Slimm's 2016 NFL Draft -- Overrated/Underrated

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Overrated:



Christian Hackenberg - I talked at length about the issues I had with Hackenberg as a prospect several months ago in a different thread that's floating around here somewhere. Most of all...lack of accuracy. It's as bad as I've ever seen. I've studied prospects entering the draft for nearly 35 years, but I'm only going to go back to the year 2000 to keep it simple. The 3 most overrated quarterbacks I've seen enter the draft in the past 15 years were Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Boller, and Christian Hackenberg. It almost makes me wonder if the video some of these people are looking at has somehow been doctored or altered in some way. There's no way someone can be watching the same games I am, and come away with the feeling that Christian Hackenberg can play. Anybody that spends a draft pick on this kid in the first 3 rounds should be fired immediately. I'll take Cardale Jones over this kid 10 out of 10 times.

Cardale Jones - Speaking of Cardale Jones, the ridiculous notion that this quarterback was worthy of a top 5 pick based off 3 games last year in which he rode Ezekiel Elliott to a championship was one of the more embarrassing knee jerk reactions that sports media in general has ever done. Right next to declaring Jeremy Johnson a Heisman Trophy candidate prior to this season. I tried to tell everyone at the time that Cardale Jones wasn't even the best QB on his own team. That would be J.T. Barrett. Which is exactly what happened, as Urban Meyer finally conceded his mistake. However, Jones' physical tools are without a doubt, incredible. I'll spend a draft pick on his immense skills to develop, beginning in the 3rd round.


Kendall Fuller - Ever since his true freshman season, I bet I've heard 100 times during Virginia Tech games how Kendall was even better than his brother, Kyle Fuller, who also played CB at Virginia Tech and was a 1st round pick of the Bears in 2014. I disagreed with this all 100 times I heard it. He's not.

Tre'Davious White - Pretty good punt returner, but not a 1st round cornerback.


DeForrest Buckner - The latest in the lineage of vastly overrated Oregon DE's. Joining Arik Armstead and Dion Jordan. Doesn't impress me at all for a kid some want to take in the top 10.

Cassanova McKinzy - Dreadful in coverage. Switched to 'Buck' linebacker position this year after getting beat out by sophomore Tre Williams.










Character Red Flags:


The following players are talented, but have significant character flaws and/or off field concerns that should make you think twice before you decide to invest a lot of money. If you're not already mature enough to avoid some of the decisions these guys have made, you're not suddenly going to get mature when I put a few million dollars into your bank account. Teams need to make sure they thoroughly investigate what's going on with these kids.



Robert Nkemdiche

Duke Williams

Trevone Boykin

Tyler Boyd

Joey Bosa

Trae Elston

Noah Spence

Devonte Fields

Alex McCalister

Shawn Oakman







Underrated players will be added soon.

 

[Philbin's Polo]

Agree 100% with Hackenberg. Speculation was that if rules allowed him to come out after his freshman or sophomore year he would be a top 5 pick, if he waited and played all 4 years he might end up undrafted, getting out early is smart for him. His O-line this year was awful, but so was he.

I've seen Jones going around the 3rd in most mocks.

Walter has McKinzy as a 2-4, I've seen him around the 4-5 most elsewhere. 2nd would be overrated, he's worth a shot in the 4th/5th IMO.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Hey Slimm. Interested to see your underrated list.

As to the overrrated, I have to feel that DeForrest Buckner is on Miami's short list at #8 so that does concern me.

Before getting injured I thought Jalen Smith seemed like the perfect target for the Dolphins. How far down do you think Miami could trade and still get Reggie Ragland? Since you know Alabama so well, what are your thoughts on Robinson at DT? Would he be a good pick to pair with Suh?

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Urban Meyer didn't concede a mistake. He made a colossal gaffe that cost his incredibly talent-laden team a great chance at another national championship. Nothing serious.

Only a conventional wisdom buffoon would have pulled a unique talent like Cardale Jones in favor of a standard athletic system fit quarterback like J.T. Barrett. It is one of the most ignorant decisions I've seen in more than 45 years watching this sport on all levels. It doesn't matter which one is the better pro prospect or which one tests better. Cardale Jones is a extreme rarity, a big guy with great deep ball touch who causes nightmares in big games because you can't begin to simulate him in practice or be prepared for how he can pull a huge play out of nowhere regardless of how he looked on the prior play or series. Jones is amazingly relaxed out there. I was literally in hysterics last season when first Nick Saban and then the Oregon coaching staff were so frustrated and overmatched.

Barrett is exactly the opposite. Ohio State was not going to run the table with him at quarterback. Sure he executes the standard plays when everything unfolds as designed. I've seen dozens of guys manage that, athletic quarterbacks all the way back to Cornelius Greene, if you want an example within the same program. J.T. Barrett doesn't have it. When the initial read isn't there on a midrange or deeper throw he panics and his feet bobble. You can see the extreme tension in his body language and shoulders. Tunnel vision. Consequently he forces things and makes inept decision and throws. It was laughable that he was so pathetic against Michigan State, a team with a pass defense so incompetent that they couldn't cover anything short or long, and this is with a talented aggressive front line. Barrett had one deep ball opening that would have tilted the game in the Buckeyes' favor. Not only did he miss it but predictably he missed badly. He would have missed badly also if Ohio State had advanced to a matchup with someone like Alabama.

If you want to talk about wondering if something has been doctored, I was watching Ohio State in that bowl game with the #7 ranking alongside its name. Never in my 45+ seasons following this sport have I seen anything so preposterous, a team as talented and well coached as Ohio State 2015 ranked anywhere near that low entering the bowl. It was beyond stupid. And there was only one basic reason for it -- Urban Meyer panicking and listening to outsider adjuster idiocy to such outrageous impact that he allowed J.T Barrett an opportunity to ruin the season, and Barrett took full advantage. I have no idea how any of those early or midseason games mattered at all, as opposed to what Cardale Jones demonstrated last season and what is required to win postseason games.

Sorry for the rant. If anything, I understated everything. It's asinine that a program like Ohio State can self destruct to that extreme while Alabama continues to rack up the breaks. Even the end of that Mississippi/Arkansas game was a monumental break for Alabama, even if nobody wants to talk about it. That 4th and 25 play in overtime is a several hundred to one to convert the first down, once the ball is tossed 20 yards backward before Alex Collins picks it up and somehow eludes everybody to barely manage the first down. And even with that incredible good fortune the game is going to end tamely a few plays later if not for the unnecessary facemask penalty on another 4th down play that had already been dismantled. Minus those two plays and everything else unfolding the same way, Alabama doesn't even make the SEC title game and is thrown into a grab bag toward a final four berth alongside Stanford, Ohio State and perhaps Mississippi if they had avenged the earlier loss to Florida. As I indicated in the other thread I like Alabama's style and defensive intensity but I don't appreciate a monopoly of surreal strokes of luck, particularly when one of them is being allowed to play a joke Michigan State pass defense allowing 7.2 YPA in the playoffs. J.T. Barrett can lose to that type of team. Nick Saban won't.

Otherwise I agree on Hackenberg. He throws it into the ground or into orbit as often as on target. Plus he shows no signs of smarts out there. On 4th down very late in the game hosting Michigan he actually started to trot off the field, as if they were going to punt. It's a 12 point game and he thinks they are going to punt with 2 minutes remaining. Hackenberg's face looks like a punch drunk fighter from the '50s and he often plays that way.

I'm starting to wonder if Kevin Hogan might be a little bit underrated, at least my myself. I hate his javelin delivery and have all but written him off as a result. He was hopeless against Northwestern and against Washington State. Otherwise he made great strides this season. If he can work hard to normalize his mechanics he could be a decent backup type. The mechanics aren't as hopeless as Tebow's.

 

[mrbunglez]

What do you all think of Coker, Sudfeld, or Wentz as a late round pickup?

 

[Philbin's Polo]

Wentz will likely be a late 1 or early 2. Vernon Adams is the QB that I'd take a shot on in a late round.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Slimm is a fantastic poster, perhaps the best on this site. I don't mean to come across as antagonistic to him. That theme, the impossibly stupid Ohio State quarterback change, was the most unnerving development of college football 2015, IMO. I would condemn anybody who supported it then, let alone touting it know, given the evidence.

J.T. Barrett playing tense and horribly while losing as a double digit home favorite was hardly a new experience. He perfected that feat a year earlier against Virginia Tech in prime time. His numbers in that game were apropos of how he played -- 9 for 29 including 3 second half interceptions, the last two while Ohio State was trailing by only one score and the home crowd in a frenzy, sensing a comeback. Barrett saved his best for last, a pick six.

Bud Foster took away the easy initial read. Big shock. He's been doing that for what, 30 years? J.T. Barrett was shuffling his feet in utter panic, as I described in the earlier post. He hesitated and allowed the pocket to collapse. Sack after sack. The commentators tried to blame everything on the offensive line, which was hilarious. Brewer on the other team was harassed all night also, with no trouble making small movements to save the sack and often find a big play. The talent level of those two quarterbacks wasn't close but neither was the composure.

Virginia Tech was no damn good. That was the most disturbing aspect while considering Barrett's play. East Carolina picked apart the Hokies a week later. Heck, the Canes wobbled in on a Thursday night and toyed with Virginia Tech, a lopsided near shutout avoided by a backup quarterback on 4th down in the final minute. I attended that game in Blacksburg. I chatted with the Hokie fans all night, or at least until virtually all of them departed in the third quarter. The Ohio State game was a big topic. One guy a row in front of me and a few seats to the right turned and summarized perfectly: "Their quarterback played scared."

Yep. And everything tends to drift back to the beginning. Somehow Urban Meyer was dense enough to deny that aspect, even though J.T. Barrett again played tight and ineffectively in midseason 2014 at Penn State. The team bailed him out in overtime of a low scoring game. When Cardale Jones replaced Barrett in that Big 10 title game I didn't know anything about Cardale Jones but I knew darn well that J.T. Barrett was a fraud, less than described and almost certain in a big stage to repeat that scared effort against Virginia Tech.

I heard all the conventional wisdom blather during fall camp 2015. Chris Spielman was pushing it. Likewise Robert Smith. Go with J.T. Barrett, the guy who fits the system. Oh yes, the glorious system fit angle. I miss that forum on Las Vegas radio, the vehicle I held for so long. We didn't have many adjusters. But system fit guys and momentum guys, they were present, and loud. I loved to shoot holes. So many teams with massive momentum but horrendous YPPA Differential were immediately dismissed in the playoffs. Big laugh. System fit makes sense for 4-3 or 3-4 fronts but otherwise it is mostly a justification to bypass the superior player. Certainly here. For whatever reason nobody liked the big clappy quarterback who didn't fit the mold while throwing all those deep balls and scoring so many points. Always as underdog, I might add. The system fit guys conveniently ignored that part.

I was confident Urban Meyer would stand firm and make the correct choice. He did. The chirps persisted. Did anybody really care about slow starts at that stage of the season? Cardale Jones was putting up fine numbers. Then he was yanked in favor of the system fit guy, while Jones was averaging 8.3 YPA. Now there's a brainstorm. Devin Smith was gone yet you are still managing 8.3 YPA, and it's not good enough. Urban Meyer surrendered to simpleton panic.

And he's rewarded with 6.7 YPA from J.T. Barrett, including 2.9 YPA in that glorious home loss to Michigan State with a backup quarterback and horrid pass defense. An incredibly talented team slipped to 7th in the rankings. Barrett upped the ante this time, blowing as 14 point home favorite after 11 point favoritism against Virginia Tech. He threw for all of 46 yards (not a misprint) and put up 14 points, with 7 on a very short field after a fumbled punt. Just disgusting but so predictable. I hated it because Alabama had already lost at home yet was aimed toward another championship berth. Let them earn it against Ohio State and Cardale Jones, not phony Michigan State and that inept pass defense.

Praising Urban Meyer for that quarterback switch reminds me of the fans who actually applauded Don Shula for adapting to Dan Marino and winging the ball all over the place. That was conventional wisdom also. Meanwhile, I'm looking at all those numbers and the normal winning expectancy, like 8 rushes to 40 for San Diego in that 1994 playoff despite leading big for most of the game. Nice job.

Anyway, Cardale Jones as a pro prospect is another matter. Intriguing, to say the least. Can he be dependable on patient drives, and so many 3rd and 6 situations? It's hard to picture him under center and how that would function. Jones has made some odd comments on social media but I don't know much about his personality. I'd certainly favor Jones above guys who have far less ability but more standard template.

If I had to favor a comparison, I'd go way back to James Harris of the Rams in the '70s. I realize not many posters here will remember that name. He was a huge black quarterback with surprising touch and big play ability but not much patience. In that era he frankly wasn't allowed as much opportunity as he deserved. Same with Joe Gilliam, although Harris had more field presence that Gilliam, who loved to wing it without much purpose.

James Harris was responsible for one of the most frustrating games I've ever attended as a young Dolphins fan. That had to be 1976. I can still envision where I was sitting in the Orange Bowl. The Dolphins were struggling that season but nobody had given up hope. We couldn't imagine missing the playoffs under Shula. This was midseason and a desperately needed game.

I don't remember how many yards Harris threw for. It seemed like 1000. The crowd would be passionately loud as Harris dropped back again, only to be hushed and stunned again as he connected on another 25 yarder. It was surreal. I remember looking around at all the nearby faces, every bit as dumbfounded as mine. The Dolphins lost a close high scoring game. We weren't mathematically out of it but I knew the season was lost as I departed the Orange Bowl that day, sure that I would never forget James Harris' performance.

 

[RobertHorry]

Not really going to comment on the Jones/Barrett debate as I don't favor either of them. Jones does have outstanding physical tools that can either be harnessed into a great pro or a terrible buffoon.

Hackenberg is the worst. I get he has a strong arm but some of the throws he's made are outright baffling. I'm not sure if a 2A quarterback who has 0 division I, II, or III offers would do worse than Hackenberg on some of those throws.

You should add Cody Kessler to the list Slimm of overrated players. I told you before the season he isn't good. Feasts on weak teams but falters against physical imposing teams. The games against Cal and Wash were enough to see his true value.

One player that should be on the underrated list is Joe Peterson out of Georgia State. One of my favorites. A bit short but I would draft him if he's there in the 5th round. Angry tackler and plays like he is shot out of a cannon. Hopefully the Dolphins make one smart decision and take him as their "small school player gem" this year. Really really like him.

Wondering if Kenneth Dixon makes the list in underrated. Had some games where he didn't too much, but he's been a very good player going back to his freshman year at Tech. Kareem Hunt is another one of those players, although I don't like him as much.

Rishard Higgins was a bit of a letdown this year for me. Still had high volume of catches but felt like something was off. Teams keyed on him much more, but just didn't impact me as much this year. I would put him on the underrated list though.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Not really going to comment on the Jones/Barrett debate as I don't favor either of them. Jones does have outstanding physical tools that can either be harnessed into a great pro or a terrible buffoon.

Hackenberg is the worst. I get he has a strong arm but some of the throws he's made are outright baffling. I'm not sure if a 2A quarterback who has 0 division I, II, or III offers would do worse than Hackenberg on some of those throws.

You should add Cody Kessler to the list Slimm of overrated players. I told you before the season he isn't good. Feasts on weak teams but falters against physical imposing teams. The games against Cal and Wash were enough to see his true value.

One player that should be on the underrated list is Joe Peterson out of Georgia State. One of my favorites. A bit short but I would draft him if he's there in the 5th round. Angry tackler and plays like he is shot out of a cannon. Hopefully the Dolphins make one smart decision and take him as their "small school player gem" this year. Really really like him.

Wondering if Kenneth Dixon makes the list in underrated. Had some games where he didn't too much, but he's been a very good player going back to his freshman year at Tech. Kareem Hunt is another one of those players, although I don't like him as much.

Rishard Higgins was a bit of a letdown this year for me. Still had high volume of catches but felt like something was off. Teams keyed on him much more, but just didn't impact me as much this year. I would put him on the underrated list though.

I don't think Higgins has even decided whether or not he's going to enter the draft yet, he may stay for his Senior season. However, I don't think he was necessarily off this year, he just went from catching passes from Garrett Grayson to catching passes from Nick Stevens, and lost Jim McElwain as his coach. That's what hurt him. Stevens is an inexperienced sophomore quarterback, so they never had the chemistry together that he built with Garrett Grayson over the previous 3 seasons. Additionally, he lost Jim McElwain as his coach. Higgins season is totally understandable.

Kenneth Dixon will be on the underrated list. He had a fine season, a very good one. He's just in an offense where he doesn't get as many opportunities running the football. Plus he was hurt a couple of games this year. But he still managed to score 26 total touchdowns. Dixon does everything well. Run it between the tackles, catch it out of the backfield, block in pass protection, and get yards after contact. He just has such great balance.

You're all over the place with Kessler. The first thing you ever mentioned to me regarding Kessler was wondering why I even considered him an NFL quarterback prospect after his sophomore season. 2 years ago.

Before this season, you changed your tune and wanted to know why anyone would even knock him for his size. At least make up your mind one way or the other.

The game against Washington was brutal for Kessler. By far the worst I've ever seen him look. That was a terrible game for the whole team. But you also have to look at the circumstances. Their coach stayed drunk all the time and couldn't even function. Pat Haden finally fired Sarkisian just a few days after that awful game.


Kessler is neither overrated nor underrated in my estimation. I think he's typically valued about where he should be. I've always graded him as a 3rd/4th rounder, and I think that's probably where most teams value him. There's a lot of players that I believe are valued about where they should be. They won't all be on either list.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Slimm is a fantastic poster, perhaps the best on this site. I don't mean to come across as antagonistic to him. That theme, the impossibly stupid Ohio State quarterback change, was the most unnerving development of college football 2015, IMO. I would condemn anybody who supported it then, let alone touting it know, given the evidence.

J.T. Barrett playing tense and horribly while losing as a double digit home favorite was hardly a new experience. He perfected that feat a year earlier against Virginia Tech in prime time. His numbers in that game were apropos of how he played -- 9 for 29 including 3 second half interceptions, the last two while Ohio State was trailing by only one score and the home crowd in a frenzy, sensing a comeback. Barrett saved his best for last, a pick six.

Bud Foster took away the easy initial read. Big shock. He's been doing that for what, 30 years? J.T. Barrett was shuffling his feet in utter panic, as I described in the earlier post. He hesitated and allowed the pocket to collapse. Sack after sack. The commentators tried to blame everything on the offensive line, which was hilarious. Brewer on the other team was harassed all night also, with no trouble making small movements to save the sack and often find a big play. The talent level of those two quarterbacks wasn't close but neither was the composure.

Virginia Tech was no damn good. That was the most disturbing aspect while considering Barrett's play. East Carolina picked apart the Hokies a week later. Heck, the Canes wobbled in on a Thursday night and toyed with Virginia Tech, a lopsided near shutout avoided by a backup quarterback on 4th down in the final minute. I attended that game in Blacksburg. I chatted with the Hokie fans all night, or at least until virtually all of them departed in the third quarter. The Ohio State game was a big topic. One guy a row in front of me and a few seats to the right turned and summarized perfectly: "Their quarterback played scared."

Yep. And everything tends to drift back to the beginning. Somehow Urban Meyer was dense enough to deny that aspect, even though J.T. Barrett again played tight and ineffectively in midseason 2014 at Penn State. The team bailed him out in overtime of a low scoring game. When Cardale Jones replaced Barrett in that Big 10 title game I didn't know anything about Cardale Jones but I knew darn well that J.T. Barrett was a fraud, less than described and almost certain in a big stage to repeat that scared effort against Virginia Tech.

I heard all the conventional wisdom blather during fall camp 2015. Chris Spielman was pushing it. Likewise Robert Smith. Go with J.T. Barrett, the guy who fits the system. Oh yes, the glorious system fit angle. I miss that forum on Las Vegas radio, the vehicle I held for so long. We didn't have many adjusters. But system fit guys and momentum guys, they were present, and loud. I loved to shoot holes. So many teams with massive momentum but horrendous YPPA Differential were immediately dismissed in the playoffs. Big laugh. System fit makes sense for 4-3 or 3-4 fronts but otherwise it is mostly a justification to bypass the superior player. Certainly here. For whatever reason nobody liked the big clappy quarterback who didn't fit the mold while throwing all those deep balls and scoring so many points. Always as underdog, I might add. The system fit guys conveniently ignored that part.

I was confident Urban Meyer would stand firm and make the correct choice. He did. The chirps persisted. Did anybody really care about slow starts at that stage of the season? Cardale Jones was putting up fine numbers. Then he was yanked in favor of the system fit guy, while Jones was averaging 8.3 YPA. Now there's a brainstorm. Devin Smith was gone yet you are still managing 8.3 YPA, and it's not good enough. Urban Meyer surrendered to simpleton panic.

And he's rewarded with 6.7 YPA from J.T. Barrett, including 2.9 YPA in that glorious home loss to Michigan State with a backup quarterback and horrid pass defense. An incredibly talented team slipped to 7th in the rankings. Barrett upped the ante this time, blowing as 14 point home favorite after 11 point favoritism against Virginia Tech. He threw for all of 46 yards (not a misprint) and put up 14 points, with 7 on a very short field after a fumbled punt. Just disgusting but so predictable. I hated it because Alabama had already lost at home yet was aimed toward another championship berth. Let them earn it against Ohio State and Cardale Jones, not phony Michigan State and that inept pass defense.

Praising Urban Meyer for that quarterback switch reminds me of the fans who actually applauded Don Shula for adapting to Dan Marino and winging the ball all over the place. That was conventional wisdom also. Meanwhile, I'm looking at all those numbers and the normal winning expectancy, like 8 rushes to 40 for San Diego in that 1994 playoff despite leading big for most of the game. Nice job.

Anyway, Cardale Jones as a pro prospect is another matter. Intriguing, to say the least. Can he be dependable on patient drives, and so many 3rd and 6 situations? It's hard to picture him under center and how that would function. Jones has made some odd comments on social media but I don't know much about his personality. I'd certainly favor Jones above guys who have far less ability but more standard template.

If I had to favor a comparison, I'd go way back to James Harris of the Rams in the '70s. I realize not many posters here will remember that name. He was a huge black quarterback with surprising touch and big play ability but not much patience. In that era he frankly wasn't allowed as much opportunity as he deserved. Same with Joe Gilliam, although Harris had more field presence that Gilliam, who loved to wing it without much purpose.

James Harris was responsible for one of the most frustrating games I've ever attended as a young Dolphins fan. That had to be 1976. I can still envision where I was sitting in the Orange Bowl. The Dolphins were struggling that season but nobody had given up hope. We couldn't imagine missing the playoffs under Shula. This was midseason and a desperately needed game.

I don't remember how many yards Harris threw for. It seemed like 1000. The crowd would be passionately loud as Harris dropped back again, only to be hushed and stunned again as he connected on another 25 yarder. It was surreal. I remember looking around at all the nearby faces, every bit as dumbfounded as mine. The Dolphins lost a close high scoring game. We weren't mathematically out of it but I knew the season was lost as I departed the Orange Bowl that day, sure that I would never forget James Harris' performance.

I think Urban Meyer gave Cardale Jones every opportunity he could to hold on to the starting job, but he just couldn't do it. He couldn't do it because he wasn't the best quarterback on Ohio St.'s roster. Period. I already knew that. So did Urban Meyer. Whether you knew it or not, is irrelevant.

Cardale Jones was the 3rd string quarterback behind Barrett and Braxton Miller for a reason.

He made the change because the offense was already sputtering with Jones. He almost single handedly got 'em beat at home against Northern Illinois in mid September because he kept throwing it to the other team. The same Northern Illinois that Boise St. just beat 55-7. J.T. Barrett had to come in and lead the offense to their first touchdown drive. Otherwise, the Buckeyes were fixing to lose that football game.



By the way, I don't think you come across as antagonistic towards me. You're a good poster. We're probably two of the older posters around here, that can have nostalgic discussions about football back in the old days. Particularly college football. I really enjoy those type of discussions. I don't get to have 'em very often around here.

However, I noticed you had this bug up your butt about Alabama a long time ago. I just think it's envy, and find it flattering. Alabama is busy winning national championships and Heisman Trophies while teams like USC and Miami are trying to get their coaches to simply show up for work sober and win so much as a Weed Eater Bowl. I'd hate Alabama too if I were you.


Look on the bright side though. You get to watch Alabama stomp USC's nuts out in the season opener next year. Just like the good ol' days we reminisce about.

 

[Birdmond]

My problem with Urban is he let JT Barrett keep the starting job after being arrested for OVI. Another question I have for Urban is why did both QB's look so good with Tom Herman as the OC and then so average under the new OC?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

My problem with Urban is he let JT Barrett keep the starting job after being arrested for OVI. Another question I have for Urban is why did both QB's look so good with Tom Herman as the OC and then so average under the new OC?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Typically you wouldn't lose your starting job to an off-field incident. If the offense wasn't bad enough for me to kick you off the team, then it's still your starting job if I'm keeping you on the team. The punishment is an entirely different issue than the starting job.

Meyer did suspend Barrett for one game. Which is pretty much what he did with Carlos Dunlap when he got his DUI at Florida.

 

[RobertHorry]

I don't think Higgins has even decided whether or not he's going to enter the draft yet, he may stay for his Senior season. However, I don't think he was necessarily off this year, he just went from catching passes from Garrett Grayson to catching passes from Nick Stevens, and lost Jim McElwain as his coach. That's what hurt him. Stevens is an inexperienced sophomore quarterback, so they never had the chemistry together that he built with Garrett Grayson over the previous 3 seasons. Additionally, he lost Jim McElwain as his coach. Higgins season is totally understandable.

Kenneth Dixon will be on the underrated list. He had a fine season, a very good one. He's just in an offense where he doesn't get as many opportunities running the football. Plus he was hurt a couple of games this year. But he still managed to score 26 total touchdowns. Dixon does everything well. Run it between the tackles, catch it out of the backfield, block in pass protection, and get yards after contact. He just has such great balance.

You're all over the place with Kessler. The first thing you ever mentioned to me regarding Kessler was wondering why I even considered him an NFL quarterback prospect after his sophomore season. 2 years ago.

Before this season, you changed your tune and wanted to know why anyone would even knock him for his size. At least make up your mind one way or the other.

The game against Washington was brutal for Kessler. By far the worst I've ever seen him look. That was a terrible game for the whole team. But you also have to look at the circumstances. Their coach stayed drunk all the time and couldn't even function. Pat Haden finally fired Sarkisian just a few days after that awful game.


Kessler is neither overrated nor underrated in my estimation. I think he's typically valued about where he should be. I've always graded him as a 3rd/4th rounder, and I think that's probably where most teams value him. There's a lot of players that I believe are valued about where they should be. They won't all be on either list.

Well yeah, Kessler is probably the one quarterback I've been wishy washy on. I don't think he's a viable starting QB in the NFL. I think he's a perennial backup. I still stand by the fact I'm not sure why anyone knocks him for his size. He's a big, thick quarterback. A bit short, but he's pushing more towards 6'2 rather than downwards to 6'0. I don't really like him at the end of the day, but I'm not going to say he is totally invaluable.

What do you think of Hunt and Peterson?

 

[FearTheBeard]

Typically you wouldn't lose your starting job to an off-field incident. If the offense wasn't bad enough for me to kick you off the team, then it's still your starting job if I'm keeping you on the team. The punishment is an entirely different issue than the starting job.

Meyer did suspend Barrett for one game. Which is pretty much what he did with Carlos Dunlap when he got his DUI at Florida.

By all indications Barrett is a very high character kid who barely blew over the limit. Obviously it's illegal and poor judgment but he was just getting a teammate home who was way too hammered. Lets not over analayze it to begin with.

 

[Philbin's Polo]

Not being sarcastic, serious question. Who besides Urban Meyer has been on record as touting Barrett's high character? I know what constitutes "acceptable" behavior under Urban, so "high" character under him is a very relative term, which I don't put a lot of stock into coming out of his mouth.