Senior Bowl Game Day Thread

None of his physical traits are what NFL teams are looking for. Scheme also played a role in his numbers, kind of like Texas Tech QBs a few years back. He does have some smarts and intangibles though.

 

Cleanest offensive drive by far. Ridder looked good.

 

Biggest mismatch of the day has been the National D line vs. the American O line. Going to be interesting rewatching this game with a focus on the trenches.

 

Delvin Hodges lit up the stat sheet, too. Just saying.

 

That’s too harsh IMO. An all star game with 3-4 days of practice with their new playbook and the players they’re teamed up with doesn’t undo the positive tape that some of those guys have put together. Pickett and Howell had plenty of legit 1st round game tape put together against Power 5 competition. Maybe not Top 10 pick tape, but definitely mid-low 1st round tape. Ridder played pretty well. I think he solidified himself as going no lower than pick 50-60. I actually started watching some of his games after the Senior Bowl ended, and I may revise my view of him upwards. I could easily see him as a guy who could win with a solid team around him (like Jimmy Garappalo with better running ability). Strong looked awful, and I still haven’t really watched much tape of him, so I can’t say what I’m going to think of him. Willis and Zappe could have really benefited from solid game performances, and they didn’t deliver. However some folks swear that the practices are more important to NFL scouts, and Willis impressed in the practices. I’m definitely not high on Willis, but the raw talent is there if someone can flick on the lightbulb for him. Not 1st round material IMO, but he’ll probably go in the 1st anyway.

 

Here’s a breakdown of the QB’s that performed at the Senior Bowl. I agree that Ridder looked best.

 

I like Rob Rang more than most of the draft media people out there. There’s a lesson in what he’s saying in that article about taking someone based on physical traits, and giving too much weight to how a player does in Senior Bowl week when his game film shows flags. He mentioned a few guys who elevated their status in R1, but ultimately didn’t pan out. One in particular stands out to me: EJ Manuel. Manuel’s college film always necessitated a projection of his raw talent to the NFL level because his film didn’t show an NFL caliber QB mentally. He flopped. Interestingly it was the Bills who paid for over drafting Manuel, and a new regime went back to the same well a few years later with Josh Allen and struck gold. So, sometimes the risk pays off.

I agree that Willis had a good week of practice, especially in the drills where there were no defenders. He handled the lousy weather day with ease. On game day he reverted to 1 read and go. Part of that was pressure, but he also took off out of a clean pocket without looking in more than 1 direction downfield. I also agree that Ridder had the best game of the QBs, and it really wasn’t even close. He was a bit more uneven in the practices, but certainly has enough physical traits to be a solid starter. Strong was a disaster. He never looked good for more than a rep or two during the week, and was mostly awful in the game. If it weren’t for what he accomplished during the past couple of seasons, I would have thought I was watching an undrafted free agent level QB. The other guys were varying degrees of OK during the week and the game. Pickett’s game stats look better than he looked on the field. The TD was a blown coverage, and the big pass play leading to the TD was a blown coverage where Pickett underthrew by a few yards and nearly bounced it to a wide open receiver. It’s great that he saw it and pounced, but it was 2-3” from being a lost opportunity. Howell was OK. Some good, some bad, but mostly what we know. He’s a gritty guy who can make plays, but he held the ball too long a few times either trying to make something happen that wasn’t there, or failing to see a guy flashing open. Unfortunately without All 22 film, we don’t know which (just like with Willis’ 1 read and go plays). Zappe doesn’t have NFL starter traits, but he did move the ball to some extent. Terrible interception at the end, but we don’t know if the receiver was supposed to do something else. It was far enough from the receiver that it’s hard to tell exactly what happened there. Overall it wasn’t a really good week for QBs, despite the gaga coverage being given to Willis.

I will admit that Pickett has me a bit spooked. I have watched their game vs. UNC a few times, and he was not good during the second half of that game when it was raining. He got the clincher in OT, but that was starting at the UNC 25 yard line. If anyone has links to video of other games where he played in rain and/or wind, please post. I’ll be looking for games like that. You CAN’T have a Steelers QB who is a different guy in bad weather. We want home games in January, and we want lousy weather to be an advantage.

You know who made out like a bandit last week? Matt Corral.

 

I hate the crystal ball approach. First of all, a lot can happen between now and next draft season, take Howell for example or Rattler for that matter. Whats coming out next year can bust just as easy as anyone this year. A very important part of the evaluation process that fans are not privy to is the interview, putting guys on the white board and seeing if you think he has it between the ears and getting a feel for it they are mentally tough enough and project a good work ethic. Willis is oozing with talent, the only thing that will stop him from excelling is if he doesn’t grasp the X’s and O’s and/or lazy.

Willis
Pickett
Howell
Ridder
Strong
Corral

There is a good chance one or two of these guys will be solid pros. I don’t like the waiting for the “sure thing” to come along.

 

If you take the wrong guy at QB in the 1st round, especially if you trade up for him, you set the team back years. It’s not like trading up for a player at another position, for example our trade up for Bush. There’s a saying “if you have 2 quarterbacks, you have none.” If you invest high draft capital in a QB, he becomes the de facto future QB until it’s obvious that he isn’t. Any other QB you bring in has to deal with the fact that you drafted the other guy high, and are going to prioritize him (no matter what you might say about it being an open competition, blah blah). If you replace him in a year or two, the decision makers responsible for drafting and developing him are probably getting replaced as well (like when Arizona ditched Rosen after 1 year). You’ve listed 6 guys there, and said there’s a good chance that 1 or 2 become solid pros. I agree with that. That also means that the odds are that the one we take won’t be a solid pro. If you draft a QB high, he needs to be “the guy” or you just move on. There wasn’t a single QB at the Senior Bowl who looked like anything higher than pick #20, but some will go higher. Let someone else make that mistake.

 

You are comparing a known quantity to an unknown. You have no idea how anyone in this draft will do in the pros, I just pointed out how you don’t even have access to the interview process and it didn’t even make a dent. NO ONE HERE KNOWS! You’re all too in love with your scouting abilities, abilities that don’t even have all the necessary information to make a complete evaluation.