04/02/08 - RATE MATT RYAN: I think he’s got a very good presence to him. He goes back to the Philadelphia catholic league, which I know is highly competitive. I got to see him play just a little bit back in Philadelphia. Smart guy, all the intangibles. Arm-wise I wouldn’t say he has a buggy-whip arm, but he’s a very anticipatory thrower and a lot of times it’s more important to throw early than to throw hard. QUINN VS. RYAN: They compare in physical stature, although Brady is a thicker guy, which I think you have to be able to take a beating out there. Let’s face it, they’re paying 11 guys to lift the head off the quarterback so durability is always going to be an issue. Different releases, but I think the same mental structure just in talking to both of those kids. They’re bright-eyed guys. ... It is an apple and oranges type of deal. WHY QUINN DROP: I think people valued another position obviously more. There was some common thinking if he got past Miami there, as you looked at the teams that were after, they weren’t really lined up to take a quarterback. That’s probably the biggest reason. It was not unlike what happened to Aaron Rodgers a few years ago. - NFL Owners Meeting Transcripts, Brad Childress 04/01/08 - On the college quarterback class: "It's a very good class for the quarterbacks. Yeah, we're looking at all of them very hard. It's a great group of guys." On watching Matt Ryan in high school as an Eagles assistant: "He played at one of the Downingtown schools, so Friday night, they went through all the high school guys and he was a big star. You didn't know he was going to be a first-round pick, but he was a big recruit." On the quarterback class and the draft: "As a whole, it's one of the best drafts in years. You see a lot of good players. There's a lot of guys, I'm doing a list right now that we like the way they play, we want to have them on our football team. There's a lot of guys we would like to have on our football team. You just wish you could have them all. We bring them in on these visits and ask them, 'Are you coming?' And then it's like, 'Oh right, we can't ask you that.'" On Matt Ryan: "Specifically, Matt Ryan, he finds a way to win in the fourth quarter. He's a big-time competitor. He's an accurate passer, he's big, he can scramble. He's smart. He gives his receivers a chance. A lot of people are worried about his interceptions, but a lot of that is giving his receivers a chance to make plays, too. He's going to be a really good quarterback in this league." Will you draft a quarterback? "I would say yes. If one is there, who knows. If the first quarterback drops to eight we got to be ready to say whether we want him or not or do we trade back or do we take somebody else. Ozzie hasn't told me what he's thinking on that. That's top secret. I do know Matt Ryan is going to be a really good quarterback in the NFL." - NFL Owners Meeting Transcripts, John Harbaugh http://www.nfldraftscout.com/index.php
