Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
Gabbert was as good a prospect as Smith, probably a better one.
He's a better athlete and has a stronger arm. And yes, he was an absolute football junkie. Came from a football family; a gym rat and a very good leader. He truly was an excellent prospect. What he also had was extremely poor footwork and a tendency to stare at the rush.
He had so many skills that weren't coachable and his flaws all seemed like they were. Unfortunately, he just hasn't progressed a single bit. I'd still give up our 5th for him and possibly even our 4th. I think there's a lot of talent there and a good QB coach (and more QB-friendly system) could do wonders for him.
But just as he had coming out, there's an incredibly steep learning curve for him. He has a lot of work to do on learning progressions and seeing coverages.
If he can't, he's probably destined to be the next Rob Johnson; just another QB with excellent physical skills (that ironically, Jacksonville drafted and !@#$ed up) that never puts it all together.
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I liked Gabbert, and thought he would be a decent late-first project pick (similar to how I saw Mark Sanchez and Ryan Tannehill) but he wasn't to me anything close to the prospect that Smith is. Gabbert needed another year in school whereas Smith is someone that I would expect to see on the field sooner rather than later.
Junior signal-callers leaving early is
always a concern in my book. Two years (or less) is just not enough time. And I do think that's nearly as important a facet as physical tools (although obviously talking about #1 picks, that's key as well...).