From left to right: Matt Flynn, the recently departed Tavaris Jackson (he’s not dead, he’s just been traded to Buffalo), and new rookie starter Russell Wilson.
Longtime readers may remember a series of posts I did looking at the heights of Super Bowl quarterbacks over the last 20 years. Those posts and research are now gone, but the result was: The average Super Bowl quarterback of the last 20 years stood 6′ 2″ – 6′ 3″. Wilson is a full four inches shorter than that.
Here’s a list all quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl. The only winner as short as 6’0″ is Drew Brees. Three time loser Fran Tarkenton was 6’0″. Len Dawson was 6’0″; he was the unfortunate loser of Super Bowl I. That’s the entire height-deficient list. 45 Superbowls = 90 quarterbacks, and three guys standing 6’0″.
Here’s the list of the all-time passing leaders. Find the shortest guy in the top 100. I don’t think there are any quarterbacks under 6’0″, even among the old-school guys.
I keep hearing Drew Brees comparisons as an example of a short quarterback who can be successful. The shortest listed height I’ve been able to find for Brees is 6’0″ — Brees is nearly an inch and a half taller than Wilson.
I’m belaboring this point: Unless Wilson is an outlier of truly historic proportions the Seahawks are barking up the wrong tree. I’d go with Flynn.
From SI.com. A story about Seahawks’ first-round draft pick and pass-rush specialist Bruce Irvin.
6'-3", 248 lbs and he runs a 4.46 second 40-yard dash. What's not to like??
Reading it, I don’t think it’s really a surprise that most of the “experts” felt that the Seahawks drafted him with too high a pick. Who really knows, though — Aaron Curry was supposed to be a “can’t miss” prospect at the time…
The Tennesse Titans traded up to draft Jake Locker with the 8th pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Locker was the second quarterback selected, much to the surprise of about everybody. To some degree this is Tennesse pushing the “reset button” on the Vince Young pick. Locker and Young both had mid-4.5 second speed in the 40 yard dash and are all-around great athletes. Young possesses the bigger body, the bigger arm, loopy mechanics, and a loopy head.
This should be a great fit for both Locker and the Titans. Mike Munchak is the Titans new coach. Munchak is a former offensive linemen. If the Titans maintain their run-oriented philosophy it will take some of the pressure off of the quarterback position — Jake will be able to sit and learn behind Kerry Collins, taking over either late this year or early next year.
————-
James Carpenter
The Seahawks drafted Offensive Guard/Tackle James Carpenter of Alabama in round one. (The link is to a Seattle Times piece by Jerry Brewer. Brewer is *very* skeptical of the pick.) I think the pick is solid — Carpenter played Left Tackle at Alabama and was the #2 rated Guard in the draft, and the #6 Tackle — if Carpenter doesn’t work out at Tackle he can be moved inside to Guard and team up with Russell Okung on the left side. This would echo the Walter Jones/Steve Hutchinson line of the Super Bowl Seahawks.
Here’s the CBS.sports draft profile for the 6’4″, 325 lb, Carpenter:
All-SEC for both of his years starting at left tackle, Carpenter was a pivotal part of the offensive success the Tide had during the past two seasons. He might lack the quickness the NFL looks for on the blind side, but likely is athletic enough for right tackle and also projects well inside at guard. A steady, durable and reliable performer, don’t be surprised if Carpenter ends up as a quality starter somewhere in the NFL. Positives: Impressive athlete. Excellent technique, decent knee bend and good hand placement. Can sink hips and generate power. Slides feet and extends arms well in pass protection. Has power in hands and can move defenders. Can run and hit second-level targets. Good ability to anchor, seal, trap and pull. Well-schooled in an NFL-style offense. Tough and durable, never missing a start.
Negatives: Lacks the elite foot quickness needed for the NFL left tackle position. Somewhat stiff in hips and hence doesn’t change directions well. Frame is good except legs are a bit long. Vulnerable to double moves, especially inside. Pass protection set is somewhat high. Can be late off snap, mostly with a lot of crowd noise. Dives too much.
Mel Kiper has projected the Seahawks will take head-case QB Ryan Mallet in the 2nd round. My suspicion is that Mallet may be the second coming of Ryan Leaf or Jeff George. If the draft plays out that way I’m not going to be too excited. I still think Charlie Whitehurst needs more of an opportunity to show he can play, or not play.
————
The Browns traded out of the number six pick, effectively passing on Alabama WR Julio Jones. I like Jones a lot, I think he may prove to be the best WR in the draft. I think Colt McCoy was probably a little bummed about that development. Instead the Browns took massive Defensive Tackle Phil Taylor. Taylor supposedly has some issues with his work rate. The Browns need the help on the defensive line, but I’m still not enamored with the pick.
Late edit, Wow! Look what Cleveland got for trading out of the #6 slot! It’s two #1’s, one #2, and two #4’s:
To make the move, the Browns acquired Atlanta’s No. 27 overall pick and second- and fourth-round picks this year, in addition to Atlanta’s first- and fourth-round picks in 2012.
The NFL Draft has a new format this year: Round 1 is today at 4:30, Rounds 2 and 3 are tomorrow starting at 3:00, and Rounds 4-7 are on Saturday starting at 10:00 am. All times pst.
An interesting subplot will be to see who goes first– Colt McCoy or Tim Tebow. One mock draft has McCoy at #38 and Tebow at #41. I won’t be shocked if either of them go in the first round instead.
Seahawks picks:
Round 1: #6
Round 1: #14
Round 2: #28 (60th overall)
Round 4: #6 (104th overall)
Round 4: #29 (127th overall)
And some other stuff in later rounds that will be lucky to make the roster.
The Seahawks have the 6th and 14th picks in the 2010 NFL draft. This is a deep draft, and it’s deep for offensive and defensive linemen in particular. Having said that, the Seahawks should draft the best available lineman with both first round picks. This is the type of draft where the Seahawks could get their next Walter Jones and/or their next Cortez Kennedy, so long as they don’t blow the picks on skill-position players.
Bill Simmons sums up my concerns about the Seahawks draft (and Pete Carroll) on ESPN.com. He’s referencing the 6th pick:
On Monday’s B.S. Report, Mike Lombardi compared this spot to playing pool: The Seahawks also pick 14th, so they want to make this “shot,” then have the cue ball bounce to a spot where they’ll have another easy shot. This analogy works splendidly unless it’s 2 a.m. and you have some chain-smoking drunk dude trying to pull it off. And I guess what I’m trying to say is this: Pete Carroll might be the chain-smoking drunk dude.
I found it perplexing that Seattle handed the coaching/front-office car keys to Carroll this past winter for two reasons. First, it’s always weird when NFL teams pay huge money to lure successful college coaches when the jobs are so fundamentally different. It’s the distant cousin of Hollywood’s allowing star actors to direct (with a similar track record of success). So you excelled at a job that’s 75 percent recruiting and 25 percent strategy, you’ve been basically playing the “Pro” level of “Madden” and now we’re asking you to jump to “All-Madden” without a safety net, and you have no feel for the other 31 NFL rosters because you haven’t been following our league at all. This should work great!
Second, Carroll became the Patriots’ coach the same year I launched my http://www.bostonsportsguy.com website. He did such a dreadful job that a reader once e-mailed me, “Pete Carroll answers the question of why Fredo was never given control of the Corleone family,” followed by my immediately nicknaming Carroll “Coach Fredo” for the rest of his tenure. As it turned out, the comparison was an insult to Fredo. It took Carroll two years to destroy a Super Bowl team, and after he left, it took the Patriots two years to win a Super Bowl. You couldn’t do worse. Even Fredo has “banged two cocktail waitresses” on his résumé.
Now, this was a good 10-plus years ago, and I was smoking a ton of pot back then, but I specifically remember thinking to myself in 1999, “Pete Carroll is definitely not meant to coach professional football or pick the players.” I didn’t think Carroll was meant to coach football, period. His USC experience revealed that he’s meant to recruit 18-year-olds, hop around on the sideline, pump his fists, do the rah-rah routine, design fun defenses and give likable news conferences. We already saw this routine in the NFL: His name was Herm Edwards. It’s not going to work.
That’s a much longer quote than usual, but parsing it out wouldn’t make as much sense. There is no “quick fix” that’s going to make the Seahawks a Super Bowl contender. Drafting someone like RB C.J. Spiller or QB Jimmy Clausen would be a flashy pick, and the fans would love it, but it would putting the cart before the horse. That’s not how to rebuild an NFL franchise. Especially with the new-look Seahawks.
The new Seahawks are going to require agile offensive linemen. Offensive line coach Alex Gibbs likes mobile guys that dive into the defenders’ knees. Rob Sims didn’t fit that type, so he’s now with the Lions. Personally, I find Alex Gibbs’ tactics repulsive, but that’s a subject for another post.
If Safety Eric Berry drops to 6th then the Seahawks have to take him. Otherwise hopefully it’ll be Big Guys all the way.
Colt McCoy had an outstanding Pro Day on Thursday. At least one observer thought he looked better than likely #1 overall pick Sam Bradford.
Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said McCoy answered any questions about his injury.
“I thought he did a very good job,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy was in Norman, Okla., on Monday to watch former Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford, who might be the first overall pick. Like McCoy, Bradford had a shoulder injury last season. Bradford completed all but one of his passes in front of the scouts.
“I liked this workout better. I thought Colt was challenged more in his workout as far as the types of throws,” McCarthy said. “Sam was very accurate, but Sam’s workout was very controlled. He didn’t do as much movement.”
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said it would be expected for McCoy to complete all of his passes.
“This is not real football, this is a workout,” Carroll said. “His footwork was really good.”
Carroll rated McCoy’s arm strength, a question mark for some scouts, as “solid.”
All of the mock drafts I have seen seem to be pretty high on Jimmy Clausen, the Notre Dame QB, who if you believe the hype, will be the next Joe Montana. I keep hearing about his poise, maturity and ability to deal with pressure – all of which lead a perennially overrated ND team to an amazing 6-6 record against a soft schedule. All of the hype is taking me back to the 1993 draft when the debate was all about who should be the first choice in the draft – Rick Mirer or Drew Bledsoe. We all know how well that worked out.
This, combined with the end of the Brady Quinn era in Cleveland (remember when he was the second coming of Montana?) did get me thinking – who has been the most successful ND QB drafted since Montana. The answer surprised me – Steve Beuerlein. He is the only one to appear in a pro bowl, and his stats in every category are higher than the other 5 ND QBs drafted over the last 29 years – COMBINED.
YR
Draft Rd/Pos
Player
Games
YDS
TD
INT
2007
1/22
Brady Quinn
14
1902
10
9
2000
7/214
Jarious Jackson
5
114
0
1
1993
1/2
Rick Mirer
80
11969
50
76
1987
4/110
Steve Beuerlein
147
24046
147
112
1984
11/281
Blair Kiel
25
1296
8
7
1980
4/89
Rusty Lisch
30
547
1
11
Eventually a ND is QB is bound to do something in the NFL – just maybe teams should wait a few more rounds before picking him.
From left to right: Matt Flynn, the recently departed Tavaris Jackson (he’s not dead, he’s just been traded to Buffalo), and new rookie starter Russell Wilson.
FlatbreadGarden 