Hope he's ok for the Combine

Could Matt Barkley’s draft stock be slipping?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...k-be-slipping/

USC quarterback Matt Barkley entered his senior season for the Trojans with national championship aspirations and as the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

With national title hopes long gone, Barkley could also be seeing his draft stock sliding as well. According to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, Barkley doesn’t seem to be leaving a lasting impression with scouts.

Farmer spoke with a few NFL scouts to get their evaluation of Barkley. The scouts he talked to questioned Barkley’s arm strength and ability to make something happen when the play breaks down.

“Physically, he’s very average,” one scout said. “When he’s throwing it across the field on a deep out, the ball sort of hangs in the air. He doesn’t have that ability to just drive it. In the NFL, with the corners, they break so much quicker. They see it quicker, they close. A lot of those balls are going the other direction at the next level.”

“He’s got to be a decision-making, timing passer. That’s kind of his game. When he’s in rhythm, and he’s making good decisions, which a lot of times he’s good to very good, he can have success,” a second scout said. “If a play breaks down, or there’s pressure, he’s not going to be the kind of quarterback to improvise or make an athletic play.”

It doesn’t help that Barkley appears to have suffered a serious injury to his throwing shoulder either.

Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News reported that he’s hearing Barkley separated his right shoulder in the fourth quarter of the Trojans 38-28 loss to UCLA on Saturday. Lindsey Thiry of Scout.com reported that Barkley emerged from the USC locker room apparently wearing a sling under his jacket.

While it still seems likely Barkley will be a first round pick come April’s draft, he will have more hurdles to overcome this off-season to ease NFL team’s concerns about his ability and now-injured throwing shoulder.





























http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_9dVI96jt7...owersbooth.jpg

Smith throws up another dog sht performance against the big twelve and here come the anti barkley clowns.

It's funny let them hate.

SANCHIZE!

Barkley has drew bree's arm strength. Is this a problem?

Yes.

Barkley is NOT Drew Brees.

Barkley is practically at his ceiling. I just don't see how his game projects well to the next level. He's really polished, I just don't think he has the physical tools. His arm-strength is not good. You're basically hoping he comes in and becomes super accurate and is a super great leader, along the lines of Joe Montana.

so basically his ceiling is Philip Rivers?

We sure did pick a shitty year to contend for the #1 pick...

(that said I'd still take a Phyllis Rivers...unfortunately I don't think Barkley has the one good intangible Rivers has; competitiveness)

Put words in my mouth there. You don't need to be ****ing shwartznegger/geo gonzales to be a quarterback in the NFL, as quarterbacks like brady and brees prove every week.

dude Brady has a rocket arm...so does Brees, really...and quick releases

these are the same people who used to say Peyton Manning didn't have elite arm strength

**** Peytton Manning, he doesn't have the deltoids.

Why don't you compare Barkley's arm strength to guys like Trent Green and Chad Pennington...?

Brees is five foot one.

Because he more than likely has a stronger arm.

How did arm strength work out for Jeff George and Russell

Saw the replay of that hit. SHIT did that look nasty! For his sake, I hope he recovers fully. Whether you want him on our team or not, that's a shitty way for what could be a solid career to end before it even begins.

I don't understand what makes Barkley so great?

Because he is a 4 year starter?

Brees is small, but come on...he's a super elite QB.

Shit we'd be a 3 or 4 win team with Russel freaking Wilson at QB...he looks pretty damn good for a small guy as well.

I'd rather take a shorty with competitive spirit and a winning attitude than some of these dickbag 6'5" guys.

Barkley was seriously injured?

Barkley's biggest problem is when he tries to throw a deep out across the field, an absolute must-have-in-his-arsenal for any starting NFL quarterback. Too often the football hangs in the air just begging to be picked off. Trojan insiders insist that Barkley is hiding an early-season shoulder injury, one reason USC Coach Lane Kiffin has been so paranoid about shielding his players from the media, especially at practice. And it's the reason, they say, that the offense has been such a dink-and-dunk affair, with so few opportunities to try a vertical pass deep downfield.


http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2...tt_barkley.php

Great.

Let's draft a QB with a busted throwing shoulder with the 1st overall pick.

Barkley sucks. As long as I've been a USC fan they blow up their QBs like crazy. None succeed. Barkley is awful

Geno Smith is better than Barkley.

Yup.

Tyler Wilson is better than Barkley.

YES.

Quit with your double-posting. It looks like a pathetic attempt to increase your post count.

Tis

Stock = dropped.

And it's not even ****ing close.

SportsCenter ‏@SportsCenter

BREAKING: Lane Kiffin says Matt Barkley (shoulder) will miss USC's upcoming game with BCS No. 1 Notre Dame. Max Wittek to start.

"When I-rish eyes are rap-ing"....etc.

Barkley makes those throws in his sleep.

I do lots of cool things in my dream state too.

That's cool because he sure doesn't make those throws when he is awake.

LMAO

Didn't really want him before, don't really want him now.

I just want a QB, badly. If it's Barkley, fine. But he's not my first pick.

It would have been nice to see him play against the Irish and in a Bowl game this year.

Oh well.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1495379/barkley.gif



66 yards in air and not a rainbow (Clay)

I have the feeling that you are going to make me hope that the Orioles sign Barkley to play CF if his arm's so damned strong.

And he under-threw the route by a good 10 yards, good thing his WR makes a great adjustment on the ball. Probably not the best choice of examples.

LMAO

i didnt like Barkley before he started regressing.

"Barkley: Cock strong, cannon armed, future superstar!!!

Cassel: Popgun firing pussy...."

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lgQWLQlo7m0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

(see 1:35 mark)...

"Ah shit."

Barkley's arm strength is nothing more than adequate for an NFL quarterback, kiddos. That's all there is to it. He has a lower ceiling than Landry Jones. He's a system quarterback and game manager waiting to happen.

We could do worse (we have done worse), but we'll never have a QB situation in the top 1/2 of the NFL with Matt Barkley under center. If you're jonesing for a difference maker taking snaps, Barkley's not worth the trouble.

He isn't that guy.

In fairness, to not underthrow the WR means he would have had to thrown it 76+ yards in the air.

And I don't know any college QB's - or more than 1-2 pro QB's that can do that and do it accurately.

That said, I'm not a fan of his arm strength. It took everything he had to get that ball 66, and he's known for struggling with the deep out - a NFL necessity.

Idk saw a QB yesterday that kicked our ass who was labeled all those things too.

True.

Look at the throw tho. He was out side of the pocket, was allowed to crow hop windup into it.


He's not going to be allowed to do that from the pocket.

Your point being? Kicking our asses up and down the field doesn't mean shit.

Dalton is a pretty fair comparison for Barkley, really. I don't think Dalton's going to be a great QB in this league - he's a vehicle for feeding AJ Green the football.

He's just right there in the morass of 'meh' quarterbacks. And if you're shooting for that, you should probably go Barkley. I think there's about an 80% chance that Barkley becomes an acceptable 'meh' NFL quarterback.

The bust potential for Smith appears higher...but he's also a guy with physical skills that could actually make him elite.

Barkley isn't - just like Dalton.

Barkley's height also FURTHER precludes him from being able to drive tacks on intermediate routes. That's why all of his deep throws and throws with velocity typically come from outside the pocket.

Not buying it. He's taller than Brees.

:spock:

That's a fairly stupid comment.

And I'm not a huge fan of Barkley.

I see no reason why a guy like Barkley couldn't lead a team to a championship. The guy's arm is adequate we're not talking Chad Pennington here i've seen the guy fit the ball in tight windows numerous times and has good touch. The thing that's been concerning to me about Barkley is the number of interceptions and how he's thrown them his year.

After the OU game and having a whole year to sit down and watch most WVU, Ark, and USC games I want Geno Smith as my QB because of the upside but his bust potential is higher than Wilsons or Barkley. I would like Wilson the most because he has all the tools and even better mobility than Smith but the guy has serious leadership questions.

Exception.

Also Dalton is a very good 2nd year QB and we would be lucky to draft a QB with his ability.

He does.

Jones has the talent to be the best pure passer to come out of this draft. The problem is that he's incredibly erratic.

If he can iron out his footwork, he could be a very good quarterback...presuming that he also spends 2/3 years figuring out progressions (because he isn't terribly good at those either). There's no question that he has a massive learning curve, but his physical attributes are outsatanding.

He probably won't manage it, but the skills are there. On occasion he makes a throw that is just incredible...then he'll follow it up with an insanely stupid decision.

Landry Jones has a ton of talent, it's just not terribly likely to come together.

Actually, I think the Chiefs would be unlucky if all they got from the number one overall pick was an Andy Dalton clone.

Dalton's fine and all but at this point, he hardly looks like a guy that can put a team on his shoulders and win when it matters most.

Yep.

This board has an unhealthy obsession with Andy Dalton

Where does this come from??

Unfortunately for us the choice comes down to low risk Dalton reward or a poor man's RGIII with big bust potential.

Because they are both black!!! Herpateederp.

Nuh-Uh, I see a middle-class Cambell in Geno or maybe a slumlord Culpepper.

This.

Andy Dalton to me is the worse possible QB for a franchise. A guy who is solid enough to hold a starting spot for the majority of his career but never realistically be capable of taking his team to a SB.

You either want a QB who is really good (ie - capable of winning a SB), or really bad (get you that #1 pick to get the next really good QB).

Middle of the road just puts you in purgatory for about a 5-6 year period.


- You know for being on the fence of the 3 QBs, as I typed that out, I think I just convinced myself that Wilson or Smith would be better options for that reasoning because I think Barkley to Dalton is a good comparison.

I couldn't disagree more. Dalton is an ascending player and is what, 24 years old? He's in a perfect offense for his skillset (ala Joe Montana) and there's no reason at all why they shouldn't be good for many, many years. His intangibles are good, his teammates believe in him...you could do a LOT worse.

You don't have to have the top #1 most elite physical talent; you need a plus player at the position. Matt Ryan does not have the biggest arm, yet he is borderline elite at the position, for example.

If we had Andy Dalton in place, and were running a variant of the WCO, we'd be doing a LOT better than 1-9, I think.

all that being said, I expect it will be Barkley with maybe Jay Gruden as HC. That's a solid combo.

Personally, I go back and forth but I'm kind of liking the boom or bust pick in Geno Smith.

Few points to hit on.

Do you think Andy Dalton could in a given year be a top 5 NFL QB? If so, then you're eligible for a SB and you're fine. (and we disagree on him)

If not? Then it's just time wasted IMO.

I'm not interested in doing a lot better than 1-9 or being competitive. I'm only interested in the Chiefs ending up with a universally regarded top 5 QB so they can win the SB.

could Dalton be a top 5 guy in any given year? yes. Is he there right now? no, but then he is in his second year. He's smart, he's accurate, and he's in the right system for his skillset. So yes, he absolutely could. I'm no Marvin Lewis fan, so I think there are issues with that team going forward, I just don't think they include the QB situation.

but in year 4 or 5? Sure. Add another WR weapon? you bet.

Uh...slow down a bit, sport.

If you only care about having one of the top 5 in the league, you're going to be disappointed, that's just all there is to it. And you're going to be disappointed for a very long time.

Luck and Rodgers are in place and will be better than anyone in this draft for a decade.

Brees and Brady are going to be around for awhile as well. Big Ben and Stafford are on/off elite and will be around for some time (please try to remember that Stafford was the 4th QB in NFL history to throw for 5k yards last year).

RGIII will be incredible every day he's healthy. Eli, Ryan and Flacco are all very good in their own right as well and could easily be SB winners. Eli has been, Flacco would have been last season had Lee Evans bothered to tuck a TD catch, Ryan sure looks like he can this year. Beyond them, are you really going to say that it's impossible for a team to win a SB with Matt Schaub?

If you have a top 10 Quarterback, you can win a SB. If you have a top 15 QB, it can be done, but it's going to be tough (see the 49ers, who should have been there had their punt returner been able to hold onto the football).

Being satisfied with anything is an exercise in maintaining realistic expectations. Saying "I demand a top 5 QB or it just doesn't matter" simply isn't realistic. If you have a top 5 QB in the nfl for a decade, you probably have a fringe HOFer on your hands at worst. Saying "HOF or GTFO" is absolutely as stupid as it sounds.

Okay feel like we're talking semantics a little here but sure. I initially said top 5 QB. You say top 10 could win a SB. Whatever. That wasn't my point.

My point was that I think I'm discovering I'm more in favor of a boom or bust type pick at QB like Smith or Wilson. Why? Because I feel like the Matt Barkley to Andy Dalton comparison is a strong one for multiple reasons. I think he could be solid for a lot of years to come but doubt if he could ever be great in order to win a SB.

Now the term boom or bust is exactly that and I'm okay with that. If we hit that boom then we have a legit chance to get to a SB. If that guy is a complete bust then we'll be right here in 3-4 years to take the next highest rated QB in that draft.

Fair enough. That's where I am as well.

I don't think it's fair to assign a number of QBs that can do it, but I do think it's fair to say that there's a certain caliber of QB you definitely want to have to do it.

Right now I think we have a fair number of QBs that are good enough or could be good enough to win a SB. I think it's possible that Dalton could develop a little more and be placed in a WCO, becoming a SB caliber quarterback. It would require he have a great team around him and an ideal system for him, but it could be done.

It's just the uphill climb. I'd far rather go after a force multiplier; a boom/bust QB that makes everybody around him better than they are. I don't think that's what you'll get out of Dalton - his teams are going to be a as strong as his supporting cast.

I think I'm leaning that way myself, but I think Dalton has a brighter future than you do.

I would be very happy with either Barkley or Smith. We can win big with both of them.

46 Super Bowls have been played to date. How many Super Bowl winning QB's aren't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

The answer: Not very many. Ten.

Ken Stabler, Jim Plunkett, Joe Theisman, Jim McMahon, Phil Simms and Doug Williams, Jeff Hostelter, Mark Rypien, Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson.

All of those guys played in an era where QB wasn't as important as it is today; the running game was paramount. Since 2004, the rules have been "relaxed" to the point where if you're lacking a Franchise QB or HOFer in waiting, you're not going to win a Super Bowl.

I think it's safe to say that Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Ben Rothlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton and Eli Manning will all end up in the HOF someday.

So, by taking all of that information into consideration, I think it's highly unlikely that any team will win a Super Bowl without a potential Hall of Fame QB.

Andy Dalton may prove us wrong but the odds are stacked against him.

all true, but the odds are stacked against ANY individual drafted QB. There are more Ryan Leafs, David Carrs, and Joey Harringtons than there are Peyton Mannings.

Which, let me be very clear, cannot drive the team away from attempting to get one of these franchise QB's. You MUST have one.

Uh, not any more.

College QB's are more prepared, more criticized and more scouted than at any time in NFL history. Just look at Andrew Luck, RGIII and Tannehill this season, not to mention Russell Wilson.

Barkley and Smith most likely will not have Hall of Fame careers but due to the importance of the QB position, they'll go in the Top Three, if not Top Two. But with that said, I don't think you'll find anyone expecting either player have stellar NFL careers, unlike last year's Top Two.

At this point, most NFL fans understand that a Franchise QB is necessary to win big in the league. The Chiefs must draft either Smith or Barkley but unlike RGIII and Luck in 2012, there are no safe bets 2013.

It wouldn't be a shock to have even more questions about the two, especially Barkley, after the Combines in February.

Wilson will shine at the combine and start climbing draft boards big time.

The odds are stacked against any team winning a SB...sorry, that's just the way it is.

We should probably find some way to enjoy this team without it winning a SB every season because the odds strongly suggest that it isn't going to do so. If you win 1 SB every decade, you're well ahead of the game.

What we've done of late has been crap, but there's a hell of a lot of room between crap and winning a SB every 5 seasons. How 'bout we work on building a damn good football team and hope that the SBs take care of themselves.

We gota draft a 1st rd QB. Thats who wins games. Brees and a few others are exceptions to the rule. Outside of Brees and Brady. 1st rd QBs won the past what 8 super bowls? Ben, Rodgers, Eli and Peyton

That's the thing that's so frustrating about this QB class. It's not a bad class at all. In fact, I think time will show it to be a very good one. But it's as uncertain a class as we've seen in awhile.

I think there will be 3 or 4 long-term NFL starters to come out of this class. I think you have 6 guys (off the top of my head) that for varying reasons could be a successful NFL QB. Smith, Wilson, Barkley, Murray, Jones and Manuel could all stick. If Bray comes out, he's up there with the top of the class.

Those guys are all defensible 1st or 2nd day picks, IMO. And 1/2 of them will succeed.

But I'd be lying if I swore I knew which half. Smith seems to be the best bet, but he's not Luck. He's probably not Griffin. He's a lottery ticket. We'd be insane not to take him, but there's probably a fair chance that 2 or 3 teams drafting QBs after us get guys that have a better NFL career.

It's a scout's draft all the way.

And if that doesn't terrify some of you, it should. The present scouting department (Pioli and his merry band of sycophants) is truly crap.