Why drafting a QB is more likely than you think

[panthers55]

Eventually, unless Clausen plays lights out, Newton (assuming he's picked) will be given the majority of a season to prove himself. Even if he plays bad, youll have to stick with him otherwise youll never get a solid opinion on him. So at the very least if sets you back a season.

If he turns out to be a bust, your long term success now rests on the shoulders of Clausen, who based on previous play , very well could be a bust as well.

Which puts you back at square one. Having competition is certainley the right way to go, but unless the competion is a high calibur QB, if your pick busts you can very well be setback.

Granted, if you have a good enough overall team the setback could hurt you minimally.

If you have 2 bust quarterbacks in the first 2 rounds of course it sets you back. You better be looking for a new set of scouts also. If we pick a QB in the first and Newton or Gabbart are the choices, you better hope that they play well or the competition spurs Clausen to elevate his game as well.

You can bust at any position but the solution is to find the best guys you can through the draft and in free agency. Hopefully this year we do both. The risk of a bust and wasted pick is far outweighed by the potential gain by finding the QB of the future. Should keep Smith here as well.

[CarolinaCatBrigade]

One of the benefits with Newton in my opinion is even if he gets thrown in the fire too soon, his ability to run will get him out of some jams that traditional QB's don't have the luxury of being able to do.

I still hope he sits for the majority of the year.

That still doesn't mean I think he is a project. No QB is ready on day 1.

Newton may be fast, but NFL Defenses are faster than the ones he faced in the ONE YEAR he started at Auburn University. His throwing motion is in question, scouts say it could cause him injuries down the road if he doesn't adjust it. His deep ball is excellent, but his short/intermediate passes need improvement. He has never taken a snap from under center and his only job in the spread at Auburn was 1 or 2 reads and then take off. Not a very complex offense, not much experience as a starter, questionable throwing motion.

No thanks. Hype him up and then trade down.

[Mr. Scot]

Also, just because we need a QB doesn't mean we need to take a QB at #1. We need other positions, too, and by draft time it may turn out that the dudes in charge actually think we have a bigger need than QB. For some time, the FO has been stressing that they need to find out what they have and, if it isn't going to get it done, search for better elsewhere. It is very possible they have decided that what they have, if backed up by a veteran in FA, is worth going into the season with. Either way, they are going to want a FA QB... I have a VERY hard time believing we go into the season with Clausen/Rookie QB/Pike.

If there is no FA, look at the DT's we are stuck with. Not entirely awe-inspiring, either.

Have said many times I think the free agent this season is the better way to go. Use that as a fallback and see what you have in Clausen. If Clausen isn't the franchise guy, then you try for that guy next year.

People will say they already know Clausen isn't that guy. And while I have my doubts, objectively speaking that isn't true. Last year was a unique situation under a lame duck coach with a staff that wasn't exactly brimming with expertise in pro quarterback development. Thinking that we know all there is to know about Clausen after a rookie year under those conditions is pretty silly.

Still, we've got folks bound and determined to use that #1 pick on a QB. I wonder if a fair amount of that isn't "bait and switch victim" thinking resulting from losing out on Andrew Luck. You have people go to the store with their heart set on say, a certain TV, only to find out it isn't there anymore. They can still get that TV but they have to wait, or they could just buy another model. That model may not be as good, but hey, at least we have something now.

I'm not a fan of that sort of thinking.

People will likely respond "maybe that TV is just as good". Maybe it is. Better chance that it's not. But even if it isn't as good, when you want something right now and you don't want to have to wait, it becomes pretty easy to convince yourself that it is (even if - objectively speaking - it really isn't).