- Will he or won’t he? The 2008 NFL draft is only in the books for a couple of days and the pundits are already speculating about who will be at the top of the draft list in 2009. CFN lists Matt Stafford as the #2 pro prospect at QB (note that nine of the top twelve on the list are juniors). Not to be outdone, CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco lists Stafford as his #1 overall draft prospect.
- Is the commitment of OT Austin Long a big deal for Georgia? Groo thinks so. All I know is that the kid needs a new hat.
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UPDATE: ESPN’s Todd McShay has Stafford going third in the ’09 draft. As a bonus, check out #10.
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UPDATE #2: And at SI.com, their mock draft has Stafford going #1 in the draft – and the Chiefs trading up with the Falcons (!) to get him. If that were to happen, Arthur Blank would be run out of town on a rail.
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I’m no Tebow hater, but Stafford is clearly a better pro prospect. He makes throws, not necessarily flashy, that make my jaw drop. There were a couple in the Georgia Tech game, specifically, that made me start chanting “N-F-L!” Of course, the last quarterback I felt this way about was Jeff George, so take it for what it’s worth.
Maybe I’m a crazy optimist, but I don’t think it’s a done deal that Stafford leaves after next year. Could be another Matt Leinart situation.
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The biggest knock on Tebow’s game in going to the NFL will be that he’s operated exclusively out of the shotgun in college.
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BINGO!!! Tebow to my knowledge has never taken a snap from under center therefore the league has no idea how he will executue (in terms of footwork and timing)the various handoffs, play action, and the three/five step drops. These skills from my understanding are not developed over night and some never are good at it no matter how much practice or reps go into it. Tebow is without a doubt an exception athlete and he throws a very nice ball but he will be hurting in a lot of areas concerning the QB position if he continues to run exclusively out of the shot gun. But then again he is Tim Tebow and he may be great from under center. If MS has the type of year that most are expecting then he will be a very rich young man.
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No need to restate my comments from “To tell you the truth…” post but I was mistaken on the ’10 draft. I was going off memory and not research. However Stafford’s only real competition in that draft, if he decides to stay, should Bradford and maybe McCoy. All will have plenty of starting experience under their belt and they play in a more traditional style offense. Tebow and the kid from Purdue run a type of the spread offense, which as we mentioned hasn’t translated into quality NFL QB’s, yet.
BTW: Tebow has taken snaps from under center albeit not many. But he’s run the QB sneak on all that I can think of. Yes I’m going off of memory again but I usually pay attention when he does get under center because it’s so unusual. I can’t remember a time when he’s been under center and dropped back to pass or even handed the ball off.
Long sounds like a quality kid. I like the fact he says he’s given his commitment and he’s sticking to it. Judging by his video he seems to be a solid pick up.
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“UPDATE #2: And at SI.com, their mock draft has Stafford going #1 in the draft – and the Chiefs trading up with the Falcons (!) to get him. If that were to happen, Arthur Blank would be run out of town on a rail.”
Exactly. Especially if “matty ice” turns out to be the bust most people think he is. Quite frankly, for Matt’s sake, I hope he doesn’t end up w/ the Falcons. It pains me to say that, but I think he deserves better.
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