Post by Juggs on Feb 19, 2014 21:33:39 GMT -5
I graded quarterbacks based on 3 categories, containing a total of 10 subcategories. The prospects were evaluated on arm talent, which consists of short accuracy, deep accuracy, velocity, and release; athletic traits which consist of pocket movement, measurables, and running; and intangibles which consist of reading defenses, experience, and footwork/mechanics. I sometimes use standard nfl shorthand such as QB, IR, PA, ISO, etc. You should be able to read it and if you have any questions let me know. When I describe game film, dates are always 2013 unless mentioned. EW and SB stand for East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl respectively. I was raised on the metric system, so s stands for second, m for meter, cm for centimer, ' for foot, '' for inch, sq as a prefix for square and other SI units as applied. As of this writing on 2/19/14 I've done complete reports on Bortles and Manziel as well as taken notes on Bridgewater, Carr, Mettenberger, McCarron, and Garappolo. Please point out any typos or egregious errors below.
Also, I wrote (almost) everything you'll see and more BY HAND while sitting in lecture classes not paying attention and watching tape on my phone with no sound. I love evaluating players, especially college upperclassmen right before the combine, and even when it gets boring, it's always been more interesting to me than sitting through a politics lecture that I could have given without any preparation. I wrote the notes in two classes, current events and graphic design, both of which feature lectures and both of which I have 100% averages so far this semester. That's the way my senior year in high school is pretty much. Except my AP Physics coursework. That's a bitch. I got a C+ on that midterm. But that was before draft season. Anyhow... I digress. Before I copy/paste what I've typed up so far. Here are some photos of some of my hard copy notes, just for fun.
edit: the photos aren't viewable on this forum sorry. I have about 8 pages of notes. :<
Here's the first entry on Blake Bortles.
BLAKE BORTLES, QB, UCF
Games I watched so far: vs Ohio St 2012, Louisvile, SC, Penn St.
Overall GPA: 3.57/4
NFL MOCK DRAFT PICK: #3, Jacksonville Jaguars
Short Accuracy: (SA): A+
Unbelievable. He routinely leads receivers out of break, and puts the ball as far away from the defender as possible. I haven't yet seen on short interception on tape. You'll never see him sky a receiver on a drag running away from him, or try to lead a receiver on a slant. Four years at Central Florida has built him an excellent ability to slice defenses in the 5 to 15 yard range.
Deep Accuracy: (DA): B-
He needs work here. Bortles doesn't display the same elite accuracy when he takes shots down the sideline or on flag routes. At a 20+ yard distance, many of his throws sail receivers and ball placement is rarely perfect. Occasionally he'll drop in a perfect deep ball over the top (see vsPennSt. ), but he's too inconsistent in this area. He does throw a great post or seam jump ball.
Velocity: (V): A
Not the cause of his problems throwing deep. His throws look like an NFL QB is throwing the,m. Some college targets couldn't hold on to passes that hit them square in the chest, probably because they weren't used to balls coming in so fast that they hit their pad shelves. Against South Carolina and Ohio St. 2012 he made money off throwing into tight windows with high speed passes.
Footwork: (Fo): B+
He worked primarily out the shotgun at Central Florida which exacerbated his missteps, if you'll accept a bad pun. Namely, his feet looked slow on three step drops and just okay on deeper drop-backs. Other Qbs like Manziel and Garappolo looked way faster dropping back. He grades okay in stepping up in the pocket or sidestepping. He has a slight kick to his motion, which is okay except that it worsens when he panics, which occasionally happens. These all seem like bad things, but their not serious issues, and I was mostly nitpicking because it's so hard to find a weakness in Bortles' game. That's why the B+ holds.
Release: (RL): A:
NFL Caliber, but not quite Tony Romo. He doesn't need to focus on improving this and it's definitely in the plus column. I've tried to stopwatch release times on tape, but my reaction time isn't that good, and we'll have to wait for the combine for pro scouts to tell us. I'd guess in the low .3s'.
Pocket Movement: (PM): A
He has an excellent sense of pressure and almost always gets the throw off. He often makes defenders miss. Occasionally runs into his own lineman. He scrambles with the ball away from his body. Risky, but he keeps his eyes up field and almost always gets away with it. When he steps up or moves left right, he tends to hop a bit or take baby steps, nothing in between. Both make fumbles more of a risk. The best part of his pocket game is that when he scrambles, he's always looking to pass, and he dominated doing that at UCF.
Running: (R): B-
He's surprisingly quick and gets down quicker. His eyes are always upfield, so he might give up a great running lane for even a short pass. He doesn't try to use athletic moves after crossing the line of scrimmage, he'll always slide or dive headfirst, which you don't want to see. He will try a juke or burst move behind the LoS to avoid sacks, usually unsuccessful. Didn't fumble on tape, but he doesn't cover the ball with two hands while sliding or taking sacks.
Measurables: (MS): A-
6'4'' 193cm 230lbs 104kg 40 time TBA, but not likely under 4.6. He looks like Kurt Warner. He shares his name with a hot model/porn star. So I got a nice surprise googling him
Reading Defenses: (RE): A-
This is a tale of two Bortles. His pre-snap and designed reads are top-notch. Bridgewater gets more attention for those, but I honestly think he and Bortles are on the same point of the Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning spectrum, or at least, they both represent visible light. That said, Bortles relies too much on conceptions and what he sees pre-snap, and he can be fooled. That causes the occasional bonehead play. His jump ball is so good he often just lofted it up without reading leverage or range of the corner or safety respectively.
Experience: (EX): B
He's a redshirt junior with a good work ethic. He did not play top competition in the BigEast/AAC. Lost two of his three toughest games against SC and Ohio St 2012. He did carry UCF to a legacy-defining win over Baylor in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl. He ran a shotgun offense, which limits his experience with most of the playbooks of teams drafting in the top 10. His arm talent still makes him a great fit for any team needing a QB. That's the bottom line.
Also, I wrote (almost) everything you'll see and more BY HAND while sitting in lecture classes not paying attention and watching tape on my phone with no sound. I love evaluating players, especially college upperclassmen right before the combine, and even when it gets boring, it's always been more interesting to me than sitting through a politics lecture that I could have given without any preparation. I wrote the notes in two classes, current events and graphic design, both of which feature lectures and both of which I have 100% averages so far this semester. That's the way my senior year in high school is pretty much. Except my AP Physics coursework. That's a bitch. I got a C+ on that midterm. But that was before draft season. Anyhow... I digress. Before I copy/paste what I've typed up so far. Here are some photos of some of my hard copy notes, just for fun.
edit: the photos aren't viewable on this forum sorry. I have about 8 pages of notes. :<
Here's the first entry on Blake Bortles.
BLAKE BORTLES, QB, UCF
Games I watched so far: vs Ohio St 2012, Louisvile, SC, Penn St.
Overall GPA: 3.57/4
NFL MOCK DRAFT PICK: #3, Jacksonville Jaguars
Short Accuracy: (SA): A+
Unbelievable. He routinely leads receivers out of break, and puts the ball as far away from the defender as possible. I haven't yet seen on short interception on tape. You'll never see him sky a receiver on a drag running away from him, or try to lead a receiver on a slant. Four years at Central Florida has built him an excellent ability to slice defenses in the 5 to 15 yard range.
Deep Accuracy: (DA): B-
He needs work here. Bortles doesn't display the same elite accuracy when he takes shots down the sideline or on flag routes. At a 20+ yard distance, many of his throws sail receivers and ball placement is rarely perfect. Occasionally he'll drop in a perfect deep ball over the top (see vsPennSt. ), but he's too inconsistent in this area. He does throw a great post or seam jump ball.
Velocity: (V): A
Not the cause of his problems throwing deep. His throws look like an NFL QB is throwing the,m. Some college targets couldn't hold on to passes that hit them square in the chest, probably because they weren't used to balls coming in so fast that they hit their pad shelves. Against South Carolina and Ohio St. 2012 he made money off throwing into tight windows with high speed passes.
Footwork: (Fo): B+
He worked primarily out the shotgun at Central Florida which exacerbated his missteps, if you'll accept a bad pun. Namely, his feet looked slow on three step drops and just okay on deeper drop-backs. Other Qbs like Manziel and Garappolo looked way faster dropping back. He grades okay in stepping up in the pocket or sidestepping. He has a slight kick to his motion, which is okay except that it worsens when he panics, which occasionally happens. These all seem like bad things, but their not serious issues, and I was mostly nitpicking because it's so hard to find a weakness in Bortles' game. That's why the B+ holds.
Release: (RL): A:
NFL Caliber, but not quite Tony Romo. He doesn't need to focus on improving this and it's definitely in the plus column. I've tried to stopwatch release times on tape, but my reaction time isn't that good, and we'll have to wait for the combine for pro scouts to tell us. I'd guess in the low .3s'.
Pocket Movement: (PM): A
He has an excellent sense of pressure and almost always gets the throw off. He often makes defenders miss. Occasionally runs into his own lineman. He scrambles with the ball away from his body. Risky, but he keeps his eyes up field and almost always gets away with it. When he steps up or moves left right, he tends to hop a bit or take baby steps, nothing in between. Both make fumbles more of a risk. The best part of his pocket game is that when he scrambles, he's always looking to pass, and he dominated doing that at UCF.
Running: (R): B-
He's surprisingly quick and gets down quicker. His eyes are always upfield, so he might give up a great running lane for even a short pass. He doesn't try to use athletic moves after crossing the line of scrimmage, he'll always slide or dive headfirst, which you don't want to see. He will try a juke or burst move behind the LoS to avoid sacks, usually unsuccessful. Didn't fumble on tape, but he doesn't cover the ball with two hands while sliding or taking sacks.
Measurables: (MS): A-
6'4'' 193cm 230lbs 104kg 40 time TBA, but not likely under 4.6. He looks like Kurt Warner. He shares his name with a hot model/porn star. So I got a nice surprise googling him
Reading Defenses: (RE): A-
This is a tale of two Bortles. His pre-snap and designed reads are top-notch. Bridgewater gets more attention for those, but I honestly think he and Bortles are on the same point of the Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning spectrum, or at least, they both represent visible light. That said, Bortles relies too much on conceptions and what he sees pre-snap, and he can be fooled. That causes the occasional bonehead play. His jump ball is so good he often just lofted it up without reading leverage or range of the corner or safety respectively.
Experience: (EX): B
He's a redshirt junior with a good work ethic. He did not play top competition in the BigEast/AAC. Lost two of his three toughest games against SC and Ohio St 2012. He did carry UCF to a legacy-defining win over Baylor in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl. He ran a shotgun offense, which limits his experience with most of the playbooks of teams drafting in the top 10. His arm talent still makes him a great fit for any team needing a QB. That's the bottom line.