A Less Complimentary Article for Flacco

[SunCoastBlueHen]

Just to balance things out a bit...

This guy has Flacco as the fifth best QB prospect and Josh Johnson fourth.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/758744,CST-SPT-mully25.article

A few interesting quotes...


The quarterbacks, in particular, had a rough week of practice. The Sun-Times talked with a veteran quarterback expert and got his studied opinion of the Class of '08. He didn't much care for the six players on display: Hawaii's Colt Brennan, Kentucky's Andre Woodson and Tennessee's Erik Ainge on the South team and USC's John David Booty, Delaware's Joe Flacco and Michigan's Chad Henne on the North team.

Our guy cautioned that you'll get a different spin from scouting directors and general managers, who view pumping up quarterback prospects as part of their job because they want to see players at that position get drafted so other talent falls to them.


Joe Flacco, Delaware: He's a tall kid (6-6) with a strong arm, but the game is too fast for him at this point. You wonder about his feet, his reads and his understanding of the game. He's a project. The Vikings' Tarvaris Jackson is the only Division I-AA quarterback drafted in the last 10 years. If you want a sleeper, go after Johnson. Flacco is years away.

[Appdad]

Just to balance things out a bit...

This guy has Flacco as the fifth best QB prospect and Josh Johnson fourth.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/758744,CST-SPT-mully25.article

A few interesting quotes...


Most QB's are "years away".

I, for one, thinks he makes it in the NFL. Starting/bench, it doesn't matter. It's all good if he is on a team!

[UNHFan99]

My only issue is that Flacco has only had one really good year. He also had a great running back to open up the passing lanes. Other than that I like him alot. He obviouslly has all the physical tools. I thought as a junior he looks alittle jumpy and didnt make good or quick decisions by NFL standards. I think scouts might want to know why didnt he dominate his other year starting.

[zymergy]

Any paper who quote their "veteran quarterback expert" is suspect to me. Who is this expert and why should we listen to his opinion over the others who seem to say what they feel openly and not anonymously?

[bench]

Joe Flacco, Delaware: He's a tall kid (6-6) with a strong arm, but the game is too fast for him at this point. You wonder about his feet, his reads and his understanding of the game. He's a project. The Vikings' Tarvaris Jackson is the only Division I-AA quarterback drafted in the last 10 years. If you want a sleeper, go after Johnson. Flacco is years away.

The headline you would have to go with for this block quote: FLACCID - INTEREST IN DELAWARE QB SOFTENS

Personally I think he'll be just fine. I seem to recall another big signal caller from a smaller school capably making the adjustment to pro ball just recently. Flacco has the size and the skills, and he'll learn the rest as he progresses.

[Syntax Error]

"The Vikings' Tarvaris Jackson is the only Division I-AA quarterback drafted in the last 10 years. ..."Sure he is. xrolleyesx I guess these draft picks don't count:
Round Pick # Overall Team Athlete Pos. School

2006 Draft
5 15 148 Green Bay Ingle Martin QB Furman

2005 Draft
7 36 250 St. Louis Ryan Fitzpatrick QB Harvard

2004 Draft
6 20 185 Philadelphia Andrew Hall QB Delaware

2002 Draft
3 16 81 Arizona Josh McCown QB Sam Houston State
5 29 164 Green Bay Craig Nall QB Northwestern State
7 5 216 San Diego Seth Burford QB Cal Poly
7 25 236 Baltimore Wes Pate QB Stephen F. Austin

2000 Draft
6 17 183 Cleveland Spergon Wynn QB Southwest Texas State
6 39 205 San Diego JaJuan Seider QB Florida A&M



And that's just the last seven years. xnonono2x

[USDFAN_55]

Any paper who quote their "veteran quarterback expert" is suspect to me. Who is this expert and why should we listen to his opinion over the others who seem to say what they feel openly and not anonymously?

This is not the only "expert" I've read that had this take on Flacco. It's hard to tell what to believe in the media. We'll just have to wait and see how everything turns out.

[Syntax Error]

Sure he is. xrolleyesx I guess these draft picks don't count:
Round Pick # Overall Team Athlete Pos. School

2006 Draft
5 15 148 Green Bay Ingle Martin QB Furman

2005 Draft
7 36 250 St. Louis Ryan Fitzpatrick QB Harvard

2004 Draft
6 20 185 Philadelphia Andrew Hall QB Delaware

2002 Draft
3 16 81 Arizona Josh McCown QB Sam Houston State
5 29 164 Green Bay Craig Nall QB Northwestern State
7 5 216 San Diego Seth Burford QB Cal Poly
7 25 236 Baltimore Wes Pate QB Stephen F. Austin

2000 Draft
6 17 183 Cleveland Spergon Wynn QB Southwest Texas State
6 39 205 San Diego JaJuan Seider QB Florida A&M



And that's just the last seven years. xnonono2xAlmost forgot last year, Tyler Thigpen of CCU was drafted.
http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=85510

[AZGrizFan]

Sure he is. xrolleyesx I guess these draft picks don't count:
Round Pick # Overall Team Athlete Pos. School

2006 Draft
5 15 148 Green Bay Ingle Martin QB Furman

2005 Draft
7 36 250 St. Louis Ryan Fitzpatrick QB Harvard

2004 Draft
6 20 185 Philadelphia Andrew Hall QB Delaware

2002 Draft
3 16 81 Arizona Josh McCown QB Sam Houston State
5 29 164 Green Bay Craig Nall QB Northwestern State
7 5 216 San Diego Seth Burford QB Cal Poly
7 25 236 Baltimore Wes Pate QB Stephen F. Austin

2000 Draft
6 17 183 Cleveland Spergon Wynn QB Southwest Texas State
6 39 205 San Diego JaJuan Seider QB Florida A&M



And that's just the last seven years. xnonono2x

Never let facts get in the way of a good argument.... xlolx xlolx xlolx

Damn though, 2002 was the year of the Southland Conference, no? xeekx

[ereiz03]

Unless Flacco has a really strong game, I think that JJ has moved above him at this point.

[bleedblue]

Unless Flacco has a really strong game, I think that JJ has moved above him at this point.

xnonox
I wonder if Kiper and Mcshay think JJ is ahead of Joe? There's a video on ESPNU site with Mcshay talking about this year's crop of QB's in the senior bowl and mentions Joe being "possibly" an early 2nd or even a late 1st round pick. So ereiz03, do you think JJ goes in the 1st round or early 2nd round before Joe? I know it's speculation at this point but 90%(just a guess) of the experts are saying Joe is on the rise and was already thought to be the better NFL prospect than JJ. It's just funny a couple of USD fans mention anonymous reports when other named experts speak very highly of Joe. This entire article is suspect. This article says The Vikings' Tarvaris Jackson is the only Division I-AA quarterback drafted in the last 10 years. A previous poster has already destroyed that statement. Who wrote this article and who is the "veteran quarterback expert"? Why don't they mention his name? Perhaps it's really the writer's feelings and not an expert at all? JJ in my mind is Tarvaris Jackson, which is saying a lot. He was a starter on a NFL team. But just like Tarvaris, JJ is raw and needs to be developed into a NFL QB. I would bet as far as growing into a NFL QB Joe is further along than JJ. No disrespect, just an opinion. The historical facts show both Joe and JJ don't have an average chance to succeed in the NFL. But at least agree that most experts feel Joe is ahead of JJ, whether you feel that way or not. I will say this, I think JJ could be a very good 4th or 5th round pick and surprise a lot of people but then again he could be asked to be WR within the first 3 years of his NFL career. That's what happened to Rich Gannon and it worked out pretty well for him. Good luck to JJ and I know I will be watching.

[GannonFan]

My only issue is that Flacco has only had one really good year. He also had a great running back to open up the passing lanes. Other than that I like him alot. He obviouslly has all the physical tools. I thought as a junior he looks alittle jumpy and didnt make good or quick decisions by NFL standards. I think scouts might want to know why didnt he dominate his other year starting.

But of course people then diminish Cuff by saying that he was lucky to be playing with such a great QB who could keep teams from stacking up the line. Go figure.

As for the first year, you need to give him some slack - it was his first year starting college and UD didn't have Cuff for more than half the year and the offensive line wasn't very good. Plus the defense was so terrible there's not much the offense could do to turn it around. And with all that, he didn't have bad stats - 128 QB rating, completed 64% of his passes, 18TD's, 2783 passing yards (253 per game) - most teams would love to have a passer like that.

[andy7171]

Unless Flacco has a really strong game, I think that JJ has moved above him at this point.

If they are questioning Flacco's big game experience because of his I-AA competition and adjusting to the speed of the NFL, how does JJ look? xeyebrowx

[USDFAN_55]

If they are questioning Flacco's big game experience because of his I-AA competition and adjusting to the speed of the NFL, how does JJ look? xeyebrowx

He looked just fine in the East Wet Shrine gamexnodx . Both players will have some adjusting to do, but to say JJ can't handle the speed of the next level is absurd.

[LacesOut]

I think if Flacco gets questions for anything, it should be his ability to take snaps from under the center and read defenses in that capacity.

At UD he was in the shotgun pretty much the entire time right? And his plays were called in from the sidelines as he was standing in the gun, meaning he could look over and see/read the defense for a few seconds.

There will obviously be an adjustment for him in the NFL, where most plays are run from the QB under the center.

[blukeys]

I think if Flacco gets questions for anything, it should be his ability to take snaps from under the center and read defenses in that capacity.

At UD he was in the shotgun pretty much the entire time right? And his plays were called in from the sidelines as he was standing in the gun, meaning he could look over and see/read the defense for a few seconds.

There will obviously be an adjustment for him in the NFL, where most plays are run from the QB under the center.

I agree. This was the first time Joe has spent significant time under center. He had to read while backpedaling and he hasn't had to do that for two years. He had one week to get this under his belt and improved every day during practices.

[89Hen]

Here's an interesting one from today...

http://www.asuwebdevil.com/issues/2008/01/30/sports/703344

"But experts say Brennan, like Booty, is also in the back of the pack.

Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan has the size and arm strength, and out-of-nowhere Joe Flacco of Delaware has inimitable height and potential, the experts say."

[GannonFan]

Here's an article from the Skills Competition they had in Arizona yesterday - Flacco won the distance award with a 74 yard toss and won another, unspecified competition.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/colleges/articles/0130fbcworkout0130.html

[bleedblue]

He looked just fine in the East Wet Shrine gamexnodx . Both players will have some adjusting to do, but to say JJ can't handle the speed of the next level is absurd.

Most 1A players have trouble with the speed difference. For a QB the speed JJ has means very little in terms of hanlding the speed of the defensive players he will be competing against. Yes when he decides to run his speed will help him. But when it comes to his speed of reading a defense, in those 4 seconds he has, that's what will determine his success. That's the "speed" they refer to in regards to QB's. You don't watch much NFL do you? Also he will have to adjust to secondary players recovery speed to the ball. Since JJ will be a WR, IMO, his foot speed will help him.


I think if Flacco gets questions for anything, it should be his ability to take snaps from under the center and read defenses in that capacity.

At UD he was in the shotgun pretty much the entire time right? And his plays were called in from the sidelines as he was standing in the gun, meaning he could look over and see/read the defense for a few seconds.

There will obviously be an adjustment for him in the NFL, where most plays are run from the QB under the center.

That's going to be a huge adjustment for him. If he can handle that successfully and learn how to read NFL defenses, which I'm not convinced he can do, and then he has a very good chance. That's asking a lot though.

[USDFAN_55]

Most 1A players have trouble with the speed difference. For a QB the speed JJ has means very little in terms of hanlding the speed of the defensive players he will be competing against. Yes when he decides to run his speed will help him. But when it comes to his speed of reading a defense, in those 4 seconds he has, that's what will determine his success. That's the "speed" they refer to in regards to QB's. You don't watch much NFL do you? Also he will have to adjust to secondary players recovery speed to the ball. Since JJ will be a WR, IMO, his foot speed will help him.



That's going to be a huge adjustment for him. If he can handle that successfully and learn how to read NFL defenses, which I'm not convinced he can do, and then he has a very good chance. That's asking a lot though.

In no way was a referring to JJ's foot speed, but it does help. I'm well aware that reading defenses and adjusting to the recovery speed of the defense is the major adjustment that needs to be made from college to the NFL. I'm also well aware that JJ has been running a pro-style offense (installed by Harbaugh) for three years. He has been making his reads from under center his whole career in college. Being in that style of offense with NFL caliber coaching is what makes JJ so special. He will have some adjusting to do (like everyone else), but he is well ahead of many other QBs in the draft in terms of understanding and running the offenses that are run in the NFL and the throwing mechanics that are desired.