QB Blaine Gabbert, Missouri

[hoops]

And let me just say that with Ryan Mallett, I can go a game or two and watch Mallett try 5 or 6 throws that are exactly as dumbfounding as that Gabbert interception was, when Mallett is forced to scramble.

Gabbert is the best in the Draft when it comes to being pressured and put on the run. Other QBs are much better though at setting the table so that they're not being pressured or forced to run.

what about the bailing on the throw though...a few times he bailed early and the ball was in the ground when he was gonna take the hit anyways...you're a big and strong kid don't bail...step thru and deliver the ball

the late blitz on 3rd down on the last drive he has to step thru that ball despite taking that hit off the edge...can't rely on just your arm

a little bit of a eli manning bail thing there...one of my pet peeves about elis game...among many

 

[ckparrothead]

Looked to me like the pass was behind the receiver a bit. Had he led the receiver more it would have been an easy TD. Ball was kind of up around the receivers shoulder and that allowed the DB to stick his hand in there and pop it up for the INT. At least that's what I saw.

I'm staring at it right now and that's not at all what I see. That's a 23 yard ball he's throwing, on a rope with a flat trajectory, and the ball hits the receiver on his out-stretched hands. He's not reaching backward with his hands at all. The catch point, the center space between his outstretched hands, is right in the center of the batter's box. Are you really going to complain about 6 inches of placement on a 23 yard stick throw on a frozen rope?

No...catch the ball. Don't pop it up. Wide Receiving 101.

 

[ckparrothead]

what about the bailing on the throw though...a few times he bailed early and the ball was in the ground when he was gonna take the hit anyways...you're a big and strong kid don't bail...step thru and deliver the ball

the late blitz on 3rd down on the last drive he has to step thru that ball despite taking that hit off the edge...can't rely on just your arm

a little bit of a eli manning bail thing there...one of my pet peeves about elis game...among many

I see a little bit of that but that's not a pet peeve for me like it is you. He's not a risky decision maker and he's also not out there to get killed and shorten his career. He's doing what he should, when you get forced out of the pocket on the scramble you want to TEND towards being safe with the ball which is what he generally does, and what was so uncharacteristic about that last interception. It's like when a QB scrambles for positive yards...get down, slide, it's not worth it. People love to see John Elway helicoptered on his way to his first Super Bowl win but most games are not the Super Bowl and at that position you're so important that you can't be risky.

 

[hoops]

chad henne's got a lot of flaws and god knows we all by now know them but he stands in there and delivers...i never see him bail...ball may not be where it should be or to whom it should be but he'll take a hit under the chin and deliver the ball...

tough kid...

 

[hoops]

I see a little bit of that but that's not a pet peeve for me like it is you. He's not a risky decision maker and he's also not out there to get killed and shorten his career. He's doing what he should, when you get forced out of the pocket on the scramble you want to TEND towards being safe with the ball which is what he generally does, and what was so uncharacteristic about that last interception. It's like when a QB scrambles for positive yards...get down, slide, it's not worth it. People love to see John Elway helicoptered on his way to his first Super Bowl win but most games are not the Super Bowl and at that position you're so important that you can't be risky.

out of the pocket be safe by all means but on 3rd down late and you must put up points stand in there and step thru and deliver the ball and take the hit...thats my point...he steps thru that ball and they move the chains...

 

[ckparrothead]

That's not necessarily the good thing you make it out to be. He stands in there and takes the shot...and the ball is picked off. Clear yourself of the trouble and then hurt the defense with your arm. That's what you're paid to do, because you're a quarterback, you're supposed to own the ball and it is supposed to go where you want it to go.

 

[Roonnette]

I don't see bailing as a problem. He faced the blitz which is better than having your back to blitz as Henne does. It was an incomplete pass, and a tough throw to make with required velocity anyway. CK is right, it's about decision making.

 

[ckparrothead]

Also remember that Chad Henne was very injury prone in college because of exactly that tendency, and he gets balls batted down because of it too. When you step through the throw, it takes more time and gives the guy in your face better warning. That = balls batted at the line. You have to flick it out sometimes, hope your arm does the trick.

 

[hoops]

That's not necessarily the good thing you make it out to be. He stands in there and takes the shot...and the ball is picked off. Clear yourself of the trouble and then hurt the defense with your arm. That's what you're paid to do, because you're a quarterback, you're supposed to own the ball and it is supposed to go where you want it to go.

i don't know how on that 3rd down play i'm referring to you are gonna clear an unimpeded edge blitzer beelining towards your ear hole...unless your mike vick like athlete...the decision was good but you got to move the damn chains or thats the ball game...i think in that instance you got to step thru the ball

anyways...i haven't seen enough of him to say if i think he needs to man up a bit more on some throws...just an observation of mine

 

[ckparrothead]

I'll just say I like his instincts under pressure. I don't like his offense, in the sense that they have him start immediately on the scramble if his first couple of reads aren't open, it is what it is, it's a spread offense...1, 2, 3, create...but his instincts for dealing with the pressure are good. He needs players that actually know how to come back to him and/or uncover, because he has a hell of an arm and he can make things happen. I think when it comes to pressure in your face, I don't like the tendency to step into it unless you're doing so to make the guy miss. I think you do that too much, one of these days you're getting Pennington'd. Especially if the guy in question has a good arm and can do things off the hip with just the arm.

 

[ckparrothead]

Now if you really want to complain about Gabbert, complain about his effort trying to catch the guy that intercepted him. At one point he went to ground and gave up, didn't want to risk it. That's one risk/reward scenario where I'd actually prefer you prevent the TD.

 

[ckparrothead]

One thing that interested me is when the announcers were going over things that the coaches had told them about Gabbert, they mentioned that Norm Parker the Iowa defensive coordinator had recruited Gabbert. An interesting statement he said was that Gabbert is not only everything you could want in a quarterback, but everything you could want in a son as well.

The only reason I bring that up is these guys have not been to the Combine yet, through the interview process, after which we usually get filtered down some information about what these guys are really like off the field...and so it's tough to know who a guy is. The fact that Norm Parker thinks really highly of him as just a person, may say something.

 

[justdev7]

It did bother me that Gabbert bailed out on that 4th down throw. Other than that I thought he played a great game. The only thing that was missing for me was the deep ball. There was that pass that his WR laid out for but that ball was thrown on a rope. I wanted to see him hit a guy with a bomb because right now that is the only thing I can say that I haven't seen him do.

 

[tical]

I know for sure i'm in the minority and CK has already yelled at me...lol, i'm no football expert but a fan after watching them game some honest thoughts.

Positives:

1) He has a tremendous arm and accuracy contrary to my first observation, Also as the game went on he seem to come alive! initially he seemed corpse-like throwing the ball.
2) He's certainly calm and not as flat footed back their as i initially thought, showed some escape ability when the pocket started to collapse and some wheels, looks like the Big guy can move

Negatives:

1) He stares his friggen intended receiver down, 90% of the time the area where he was looking was the area where he was throwing(is that not the definition of staring down a receiver? isn't that one of the things we can't stand about henne?) Some poster said thats because he's in a spread offense like S.Bradford use to be and it's designed to be like that? okay!

2) This offense he plays in..wow, is this guy going to be-able to take snaps from center, drop-back, go through progressions, set his feet properly and make throws at the NFL level? I couldn't believe that offense was all shotgun, occasional sweep right, sweep left and throw to #28..whom had a great game.

Thats mostly it, now i wait for all the scouts to ripe me an mention how my observations are so completely wrong.

 

[Finfanforever]

CK...after seeing this kid last night...I am very high on him! I think this is the best chance for the Fins to land a potential (and I use this term very loosely)franchise QB. I love his pocket presence, his size, this release, and he has a great arm. Has your opinion of him changed after last night's game? Does the Dolphins actually have a shot at this kid...or am I just dreaming?