I have heard some pundits say that Mitch Trubisky's performance against Stanford will hurt him, or at least not mean much to NFL scouts.
Actually, it will help him, a lot. Stanford had plenty of time to prepare for Trubisky, and suckered him into two interceptions early. His team fell behind, and things looked bleak, as his offense stalled repeatedly.
Then, in the biggest game of his life, he figured out the Stanford defense, and staged a brilliant comeback. Two touchdown passes were dropped, but he scored anyway.
He threw one touchdown across his body, to the other side of the field, on a highlight reel scramble.
He was sacked on a two point conversion attempt which would have tied the game with seconds remaining.
He showed poise and character, and overcame his own early mistakes. His wheels never came off. He figured out what was wrong and adjusted. And by the way, he completed a few deep passes.
Screw the interceptions. He was a first year starter. He might even have been twitchy under the lights. What mattered was how he overcame his diversity, and rose to the occasion.
This is what the smartest scouts will take from the Sun Bowl.
As I write this, Trubisky is ranked 12th, and Deshaun Watson 17th one the CBSSports big board.
Watson just beat Alabama for the National Championship, and has moved ahead of Mitch on my own Big Board...just barely.
Todd Blackledge, who the week before watched Watson and his defense dismantle his alma mater Buckeyes, predicted the Clemson victory.
Clemson's two defensive tackles, he said, would disrupt the Bama backfield, and Watson was a different breed of quarterback.
Blackledge said that Watson saw the whole field, just like a professional quarterback, and made the correct decisions quickly.
But Watson's game was somewhat similar to Trubisky's. Per Blackledge, he was "off" through much of the game, throwing the football high too often, and in general not placing it well.
Still, he improved as the game progressed, and came back from a 14 point deficit, and then at the very end, from three points down, made big plays, and threw the winning touchdown pass with ONE SECOND remaining.
The top ranked Tide defense pretty much annihilated Clemson's running game, and also for the most part neutralized Watson's own running (although he did tightrope in one touchdown on a called quarterback run).
Watson's own defense fought valiantly, but was burned repeatedly by running back Scarbrough who...wow. Fortunately for Clemson, Scarbrough was dinged later in the game, although his backup was almost as impressive, and continued to gash the Clemson defense.
Watson moves ahead of Trubisky in my book because of Blackledge's (most reliable yet) analysis, his much greater experience, and the fact that this is the SECOND time he cut NICK SABAN's defense to ribbons in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
I don't need to be an expert on quarterback mechanics to say this. I have a hard time figuring out why some analysts manage to discount this body of work at this level of competition to say he's a second round talent.
Saban's defense is loaded with imminant (NFL-ready) and future draft picks. It uses pro principles. Saban even changes it from year to year to match up better with the teams he sees as the greatest threat, and this season, that was most certainly Deshaun Watson and the Tigers.
This was Saban's second bite at that apple. He KNEW ALL ABOUT this kid now, and opened up his updated bag of dirty tricks to stop him. And he couldn't. In fact, Watson probably performed better this time than he did last time.
This is a franchise quarterback. Moreover, he's not a project, or even risky. Granted, his season-long performance has been uneven this year, but over his last five or so games, he's been terrific. Granted, he was "off" and innacurate early in this game.
But just like Trubisky, what meant the most here is how he kept coming back, and ultimately opened another can of whupass on a truly great defense coached by the Bill Belichick of college football...again.
And by the way, the Tide beat the hell out of him. The guy seems to be made of rubber or something.
I still also like Mitch Trubisky a lot, although he is much riskier. A lot of us thought Marc Sanchez was all that too, remember? (Admit it. You were bashing the Browns for trading down when Sanchez took the Jets deep in the playoffs as a rookie too. Remember? Remember?)
Either way, if you think either of these players, or maybe even Kizer, will be there at 12th overall, you are nuts.
Verily, we have seen quarterbacks slide in some drafts, but you can't bet your team's future on it. San Fransisco needs a sentient adult sane quarterback. Buffalo might take one. The Jets. It's relatively cheap to leapfrog #12 in a trade, for that matter.
A lot can happen with Garopollo and other veterans in trades, as I've posted, but I've seen enough. Given the choice between Deshaun Watson and a dominating passrusher, I take the quarterback, and damn the torpedos.
Too small too short shotgun spread inaccurate while being knocked down blahblah sometimes you just overthink this stuff, and can't see the obvious. This guy just did what he did, to the defense he did it to. Again. PERIOD.
Deshaun Watson will be somebody's franchise quarterback, within two seasons (barring injury). Some team will "overdraft" him, and be called idiots and desperate. Then they'll be called geniuses. Take it to the bank.
Ok I'll post this in a minute from my bomb shelter in an undisclosed location. I've got food and wifi. Don't waste time trying to find me.
UPDATE: I've finally seen highlights of Trubisky from the Sun Bowl and like him better again. I think.
But Watson is invited to the Senior Bowl, and I hope he accepts, since Hue Jackson would be coaching him.
Since Trubisky is from this area, and dreamed of playing for the Browns, the coaches can see him all they want (that's not against the rules, is it?)
Some say Kizer is the best, and his physical tools might be. Certainly, Trubisky and Watson had good coaching and talent around them, so I hope I'm not selling Kizer short for factors over which he had no control.
With three top guys, Garopollo, and a couple poor man's Garopollo's, plus a massively dissed starter already in Chicago, one of these three might make it to 12.
M I G H T.
At least if Watson accepts his invitation to the Senior Bowl, Hue and company can get to know two of the three really well.
Speaking of "and company", Pep Hamilton is not going into competition with the Browns, and can certainly offer his opinions on the draftable quarterbacks.
His role with the Browns may be timeline related, as Hue Jackson wanted to delegate as much as possible in his first year. The Browns may not have an "Assistant Head Coach-Quarterbacks" in 2017, but might just have Josh McCown coaching.
Josh could even help pick the quarterback. Wait and see, Josh McCown will be at the Senior Bowl.
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