Christian Ponder's arm strength center stage at Florida State's pro day

[j-off-her-doll]

After Cam - the goods - Newton, if you caught me on the right day, I might prefer Ponder to either of the other two. If I were to compare him to one NFL QB, it'd be Aaron Rodgers . . . but with Ryan Fitzpatrick's arm strength . . . or something along those lines.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

I find it very odd that people are falling in love with a qb with known shoulder injuries and concerns, and would be happy for miami to draft him in the 1st round, HOWEVER, last years pick Odrick broke his leg in the 1st game of the year, and was supposedly known to have a leg issue in college, and have bagged the same regime for drafting an injury prone footballer.

To me, there is no way in the world that I would consider a qb with either shoulder concerns, attitude concerns or possible drug history over a rb who is the best rb in the draft.

Somebody tell why i am wrong with these concerns.......

In other words, you want to run the Wild Cat every down next year . . . got it.

 

[ckparrothead]

I find it very odd that people are falling in love with a qb with known shoulder injuries and concerns, and would be happy for miami to draft him in the 1st round, HOWEVER, last years pick Odrick broke his leg in the 1st game of the year, and was supposedly known to have a leg issue in college, and have bagged the same regime for drafting an injury prone footballer.

To me, there is no way in the world that I would consider a qb with either shoulder concerns, attitude concerns or possible drug history over a rb who is the best rb in the draft.

Somebody tell why i am wrong with these concerns.......

If you have concerns about attitude or drugs, I can't help you. I might choose to remind you that it's hard to judge "attitude" based on the little amount of exposure we have, that there has been no confirmation of any drug issues with any of the top QBs in this draft, but I suppoe that would fall on deaf ears.

The one thing I'll addess is "shoulder issues". Christian Ponder separated his shoulder while tackling DeAndre McDaniel after an interception. He doesn't currently have "shoulder issues". His shoulder is healed. It's been healed a while now. He didn't injure it throwing the ball like Chad Pennington did. He tried to stick his nose in there after an interception and paid the price. The NFL rules committee has a proposed rule change on the table to add quarterbacks at any point after a change of possession to the list of "defenseless players". In other words, no hitting them after a turnover, for any reason. A quarterback in the act of throwing the ball is also proposed to be added to the list of "defenseless players". No hitting a QB as he throws. But even if those rule changes weren't on the board right now, the fact of the matter is Christian Ponder does not have "shoulder issues". It got hurt once, and is now healed. You might say he has "elbow issues" because he bruised it against Oklahoma and then suffered torn fascia (the layer between the muscle and fat) against Boston College, an injury which went mis-diagnosed and so naturally it caused a lot of swelling and inflammatory fluid build, but that's also healed. And once it's healed, it's healed.

My injury concerns with Ponder are not "shoulder issues". They're much more generalized. This is a guy that has had cracked ribs, a separated shoulder, a bruised elbow and torn fascial tissue in the elbow, all in two years. He plays the sport physically and he's still not learned to go down rather than take hits. My injury concerns are sort of a sum-of-the-parts issue. What's next? Broken leg? Torn meniscus? Broken hand? That's my concern.

 

[Aqua and Orange]

Last time we passed on a guy with a healed shoulder after a big injury, that did not go so well.

Just ask Nick Saban.

 

[ckparrothead]

They compare in a lot of ways, too...Ponder and Brees.

 

[hoops]

i don't see aaron rodgers at all in christian ponder...i see more drew brees although i don't know that i see ponder showing complete command of the offense a la drew brees in new orleans

drew brees has mastered that sucker in norleans

 

[j-off-her-doll]

i don't see aaron rodgers at all in christian ponder...i see more drew brees although i don't know that i see ponder showing complete command of the offense a la drew brees in new orleans

drew brees has mastered that sucker in norleans

I see Rodgers in his mobility and build. To me, he moves around the pocket and escapes the pocket in similar ways to Rodgers (more athletic than Brees).

 

[hoops]

they're both pretty good athletes...i'll give ya that...but i think rodgers is much more dangerous with his legs and more elusive

 

[HurriPhin]

Lol at saying throwing 50 yards isn't hard to do.

Maybe if you're a girl or throw like one. At my age I can still sling a football 60-65 yards but it doesn't mean I'm accurate enough to hit a WR in stride while being covered by a DB.

So no, throwing a football 50 yards is not hard to do.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

they're both pretty good athletes...i'll give ya that...but i think rodgers is much more dangerous with his legs and more elusive

Rodgers is pretty nasty. Ponder might not be quite there, but I think he's more in that class than Brees' class in that regard. The thing about Ponders and Rodgers: they're going to be quicker and faster than 90% of the people rushing them (give or take). Like Rodgers is able to make unblocked defenders miss in the backfield, there's tape of Ponder doing the same. Both also scramble to pick up critical 3rd downs. And, both are intelligent QB's who care about the position. Rodgers has the better arm - in terms of accuracy and strength - but Rodgers is, to me, the best QB in the NFL.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

Maybe if your a girl or throw like one. At my age I can still sling a football 60-65 yards but it doesn't mean I'm accurate enough to hit a WR in stride while being covered by a DB.

So no, throwing a football 50 yards is not hard to do.

In the QB challenges, Brees maxed out at like 60 or 65 yards. Same for Big Ben. There aren't a lot of QB's in the NFL who can chuck the ball 70 yards.

 

[Kdawg954]

Does anybody see the similarities to Alex Smith in Ponder? Outside of Smith being in the spread 100 of the time in college, they both seem like similar prospects coming out. Athletic, accurate on short/medium routes . . . shaky with the deeper stuff, both guys had questions with arm strength (though both have good enough arms to where it won't be an exposed weakness). Both guys are smart as hell and can make plays with their feet. Smith had better numbers and he was more accurate in college, but he played in a lesser conference. Smith also has a more ideal QB build at 6'4".

Now before I get hammered . . . remember I am comparing them as prospects, and Alex Smith did go #1 overall, meaning he was a hell of a prospect. This has no bearing on Ponder's future in the NFL. Does anybody else see the similarities?

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Ponder's injury history is a concern. But we have to remember they were asking him to run the ball a lot more than anyone's going to ask him to in the pros. The guy ran it about 300 times in college, and he runs with the attitude of a fullback, not someone who's being smart about his body.

If you can coach that aspect of his game out of him -- teach him to slide, to play for the next play, and cut out the called running plays completely, I think we'd see him have a better injury track record in the pros.

But either way, it's a concern. Even if you cut down on the opportunities to get hurt the guys at the next level are bigger and stronger and the hits that much more vicious. You have to be able to consistently get up after being drilled.

 

[HurriPhin]

Does anybody see the similarities to Alex Smith in Ponder? Outside of Smith being in the spread 100 of the time in college, they both seem like similar prospects coming out. Athletic, accurate on short/medium routes . . . shaky with the deeper stuff, both guys had questions with arm strength (though both have good enough arms to where it won't be an exposed weakness). Both guys are smart as hell and can make plays with their feet. Smith had better numbers and he was more accurate in college, but he played in a lesser conference. Smith also has a more ideal QB build at 6'4".

Now before I get hammered . . . remember I am comparing them as prospects, and Alex Smith did go #1 overall, meaning he was a hell of a prospect. This has no bearing on Ponder's future in the NFL. Does anybody else see the similarities?

Unfortunately this could hold true for almost any QB prospect. You could probably pick out positive and negative scenarios in which he compares to previous QB's that have either busted and played well.

Ponder to D. Brees or A. Smith

Mallett to D.Bledsoe or J. George

etc.

 

[HurriPhin]

In the QB challenges, Brees maxed out at like 60 or 65 yards. Same for Big Ben. There aren't a lot of QB's in the NFL who can chuck the ball 70 yards.

70 is a feat none the less, but 50... I figure any decent athlete (not just QB) can toss a pigskin 50 yards.