I'm glad to hear that, in somebody's opinion, Sam Darnold rocked his Pro Day.
It was important that he worked mostly from under center, and certainly throwing in the rain helped him out some.
After listening to Jim Miller critique quarterbacks in Senior Bowl practices and at the Combine, however, I have to take the word of a writer with a grain of salt.
We civilians are oblivious to things like the depth of drop-backs, body language intended to make safeties go the wrong way, and just a bunch of other stuff.
For example, if the quarterback sets up too shallow, and doesn't throw immediately, he's already in trouble. If he sets up too deep, he screws his tackles up by giving edge-rushers an easier angle.
All of these quarterbacks are going to look awesome to amateurs. It doesn't mean a lot.
My opinion won't have anything to do with John Dorsey's ultimate decision at quarterback, but I still prefer Baker Mayfield (Darnold second).
His ball was clocked at 60 mph. That's second only to Josh Allen's freakish 62 mph. The people who questioned his arm just didn't do their homework.
He completed almost 72% of his passes overall, but when PFF isolated his deep passes, those were at over 62% (which is very, very impressive. You are instructed to be impressed now.)
Doesn't matter, does it? He's still short, so you aint listening.
Hue Jackson himself tops his list with accuracy and processing speed, and yet people are discussing the three taller guys as better fits for Jackson's vertical passing offense.
Do you want a guy who can throw it 80 yards, or a guy who completes over 62% on deep passes? Don't you get this? Baker Mayfield is closer to completing 3 out of 4 passes than he is to 2 out of 3. Josh Allen is closer to completing 1 out of 2 than he is to completing 2 out of 3!!!
And what's this Memorex Moron "Jackson's offense" stuff? It's Todd Haley's offense now! Hue Jackson says this stuff himself, and everybody just ignores him! I mean wow, man!
Don't dismiss the Tyrod Taylor factor, either. Tyrod played in Buffalo, and Mayfield can do everything Tyrod did in adverse weather.
If you want NFL comparisons, Sam Darnold is kinda like Big Ben, and Mayfield is kinda like Drew Brees. I know they're both susperstars, but I prefer Brees, as do most experts.
What? "Let's not put Mayfield in the Hall of Fame just yet"? How reflexive and predictable, Captain Obvious.
Mayfield has a stronger arm than Brees, is every bit as accurate, and might be a better athlete.
Allen and Darnold are being coached by Jordan Palmer, because they need coaching. Rosen and Mayfield are already mechanicly sound. They don't have to change anything.
When a guy needs extra coaching, he's got bad habits. He can revert under pressure. Tom Brady overcame his own issues through discipline and diligence, but a lot of quarterbacks don't. Nor is Brady effective at all throwing on the run to this day. Mayfield, however, is a natural. He was just born to play quarterback.
This makes him SAFER than Darnold, let alone Allen! Mayfield doesn't have to set his feet "just so". This is partly because he doesn't have a high center of balance and long limbs.
-Sigh- but he's short. You still prefer Darnold, exclusively because he is taller. Incredible.
Still, I can't help "talking to the hand" some more, in the faint hope of reaching the brain about three feet behind it:
What is "arm talent"?
WRONG! Arm talent means strength, touch, and accuracy. Screw how far you can throw it! Can you throw a frozen rope when you need to, to hit your receiver before the guy covering him can react to his move? Can you drop it over the linebacker and under the safety with a bucket pass (most quarterbacks can't do this consistently; it's very difficult). Do you hit guys in stride? Can you thread a needle?
All of this is arm talent. In this draft, it's not even close: Baker Mayfield is the best arm talent, period. And yeah, that includes Rosen (Don't believe me! Ask the real experts! Mike Mayock, who ranks Mayfield fourth, will tell you the same thing!)
I don't hate Sam Darnold or anything. I think he'll be very successful, and won't have a kniption fit or anything if Dorsey drafts him, but Baker Mayfield is better. Remember I told you this.
While I'm at it, Rosen should do great as well (if he can stay healthy and conscious), and Josh Allen...I'm not sure. Cieling Superstar, floor "pretty good".
Mayfield is the best bet here. Once you extract your head, you will see this: Accuracy and arm talent are far more important than physical stature in the AFC North or anywhere else.
Aaron Rodgers is 6'15/8ths and runs the Green Bay Packers. He's one inch taller than Mayfield get over it, for cryin out loud!
Just mark my words. You'll see.
Since I looked over the Dorsey-adjusted secondary in my last post, I'll do linebackers in this one:
They're fine.
...ok well I guess I gotta do the defensive line:
I'll separate this: Defensive tackle is really stacked with Ogunjobi, Brantley, Coley, Meder and a couple other guys.
With the trade of Danny Shelton, I got excited by the implications. Meder is an outlier, and he resembles Bob Golic (the "human fire hydrant", as he described himself). An elite wrestler in highschool and college, the undersized/short Golic used leverage to do a great job at nose tackle in Marty's 3-4 defense.
I've come to realize that Meder is actually better than Shelton in a similar two-gap role here.
Ogunjobi, Brantley, and Coley can all two-gap, but are at their best lined up between offensive linemen and exploding through them for penetration. By the way, Sashi Brown found these guys, and they're real football players. And he didn't draft Shelton, either...just sayin.
Anyway, Meder is a run-down specialist here now. I think Gregg Williams will now be "sending" both defensive tackles on neutral and passing downs.
That's dangerous, because it opens up cutback lanes, but it is disruptive. Your Danny Shelton would try to collapse a pocket by powering through a double-team, but these new Sashi Brown guys don't do that. They're quick-twitch, first-step, explosive guys, and will predominate the rotation in 2018.
I like this a lot, because I believe in playing in the offense's backfield as much as possible (just my opinion).
Anyway, these four defensive tackles are all pretty damn good. Meder aside, Coley (swiped from the Ravens) is the most experienced, as he enters his third NFL season.
This is not the greatest defensive tackle group in the history of the NFL. I never said that. But it is, most certainly, above average (more like in the top third). So it's pretty good DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
Honestly, how can fans of an 0-16 team set the bar so impossibly high? I don't get it.
Anyway, defensive end is okay. Is it ok for me to put a check mark next to Myles Garrett? Whew thank you! Ogbah did not get double-digit sacks while healthy, ergo sucks NOT.
Actually, defensive end is pretty good, but Garrett and Ogbah have been the only consistent passrushers. All of them play the run well; they're real football players (and Dorsey knows it), but the edge-rush does need an upgrade.
The Garrett-Ogbah combo actually works well, but with either of them on the bench, it all but disappears. Still, if you don't fixate on the edge-rush, this is a good group of players (even though Sashi Brown drafted most of them haha).
In my last post, I started pounding the drum for Bradley Chubb (over Barkley and Fitzpatrick). He'd default Ogbah to a backup/rotational role instantly, thus upgrading the edge-rush and depth at the same time.
This combo would rival Clowney and Watt. Watt and Clowney have traded injuries, plus Clowney (physically a lot like Garrett btw) developed slowly. I know those of you in Myopia and Oblivia don't get this reference yet, but you will when these two play together in 2018. Remember I said this.
I had to refer to the Texans here because they're the only comparison I could find among the 32 teams. I'm sorry if you are devoid of imagination and can't grasp it, but the Cliff Notes version is two top five edge-rushers on the same team at the same time okay? Chubb and Garrett would match Clowney and Watt, and no other team in the NFL even comes close.
There's a chain reaction effect here (if the Browns draft Chubb) too:
Offensive linemen can't double-team both of these guys, and both of them can stunt, which blows tight end chip blocks to hell. Whenever they throw the ball, offenses have to focus on these two edge-rushers. They simply can not double up on either of the defensive tackles, and (look back a few paragraphs) the Browns defensive tackles are too explosive for guards and centers.
A Chubb/Garrett(Ogbah) rotation at DE would free up the aforementioned inside one-gap defensive tackles, and more often than not eliminate a tight end as a receiver. (Chubb, Ogbah, and Garrett are too quick and powerful for chip-blocks to work consistently on them. They'll often have outside leverage already, and the tight end has no leverage at all nevermind I don't want any head-explosions (or comas) here...
Let's just say that Bradley Chubb could make this the best defensive line in the NFL.
This one player could also make the 2018 Browns defense one of the best in the NFL. Try to stay with me here:
Gregg Williams wouldn't have to blitze nearly as often. He could keep seven players in coverage (and positioned to stop runs) more. He could "send" both his defensive tackles (instead of having one try to get double-teamed and eat up an extra blocker and cause a traffic jam).
In general, obviously the enemy quarterback doesn't have time, or a pocket, and has to scramble. A running back might burn them (remember the "angel" in my last post by the way?), but more often is hit in the backfield.
Gregg Williams isn't much different from Bud Carson. Bud Carson was one of the best defensive coordinators in history, and should be in the Hall of Fame.
Bud was a 4-3 guy who attacked at all times. With the Browns, David Grayson was his linebacker/safety hybrid; the resemblance between Carson and Williams is uncanny.
Most of you really don't get this: Bud/Gregg think it's better to attack than to react. You trade running backs stuffed for two yard losses, sacks, rushed throws for incompletions and interceptions, forced fumbles etc for 20-yard runs and occasional long bombs.
Bud Carson came out on top throughout his career, and so has Williams so far.
Bud never had a Garrett, let alone a Garrett and Chubb.
Back to Darnold: I have now actually seen some of his Pro Day antics. In my amatuer opinion, his drops looked right, and he did make some throws on the run (I forgot: Like Mayfield, Darnold can throw accurately while running for his life; he doesn't need to stop and re-plant his feet like Rosen and Allen).
Of course, Baker Mayfield will look great too, and is still the best quarterback in this draft, period.
I HAVE SPOKEN
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