What has happened to our Quarterback Draft in 2010

For the past 3 years, NFL draft fans have been looking forward to this years draft as a probable bonanza for quarterbacks. I heard a lot of comparisons to the draft of 2004 and the mythical draft of 1983. So now here we are in 2010, and all the candidates have arrived minus two: Mark Sanchez came out last year, and Jake Locker decided to stay in school for one more year. But what has become of our bumper-crop quarterback draft?

Right now I see a hell of a lot of volatility in the quarterback rankings. There is no agreement about who the #1 guy is. The most frequently mentioned prospects are Sam Bradford, who is injured, and Jimmy Clausen, who is now universally acclaimed. Then you have a crew of other kids who have been ballyhooed at one time or another as the Second Coming. All of them have serious knocks laid on them by one critic or another.

First I hear Mel Kiper Jr. declare that Tim Tebow is not a QB prospect at all; rather he is a Tightend project. Then I hear guys like Charles Davis and Mike Lombardi declare that Tebow will go in the 1st round, and as a QB. The I hear Chris Myers and Steve Hartman declare that he will be a 2nd day draft pick, and they don't know what he will play.

The only thing that seems clear is that Sam Bradford would be a slam-dunk #1 overall pick if he were not injured. Woulda, shoulda, coulda; he's got a surgically repaired shoulder, and everybody is arguing like Hell about how bad the injury is.

Lost in all this commotion are two guys I really like: Colt McCoy and Jevan Snead.

Many are saying that McCoy is going to be a backup at best. I say he is the next Joe Montana, and I ain't kidding. Once you remove the hyper-inflation that Montana's legend has experienced, what you are left with is a very smart QB who made great decisions {most of the time} and threw highly accurate soft passes at highly mobile recievers who could run. If you ask me which kid in this draft most resembles that perfect type, it is Colt McCoy. He has great vision, he makes really good decisions, and he throws highly accurate soft passes at highly mobile receivers who can truck with it. He is the spitting image of Joe. Don't be surprised if he is a lot more successful than they say he will be.

If Andy Reid were to draft him, the sky is the limit for McCoy.

Jevan is the kid who is really getting lost in the shuffle. People who did not watch the Tennessee game or the LSU game are harping on what a horrible season Snead had. They are also focusing on that brutal Cotton Bowl appearance in which everybody but McCluster got killed. Let's remember that Snead was still on the winning side of that bloodbath, and sometimes that's the best you can do.

Mel Kiper Jr. has freely stated that he believes that Jevan Snead made a big mistake in coming out early. He and just about everybody else believes that Snead would have benefited like crazy from another year in college. The talk is very negative. They say he came out because he was having problems with grades & academic eligibility. Not good for a QB. Others focus on the threat of a rookie salary cap in 2011 as driving Snead's decision.

It remains to be seen where Snead will be drafted. I still stick to my guns. He looks like a somewhat smaller and more athletic Phillip Rivers, with a better ability to run, but sans the football smarts at this point. Rivers is a tremendous thinking man's QB; easily the second best after Peyton Manning. Snead needs to reach for that model. Snead does have an M24 sniper rifle attached to his right shoulder. Believe me, he can throw it.

It is still very early. The Senior Bowl has not yet been played. We are no where near the combine yet. We have not yet argued about the combine results. Things are going to change; be sure of it. Still, if I read the tea leaves correctly at this point, only one quarterback is guaranteed to go in the 1st round. That QB is Sam Bradford. Some say Buffalo, some say Washington. Clausen is very likely to go in the first, but this is not certain. Some say Buffalo, some say Washington, some say Seattle, some say Carolina. Based on what I have read, no other QB is likely to go in the 1st round; Mike Lombardi and Charles Davis notwithstanding.

Can you image that? What if we get to 2010 draft day and just two (2) QBs come off the board in the 1st round? What if names like Tebow, McCoy and Snead are around in the 2nd and 3rd round? Does that sound like a QB bonanza to you? We'll have to see. This could be one of those years with a couple of all-pro Hall of Fame QBs going later rather than sooner.



There are some other QBs in this draft as well. I intend to get to know these kids and tell you about them soon.

What are the Rams chances of drafting a franchise QB in the second round?

Better than 50/50 I think. Perhaps better than getting on in the first round. Let me tell you why. There are now 5 top-end QB prospects in the 2010 draft. In no particular order, they are:

• Tim Tebow: Not a QB says Mel Kiper Jr
  
• Colt McCoy: Just a backup say most
  
• Jevan Snead: Should have stayed in school; had a bad junior year.
  
• Sam Bradford: Has a surgically repaired throwing shoulder
  
• Jimmy Clauson: Doesn't impress as an NFL prospect, say many.
  

Interestingly enough, a close inspection of the web pages devoted to the draft shows no consensus on the question of who the top candidate is. Each site favors one, each site slams another. One (like CBS) favors Tebow and McCoy. Another (like ESPN) decries Tebow and McCoy. No consensus. Each one of these sites has a hard knock or two for each of these QBs. It would seem every QB candidate in the 2010 draft is carrying some negative baggage.

As a quick aside, it should be noted that Marc Bulger is said to be contemplating retirement at this point. If I had suffered as many injuries as he has over the past three years, I would think about it also.

What does this mean for the Rams, the NFL team most desperately in need of a QB, and the team that holds the all-important #1 pick? It means you don't use the first pick in the draft to select a QB; that's why it means.

It should be noted, in passing, that the Rams have not selected a QB in the first round since 1964 when we selected Bill Munson of Utah State. That was two years before I was born and I am 43. Nope, we did not draft Jim Everett. Houston did. We traded for Jim, and what a block buster it was also.

Do you trade the pick? If we can I would, but we tried that last season to no avail. We couldn't pay the Jets to do a deal for the #2 pick when they wanted to move up. Suppose we move down just a few slots in a deal with Tampa or Cleveland: What then? Do you use such a high pick for one of these QBs? If so, which one?

Do you use the pick to take someone else? That someone is obviously Ndomukong Suh. Coach Spagnuolo is a defensive coach who loves to dominate in the trenches. You have to be sure that he is drooling over the prospect of selecting Suh.

If you use the top pick to acquire Suh, do you wait until the second round to pick a QB? If so, what are your prospects for getting a good one there?

These are the questions that my friends and I have been arguing about (non-stop) for 4 days now. This is good. It keeps my mind off the arthroscopic surgery I have tomorrow.

To give you the Cliff's Notes on this debate: My hopes for acquiring a franchise QB in the second round have been growing and growing with each new URL thrown my way. I can see several scenarios in which high quality Quarterbacks, like Tebow and McCoy, fall out of the 1st round.

Believe me, I know it is early. Everything will change during the NFL combine. A lot of opinions will be formed. A lot of opinions will change. However, it looks like every QB has a knock on him, and these 'facts' will echo around Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis.

It is a very high risk proposition to draft to your strength, and wait until the second round to go after your most devastating need. However, given the prevailing conditions, I just might be willing to take that massive risk. It would be absolutely horrid if we took Clausen in the first round... or the second.

Can you imagine the impact that getting Suh in the first and Tebow in the second would have on the Rams?

2010 Draft strategy for the Rams

At the dawn of the 2009 draft, it was clear that the Rams had the worst offensive line in professional football. As we run out the 2009 table, this is no longer true. The Rams line is not a masterpiece by any stretch, but it has improved dramatically. We will likely unload Alex Barron, which is addition by subtraction, we will likely add another free agent, and a 2nd or 3rd rounder to our collection, and the line should be fine.

So why are the Rams loosers now? We have no passing game. It is just as simple as that. So why is there no passing game in St. Louis, a city once famous for a massive passing attack? Is it the QBs or the WRs? I would tell you that both are lacking, but this current predicament in much more the fault of our QBs than our WRs. We need a couple of major-league play-makers, but more than anything we need a Hall of Fame QB. An HOF QB would make all the difference in the world for the Rams.

Perform this thought experiment if you like: Suppose for just one moment Peyton Manning were the QB of the Rams. Do you think we would be stinking losers as we are? Certainly, sans Dallas Clark & Reggie Wayne, Manning's figures would be hurt. Still, with a power running attack in Steve Jackson & decent receivers, we would score enough points to go at least 10-6 or 11-5. This is the difference an HOF QB can make.

Should we go into the draft for a QB, and I think it is likely we will, we need to be looking for a slam-dunk HOF QB. We need to look for that building block that will keep us winning for 10-12 years straight. A Peyton Manning comes out once in a generation. We need to look out for that guy.

There are a small collection of offensive guys who have absolutely caught my eye this year, and these are guys I would love to see play for the Rams on Sunday:

• Jevan Snead, Quarterback, Ole Miss Running Rebels: 6-3 215 pounds. A slightly more compact version of Phillip Rivers with better mechanics, and more speed. He has a sniper rifle for an arm. By that I mean accurate and powerful. He has been running a hurricane passing attack down at Ole Miss, so don't worry about his skills. He can also run a little. He can convert 3rd downs with his feet if the need arises.
• Tim Tebow, Quarterback, Florida Gators: 6-3, 240 pounds. What can I tell you about the most famous player in college football? Many scounts, including Mel Kiper Jr. do not believe he is a pro quarterback. Regardless, I want him on my team. If we play him at FB, TE, or Wildcat, backup QB, I could care less. He is championship material, he is a play maker and we need him in our huddle.
• Dexter McCluster: 5-9 170 pounds. Running Back, Ole Miss Running Rebels: Small, undersized hyper-fast and elusive running back. He takes short passes and turns them into 35-45 yard gains with speed and elusiveness. On the college level he reminded me of Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, and Marshall Faulk. They say he is too small to play in the Pros, but this is also what they said about the Chargers' Darren Sproles. McCluster is going to be like Sproles in the NFL. We can get him cheap, and he will make a lot of big plays.
• Seyi Ajirotutu, Wide Receiver. Fresno State Bulldogs: 6-4, 210 pounds. Big, strong, lean, fast, athletic wide receiver. Physically, he looks like a young Terrel Owens, but he doesn't have the attitude. He leaps for the ball like Lynn Swann. I couldn't believe the over-thrown passes this guy dragged in during the Wisconsin game. This guy is going to be a massive play maker in the NFL. It is a good thing that nobody knows about him yet. We could get him cheap.
• Hunter Lawrence, Kicker, Texas Longhorns: 6-0, 187 pounds. Recently, in the Hall of Fame preview shows, I have heard several experts saying things like: "Greatness is like Pornography; I can't define it, but I know it when I see it." I saw greatness in this kid several times during the course of a championship caliber season for this kid. If you wanna ask me who the next Adam Vinatieri is, I would say it is Hunter Lawrence. Like Colt McCoy says: Hunter is a clutch guy. Josh Brown was an expensive free agent, and he has been missing a lot of field goals out there lately. He may be trying to kick his way off the team. Let him go.

We'll talk defense next time.

I am becoming comfortable with the notion of Jevan Snead as our new Quarterback

For those of you who don't know him, Jevan Bryce Snead is the QB of the University of Missisippi. They are better known as a the Ole Miss Running Rebs. He happens to be a damn good one. He wears number 4 like another Missisippi QB named Brett Farve.

For those of you who didn't see it today, Jevan engineered an upset over the #8 ranked LSU Tigers. Ole Miss prevailed 25-23. They were lucky. The clock ran out on LSU. Jevan hit 14 of 21 for 206 yards. He had no Ints and no TDs, but he was instrumental. His QB rating in this game was 149.07, and they wouldn't won it without him. His QB rating this year is 122.9, and that is pretty good. Better still, he is a big play-maker.

He looks a hell of a lot like the Charger's Philip Rivers, but he is much more athletic, and he has better looking mechanics. As effective as he is, I have always felt that Rivers has ackward mechanics. Jevan is 6'3" and 215 pounds. He could put on a few more pounds, but he looks very solid. Rivers is bigger at 6'5" and 228, but he has far less mobility. Who has the bigger arm? I think that might be Snead. He's got a sniper rifle. He throws 95 mph heaters.

If you could get a bit more compact Philip Rivers with better speed, more arm, and similar gamesmanship, would you do it? If all that is true, you would be stupid not too.

Jevan shares a birthday with me, Terry Bradshaw, Salma Hayek, and Keanu Reeves. Yes, we were all born on September 2nd.

In my last blog entry on the Draft 2010, I was not pleased by the selection of QBs we have this year. At that point, I was unwilling to part with our customary #2 pick overall for any of these QBs. I can tell you now that this is begining to change. I am getting very comfortable with the notion that Jevan Snead will be the next Ram QB. I am begining to worry about who his big-play maker recievers will be.