. And I mean that, I have a YouTube tape that's basically all but made but once it is, you'll see for yourself, or rather you'll HEAR for yourself. That ball comes in HOT and ACCURATE on those outs and comebacks to the perimeter, of which he throws many. But that's just one kind of throw. His understanding of touch concepts is very advanced. He'll throw the up-and-down throw into the heart of a defense to get in between zone defenders, over the head of a low zone defender but no far enough upfield to let the high defender get involved. He places the back shoulder throw beautifully, and throws it with frequency. He also has a throw in his repertoire that you just don't see that often in college and that is the horizontal touch throw to a slot receiver running a sideline pattern against man coverage. His touch, placement and accuracy on the deep vertical are probably second only to T.J. Yates in this Draft. On his tape, you'll see that a lot of these look underthrown. But, that's because a lot of them you'll see are off the flea flicker, and on that front I take issue with Dana Holgorsen's play design. His flea flickers take too long to develop in the backfield, and Justin Blackmon's timing on his stalk-and-release is early, his speed too good, relative to how long the flea flicker takes in the backfield. By the time Weeden can rush through the throw, he needs to get that thing basically 65 yards on low trajectory if he wants to hit Blackmon in stride. That's asking a lot, in game situations, even for a pitcher with a 97 mph fast ball. He tries to get the ball on a flatter trajectory to speed up the throw but he consistently only gets about 55-60 yards (which should be more than enough but like I said the timing in the backfield is off with the RB hand-off and throwback). His placement on short throws is good. Not great, but good. Better to his right than to his left. His pocket sense is very unique in that he senses pressure and handles it very much like a pro, always moving his feet but in a smooth, not panicky way, and getting rid of the ball. He regularly throws the football away. He doesn't have ridiculous feet and his footwork on drop could use some speeding up, but actually when you get him on the run he's a big boy and has some long striding speed that will surprise you. SUCKS as a ball carrier though, just not a natural concept to him. But most importantly and probably the most unique pro aspect about him is he almost always does his handling of pressure while keeping his eyes upfield, and that's so top level...and considering he's taken like 10 sacks the whole year? Good lord. As for reading the defense, he was spotty with this for a good part of the year but the difference in his game as the year went on, and indeed as GAMES went on, was extremely, extremely "hit you in the face" noticeable. Defenses could confuse him early in games but he almost always settled in before halftime, started seeing what the defense was doing, and really ceasing the risky behavior and making good throws that result in points and either victories or hard-fought defeats. So, he's got a growth trajectory on this front that is visble. As for maturity and field demeanor, it's hard to imagine me giving a better grade to anyone other than T.J. Yates who is the most clutch and focused QB that could/will be in this Draft. But even though there's no QB that could be in this Draft (now that Luck is staying) that I would trust more than T.J. Yates in a final game and/or two minute scenario, Weeden has something that Yates does not necessarily have and I just got done explaining it but it's the ability to stay so calm during the game and so collected that those early throws and challenges ALWAYS turn into later success. Weeden's gone through some 1st quarters this year that, as a 1st year starter, should have shaken him pretty hard. He was never shaken. I've seen Yates have bad games even in his senior year that continued to be bad games through to the end. His aggression level is good bordering on risky, but more on the side of good-aggressive than too risky. His timing and anticipation are good. His eye control needs work, but is not "bad". His fundamentals with fakes and hand-offs are good. So, you have Arm, Accuracy, Placement, Touch, Deep Vertical, Pocket Sense, Feet, Aggressiveness, Timing, Fundamentals, Field Vision and Field Demeanor...all big positive grades. Stuff like Understanding Defenses, Offensive Command and Eye Control...they're not at the good level, but they're not really bad, either. To me Blaine Gabbert is close to being a complete guy...but the most glaring aspects of his game that earn him borderline or straight up bad grades are his lack of accuracy on the deep ball, and poor ball placement on short passes.
Strange move, but I guess he is feeling pumped up by the college atmosphere, and maybe wants to make a natl. championship run next year. Still, this can really do nothing but hurt him overall. 1) Possible rookie wage scale in 2011 2) Harbaugh leaving 3) Possible injury (though it didnt hurt Bradford) or declining gameplay (Locker) 4) Better competition for that top spot (Barkley, maybe Foles) It's not like he NEEDS to graduate now for career/financial reasons. Eh, his decision though, and if he feels it is best, then I hope he succeeds. Carolina likely will have to look hard at Marcell Dareus now as was mentioned, though depending on who their new coach will be, QB may still be in play if a guy like Weeden/Newton/Gabbert really impresses them. Come to think of it, didn't Carolina take Kerry Collins when he came out at age 27ish? Personally, I think what the Bills do will have a big impact on the draft - whether they go for an AJ Green or a Nick Fairly/Robert Quinn and think Fitz can buy them a year. Foolish move on their part unless they are just not impressed with this years class.
Damn I wish I could just throw $50 Million away like that. Next question would Harbaugh survive a tanked season to then get his quarterback in 2012?
Any chance Nick Foles see's this opportunity to be the first qb or first overall player taken and changes his mind?
