Would you rather have Matt Schaub or Philip Rivers?
 

Draft 2010: The Quarterbacks

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/fea...rticleid=34736

1. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma

Height/Weight: 6'4/223
College Experience: Fourth-year junior
Projected 40: 4.69
Comparison: Matt Schaub
2008* Stats: 328-of-483 (67.9%) for 4,720 yds (9.8 YPA), 50 TD/8 INT; 5 RUS TDs

Positives: There wasn't a more dominant QB in the nation over the course of Bradford's freshman and sophomore seasons. During that span, the Academic All American completed 68.6% of his attempts for 86 touchdowns and just 16 interceptions. Bradford left school as the NCAA's all-time leader in pass efficiency, demonstrating incredible accuracy and aggressiveness throwing downfield. Though Oklahoma's offense became more spread oriented late in Bradford's career, it still incorporated plenty of pro-style concepts and required the 2008 Heisman winner to make deep throws while taking his fair share of snaps from center and utilizing play action. When 100%, Bradford demonstrated above-average arm strength. Often executing precise throws on the move, the once-decorated high school basketball player is highly athletic.

Negatives: Bradford's 2009 season ended after three games when he aggravated an AC joint shoulder sprain originally suffered in the Sooners' opener. Dr. James Andrews performed a reconstruction on October 28, afterwards saying the surgery went "just as we expected." Despite his 6'4/223-pound listing at Oklahoma, Bradford often looked to be playing in the 200-pound range and could afford to bulk up. Bradford's passing mechanics were flawless for the Sooners' mostly-spread attack, but will change in a pro-style system. He was surrounded by countless high draft picks, including 2008 second-rounder Malcolm Kelly, 2009 third-rounder Juaquin Iglesias, likely 2010 first-round tight end Jermaine Gresham, and an annually star-studded Sooners offensive line.

Outlook: He's throwing three days a week and says his recovery is ahead of schedule. Bradford's calling cards are his accuracy, athleticism and smarts, making him an ideal fit for a West Coast offense. Early workout reports are good, but Bradford's showing at his March Pro Day will have a huge impact on his stock. Should he impress, Bradford could emerge as the favorite to be drafted No. 1 overall by St. Louis. Bradford won't get by the Bills at No. 9.


2. Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame

Height/Weight: 6'3/223
College Experience: Third-year junior
Projected 40: 4.91
Comparison: Philip Rivers
2009 Stats: 289-of-425 (68.0%) for 3,722 yds (8.8 YPA), 28 TD/4 INT

Positives: A three-year starter, Clausen's improvement between 2007 and 2009 was as dramatic as any quarterback at any stage of football during that span, indicating his trajectory is still pointing skyward. Clausen ranked third nationally in pass efficiency last season (only Tim Tebow and Boise State's Kellen Moore made fewer mistakes), improving his TD-to-INT ratio and completion rate to near-perfect levels. This was all despite Clausen playing nearly the entire year through torn toe ligaments, a poor offensive line, and star wideout Michael Floyd's six-week absence due to a broken collarbone. Clausen puts ideal zip on intermediate passes and benefited from Charlie Weis' pro-style offense, which required him to make NFL-style throws. Clausen's competitiveness and toughness are reminiscent of Philip Rivers', although they can be mistaken for overt cockiness and/or egotism.

Negatives: Clausen typically delivers the ball quickly, but tends to reel back his right arm abnormally far on deep passes. It's possible that elbow surgery prior to his freshman year cost Clausen some arm power, forcing him to compensate. On some downfield routes, Weis teaches his quarterback to essentially throw the ball up for grabs, which Clausen got away with because Floyd and Golden Tate were perhaps Division I's best receiver tandem last year. There have been rumors that Clausen was not a good teammate or leader. His career record was 16-18.

Outlook: Despite his pro-style background, Clausen has plenty of developing to do. He could've used another year in college, but that wasn't an option after Weis' firing. Like Bradford, Clausen will miss the Combine after having toe surgery early last month. When healthy, Clausen projects well into virtually any scheme because of his quality arm and above-average accuracy. If Buffalo passes on Clausen at No. 9, a team is sure to snare him in the mid- to late-first round.

****ing tard.

This guy should have read the Chiefs Planet to find out that Tebow sucks and can't throw despite his NCAA career record at QB rating.

So what if the guy actually gets the ball to a receiver - he sucks.

So what if the spread is being utilized more and more in the pro game? (Anyone watch this last Super Bowl and noticed how many times each time either team got the quarterback under center in a "pro style" set?) - he sucks.

So what if the guy is a natural leader, is 6'3.5", 235 lbs., fast, accurate and wants to win? He sucks.

Make him a fullback.

I would rather have Rivers. And I'd rather have Clausen over Bradford. And Tebow will suck.

Rivers. No contest.

Can we have Andre with Schaub too?

Matt Schaub has a MUCH stronger arm than Bradford.

Bradford should go to a dink-and-dunk WCO, whereas Schaub can stretch the field.

Other than being injury prone, I don't see the comparison.

"Like Bradford, Clausen will miss the Combine after having toe surgery early last month"

I wasn't aware Clausen was going to miss the combine. That sucks.

If Bradford is out, Clausen would only be taking a risk by doing the combine anyway IMO. I can't see anybody jumping up over the two of them.

As a fan it sucks, because we don't get to see them anymore. Pro Days for QB's are scripted and you rarely hear of a round 1-3 QB having a horrible pro day.

I'll take Rivers over Schaub, but I would also take Bradford over Clausen.

I think a better comparison for Bradford is Kurt Warner.

Tebow blows and will not be a QB in the nfl...you use your eyes instead of the empty space where your brains should be...

Being a ND fan...I hated seeing this. Clausen is not going to be able to get away with this in the NFL. I'm hoping that Weis doesn't try and get Cassel to do this.

Agreed. He's a great college QB, but Danny Wuerffel was a better pro prospect IMO coming out of Florida then Tebow.

Honestly, I don't recall seeing Brady doing a lot of that when Weis was there. I think he is just coaching to his teams advantage in this case.

Okay, I hate when people make comparisons like I'm making here but, this scouting report:could be a huge hint that people are just brushing off. I seem to recall a similar one that was brushed off:
Ryan Leaf
"However, there appears to be some minor nagging questions in the area of maturity and his mental approach to the game. He is perceived as not always an easy guy to work with, and he tends to beat to his own drummer...As good as he is, he can have some streaks on the field where he looks like he has forgotten everything he has been taught...There seems to be a nagging question here that something might be missing, but it may be hard to verbalize it..."

Comparing just those scouting reports, this combined with everything I've read or heard in the past about his leadership sounds a little more like:
Peyton Manning
"He has had a storybook college career, and has been in a top level program with excellent coaching, and he has maturity and great intangibles to go along with his natural skills.. He should be able to pick up the mental aspects of the game early on the NFL level, and should play very quickly. He has great overall field vision. He is a fierce competitor, and all of his mechanics are very solid. He has good arm strength, but not necessarily a “gun” that you might expect from a QB at the top of the draft. At times he gives the appearance of being a self-made player, and sometimes those types of players don’t always go on to great NFL careers. In Manning’s case, he may be a solid and productive NFL QB, but he may not have Hall of Fame type skills, but it certainly won’t be for lack of effort".

I can remember seeing it. Quinn used to throw it up to Samardzija and Stovall all of the time. It usually ended up in a defensive pass interference call.

I agree. We don't have the receivers to do this like they did at ND against far inferior defenses.

You remember seeing Brady throw it up Troy Brown?

Yeah its a lot easier to do it in college.

I meant Brady Quinn.....you meant Tom Brady.

That would be why I said Quinn and not Brady.

lots of great college players have no business in the nfl...just a fact

i worry a little bit about it too....and look at cutler, dude has talent but something about his personality has always seemed off, where as guys like Brees, Rivers, Manning, etc command their teams w/o question..

This is a tough call but from what I've seen I'll take Hiller, LeFevour and even Perrilloux over those two.

I would take Clausen on this team in a heartbeat.

From the sounds of this its looking like Bradford could be heading to St Louis.

Would Washington take Clausen or are they more likely to take Berry if Bradford is off the board?
1. Bradford
2. Suh
3. McCoy
4. Clausen
5. Berry?

If St. Louis goes Bradford than I have a feeling that Suh and McCoy are going next. Washington is interesting. They could go Clausen or they could go best OT. Washington's offensive line is old.

So you don't call having your QB throw a hail mary from the 26 yard line throwing it up for grabs?

if cassel is throwing it up we better get some wrs
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What I saw of Bradford when Oklahoma lost the National Championship game to Florida last year left me very impressed with his downfield accuracy. He seemed to be throwing twenty and thirty yards downfield with zip and laser-like accuracy. Looked like he could make all the throws to me. And he was threading the needle even when his receivers weren't catching the pass.

Shut it and stop with these facts and accuate observations. We on this board must be anti- Bradford, so we like to say he was only good because he just threw swing passes or had the greatest offensive line and receivers in NCAA history that were open by 15 yards every time.

Actually I'm on OU guy, but I'll tell you straight up if a player is all hype or can actually play. Bradford is an accurate QB downfield as you will find and will stand in the pocket and take a pop. He does have some durability issues, but the shots he has taken are pretty good shots. Brett Favre he is not, but Brodie Croyle he is not either.

Bradford throws a beautiful ball. Whether he can handle the NFL beatings and whether he can run an offense, who knows.

I recently read that Clausen's toe injury is pretty serious and that the same injury has ended the careers of other players.

I never said he wasn't accurate, I only said that he has average arm strength.

I'll be curious to see how he does in the NFL throwing 15-18 yard outs. He had a strong enough arm in college to get by, but I'm not sure he does in the pros.

I stand by my claim that he's best suited for a WCO. I'm not saying he HAS to play in a WCO to be successful, but that's what would be best for his talents, IMO.

Whoever drafts him better have a starting option in place, because it's going to take a year or two for him to learn how to run a pro-style offense, make pre-snap reads, etc.

Yes, I would rather have Matt Schaub or Philip Rivers.

The hit he took against BYU can't knock him out of the game, let alone the season (essentially).

He's too small, physically, to survive in the NFL. Unless I'm 100 percent confident he can add significant muscle mass, Bradford would be a wasted pick.

When you take a hit where you land on a shoulder with a linebacker on top of you, it's not one many QB's would survive. He isn't Brett Favre, but that wasn't a hang nail he had.

Physically I would much rather have Rivers than Schuab. Rivers problem is his head, and Clausen doesn't have that problem.

I think the comparison to Schaub is off.

He looks more like Trent Green than Schaub.

It just dawned on me that Washington should draft Bradford. I would love to see a Native American playing QB for the Redskins.

Washington would take Clausen in a heartbeat.

A headcase QB with great physical skills from an iffy college team? Shanahan's taken that guy time and time again.

I thought the exact same thing the other day.

What makes Clausen a headcase? I've never heard anything about him other than he got caught drinking at a college party. Iffy college team? I'll give you there defense was god awful but ND's offense was quite good in a pro style system.

He also got into a fight outside a bar this past year.

Here's an interesting take on Clausen from a ND fans perspective:

And then there is the picture:

http://siliconangle.com/travisrodger...9e84842739.jpg

I had no idea that he liked to vacation in the Greek Mediterranean.

by "fight outside a bar" do you mean getting sucker punched by an idiot fan?

If Sacaofshit doesn't like Clausen, that vaults him into legit conversation that we should draft him.

This.

There are a couple things in that Sacco post that are worth noting about Clausen. Some of the things that go on with these guys anymore get out of hand like the kid declaring to USC in Jr. High, etc. There have been some NBA slugs that have gotten too early of a "jump" on things in the past. Dudes wanting to go to Europe to make money and kill time until they can get into the NBA. I think a dude like that Harper kid is going to struggle with his idea to finish HS quick to get to the majors. Players deserve some hype, and attitude for a QB can be a good thing, but where do you draw the line? The notion that he was rarely pressured in HS, then struggled at least to a degree in college is a concern to an extent.