Lawrence > the worst Targaryen dragonLawrence >>>Imagine Dragons + Lil Wayne
I guess it depends on your definition of bust. I think Mariota and Winston are starting to show some serious warts, Winston lost his job to Fitzpatrick this year. Neither of them has really done much to change the fortunes of their franchise, and may be setting them back. Jury is definitely still out on Darnold and Trubisky, IMO. I'm personally not very high on either of them. Even when healthy, I wouldn't same Sam Bradford ever lived up to the promise of a #1 pick. For a #5 pick, I would definitely consider Sanchez a bust. I'm not sure how his career has been all that much different from Bortles.Peyton wasn’t even the clear-cut #1 pick — remember Ryan Leaf?
Others here know more than I do about Xs and Os, but my understanding is that NFL coaches have copied some elements of the spread (getting the QB out from under center, lots of 4-5 WR sets, etc.) but are demanding as much as ever from QBs in terms of making complex reads and progressions — which the college spread systems are designed to avoid forcing the QB to do.
Then again, maybe the difficulty of that transition is overstated. Other than Bortles, has there been a QB drafted in the top 5 in the past decade who was a bust for reasons other than injury?
Wentz sure looked like he was heading there before he got hurt. Goff looks pretty damn good too.I think the more interesting thing is how few QB's have been taken in the top 10 in the past 10 years. Teams seem to be waiting longer, and almost nobody is really hitting on a true great. That's why we're seeing "old timers" like Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Big Ben, Rivers, Eli continue to last in this league, and in most instances, be among the best. Mahomes and maybe Baker Mayfied are really the only couple of guys who seem to have a chance of breaking into that top 5 QB level, and Mahomes is the only one that may actually already be there.
He took a wrong turn in Albuquerque.Yeesh, Buggs with a light jog
He truly is a QB that if you give him time to throw, he’s finding a receiver. He also gets rid of it super quick if his first read is open. So he’s easy on the O line that way. But what impresses me is the 3rd and long conversions in both this game and against the Irish. Just unflappable on the biggest downs of the game.The way Lawrence is reading coverages from an NFL style defense I don’t have many concerns there. Spread style QBs have 1-2 reads at most. Not him.
Yeah, I meant to include them in the list with Stafford and Newton. I like Wentz, a lot (not just because I'm a massive North Dakota State fan either), but I'm not sure he was top 5 capable with these veterans still hanging around, but I certainly wouldn't say he had no chance. He and Goff are right where they should be, IMO, for going 1 and 2 in the draft. As for Goff's future, I'm not as sold on him yet (even though I have both of them as my quarterbacks on my dynasty team). He seems to have fallen into the perfect situation with the perfect coach, a great running back, and a slew of receivers. However, once Cooper Kupp went down, he started to falter a bit, and it gives me some concern. Is he really a top 10 guy, or is he a guy that was given the keys to a Ferrari and didn't drive it into a wall?Wentz sure looked like he was heading there before he got hurt. Goff looks pretty damn good too.
I mean, its uncanny. I know he is Sunshine but he will always be Mitch Kramer to me, even when he takes Brady's spot in Foxboro in a few years.
kid turned into a pretty good QB
What makes Clemson so good is Dabo rolls 2 sets of wideouts all season. Even did it tonight. Thompson, Overton, etc. are all 2’s. It often leads to a bit of sluggish offense early and they hit the stride later in the season. This year he had Ross on the 2’s in the same position as Tee Higgins. But recently he adjusted rotations so that Tee and Ross were on the field at the same time and often on the same side of the field. Defenses couldn’t handle both of them. It was the difference against ND and again tonight.Justyn Ross (the freshman WR for Clemson) had 1 100 yard game coming into the playoffs (he had 3 catches for 103 yards against Georgia Southern in his 2nd game). Then he had 6 catches for 148 yards and 2td against ND and 6 catches for 153 and a td tonight. He finishes with exactly 1,000 yards on the season. That's cool shit. By the way, he was the #45 recruit in the country last year, the #7 wide receiver in the country, and the #1 ranked player to come out of the state of ALABAMA.
Edit: NM I I misread this as "in Sunshine".I mean, its uncanny. I know he is Sunshine but he will always be Mitch Kramer to me, even when he takes Brady's spot in Foxboro in a few years.
Even more amazing, like I said, Ross was the #7 wide receiver recruit in the country. The #4 recruit was a kid named Derion Kendrick. He also plays for Clemson, and had 15 catches for 210 yards this season. They are just so, so stacked.What makes Clemson so good is Dabo rolls 2 sets of wideouts all season. Even did it tonight. Thompson, Overton, etc. are all 2’s. It often leads to a bit of sluggish offense early and they hit the stride later in the season. This year he had Ross on the 2’s in the same position as Tee Higgins. But recently he adjusted rotations so that Tee and Ross were on the field at the same time and often on the same side of the field. Defenses couldn’t handle both of them. It was the difference against ND and again tonight.
Didn’t realize Kendrick was that highly ranked at WR coming out. He was a high school QB even though he was recruited to be a college WR.Even more amazing, like I said, Ross was the #7 wide receiver recruit in the country. The #4 recruit was a kid named Derion Kendrick. He also plays for Clemson, and had 15 catches for 210 yards this season. They are just so, so stacked.
We’ve got our answer.I’m expecting a close game, too hard to predict and I’m too close to orange to be truly objective. Most of my analysis has a shred of hope sewn in. So I’ll keep what I think will happen to myself and just go full “I told you so” once its done.
I do think this Clemson team is the best one they’ve ever had, but it does not have Deshaun, so I would guess at about 11:30 tonight, we’ll know what, if any, the big game difference is between DW4 and TL16.
Syracuse was the only team that really gave Clemson a game this year. Had the game won if not for a silly (deserved, but silly) ineligible man downfield penalty.Duke lost to Clemson by a field goal less than Alabama lost to Clemson.
The ACC was *so* soft this year, I'm not sure Clemson would have automatically gotten into the playoff with a loss to Syracuse. If it had gotten in with a loss, I think that would have more down to its recent reputation than its resume this year relative to Georgia's or Ohio State's.Even if SU had won that game, Clemson likely still makes the playoffs and still wins the national championship, I think, but I'm going to give credit to Syracuse today for being Clemson's toughest game of the season.
Man, I'm stuck seeing Rocky Dennis.I mean, its uncanny. I know he is Sunshine but he will always be Mitch Kramer to me, even when he takes Brady's spot in Foxboro in a few years.
ACC was 6-5 in bowl games, and 8-3 in bowl games ATS. Get that *so soft* out of here.The ACC was *so* soft this year, I'm not sure Clemson would have automatically gotten into the playoff with a loss to Syracuse. If it had gotten in with a loss, I think that would have more down to its recent reputation than its resume this year relative to Georgia's or Ohio State's.
“Pulling a Clemson” was losing inexplicably, and taking yourself out of the title hunt in the process.Congrats Clemson fans, very impressive. Never related to “pulling a Clemson” because I had never followed them closely enough.
Keep the QB healthy and coaching staff intact, and you have the stick
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I know he's a big kid but that squash is huge. Also, Wun Wun the Giant from GoT.Man, I'm stuck seeing Rocky Dennis.