This year's crop of quarterbacks...

[Mr. Scot]

...stinks, per an article from Jason Cole at Yahoo: Top four QB prospects raise glaring red flags

FYI: The video included is from NFL Network and not directly related to the discussion.

Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker and Ryan Mallett have seemingly redefined one of the NFL’s greatest nicknames. They are the modern Fearsome Foursome.

And not in a good way.

“All I will say is that I’m glad I don’t need a quarterback this year,” said an NFC general manager, who went on to say plenty more. That GM was one of three executives who had particularly harsh comments for the quartet of quarterbacks who are expected to go in the first two rounds.

“If you’re telling me I have to bet the future of my team and my job on one of these guys, I would be really nervous,” the NFC GM said. “It’s tough enough to take a quarterback to begin with. But then you put these guys in the equation? No, thanks.”

Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt put it a little more politely during a radio interview this week.

“There is nobody [at quarterback] that really stands out like Sam Bradford(notes) did last year,” Whisenhunt said on XTRA 910 radio in Phoenix. “There are a lot of guys that are intriguing athletically like Blaine Gabbert, like Cam Newton, because of the skill set, some of the things they can do. But I don’t think they have shown the ability to do some of the things that you have seen in the past by some of these guys like a Matt Ryan(notes) or, obviously, like a Sam Bradford.”

Those comments come on the heels of some particularly harsh criticism of Newton by Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki. In PFW’s draft guide, Nawrocki wrote that Newton is “very disingenuous … has a fake smile, comes off very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup.” Nawrocki went on to say that Newton “has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law.”

To those in and around the NFL, Nawrocki’s comments carry particular weight because he’s not given to overstatement. Nawrocki has more credibility than many draft analysts because it’s believed he doesn’t grind axes; he truly believes what he’s writing.

Most importantly, he may not be far off. As is the theme with the top four quarterbacks in this draft, Newton has many detractors. While not everyone is as brutal as Nawrocki, they aren’t far removed.

[Fiz]

omg mr scot making a thread about how bad the QBs are this is unheard of

[Sword]

if you read the part where the execs talk about Newton it's mostly what we know; he has all the talent in the world and just has to be lead in the right direction and have to want it. It's going to come down to whether the Panthers believes he wants to be the best player he can be or not.

I certainly wouldn't want to draft Ken O'Brien though...

[top dawg]

Read between the lines, and what you have here is gamesmanship.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Same old, same old, same old, same old, same old, same old, same old, did I say sam old? Same old Sh*t.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

JOAT is really good at those quickies. He just comes in all of Mr. Scot's threads, pies him, and then gets the hell out.

[Mr. Scot]

if you read the part where the execs talk about Newton it's mostly what we know; he has all the talent in the world and just has to be lead in the right direction and have to want it. It's going to come down to whether the Panthers believes he wants to be the best player he can be or not.

I certainly wouldn't want to draft Ken O'Brien though...

I remember when the Jets took O'Brien over Marino. ESPN interviewed a Jet fan whose response was "obviously the Jets know something that we don't".

Apparently not :lol:

The truth is these guys do have access to a lot more info than we do (though the gap today isn't nearly what it was in 83) but sadly, even having all the best info is not a guarantee that they'll make the right decision.

[Mr. Scot]

Read between the lines, and what you have here is gamesmanship.

Why does a GM for a team that doesn't need a quarterback need to engage in gamesmanship?

I'll grant there's plenty of it going on these days, and the vast majority of things said should be taken with a grain of salt, but let's say you asked Thomas Dimitroff for an evaluation of this year's QB crop and then turned around and asked Marty Hurney for the same? Which of the two would be more likely to be onjective?

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Why does a GM for a team that doesn't need a quarterback need to engage in gamesmanship?

I'll grant there's plenty of it going on these days, and the vast majority of things said should be taken with a grain of salt, but let's say you asked Thomas Dimitroff for an evaluation of this year's QB crop and then turned around and asked Marty Hurney for the same? Which of the two would be more likely to be onjective?

If Whiesenhunt doesn't think he needs a QB, then he should be fired. But then again Derek Anderson, Max Hall, John Skelton are the future of greatness, right?

Na, 2 out of the 3 suck ass and the other one will turn out to be a Marc Bulger type of QB.

[top dawg]

Why does a GM for a team that doesn't need a quarterback need to engage in gamesmanship?

I'll grant there's plenty of it going on these days, and the vast majority of things said should be taken with a grain of salt, but let's say you asked Thomas Dimitroff for an evaluation of this year's QB crop and then turned around and asked Marty Hurney for the same? Which of the two would be more likely to be onjective?

As to your first question: Draft position! There's always more to wheeling and dealing than meets the eye (particularly the farther you are down the list). And, like you have intimated, GM's lie for their own reasons.

As to your second question: Who can tell?

[Mr. Scot]

If Whiesenhunt doesn't think he needs a QB, then he should be fired. But then again Derek Anderson, Max Hall, John Skelton are the future of greatness, right?

Na, 2 out of the 3 suck ass and the other one will turn out to be a Marc Bulger type of QB.

Whisenhunt isn't the GM, but he's a funny case. He's talking down the current crop available at a time when his team badly needs one.

Best guess on that is that he doesn't think either of the top two will fall to them, he isn't interested in the others, and maybe he wants to prepare the fanbase for the possibility that they might not go QB at number five.

You can likely expect that if that happens, we'll be able to hear the collective screaming all the way over here on the East Coast.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Haha, you have Gabbert there and they decide to go Prince Amukamara. I'd sh*t myself.

[Mr. Scot]

Haha, you have Gabbert there and they decide to go Prince Amukamara. I'd sh*t myself.

I think the Cards fanbase might too.

Truth is that might actually turn out to be the right decision, but try convincing an angry fan on draft day of that :incazzato:

People were ready to sting Charley Casserly up for the Mario Williams pick (he was resigning anyway) but these days it looks like a brilliant decision.

[Highlandfire]

...stinks, per an article from Jason Cole at Yahoo: Top four QB prospects raise glaring red flags

FYI: The video included is from NFL Network and not directly related to the discussion.

the Article is 100% dead on. Richardson and Panther fans wanted #1 to get one guy, Andrew Luck. He stayed in school so now Panther fans want to reach for obviously lesser QB's in hopes they turn out to be something. That is not the way to build a franchise, that is how you ruin one.

Trade down.