Matt McGuire's Blog Updated - 1/16

[Walter]

http://walterfootball.com/mattblog.php

[Vbsiena]

well put Matt another enjoyable read.

[Matt McGuire]

Thanks siena

[bills_red]

in 2004 you forgot JP was drafted.....

[Matt McGuire]

in 2004 you forgot JP was drafted.....

Yeah I know but it might have made it too wordy...sort of a pointless player to talk about because his career is still in limbo.

[jimmyp]

I'm not sure I like you putting Cutler in the same sentence as Leinart and Young without a "not" in between. This season he threw for nearly 3500 yards with a 63% completion, 88 QB rating and 20:14 TD:INT. Consider also his o-line was massively banged up this year and several of his targets were out from injury, Smith, Walker, Scheffler. I think from a 2nd year QB this is an above-average performance and justifies his pick just outside the top 10 overall in 2006.

Angry Denver fan. I liked the rest of what you had to say (i.e. the 99% that wasn't Cutler).

[Matt McGuire]

I'm not sure I like you putting Cutler in the same sentence as Leinart and Young without a "not" in between. This season he threw for nearly 3500 yards with a 63% completion, 88 QB rating and 20:14 TD:INT. Consider also his o-line was massively banged up this year and several of his targets were out from injury, Smith, Walker, Scheffler. I think from a 2nd year QB this is an above-average performance and justifies his pick just outside the top 10 overall in 2006.

Angry Denver fan. I liked the rest of what you had to say (i.e. the 99% that wasn't Cutler).

Oh don't get me wrong I was a big Cutler fan...but this year he still did play somewhat inconsistent at times, which is very understandable/common of very young quarterbacks. I don't expect him to be dominant at all in his second season and he is certainly on the right track in terms of being a very very good NFL QB...I didn't specifically mention Cutler but hoped I got my point across about people being too critical at times about the quarterback position in general.

[jimmyp]

Oh don't get me wrong I was a big Cutler fan...but this year he still did play somewhat inconsistent at times, which is very understandable/common of very young quarterbacks. I don't expect him to be dominant at all in his second season and he is certainly on the right track in terms of being a very very good NFL QB...I didn't specifically mention Cutler but hoped I got my point across about people being too critical at times about the quarterback position in general.

We're getting off topic now, but my biggest knock on "Bye Baby" Cutler has been his red-zone performance. Now we could say that there were a number of other factors responsible, but it seemed to me that the Broncos were able to move the ball quite well but stalled a lot in field-goal range. Enter stage left: Jason Elam. If next year Cutler starts turning those 3s into 7s, by air or by ground (Selvin Young), then I might consider turning in the #47 jersey for a #6.

[Vikings_All_Day28]

Are you haters going to sit there and tell me that Woodson, Brohm, and/or Ryan are going to be worse than Tavaris Jackson?

I don't see where this hate for Tarvaris Jackson(theres an r before the v by the way) comes from. And I don't mean to single you out matt but he seems to be the butt of a lot of jokes about QB's or just used as an example of a crappy QB. However this year he played better than all the class of 2006 QB's that started(not named Jay Cutler). And it did it with a very poor supporting cast at least considering the passing game. Bobby Frickin Wade was the teams Leading Reciever. The best reciever's he has on the team was a rookie Sidney Rice, and Chester Taylor. Not to forget that while we have a dominant Run Blocking O-line they are an pretty inconsistent Pass Protecting O-line especially Ryan Cook.

P.S. Joe Montana was a third round pick #82 overall

[Matt McGuire]

What doesn't impress me about Jackson has nothing to do with his cast but his mostly his mechanics, football IQ, and decision making.

[GridIron NUt]

IMO (probably because I hail from Cincy) Carson Palmer is better than all the QB's that came out in 2003.

[Craig Smith]

I agree with a lot of what Matt says. The biggest problem with first round QB's in relation to fans is that, most teams drafting a quarterback in the first round, just aren't very good team. This isn't always the case, but 9 times out of 10 it is.

How that relates to fans is simply put, they want their team to win now. Not 2 years from now when the quarterback has had sufficient time to develop. They view it as a wasted pick because you don't want a rookie quarterback contributing to your team.

Especially in a case like Jay Cutler's. Cutler has played well, and was a good choice for Denver, but can you seriously tell me he wasn't a slight setback to the team compared to Jake Plummer taking the snaps 3 years ago?

Ultimately what it comes down to is fans want first and second round picks to contribute immediately. Not a year or two down the road. The other thing that is always a finger pointer for advocates against first round quarterbacks is players drafted late. Like Tom Brady and Marc Bulger. People point and say "look you don't need that first round guy. Pick someone in the sixth round!"

Fans fail to realize that while completely possible, finding a legitamate QB in the later rounds is far more difficult then taking one high and letting him develop.

They dont remember that for every Tom Brady and Marc Bulger, there are a million Dan Orlovsky, Charlie Frye, Tim Hasselback, Jim Sorgi's.

You know those guys that are there if you really need them, but no coach in their right mind would ever seriously expect them to be a succesful starter on a long term basis.

[Vbsiena]

I agree with a lot of what Matt says. The biggest problem with first round QB's in relation to fans is that, most teams drafting a quarterback in the first round, just aren't very good team. This isn't always the case, but 9 times out of 10 it is.

How that relates to fans is simply put, they want their team to win now. Not 2 years from now when the quarterback has had sufficient time to develop. They view it as a wasted pick because you don't want a rookie quarterback contributing to your team.

Especially in a case like Jay Cutler's. Cutler has played well, and was a good choice for Denver, but can you seriously tell me he wasn't a slight setback to the team compared to Jake Plummer taking the snaps 3 years ago?

Ultimately what it comes down to is fans want first and second round picks to contribute immediately. Not a year or two down the road. The other thing that is always a finger pointer for advocates against first round quarterbacks is players drafted late. Like Tom Brady and Marc Bulger. People point and say "look you don't need that first round guy. Pick someone in the sixth round!"

Fans fail to realize that while completely possible, finding a legitamate QB in the later rounds is far more difficult then taking one high and letting him develop.

They dont remember that for every Tom Brady and Marc Bulger, there are a million Dan Orlovsky, Charlie Frye, Tim Hasselback, Jim Sorgi's.

You know those guys that are there if you really need them, but no coach in their right mind would ever seriously expect them to be a succesful starter on a long term basis.

Good point Craig. I agree with your assessment of most fans wanting player to be winners right away. It doesn't always happen like that. On a Jets board I'm tired of telling some people to give Clemens a chance he still hasn't started a full season yet, stop trying to crucify him. Seriously 1 guy said he wasn't the answer and wanted to draft Matt Ryan in the 1st round. He is an idiot but that's besides the point.

I feel bad teams most of the times need to take 1 step back to take 2-3 steps forward, fans don't understand that generally, but as long as the coaches and front offices do then their is a better chance to turn a bad team around. I mean c'mon would you rather root for a team that is like 7-9 or 8-8 every year and gets so close to the playoffs but can't get in? Or a team that recognizes they don't have the personal and will get rid of some veterns and bring in new guys who fit better, maybe be like 5-11 and 6-10 for 2-3 years, but can be a playoff team for years to come after? I would pick the latter, I also have more patience than most fans.

[GridIron NUt]

Great Read Matt.

[giantsfanmike]

I think first round WRs get bashed even more, and that really pisses me off. Just because it is the most selected position in the draft people automatically assume it produces more busts than other positions.