Jimmy Clausen or Sam Bradford?

[Mahons21]

From watching high-lights of both QB's I've seen:

Bradford:

-Extremely accurate

-Runs a shotgun spread

-Doesn't necessarily go through progressions

-Never has any pressure in his face

-Always seems to have a wide open WR against some piss-poor Big 12 defense.

Bradford's accuracy can't be questioned, the guy can make the throws and put the ball into a small window. However will this translate to the NFL? Will he be able to perform at the same high level when there is pressure in his face and his receivers are getting bumped off there routes?

Bradford has tremendous upside, but also a lot of risk in my opinion.

Clausen:

-Can make all the NFL throws (consistently throwing stick passes)

-Doesn't have the strongest arm, and sometimes floats the deep-ball too much.

-Goes through his progressions, even when pressure is in his face.

-Seems to have a knack for reading defenses, throwing to WR's often before they have gotten out of there break.

Clausen runs a pro-style offense, and seems relatively close to being NFL ready (by far the most NFL ready QB in this draft). His arm strength does worry me a little bit, but then again arm strength isn't everything as we know from Jason.

Verdict: Jimmy

[Stoox]

Not the most measured or thorough post in terms of breaking down their abilities, but taking Clausen would terrify me, Charlie Weis or no Charlie Weis...

No Notre Dame quarterback has worked out in the NFL in the last 25 years - Steve Beuerlein was the last guy to be effective coming out of ND. Before him? Joe Montana in '78. And before that? Theismann and Hanratty in the 60s!

Brady Quinn (who played under Weis), Ron Powlus, Rick Mirer, Kent Graham off the top of my head....the list of disappointments is long.

If we can't draft Bradford, then get the OT in round #1 and get McCoy, Pike, Robinson or someone in a later round.

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

>lists notre dame disappointments at QB

>wants a qb from oklahoma

hahaha you're a funny guy

[Chachie]

I'm not a college football enthusiast, so I don't know anything about either guy. All I keep hearing from my friends who love college ball though, is "Don't pick Clausen."

[The Tris]

I didn't want to start a thread for this but really wanted to posted it just because I thought it was awesome. We are all minature versions of the guys making these quotes. From SI's Stewart Mandel:

Quarterbacks

A. JaMarcus Russell

B. John Elway

C. Peyton Manning

D. Dan Marino

E. Ryan Leaf

F. Michael Vick

G. Tom Brady

H. Drew Brees

I. Brian Griese

Quotes

1. "________ has got all the tools and as good an arm as anybody. But he's too up and down, and the inconsistency of the team was reflected in him."

--An unnamed NFC general manager to The New York Times

2. "I was shockingly impressed with ________. He is very poised and makes good decisions. He may not have a great arm, but he has smooth mechanics and throws easily catchable passes. He is not the type of guy who is gonna get scared and force passes across the middle."

--Former NFL scout Russ Lande to a newspaper, the identity of which would give away the quarterback's identity.

3. "I can't remember being in such awe of a quarterback in my decade of attending combines and pro days."

--ESPN's Todd McShay

4. "______ is just different. He has the touch, the feel, the accuracy, all the intangibles you look for in a quarterback. Maybe it's because his father is a coach. [He] just seems to understand football more than any quarterback I've ever seen in college."

--Unnamed scout to The New York Times

5. "______ is the product of the system. Is he better than Cade McNown? Yeah, but I'm not sold on him."

--An unnamed scout to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

6. "Remember this: late third-round pick 1979, Joe Montana; late third-round pick [late-90s year], _______.

--SI.com's own Peter King

7. Ominous note on ________: This gentleman completed just 177 passes at the collegiate level, versus 1,003 completions for Drew Brees. Because [he] threw so little, he didn't have the chance to expose his weaknesses, which somehow makes him more desirable. If the first pick, [he] is expected to command a $15 million bonus. That's $84,746 per college completion!

--Gregg Easterbrook in Slate

8. "________ is going to immediately energize that fanbase, that football team -- on the practice field, in that locker room. Three years from now you could be looking at a guy that's certainly one of the elite top five quarterbacks in this league. ...You're talking about a 2-3 year period once he's under center. Look out because the skill level that he has is certainly John Elway-like."

--ESPN's Mel Kiper

9. "The knock on _______ is his body build. He's too skinny."

--The late Joel Buchsbaum (one of the original draft analysts) to The Detroit News

10. (Two-parter) Give me the linebacker-sized ____________, who at 6-5, 238 pounds is more rugged, less susceptible to injury than the 6-5, 222-pound ________. [Quarterback A] is a better athlete, stronger of arm and more fiery than [quarterback B]. To those who point out that he's also rawer, I say: So what? No quarterback does squat until he's been in the league at least three years. And to scouts cautioning that [quarterback A] is a "free spirit," spare me. You had the same line on Brett Favre.

--SI's own Austin Murphy

Answers

1. If you agree with this GM, then you probably would have passed on the quarterback. Indeed, 26 NFL GMs passed on Dan Marino in the 1983 draft.

2. Not many people agreed with Lande, which is why Tom Brady lasted until the sixth round. The paper, by the way, was The Michigan Daily, the student paper at Michigan.

3. In McShay's defense, that's pretty much what everyone said after JaMarcus Russell's pro day. Whoops.

4. This scout absolutely nailed John Elway in his evaluation.

5. This scout, meanwhile, completely whiffed on Drew Brees.

6. The man whose Web traffic pays my salary got a little carried away in a 1998 interview. Brian Griese had a nice career, but it didn't approach Montana's.

7. The Tuesday Morning Quarterback author offered a dire warning to anyone thinking of choosing Michael Vick. The Falcons traded for the right to pick him anyway, and the Chargers wound up with Brees and LaDanian Tomlinson in the same draft.

8. ESPN's Kiper, who is correct more often than he is wrong, drank the same Kool-Aid as everyone else regarding JaMarcus Russell in 2008.

9. Buchsbaum's statement represents the near-consensus opinion on Tom Brady in 2000.

10. Murphy tackled the debate that raged in 1998. Unfortunately, he endorsed Ryan Leaf (quarterback A) over Peyton Manning (quarterback .

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

^^^Wow...I know alot of people got it wrong on Russel but damnnnn kiper totally got EVERYTHING he said wrong lol

Thats a good post though...really makes you think.

[DiscoBob]

From watching high-lights of both QB's I've seen:

Bradford:

-Extremely accurate

-Runs a shotgun spread

-Doesn't necessarily go through progressions

-Never has any pressure in his face

-Always seems to have a wide open WR against some piss-poor Big 12 defense.

Bradford's accuracy can't be questioned, the guy can make the throws and put the ball into a small window. However will this translate to the NFL? Will he be able to perform at the same high level when there is pressure in his face and his receivers are getting bumped off there routes?

Bradford has tremendous upside, but also a lot of risk in my opinion.

Clausen:

-Can make all the NFL throws (consistently throwing stick passes)

-Doesn't have the strongest arm, and sometimes floats the deep-ball too much.

-Goes through his progressions, even when pressure is in his face.

-Seems to have a knack for reading defenses, throwing to WR's often before they have gotten out of there break.

Clausen runs a pro-style offense, and seems relatively close to being NFL ready (by far the most NFL ready QB in this draft). His arm strength does worry me a little bit, but then again arm strength isn't everything as we know from Jason.

Verdict: Jimmy

...as someone who has come around on Clausen, this is a good assessment.

The biggest argument that I've seen in the S vs. J threads is that the potential ceiling on Bradford is higher. I think this may be true, but the part of the game that the vast majority of highly touted QB prospects struggle with is the mental portion of the game. Can they manage a pro-style offense, make the reads, read the defense, and make quick decisions. Typically, people overlook this as a skill and only look at physical tools, assuming that you can always train or coach the mental aspect of the game. 1st round flop after 1st round flop has proven that this is NOT the case. I'd rather take the safe pick (Clausen) if the Shanny boys look at the ND offense and believe that it will be a easier transition to their version of the WC. We don't need the next Peyton Manning to win, and if you look back over the draft history, if you look at the players touted to be the next all-pro, usually their wrong....

THEREFORE - Go safe with Clausen....that is all....