O'Brien Coy About Draft Options

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Keith

Yes, but this is why I've really grown to hate this period between the bowl games and the draft. For most BCS-division level players, there is little that should change during this time that cannot be learned by simply watching film from... ya know... the games themselves.

This scouting hype machine just provides unlimited distractions and over-analysis. We didn't need a combine to know how tall Bortles is or a pro day to hear Manziel yell BOOM everytime he hit a wide open teammate in shorts.

I happen to still be a Teddy guy, but even if I were a Manziel guy, a Bortles guy, a whoever guy, it would be based on what I saw on the field, with pads, in the face of a defense, at game speed. Anything else is a distortion, an extrapolation, and of course... a projection.

As for SEC defenses... did it help JaMarcus Russell? Did anyone care that Andrew Luck played PAC defenses? Everyone is wide open in college. EVERYONE.

Find me a SMART quarterback who actually improves under pressure using his ARM, not just his legs. Legs get old before the arm does. Arm strength is overrated. Not as many 40+ yard passes in the NFL are attempted as some of you or the deceased Al Davis would like to think. The NFL is won in the short passing game in the face of a blitz. I want the Texans to find THAT quarterback.

If arm strength and legs don't matter and we want smart, then we should have just kept Schaub. Or just go with Fitzpatrick. He's plenty smart. There may be wastes of talent, but that doesn't mean raw talent, or a lack of it, can be ignored.

[nunusguy]

ESPN's Bill Polian on Johnny Manziel: "Arm strength is absolutely not an issue." Says Manziel has stronger arm than Bortles & Bridgewater.
http://inagist.com/all/449178733279064064/
For me this is interesting and semi significant because I've read that Bortles had the strongest arm among the "Big Three", but Polian is no bozo and the words
"stronger arm than Bortles & Bridgewater" are surprising.
Anyway, both Zack Mettenberger and Tom Savage of Pitt have bigger arms, and they are the kind of big, strapping guys OB reportedly favors physically speaking who can be had in the 2nd or later rounds.