Bradshaw rips Clausen's throwing

[Jpjr]

Here is my take on Clausen at ND:

He didn't have good pocket awareness. He gets jittery with happy feet, and sometimes will scramble for no reason. That won't fly in the pros.

He doesn't consistantly shift his weight properly from his back foot to his front foot during his throwing motion. Especially when he feels pressure, is throwing the deep ball, or at random times on short and medium routes. The good news is that I think he can throw the ball a lot better that what you see in his ND highlights and lowlights. He just needs to get more torque from his lower body. In short, I think Clausen can actually throw faster and further with help from our QB coach. Jake had the same problem when he felt pressure, he didn't step into his throw.

Look at Clausen's face. It's odd looking isn't it? That's because he has a small face, and usually that comes with small hands. Clausen's hands are only 9 inches from thumb to pinkie. Compare that to:

Brett Favre - 10.375

Drew Brees - 10.25

Donovan McNabb - 10

Colt McCoy - 9.75

Matt Ryan - 9.5

Chad Henne - 9

Michael Vick - 8.5

Bad weather conditions may cause ball security problems for Clausen. Also, he won't be able to put as much zip on the ball as say Farve or Brees, but that's not breaking news.

I have no idea why Bradshaw has a problem with his throwing mechanics. I suppose he's putting more torque on his body than some of the bigger QBs, but so what?

The small hands talking point? Really?

I remember before the small hands argument everyone said there was a conspiracy that he was really 5'9". At the combine he measured in at 6'2", so of course everyone turned the focus to his small hands to justify why he wasn't a good quarterback.

Objectively speaking, when you add up Clausen's completion%, TD/INT ratio, clutch throws i.e. 4th Qtr comebacks, #attempts, OL ranking, etc, he was the most proficient quarterback in college football last year. All of the media arguments breaking down the problems in his game simply didn't translate on the field. I can't blame a guy for dancing a bit when his OL had in aggregate the most sacks allowed of any OL over the past 3 years. The only thing about his game that clearly needs to improve is his deep ball, but if any of you remember there was another ND QB named Joe Montana who had an absolutely terrible deep ball. Jerry Rice could throw the ball farther.

[pantherj]

The small hands talking point? Really?

I remember before the small hands argument everyone said there was a conspiracy that he was really 5'9". At the combine he measured in at 6'2", so of course everyone turned the focus to his small hands to justify why he wasn't a good quarterback.

Objectively speaking, when you add up Clausen's completion%, TD/INT ratio, clutch throws i.e. 4th Qtr comebacks, #attempts, OL ranking, etc, he was the most proficient quarterback in college football last year. All of the media arguments breaking down the problems in his game simply didn't translate on the field. I can't blame a guy for dancing a bit when his OL had in aggregate the most sacks allowed of any OL over the past 3 years. The only thing about his game that clearly needs to improve is his deep ball, but if any of you remember there was another ND QB named Joe Montana who had an absolutely terrible deep ball. Jerry Rice could throw the ball farther.

A Joe Montana comparison? Really?

I like Clausen, and I think he'll be a good QB. His hands are small for an NFL QB. NFL scouts take that into account for good reason.

[Jpjr]

A Joe Montana comparison? Really?

I like Clausen, and I think he'll be a good QB. His hands are small for an NFL QB. NFL scouts take that into account for good reason.

What is the point? How did his small hands translate into poor performance on the field? It's a media talking point just like his height was before it wasn't.

[scpanther22]

Here is my take on Clausen at ND:

He didn't have good pocket awareness. He gets jittery with happy feet, and sometimes will scramble for no reason. That won't fly in the pros.

He doesn't consistantly shift his weight properly from his back foot to his front foot during his throwing motion. Especially when he feels pressure, is throwing the deep ball, or at random times on short and medium routes. The good news is that I think he can throw the ball a lot better that what you see in his ND highlights and lowlights. He just needs to get more torque from his lower body. In short, I think Clausen can actually throw faster and further with help from our QB coach. Jake had the same problem when he felt pressure, he didn't step into his throw.

Look at Clausen's face. It's odd looking isn't it? That's because he has a small face, and usually that comes with small hands. Clausen's hands are only 9 inches from thumb to pinkie. Compare that to:

Brett Favre - 10.375

Drew Brees - 10.25

Donovan McNabb - 10

Colt McCoy - 9.75

Matt Ryan - 9.5

Chad Henne - 9

Michael Vick - 8.5

Bad weather conditions may cause ball security problems for Clausen. Also, he won't be able to put as much zip on the ball as say Farve or Brees, but that's not breaking news.

I have no idea why Bradshaw has a problem with his throwing mechanics. I suppose he's putting more torque on his body than some of the bigger QBs, but so what?

lol..at his odd looking face.

But didnt Clausen have turf toe last year?

[thefuzz]

Who would seriously listen to Terry Bradshaw?

[ladypanther]

Who would seriously listen to Terry Bradshaw?

Word.

[panthers55]

While having large hands can sometimes help grip the ball in wet or very cold weather, there is very little I have seen that correlates success in the NFL with hand size. Clausen has generally good mechanics for a college quarterback. Not stepping into throws and throwing before he has his feet in great position are usually a function of being hurried and not being able to step up in the pocket. The fact that he completed so many passes while under pressure and not in perfect position due to pressure on him will turn out to be a positive rather than a negative. Most an quarterback can make good throws when given time to set up and step up in the pocket. The great quarterbacks are the ones that can still get the ball out while backpedaling or having to throw off the wrong foot and other examples where he is under pressure. Some quarterbacks develop bad habits which can be unlearned after years of being hurried and pressured.

If all we wanted to do was throw it deep, then Cantwell would get the nod as the starter. But obviously that isn't the most important aspect. It is important to have the ability to do so given that teams will sit on the short routes if you can't throw the deep ball (Chad Pennington), but it is much more important to be accurate and have good touch on the short and medium passes than worrying too much about how well he can throw the 40 or 50 yard bomb.

Clausen is not without his flaws. it is a good thing that we have a QB coach that is big on the fundamentals and mechanics. This is just another reason that the best case scenario is for Moore to start and Clausen to keep improving until he is ready to start down the road.

[Jpjr]

Agreed that Clausen needs to keep developing. My only perspective in this debate is that relative to the other rookie QB's he needs the least development.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

He has no room to talk, for being known as Mr. Steel Arm his TD-INT ratio was far from impressive.

212-210, yeah thats the sign of a great quarterback.

Hey Terry, your TD-INT ratio is worse than Tommy Jone's. How does that make you feel?

[monstercat]

Clausen actually has about the same size hands as Matt Moore, if not a little bigger, and I haven't seen an instance where it was an obvious problem for either one of them.

[panthers55]

He has no room to talk, for being known as Mr. Steel Arm his TD-INT ratio was far from impressive.

212-210, yeah thats the sign of a great quarterback.

Hey Terry, your TD-INT ratio is worse than Tommy Jone's. How does that make you feel?

In all fairness quarterbacks 20 or 30 years ago didn't have the advantages today's guys have. The rules currently really favor the receivers and the quarterbacks. back then defensive backs could hold receivers and mug them with little problem. It made things much harder. That is a reason that guys like Montana are considered so fantastic. His stats are fantastic for now let alone the 90s.

With that said Bradshaw was known more for the Superbowl wins than he was for being such a great quarterback. Much like John Elway.

[Hugor Hill]

"(Montana) was a third-rounder," Bradshaw said. "And Jimmy may end up being that, (but he) played for such a big institution.

Now, I may be reading this wrong, but Joe Cool played for the same "big institution"? Why is he degrading Jimmy because of that, but praising Joe Cool?

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

In all fairness quarterbacks 20 or 30 years ago didn't have the advantages today's guys have. The rules currently really favor the receivers and the quarterbacks. back then defensive backs could hold receivers and mug them with little problem. It made things much harder. That is a reason that guys like Montana are considered so fantastic. His stats are fantastic for now let alone the 90s.

With that said Bradshaw was known more for the Superbowl wins than he was for being such a great quarterback. Much like John Elway.

He still had his fair share of targets to hit though.

TE- Larry Brown- 1X Pro Bowler

WR- Frank Lewis- 1X Pro Bowler

WR- Ronnie Shanklin- 1X Pro Bowler

WR- Lynn Swann- 3X Pro Bowler (Hall of Famer)

WR- John Stallworth- 4X Pro Bowler (Hall of Famer

I am not taking anything away from Bradshaw, but if you gave almost any quarterback these types of targets to throw to, they should be able to win at least one super bowl.

[BlackCatFan]

Who would seriously listen to Terry Bradshaw?

That was may exact thoughts!