Trading up to 2 for Bortles

[Slick Rick]

In the past week Tom Savage has gone from a 6th-7th rounder to one of the Top 5 QBs somehow. Huh? Color me skeptical.

I watched a few Pitt games this year and he never really stood out. He was pretty bad against FSU after the 1st series.

Another case of how someone looks in shorts and a t-shirt compared to actual game tape.

I don't know about Tom Savage, but looking at one game, especially in college, can be extremely misleading. I think the best way to accurately access a QB is from watching a lot of their tape, seeing if the throws they're good at are compatible with your scheme, if they're accurate, and then simply the numbers game. It's a fact that guys with higher YPA have a better chance of succeeding in the pros. Obviously not everyone with a high YPA is going to translate, if they're compiling that stat against good competition, then there's no reason why they shouldn't.

It's just like with the guy who said Boyd struggled against FSU. Most teams did, because they had a very good defense last year and it was a big part of the reason why they won the title and didn't lose a game. In the NFL, he's likely to have the best receiving corps he's ever played with, for sure will have the best offensive line and running back to keep the heat off, and that applies to almost any QB. It's all we ever hear about: "they'll be facing the toughest defenses in the world!", but sometimes we forget that the caliber of players they're playing with will be better.

With Savage, he supposedly has a really good arm, I didn't really pay much attention to him. I doubt he's one of the first 5 QBs taken, I can't imagine he's selected anywhere near the first 2 rounds, and I would guess he's still a 4th-6th round pick. Could be a good one though, you never know. You keep tabs on everyone, and you don't discriminate on a player because his draft stock isn't as high. If you think Tom Savage is your guy, then get him.

[AllDay]

I am not a Savage fan at all. I think he is terrible and overrated. Reminds me of Ryan Lindley of the Cardinals.

I saw someone say they laughed at Walter football saying Teddy Bridgewater will fall out of the 1st.

Read this: http://walterfootball.com/nfldraftrumormill.php

They put this out this morning. "4th round prospect"

[Slick Rick]

I am not a Savage fan at all. I think he is terrible and overrated. Reminds me of Ryan Lindley of the Cardinals.

I saw someone say they laughed at Walter football saying Teddy Bridgewater will fall out of the 1st.

Read this: http://walterfootball.com/nfldraftrumormill.php

They put this out this morning. "4th round prospect"

Yeah, Teddy Bridgewater is gone by the end of the 1st round. If he isn't, #33 to Houston. Could you imagine that, Clowney and Bridgewater? About 5 months ago there wasn't a person on the planet who you could convince Clowney and Bridgewater weren't going 1 and 2, in no particular order. I think a team with an older QB would take a chance on him before that, though.

[AllDay]

That would be quite a draft for the Texans.

I could see the Pats stealing him.

[Mothman]

I am not a Savage fan at all. I think he is terrible and overrated. Reminds me of Ryan Lindley of the Cardinals.

I saw someone say they laughed at Walter football saying Teddy Bridgewater will fall out of the 1st.

Read this: http://walterfootball.com/nfldraftrumormill.php

They put this out this morning. "4th round prospect"

It just shows you how subjective the entire process is and how teams, draftnicks and everybody else grades players differently, based on their own observations and criteria. One GM might consider Bridgewater a fourth round prospect, another might view him as a second rounder but it may only take one to view him as a first round pick for him to go in that round.

It will all sort itself out when the draft begins and it will be interesting to see what happens. After that, we'll get the real answers on the field over the next few years.

[Texas Vike]

It's just like with the guy who said Boyd struggled against FSU. Most teams did, because they had a very good defense last year and it was a big part of the reason why they won the title and didn't lose a game. In the NFL, he's likely to have the best receiving corps he's ever played with, for sure will have the best offensive line and running back to keep the heat off, and that applies to almost any QB. It's all we ever hear about: "they'll be facing the toughest defenses in the world!", but sometimes we forget that the caliber of players they're playing with will be better.

.

I was "that guy". Instead of picking apart your argument, here's the tape. I direct your attention to his errant throws and bad decisions at :46, 2:09, 2:58, 3:28, 4:35, 5:55, 7:05 (especially) etc. etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svk_5ivEyDc



* also see the great TD catch by Watkins at 3:35

** the other player that stands out on this tape is FSU's Joyner.

[Slick Rick]

I was "that guy". Instead of picking apart your argument, here's the tape. I direct your attention to his errant throws and bad decisions at :46, 2:09, 2:58, 3:28, 4:35, 5:55, 7:05 (especially) etc. etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svk_5ivEyDc



* also see the great TD catch by Watkins at 3:35

** the other player that stands out on this tape is FSU's Joyner.

I don't even know where to start. I actually wasn't disputing that he had a bad game or anything like that. I actually watched the game, I saw them get their butts kicked, and I saw Boyd look like crap on national TV. If I felt like disputing your claim, I would have argued against it.

What I think of Boyd is that he seems to have the kind of arm that could fit in with what Turner usually does. At this point, I think it's either him, Mettenberger or Savage.

[S197]

It just shows you how subjective the entire process is and how teams, draftnicks and everybody else grades players differently, based on their own observations and criteria. One GM might consider Bridgewater a fourth round prospect, another might view him as a second rounder but it may only take one to view him as a first round pick for him to go in that round.

It will all sort itself out when the draft begins and it will be interesting to see what happens. After that, we'll get the real answers on the field over the next few years.

To further complicate the process, a team may have a player high on their board and still pass on him. Wasn't it Dallas' draft board that was leaked yet again that showed Floyd as a top 5 pick? Maybe it was top 10, in any case he was ranked rather high and they didn't take him for whatever reason.

[headless_norseman]

Maybe it was top 10, in any case he was ranked rather high and they didn't take him for whatever reason.

Jerry Jones runs that show - nuff said?

[Texas Vike]

I don't even know where to start. I actually wasn't disputing that he had a bad game or anything like that. I actually watched the game, I saw them get their butts kicked, and I saw Boyd look like crap on national TV. If I felt like disputing your claim, I would have argued against it.

What I think of Boyd is that he seems to have the kind of arm that could fit in with what Turner usually does. At this point, I think it's either him, Mettenberger or Savage.

It sounded to me like you were justifying Boyd's horrid performance due to the tough competition and the lack of skill players he was surrounded by. Go read your post again. When I watched the tape again I saw Sammy Watkins looking very much like what he is: a top 5 pick, bailing out errant throws from Boyd. I also saw Joyner playing some great ball. But I don't see anything that changes my mind about Boyd. He looked terrible and out of the loop with his WRs. He also simply missed on routine throws.

Boyd does have a strong arm. It's what's between his ears that worries me.

[Slick Rick]

It sounded to me like you were justifying Boyd's horrid performance due to the tough competition and the lack of skill players he was surrounded by. Go read your post again. When I watched the tape again I saw Sammy Watkins looking very much like what he is: a top 5 pick, bailing out errant throws from Boyd. I also saw Joyner playing some great ball. But I don't see anything that changes my mind about Boyd. He looked terrible and out of the loop with his WRs. He also simply missed on routine throws.

Boyd does have a strong arm. It's what's between his ears that worries me.

I think you'd be amazed at how misleading one game could be. In fact I know this guy named Peyton Manning, future Hall of Famer, arguably the best QB I've ever watched play, look absolutely dreadful against the top scoring defense in the NFL. He was throwing bad passes, he was throwing picks, he wasn't throwing TDs... Well, I'm sure you'll have picked up on what I'm trying to illustrate for you at this point. You can argue his merits based off of one game all you want, but it doesn't mean that there isn't a much larger sample size where he was a great player.

What's between the ears worries me about a lot of QBs coming out of college. It isn't often you find that Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning type of guy who has everything you want. Boyd has a lot of things. So did Christian Ponder. Heck, speaking of Ponder, wasn't that one of the big supposed upsides that he had? He was supposed to be this smart, NFL-ready QB with a lot of intangibles. He always seems to either be too hesitant, or just make terrible reads, or completely shank one on a 10 yard slant... Of course, he could win the job out of training camp and throw for 4,000 yards this year and we'd all forget about 2013.

[Texas Vike]

That wasn't Boyd's only bad game. In fact, that's the knock against him: he looked great at times, but he was WIDELY inconsistent. Not worth a pick in the top 6 rounds of the draft, IMO. Maybe a flier in the 7th or as a FA.

Between the ears has nothing to do with academic intelligence. Ponder's MBA is nothing to me. Football intelligence is context specific. I want a guy that can get to the line, read what the opponent is doing, and make adjustments. I want a guy that can have a great cover corner, like Joyner, taking away his preferred option (Watkins) and STILL be able to come up with solutions. I want an improvisor. I want a guy that when things get tough solves problems. In Boyd, I see confusion.