Mr. Scot

Kenny Pickett is by far the most accurate QB in this class, but he has an unnerving red flag (not his hand size) The article includes a series of clips and analysis. I recommend taking a look if you can (subscription required). It's a pretty extensive and informative reac. Excerpts: (E)nough about hand size. Let’s talk about Pickett’s game. I graded him a lot higher than I thought I would after reviewing his film. Pickett has elite accuracy throwing short and intermediate, his passes zip to his receivers with strong velocity, and he’s twitchy enough to escape from pass rushers and make difficult passes on the run. He doesn’t have elite arm talent but can still throw accurately off-platform. Pickett was a super senior, who broke out in his fifth year. Like many others, he was eligible for an extra season because of last year’s COVID-19 restrictions. He didn’t throw for more than 13 touchdowns in each of his first four seasons but went nuclear last season, throwing for 42 touchdowns with only seven interceptions. He didn’t have blue-chip talent at offensive line or receiver, but he carved up defenses with anticipation and precise ball location, working the dropback game from the pocket. But he’s not just a pocket passer, he’s hard to bring down and is accurate and decisive when he breaks the pocket. Pickett’s mechanics are very strong. He won’t need much if any adjusting in the NFL. He’s an excellent rotational thrower with a quick release. ... In this clip that was sent to me (I edited it) by his trainer, Tony Racioppi, Pickett is working on turning at the top of his drop to make a straight balanced throw to his left using the last crossover step to set the angle for his body to align with the throw. The sequencing of his mechanics is perfect and exactly what even veteran quarterbacks continue trying to master. What I mean by sequencing is how his hips open first while his shoulders remain closed to the target. This creates a rubber band effect that naturally whips the shoulders into the throw, so he’s getting power from his hips rather than compensating with just his arm. Watch as his front foot hits the ground, his front shoulder remains perpendicular to the target. This type of sequencing is very hard to achieve, but Pickett has perfected it and it shows up on his game film. His strong mechanics and footwork are why he’s by far the most accurate quarterback in this class. ... Pickett loves using the middle of the field. He has a natural feel for anticipating windows opening up and puts the ball in great locations for his receivers and doesn’t put them in danger. ... Pickett has a twitchy lower body, shows excellent agility in the pocket and can run through arm-tackle attempts. He’s difficult to contain and can hit tight-window throws on the run. ... Conversely, one of Pickett’s greatest weaknesses is his skittishness in constrained pockets. Although he’s slippery, there are times when he’ll bail out of clean pockets when it’s not necessary. Great quarterbacks know how to make subtle movements to buy more time in the pocket. Pickett wants to escape when the pocket starts to get muddy. When he has a clean pocket, Pickett does a nice job of moving from progression to progression. ... Pickett shows some inconsistency with his process. There are times when he doesn’t let deeper routes develop long enough and will move too quickly to his checkdown. Generally, he’s good against the blitz, but there are several instances when he won’t see it coming and takes bad sacks or gets forced into bad decisions. Although Pickett can be surgical throwing short to intermediate, he’s not as precise when he’s throwing deep. His reads on deep passes aren’t as clean and his placement overall is average to below average. ... Pickett benefited from playing in a system that was expertly tailored to his strengths by offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. Whipple called a lot of concepts that attacked the middle of the field like “shallow cross” and rolled Pickett outside of the pocket when he expected pressure. Pickett’s ability to anticipate and his accuracy will translate to the next level, but you want to see more consistency with his process as a super senior. Fumbles are a concern as well — he had 38 career fumbles (lost 26), which is why his hand size might actually matter. Though he did wear gloves, he did not appear to lose grip on passes. Teams could easily fall in love with his accuracy and escapability, but his skittishness when the pocket gets compressed is a legitimate red flag because pockets are smaller in the pros. Overall, I believe Pickett can be very good, but he’s not scheme-versatile. He has to be in a system that emphasizes quick passes in the middle of the field with West Coast roots like the 49ers, Saints or Steelers. ... Note: We're also one of those teams.

People who know me can testify that I'm as far from a "liberal narrative" guy as you'll find. I'm not banned.

I came away with the same feeling.

Rivera pretty much owned Arians.

Dean Marlowe is still in the league

I'm guessing you don't realize the moderators can tell who you are, do you? That's how you keep getting banned.

@DavidTepper5 isn't that David Tepper. I don't think the Panthers only even has a Twitter account.

Side Note: OL Coach James Campen is in Tennessee today scouting Cole Strange.

Someone else also decided it was time to hang it up... Wonder if covering the Watson story or it being over played any role

I'll put it on my list.

Are we sure this is gonna do that?

Already accomplished that by being a bird person

I'm moving more in the direction of "cranky old man" every day

Until they happen, it's all theoretical.

Since it came up in another thread and it's tangentially related, here's what Lady Cowboy Fan got me for my birthday... Been wanting this book for a while. She knows me well And because she knows me well, she also got me this (I'm trying to build the complete collection)

Should. Hopefully also will.

I don't know that all that many people thought he would be gone as thought that he should be.

Fair enough, but we should be used to that after 15 years of Marty Hurney.

That's kind of a classy move on his part.

Probably only true until next year though

Can't answer that for Arians, but Bowles does have significantly more coaching experience (including a previous stint as a head coach).

He has final say over the roster, but I've never seen it firmly established that he has hiring and firing power in the personnel department.

From Kings story... The move comes as a surprise but perhaps not a shock. Arians, the most colorful coach in a buttoned-up pro game, said he started thinking about stepping aside at the NFL Scouting Combine a month ago. He is a prostate-cancer survivor and was hospitalized due to an illness late in his first head-coach tenure in Indianapolis in 2012. He’s suffering from a torn Achilles today. But when he explained his reasons, health wasn’t the big thing. He said he’s relinquishing the Tampa job because “succession has always been huge for me. With the organization in probably the best shape it’s been in its history, with Tom Brady coming back … I’d rather see Todd in position to be successful and not have to take some [crappy] job. I’m probably retiring next year anyway, in February. So, I control the narrative right now. I don’t control it next February because [if] Brady gets hurt, we go 10-7, and it’s an open interview for the job … I got 31 [coaches and their] families that depend on me. My wife is big on not letting all those families down.”