Jimmy Clausen

By: Brandon Wangrin

Some people are indifferent about Jimmy Clausen. Saying he does not have the necessary zip on his passes, saying he cant make all of the NFL throws, and saying he is not “NFL ready”.

The reason scouts and NFL Draft “experts” always have trouble evaluating quarterbacks is because they are way to obsessed with arm strength and not arm accuracy. I agree you have to be able to make the throws, but in the NFL if you cannot hit your receiver in the chest it doesnt matter how hard you throw it. Whatever happened to judging a player on his poise in the pocket, knowledge of the game, understanding of a pro offense, having a quick release, or pure accuracy. All of these things Jimmy Clausen has.

Mark my words, Jimmy Clausen will be a great quarterback in the NFL eventually. He played under Charlie Weis at Notre Dame and unlike many college quarterbacks (Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, and Colt McCoy) he played in a pro offense. Scouts are right about Clausen, he does not have a Joe Flacco, Matt Stafford, or Jamarcus Russell like arm, but neither do a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL. He does, however, have a strong arm and the ability to make every throw. When I watch him on film, I notice how he is a natural playmaker, extreme competitor, and has the ability to make difficult throws, under pressure, and on the run that many other quarterbacks cannot make. He really reminds me of an Aaron Rodgers or Tony Romo type quarterback being that he has the ability to make plays that were un-thinkable.

If you are the Browns or Raiders and you do not draft Jimmy Clausen I will be SHOCKED and you will be missing out on a very talented, knowledgeable quarterback.

McNabb to Raiders, Cards?

By: Brandon Wangrin

I know this is a strictly NFL Draft blog, but I do want to touch up on the Donovan McNabb situation. Philadelphia has said that they want a top 42 pick in this years NFL Draft for Donovan McNabb. My guess is that they would want an additional pick in maybe the 4th or 5th if they got a 2nd round pick for him.

There are a few teams that have a “real” possibility in getting McNabb and that is Oakland, Arizona, Washington, St. Louis, Cleveland, and possibly Minnesota. Oakland and Arizona are by far the leading candidates right now.

So, this brings me to the question. If you are Oakland or Arizona, why not trade a 2nd and 4th round pick for Donovan McNabb or even your 1st round pick? Oakland has the 8th overall pick and Arizona has the 26th overall pick. Neither team is going to get an NFL ready quarterback with those picks and they both desperately need quarterbacks. McNabb is the type of player that could join either of those teams and make them contenders to make the postseason, but if they do not get him then both of those teams likely will not make the postseason.

These two teams need to pull the trigger to make up for their drafting mistakes in the years past with Matt Leinart and Jarmarcus Russell, because you will not succeed in the NFL without a quarterback.