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Originally Posted by michiganjoe:

Hard to believe now, but another knock on him coming out was his athleticism. You obviously need the physical tools, but so much of being a successful NFL QB is between the ears. That's why Jay Cutler is Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers.

Good call, m'joe.

It's the exact same reason QB's like Vick, Culpepper, JaMarcus Russell, McNabb, and other QBs who can run ultimately fail. They can't read a defense. Arm strength and accuracy may or may not be there, but if they don't know where to throw it, they can't win games consistently by passing. They may have some success scrambling for big plays when one breaks down, but it tends to make their offenses one-dimensional. 

Some other QBs are the opposite. They have the arm strength to make world-class throws, but can't read defenses well enough to win in the playoffs, if not in the regular season (**Cough, hack, Favre, cough**),  Peyton, Rivers; even flakes like Ryan Leaf and Jeff George are good examples, as well. And they generally aren't as mobile, so if they struggle passing, they generally are doomed to suffer the same one-dimensional problem.

Mechanics can be fixed

Reading defenses, playing under center, going through multiple reads, leadership, poise, and toughness takes a lot more work

There are so many "gimmick" type schemes in college and when some system QBs make the leap to the pros they simply cannot adjust and make a successful transition. 

It's no surprise guys like Cam Newton and Tim Tebow and Alex Smith (among others) never lived up to the hype.  Look at the college guys that ran pro style offenses and experienced success and go from there.

Michigan QB's generally succeed in the NFL because they run a pro-style offense.

 

  • Harbaugh
  • Brady
  • Elvis Grbac
  • Chad Henne
  • Brian Griese
  • Ryan Mallet

 

They all made it to the pros, played meaningful minutes & had at least some success.

 

These gimmick offenses never last in the pros because defenders & defenses are just as fast if not faster than the offense at the pro level. As a QB, you MUST be able to read a defense to have long term success. Otherwise you're simply Akili Smith or Jamarcus Russell or Duante Culpepper. Guys who got by on sheer talent at the college level. Once in the pros, that gravy train is over. 

That's very true Boris and the other issue is many pass oriented gimmick offenses go after obvious mismatches in the college game.  Spread them out and force defenses to cover 3-4 guys and that's where the talent gap shows up in college.

In the NFL the speed of the game is that much faster and even nickel and dime backs are better than some starters in college football

Regardless of the college system. A QB at that level is facing defenses with maybe 1-3 players with true NFL talent. The difference between playing the QB position against NCAA defenses and NFL defenses is staggering. Reads are harder (damn near impossible if you didn't do it in college), the game moves at warp speed, throwing windows that stayed open in college snap shut fast in the NFL. 

 

IMO the transition for QBs, CBs, and interior DL from college to pros is brutal and the reason why things don't work out more than it does. 

Originally Posted by phaedrus:
Originally Posted by Satori:

Mayock, in the lead-up to the 2005 draft: I think what Aaron Rodgers is, is he's a highly proficient, technical quarterback who can manage a game. [He] has an above-average arm and can be a good player in the right system. I don't think he is an All-Pro type quarterback, though.

Above average arm?  I am surprised it was not realized he has a cannon for an arm.  

 

And appreciating the comparison with Alex Smith (thrown to the wolves immediately, but even while his circumstances were decent with KC, his arm doesn't compare.

Maylock got the "I don't think he is an All-Pro type Quarterback" part right.  AR is an MVP type QB - twice. 

 

I like watching AR play on Saturdays.  A cal game was one I looked for then.  In GB he had the ability to incubate (for the lack of a better term) for a couple years - learning and developing while waiting for his time to come.  Hats of the guys like Aikman in Dallas when he was in his first year and didn't either have time to develop and didn't yet have real good guys around him yet - was able to hold it together and have a good career. 

I think it really depends on the team you situation you end up in. Rodgers went to a team picking 24th, there were already some really good pieces in place there. Sure they went 4-12 his rookie year, but it didn't take much for that team to bounce back to 8-8 and pick 16th overall the next year. 

 

Guys who get picked 1st overall go to teams who are literally the worst in the league and unless those teams hit home runs with the coach and GM (like Andrew Luck who also had an outstanding OC in Bruce Arians) that QB is going into a rough situation. It's hard to be thrown to the fire when the team around you is the worst in the league. Aikman had a rough go of it early, but he had a good HC that built the team up in a hurry so he only had to take his lumps for a brief time...not like Alex Smith who never got a break from taking his lumps.

Last edited by Grave Digger

ARod is fortunate that he did get the time to mature before having to start--it saved plenty of wear and tear on his body.

Once he began, however, he's had to run for his life more often than not. And he has absorbed plenty of hard hits over the years.

IMHO, it's further proof of mental toughness, and defines the contrast between Rodgers and Smith, as an example. Some QBs can scramble, improvise, and see a window where he can connect with a receiver. Others wilt under the pressure and look at the pass rush, not downfield. 

quote:
Guys who get picked 1st overall go to teams who are literally the worst in the league and unless those teams hit home runs with the coach and GM (like Andrew Luck who also had an outstanding OC in Bruce Arians)
To be fair, Indianapolis had been a perennial playoff team that just happened to lose its starting QB to injury in the right year.

Most of these are pretty comical:

 

What NFL scouts told the Journal Sentinel's Bob McGinn before the draft about quarterback Aaron Rodgers:

 

Marc Ross, Buffalo: "He's a little short. The thing you worry about is those (Jeff) Tedford guys. They don't do anything for a couple years and then they have a good year or two. Who of his quarterbacks has done what they're supposed to do? None of them. Is he just working magic with great college quarterbacks or just manufacturing guys?"

 

AFC scout: "I like him. He's a very talented guy. A lot of quarterbacks that were system people have not done very well. That puts up a red flag. Not that he is one of them. He could be an exception. But I can't get it out of my craw."

 

Rich Snead, Tennessee: "I like him. I just don't know if he's maxed out. He's more accurate than (Kyle) Boller but probably not as athletic. He's a better player than Akili Smith. He's more athletic than (Trent) Dilfer was. He's a little more mobile than Joey Harrington. He had to go to a JC because no one would recruit him because they said he was too small. He's been busting his (expletive) his whole life to get to this point. I just don't know how much more he has to give."

 

NFC scout: "(Alex) Smith is the better athlete."

 

AFC scout: "I think he has some upside although there are some things that are just ordinary about him."

 

Jerry Angelo, Chicago: "I'd give Rodgers the edge (over Smith) just because he was easier to evaluate. And there's a little more arm. But the edge is negligible."

 

NFC scout: "I think he has a good chance of being a bust. Just like every other Tedford-coached quarterback. Thing I struggle with him is he gets sacked a lot. He doesn't have great ability to change the release of the football. He's mechanically very rigid. Brett Favre can change his release point and find different windows. There will be more growing pains with Alex Smith but in the end he has a much better chance to be much better."

 

NFC scout: "The guys that Tedford has had, what have they developed into? They're too well-schooled. So mechanical. So robotic. I don't know if they become good pro players. I think Rodgers is in that same mold."

 

AFC scout: "I don't like him. He's a clone of Harrington and Boller. They all throw the same way. What have those guys done? Nothing. If you take him in the second round, fine. Heady guy. They do a marvelous job of coaching quarterbacks there. I don't think he's as good as the top quarterbacks coming out last year."

 

AFC scout: "I don't think he's in the class of the quarterbacks that came out last year. Strong arm. Pretty good athlete. Still has some holes in his game."

 

Bill Polian, Indianapolis: "I see a guy who has good arm strength. I see some athletic ability. I see a guy who was pretty good with a good team. I see a guy who's in a pretty efficient offense. Am I certain that he's going to come in and lead my team to the Promised Land? I can't say that. I'm not even sure I can say that about Alex Smith."

 

AFC scout: "He's a system quarterback. 3-, 5-, 7-step guy. Can't create on his own. Panics under pressure. Gets flustered easy. I don't think there's a quarterback in the draft worthy of a first-round pick. I'm dead serious. None of them are worth it."

 

NFC scout: "He fit right into the Cal system. He probably executed that as well as anybody. He doesn't have as strong an arm as Boller but can make the same reads and play the scheme as well as Boller did.

Originally Posted by packerboi:

Most of these are pretty comical:

 

AFC scout: "He's a system quarterback. 3-, 5-, 7-step guy. Can't create on his own. Panics under pressure. Gets flustered easy. I don't think there's a quarterback in the draft worthy of a first-round pick. I'm dead serious. None of them are worth it."

Some of these comments may have come true if Rodgers didn't land in a good spot. Time to learn on the bench and having Clements & MM coaching him up was the best thing that could have happened to him . Alex Smith had a new OC and system every year and he turned out positively average.

Originally Posted by packerboi:

Most of these are pretty comical:

 ...Gets flustered easy. I don't think there's a quarterback in the draft worthy of a first-round pick. I'm dead serious. None of them are worth it."

 

NFC scout: "He fit right into the Cal system. He probably executed that as well as anybody. He doesn't have as strong an arm as Boller but can make the same reads and play the scheme as well as Boller did.

Dammit, Packerboi, must you screw up everything? You left out the last quote in that piece.

 

Unnamed X4 Poster: Craig Nall is so much better.

Last edited by Goalline
Originally Posted by Goalline:
Originally Posted by packerboi:

Most of these are pretty comical:

 ...Gets flustered easy. I don't think there's a quarterback in the draft worthy of a first-round pick. I'm dead serious. None of them are worth it."

 

NFC scout: "He fit right into the Cal system. He probably executed that as well as anybody. He doesn't have as strong an arm as Boller but can make the same reads and play the scheme as well as Boller did.

Dammit, Packerboi, must you screw up everything? You left out the last quote in that piece.

 

Unnamed X4 Poster: Craig Nall is so much better.

Was he the author of this biopic?

 

http://packersinsider.com/2010...-legends-craig-nall/

 

In 2006, the chiseled, 6-3, Nall signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Buffalo Bills, where he competed for the starting quarterback position until a hamstring injury suffered on the second day of practice ended his involvement in the competition. - See more at: http://packersinsider.com/2010...sthash.fIkoV7Mc.dpuf

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