Slimm's 2015 Quarterbacks (Seniors) | Page 6 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Slimm's 2015 Quarterbacks (Seniors)

I'm a Marshall fan this year. And last year, really.

I'm a fan of really good football wherever I see it. Last year prior to the start of the year, based on the tape study I do of most teams, I just saw the potential for really damn good football in Marshall and so I became a fan, followed their performances. Liked what I saw and saw the potential for even better football this year...so I like them even more.

I want to see them put up against a high quality team in an access bowl because there are too many potentially good players on that team to ignore on the basis of who they've played. Devon Johnson looks like a genuine NFL prospect. Rakeem Cato looks like even more than that, to me. Darryl Roberts looks genuinely intriguing at corner. We've discussed Eric Frohnapfel and Chris Jasperse. Also hard to ignore James Rouse with his combination of leadership, quickness and that 6'5" & 270+ lbs frame of his. And though a sophomore, A.J. Leggett is also a good talent. And while we're speaking of down the road talents, Deon-Tay McManus looks damn impressive as a perimeter threat at 6'2" & 227 lbs. He's just a freshman and needs to learn to locate and adjust to the ball in the air better, but still...that's a lot of body, speed and talent.

I mean if I'm rooting for laundry then I'm rooting for the South Florida Bulls. But let's face it they haven't given me a ton to cheer for lately.
 
Oh wow...duh. Just realized that the access bowl language is pretty specific that the bid will be given to the highest ranked conference CHAMPION from the Group of Five conferences.

If Colorado State doesn't play in the Mountain West Championship Game then they just aren't eligible, period. So they really need Boise to lose another game in order to get back into this conversation.
 
Watched a couple cut ups of that Bryan Bennett kid.. good athlete strong arm.. but he's just an inaccurate passer that makes poor reads/decisions. I guess it will help his stock that he can serve as an emergency punter. Now I'll be the first to tell you that I know next to nothing about punters and kickers but he did appear to have a strong leg. But not someone I would spend a draft pick on. Maybe bring him into camp if you play in a division with an elusive runner NFC East (RG3), NFC South (Cam), NFC West (Russell, Kaep) etc. etc.

But not even a priority free agent. And the fact that he didn't even make your top 22 list in a really weak senior class only validates this.
 
The jump in Garrett Grayson's third down effectiveness this season has been quite dramatic. He's in the Jameis Winston range which is absurd range to be in.

He deserves attention. I've honestly not looked at him.
 
ckparrothead said:
The jump in Garrett Grayson's third down effectiveness this season has been quite dramatic. He's in the Jameis Winston range which is absurd range to be in.

He deserves attention. I've honestly not looked at him.
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Have you seen Sambrailo yet?
 
I'd love to get Slimm's opinion on this, or Tanneballs if you've worked on him, but does anyone else think that Cody Fajardo evaluates almost creepily similar to Ryan Tannehill?

We're talking about a guy who drives the football and spins it really well, good accuracy at all levels, throws on the run really well rolling left or right, good release, tough as nails, gets rid of the football, has speed in the 4.5's that really hurts defenses, yet isn't an elusive runner, has a nice big body and good thickness but doesn't protect himself well, doesn't consistently show great feel for the rush or use of the pocket yet also doesn't take sacks, has a strange 1-out-of-10 bad throw factor, doesn't always see problems before he releases the ball and can stare down a receiver at times.

I mean...is the above written about Cody Fajardo 2014, or Ryan Tannehill 2012?
 
ckparrothead said:
I'd love to get Slimm's opinion on this, or Tanneballs if you've worked on him, but does anyone else think that Cody Fajardo evaluates almost creepily similar to Ryan Tannehill?

We're talking about a guy who drives the football and spins it really well, good accuracy at all levels, throws on the run really well rolling left or right, good release, tough as nails, gets rid of the football, has speed in the 4.5's that really hurts defenses, yet isn't an elusive runner, has a nice big body and good thickness but doesn't protect himself well, doesn't consistently show great feel for the rush or use of the pocket yet also doesn't take sacks, has a strange 1-out-of-10 bad throw factor, doesn't always see problems before he releases the ball and can stare down a receiver at times.

I mean...is the above written about Cody Fajardo 2014, or Ryan Tannehill 2012?
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Both.

Ryan Tannehill lite.
 
ckparrothead said:
I'd love to get Slimm's opinion on this, or Tanneballs if you've worked on him, but does anyone else think that Cody Fajardo evaluates almost creepily similar to Ryan Tannehill?

We're talking about a guy who drives the football and spins it really well, good accuracy at all levels, throws on the run really well rolling left or right, good release, tough as nails, gets rid of the football, has speed in the 4.5's that really hurts defenses, yet isn't an elusive runner, has a nice big body and good thickness but doesn't protect himself well, doesn't consistently show great feel for the rush or use of the pocket yet also doesn't take sacks, has a strange 1-out-of-10 bad throw factor, doesn't always see problems before he releases the ball and can stare down a receiver at times.

I mean...is the above written about Cody Fajardo 2014, or Ryan Tannehill 2012?
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Tannehill was a little better prospect with more upside, but Fajardo is one of the few Seniors in this class that has the physical tools and athleticism to actually become more than a backup. I'm just not sure whether he'll ever do it or not. He's worth a draft pick in the middle rounds to develope. I think he's similar to Jake Waters, except Waters is more of a gamer. A lot like Jake Locker was. Flawed for sure, but coaches notice gamers capable of elevating the team around 'em. There's an intangible factor that causes some prospects to be preferred over another prospect with similar strengths, flaws, tools, and upside.


Garretty Grayson is a great kid, but he's a system quarterback. I have doubts about his ability at the next level, but might develope into a streaky type backup if he goes to the right system.... similar to a T.J. Yates, etc. The left tackle, sophomore WR Higgins, Dee Hart, and Kivon Cartwright are the guys that make that offense go for Coach McElwain in my opinion. Grayson is simply a facilitator. Kivon Cartwright was a really good TE for them before he was lost for the season with an ankle.
 
Funny you mention Grayson because I'd just posted somewhere else about an hour and a half ago my thoughts on him as a guy that is coached well in a good system with good surrounding talent, but his actual talent isn't enough to sustain him at the next level.

There's a little too much staring down of receivers. Some jerkiness when having to choose what kind of ball to throw. The delivery itself is not fast and his pacing in the backfield is slow. He throws the football into danger a pretty fair bit considering the stats, and it's usually when he's forced to come off the guy he had decided he'd be throwing to pre-snap. For a guy that decides where the ball is going pre-snap a lot, he doesn't get the ball out quickly as he likes to wait for underneath crossers to develop. The ball seems to hang forever when he tries to throw with touch. I'm not sure he sees corner or defensive back leverage before he releases the ball. I think he just knows whether it's single or double and just lets it go.
 
I see what you're talking about with respect to elevating teammates but at the same time I have a feeling that Fajardo's teammates are just bad players. He's already elevating them, to a large extent.
 
ckparrothead said:
Rakeem Cato climbing the charts.
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I'm not super stoked with his sub 60% completions. If I'm going to reach a bit I still like Sean Mannion even if his overall numbers are worse than Cato on the season. OSU has a bad O line and few solid skill players to help Mannion.
 
Mudder1310 said:
I'm not super stoked with his sub 60% completions. If I'm going to reach a bit I still like Sean Mannion even if his overall numbers are worse than Cato on the season. OSU has a bad O line and few solid skill players to help Mannion.
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He's actually a pretty good textbook example of why accuracy is to be evaluated on tape, and/or thru careful charting of that tape, rather than a broad number on a page.

From 2012 to 2014 his completion percentage was 64%. Would that meet your fancy better? Clearly he's capable of completing a high percentage of his passes, as he completed 70% in 2012.

If you look at the tape, you'd understand why it's at 59%. Better yet, you probably wouldn't even realize it's only 59%.

Marshall is running the football about 57.5% of the time and Cato is gaining an average of nearly 16 yards per completion. That gives a few more clues as to what is going on, if we're still going off numbers instead of tape.

The success running the football has left Cato with the twin priorities of 1) Challenging the defense down the field to shorten drives, and 2) Converting on 3rd down. So how's he doing at those tasks? Not bad, I'd say.

1. He leads the entire country with 20 completions of 25+ yards on 1st down. And only one passer (Zach Terrell of Western Michigan) has a higher percentage of 25+ yard completions per attempt
2. Only two players in the country (Garrett Grayson and Marcus Mariota) have a higher 3rd down passing conversion rate than Rakeem Cato at 50.7 percent.

Just so you know, I didn't know those numbers until I just looked them up. I could've told you all that without looking them up.

Now I know you could be thinking perhaps he only converts so well on 3rd down because he's constantly in 3rd & Short due to the ground game. Not so. He has converted the 1st down through the air 45.5 percent on his 3rd & 7, 3rd & 8 and 3rd & 9 attempts. That is 3rd best in the country behind Cody Kessler of USC and DeShaun Watson of Clemson.

So all in all it's pretty clear what's going on as far as that 59% completion. He's doing what he should be doing in that offense.

Every play they call is essentially a pass play. The receivers run routes on every play. They're not blocking, ever. They're not coached to block. Offensive coordinator Bill Legg said that every play-call has three components to it: a run component, a pass component, and a Rakeem component. Only Rakeem Cato knows which it's going to be on any given down, based on what he's reading. That offense has scored 35+ points in every single game with an average of 47 points and an average yards per play (7.9) half a yard higher than any other team in the country.
 
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