2020 Our Year For Sure

Aaron Rodgers came from a sort of bubble screen system at Cal. I'm pretty sure his ability to read defenses and go through progressions was completely different coming out of school than it is now. Unlike arm strength, these are things that can be learned and practiced. Since EJ is an intelligent and hard-working kid, I see no reason why he shouldn't have the capacity to learn. He just needs to be well-coached.

You're advocating taking someone with a Chad Pennington arm. While there's a chance Barkley's arm strength can get a little stronger, a Chad Pennington isn't going to suddenly morph into John Elway. Think of the quarterbacks that have won championships the last decade or so- Roethlisberger, Rodgers, Brees, Brady, Eli, Peyton, Flacco. Even those who had arm strength concerns coming out of school had significantly better arm strength than Barkley does now. You could say the same for the rest of the top QBs in the league now (Kaep, Luck, etc). At the same time you're lamenting "missing out" on a guy who doesn't currently have the physical tools to be a franchise quarterback and seems to have little chance of ever having them, you're condemning the Manuel choice based on what you perceive as his inabilities to go through progressions and to process information quickly. It seems like these things can be improved through repetition (experience) and proper NFL coaching. And by ALL accounts Manuel has the necessary intelligence and work ethic to make those improvements. What remains to be seen is whether we have the coaching, but based on their decision to draft a quarterback with the necessary upside at the expense of familiarity (Nassib), I'm feeling better about our coaches all the time.

But Todd McShay said he's inaccurate.

What do we know about Chibane? Marrone must like him and it's a position where we could use some help.

Very well said. It's exciting to add this kind of talent. It's all up to the coaches now.

Mayock said he woulda gone higher if not for the off the field stuff, whatever that was. Seems like we're infusing the defense with attitude

I believe the 2012 Draft was our first since a number of changes were made to the scouting department. Our catch in 2012 doesn't look bad at all so far- Gilmore, Glenn, Bradham and Brooks. There's reason for optimism.

With his quickness there's no reason why he can't line up as a rush OLB in certain packages and come off the edge. Look at the film, this guy's athleticism is impressive for a guy his size. They'll move him around in the box and find a way to get the most out of him. Also, !@#$ the Jets. I love that we pissed off their fans.

Te'o is like Poz with better instincts. He won't be a monster because he doesn't have crazy athleticism but I think he'll be a good starter in the league and worth a 2nd rounder.

I love what this says about Marrone. I'm sure he could've used the WCO he used at Syracuse and moved the chains a bit with Nassib or Barkley, who would've been "safer" picks. Choosing Manuel tells me he realizes to win in the NFL his scheme needs to be more than dink and dunk. He's challenging himself to evolve beyond what worked for him at Syracuse and attack defenses in multiple ways. 'Just give me someone with all the tools and I'll teach him the mental side of the game.' It's a sign of confidence.

Thanks, I'm gonna try to track that down.

I'm in shock. They sucked me back in with this first round.

Justin Hunter?

Also this http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2013/4/24/4263542/2013-nfl-draft-rumors-doug-marrone-likes-ej-manuel

There was a lot of heat right away for both Maybin and Whitner too though.

It's the draft man, this is really no time for plans or activities.

If we pass on QB I love this idea. We badly need a playmaker in the passing game.

I think it's plausible.

Schefter has said a team told him Nassib is the top QB on their board. Others have him rated as a 4th round pick, and one team considers him completely undraftable and isn't reviewing him at all. Part of what makes this draft so interesting is the wide range of opinions on these quarterbacks.

You've all sold me on Manuel long-term, but for discussion here's another viewpoint from Buffalo Rumblings on the pro-style offense part. "For as smart as Manuel is, Florida State did not run a complex offense for him. Fisher designed a predicated read offense where Manuel could make decisions pre-snap with only one or two reads after the ball is snapped. Most of Florida State's route combinations were high-low reads that developed in front of Manuel's field of vision to one side. After his initial reads were covered, he either held onto the ball too long looking for something to come open, or he took off running. He didn't work through many progressions past the second receiver, he didn't call audibles, and has a lot to learn about running an NFL offense at tempo and making fast reads against disguised NFL coverages." http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2013/4/21/4234106/ej-manuel-2013-nfl-draft-scouting-report

Well played, you had me going.

My most clear impression of Marrone so far is that like Belichick, he's absolutely mastered the art of talking yet saying nothing.

I feel like you have this backwards. Nassib can't throw a deep ball. He's a prime example of a scheme quarterback. Marrone understood this and designed an offense that would capitalize on his strengths and to some extent removed the deep ball from the playbook, kinda like Gailey correctly did for Fitzpatrick. Barkley and Nassib are the scheme passers who need to be in a WCO type of system and get the ball out quickly. Manuel is the high upside guy with all the physical tools you could ask for.

The Jets are in a similar situation to us. Roster with a lot of holes, signifcant money owed to QBs (Fitz and Kolb will count about $10m against us in 2014), and a quarterback who probably isn't the answer. I think both teams should think hard about taking a QB.

Poor writing? He was sending a text to a friend, I don't think he expected us to be writing reviews of his work. If his friend understood it then it did the job, no? He was asked about the coaches and he didn't have much more to say than 'yeah, I like them.'