Lets Revisit The 2005 Draft
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The Niners assembled some talent for Smith to utilize the past several years.. and it didn't materialize.
Yeah, he got thrown in the fire during his first season.. but so did Sam Bradford this year. So did Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco in 2008. If you're cut out to be a starting NFL QB.. you're cut out to be an NFL QB. Clearly Aaron Rodgers is a starting NFL quarterback and Alex Smith is not.
There are some guys, like Ben, Bradford, Ryan, Manning, etc. that are simply NFL ready the day they stop onto the field. Then there are other guys, who are simply not ready right out of college and need a lot of work before they are ready for a number of reasons. One being the coaches they learned from in college and the offense that they played in.
The guys that are NFL ready like Manning, Ryan, Bradford, etc. can get thrown in right away and learn to succeed. The guys that aren't, like Eli or Romo or Rodgers, probably need some time to develop and improve their mechanics and learn the playbook and how to break down coverages. These guys benefit greatly from sitting on the bench and learning from veterans like Warner, or Bledsoe, or Favre and eventually take over good teams with a stable coaching staff and offensive scheme.Comment
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I wanted Clayton then...eb1920 remembers. Back on the MM board I was a total Clayton fan and wanted him more than anyone in the draft...too bad he didn't pan out, although I think if he stays in St. Louis with Bradford, he's gonna put up some good numbers.Comment
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I never really liked the Smith pick by the Niners. But I understood it. Can't really recall too many scouts putting Rogers over Smith back then. It wasn't a real strong draft class, and most seemed to have Smith as one of the top prospects. Seem to recall that the Niners were trying to trade down but couldn't get any value for it so they stayed put and took a guy they hoped would re-energize the franchise. It was a fucking terrible year to end up with the top pick.Comment
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Half those teams fucked themselves over by not picking Rodgers
But in all honesty, Rodgers wouldn't be as good as he is now without Favre. He has the velocity that Favre did, but he learned how not to use it--throwing balls as hard as he can into tight spaces where it gets intercepted. He learned how to make a play when things fell apart, when he has to scramble out of the pocket and find an open receiver on the other side of the field or blindly shuffle it to the receiver. Without Favre, his career is good, but he's by no means a star.
Originally posted by Miggyfan99I would get fucked in the ass for WS tickets too... only if Miguel was playing thoughComment
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The Niners assembled some talent for Smith to utilize the past several years.. and it didn't materialize.
Yeah, he got thrown in the fire during his first season.. but so did Sam Bradford this year. So did Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco in 2008. If you're cut out to be a starting NFL QB.. you're cut out to be an NFL QB. Clearly Aaron Rodgers is a starting NFL quarterback and Alex Smith is not.Comment
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Half those teams fucked themselves over by not picking Rodgers
But in all honesty, Rodgers wouldn't be as good as he is now without Favre. He has the velocity that Favre did, but he learned how not to use it--throwing balls as hard as he can into tight spaces where it gets intercepted. He learned how to make a play when things fell apart, when he has to scramble out of the pocket and find an open receiver on the other side of the field or blindly shuffle it to the receiver. Without Favre, his career is good, but he's by no means a star.Originally posted by ram29jacksonI already said months ago that Seattle wasn't winning any SBComment
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I agree and disagree with this.
There are some guys, like Ben, Bradford, Ryan, Manning, etc. that are simply NFL ready the day they stop onto the field. Then there are other guys, who are simply not ready right out of college and need a lot of work before they are ready for a number of reasons. One being the coaches they learned from in college and the offense that they played in.
The guys that are NFL ready like Manning, Ryan, Bradford, etc. can get thrown in right away and learn to succeed. The guys that aren't, like Eli or Romo or Rodgers, probably need some time to develop and improve their mechanics and learn the playbook and how to break down coverages. These guys benefit greatly from sitting on the bench and learning from veterans like Warner, or Bledsoe, or Favre and eventually take over good teams with a stable coaching staff and offensive scheme.
Another point brought up is the constant coaching changes he dealt with.. but maybe if Alex Smith played a little better, those coaches stick around longer (with exception to Mike McCarthy and Norv Turner who took HC jobs). And usually if offensive coordinators are able to have success with young quarterbacks, they're pretty likely to get a HC job as well.. Another angle to look at.
I guess the point I'm making is.. if you're talented and cut out to be a starter in this league.. you'll show something in 6 years. If you're not, you're not.Originally posted by ram29jacksonI already said months ago that Seattle wasn't winning any SBComment
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Another point brought up is the constant coaching changes he dealt with.. but maybe if Alex Smith played a little better, those coaches stick around longer (with exception to Mike McCarthy and Norv Turner who took HC jobs). And usually if offensive coordinators are able to have success with young quarterbacks, they're pretty likely to get a HC job as well.. Another angle to look at.
I guess the point I'm making is.. if you're talented and cut out to be a starter in this league.. you'll show something in 6 years. If you're not, you're not.
So you can argue 4 of the 5 OC's Smith had left due to circumstances that had nothing to do with his performance on the field, but left for head coaching jobs or HC changes.
Before you start pointing fingers at Smith for the HC changes, remember Singletary and Nolan were defensive coaches who only produced 1 defense ranked in the top half of the league (4th in 2009) in 6 years.
Again, I'm not saying he would have been a good QB in a better situation. But under those circumstances, I'm not sure there are many that could.Comment
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Finally back after a 3 year hiatus!Comment
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Basically nailed it. Mechanically speaking.. this picture shows what concerned scouts. Notice where he is holding the ball as a QB in college:
And notice it in the pros:
Major difference. Rodgers gets the ball out quicker with the pro delivery and is less susceptible to passes being knocked down as he is allowed to get more velocity on the ball. Not to mention if a blitzing DE or LB comes around, it's much easier to knock the ball out of his hands if it's up near the ear as opposed to around the chest.
So there was that concern. There was the concern he was more of a system QB, especially given how bad other Tedford QB's had flopped up until Rodgers (Trent Dilfer, David Carr, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller). There were concerns he wasn't a starter long enough at Cal (he started just under two full seasons at QB).
In the end though, Alex Smith was just as much a risk as Rodgers.. if not more. As Smith played in a very unorthodox offense as opposed to Rodgers playing in a Pro-Style attack. Supposedly both players were impressive in their workouts, but the Niners liked Smith a little bit more because they felt he was a bit more polished than Rodgers coming out of school.
Obviously they probably want that pick back, just like mostly everyone else in need of a QB with the opportunity to take him probably does.Finally back after a 3 year hiatus!Comment
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