My predictions for the QB class of 2011

[Jarodd21]

Quote: Originally Posted by da ThRONe

I don't know why people say Cam Newton can't handle criticism. His one year at Auburn was full of criticism.

Yea I know. He's going to have to deal with alot of people criticizing everything about him. I can't wait until he proves alot of the critics wrong. I believe he's very motivated to do it. Most people criticize him because they dislike him. Nothing with his performance on the field. Its like they're hoping he fails.. With everything he went through at Auburn and still came out on top. I can't do nothing but respect his play. I truely believe he will turn out to be a great pro. Definitely the best in this class. Only other QB I see in this draft that will be on an elite level like Newton will probably be Mallet.

[Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by da ThRONe

I don't know why people say Cam Newton can't handle criticism. His one year at Auburn was full of criticism.

I'm basing it off of the interview I heard him do on Mike and Mike. They asked him about his time with Gruden on the QB Camp segment and Newton was making excuses about his lack of knowledge about NFL terminology due to the system he played in at Auburn. He kept asking how he was supposed to know these things and how people can criticize him for something he hasn't been asked to do yet.

He obviously handled everything incredibly last year, but there wasn't any criticism toward his play. From the way he has handled criticism about his ability, rather than things outside of his control, I don't think he's going to do well when he inevitably struggles in the NFL.

Just my opinion though.. I hope I'm wrong

[slickdtc]

I like Locker & Dalton the most out of this draft. I think Locker will have the most success because he's with a fairly decent team, whereas Dalton is with Cincinnati and they are all over the map. Gabbert a close 3rd.

I think the rest don't do anything.

[Madwolf]

Quote: Originally Posted by Baughn3

I'm basing it off of the interview I heard him do on Mike and Mike. They asked him about his time with Gruden on the QB Camp segment and Newton was making excuses about his lack of knowledge about NFL terminology due to the system he played in at Auburn. He kept asking how he was supposed to know these things and how people can criticize him for something he hasn't been asked to do yet. He obviously handled everything incredibly last year, but there wasn't any criticism toward his play. From the way he has handled criticism about his ability, rather than things outside of his control, I don't think he's going to do well when he inevitably struggles in the NFL. Just my opinion though.. I hope I'm wrong

According to Chris Weinkie, who is helping to train Newton at IMG HQ, I think Newton is picking up the playbook just fine, which was also evident in his memorization of the small portion Carolina's coaches gave to him during their two interviews.

Hurney said something to the effect that they gave him the playbook on the first meeting, and then a few days later he was able to recall the entire playbook they gave him and explain each play in detail. All this while doing numerous interviews with other teams.

Carolina did there homework on Newton, and he was reported to have a very high work ethic everywhere he has been since Florida, and that has continued now with his training at IMG. He's been putting in 12 hours a day from 7am to 7pm at the IMG facility. Training with Chris Weinkie, Warren Moon, and Ken Dorsey. He and Weinkie go over the playbook for 3 hours everyday, and Weinkie said he had been picking up remarkably well.

Ken Dorsey also helps tremendously because he was in OC Chud's system when Chud was the Brown's QB the year Anderson looked like a good QB.

[Madwolf]

I also fail to understand the criticism of Carolina's talent level. It seems to me a lot of posters on this board pay way to much attention to ESPNs talking points about the Panthers. I love ESPN as much as the next guy, but Carolina is a small market team and ESPN treats them as such.

Carolina was a victim last year of Jerry Richardson trying to free up as much money as possible going into the lockout. That's why guys like Jake Delhomme, and Brad Hoover where cut, Chris Harris was traded, and the entire coaching staff signed exactly until the end of the 2010 season.

And Carolina's coaches new it. Even from draft day last year it was readily apparent that their wouldn't be any competitive football played in Carolina for the 2010 season. John Fox and company simply did not care, because they knew no matter what they were gone at the end of the year. Combine the coaching staff's lack of interest, Clausen's awful play, an injury plagued team, Fox's ultraconservative ways, and OC Jeff Davidson's awful play calling and you end up with the Panthers in 2010. Honestly, does anyone know that NFL Network basically spent 10 minutes of their "Sportscenter" program actually laughing at Davidson's playing calling? They drew up 3 plays in a row from one of their games where we passed without a single check down WR.

It will not take very much to get Carolina back on track when you consider the talent they have:

QB - Cam Newton - Will not be worst than Jimmy Clausen simply because he will be able to run when the play breaks down.

RB - Deangelo Williams, Johnathan Stewart, and Goodson. 2 of the leagues better RBs and Goodson who could be a starter on a few teams.

FB - Uhh... haha

WR - Steve Smith, David Gettis, and Brandon Lafell - Yes, outside of Steve Smith no a whole lot to go on, but having Steve Smith makes it far from "horrible." I think Gettis could turn into something special, and the jury is out on Lafell, but they were both rookies last year, and WRs generally struggle their 1st year.

TE - Jeremy Shockey, Donte Rosario, Gary Barnidge, Jeff King - Shockey is there to provide a threat at TE and mentor Rosario and Barnidge. Keep your eye on Barnidge, he's going to break out. Rosario could be pretty good too. Chargers fans remember him well.

LT - Jordan Gross - Pro Bowl LT and a NFL Top 100 player

LG - Travell Wharton - Former LT that moved inside and has really found a niche. Great run blocker, and fairly good pass blocker. Under-rated. Hurt in 2010.

C - Ryan Kalil - Franchise Center. If he would have hit free agency he would have been one the most coveted FA in the NFL.

RG - Hole here. Bernadeau, or Duke Robinson should be able to fill this hole. A weak spot on an otherwise solid line.

RT - Jeff Otah - Solid RT who was hurt during the 2010 season.

DE - Greg Hardy, Charles Johnson, Tyler Brayton - Greg Hardy might have been one of the biggest late round steals for the Panthers last season, and Charles Johnson replaced Julius Peppers without too much fan fair. If Hardy improves Carolina is set at DE for a while.

DT - Yea, we drafted 2 DTs soo...

WLB - Thomas Davis - Pro bowl OLB, enough said. Was hurt in 2010.

MLB - Jon Beason - Pro bowl MLB. Enough said.

SLB - James Anderson - Not the caliber of Davis or Beason, but was a solid contributor last year.

CB - Chris Gamble, Captain Munnerlyn - Gamble is a pretty solid CB most people forget about, and Munnerlyn is good in the nickle. Carolina needs to find someone to replace Richard Marshall with his depature this off-season.

FS - Sherrod Martin - One of Carolina's young safeties. Did a solid job last year, but nothing too special either.

SS - Charles Godfrey - Carolina's other young safety. Would you believe he had 5 picks last year?

K - John Kasay - One of the leagues most automatic kickers, whose won Carolina more than his fair share of games. Age is starting to hurt.

P - Baker - Not a lot to be said about Baker. He's a decent punter, I'd like to see him get better or Carolina upgrade.

You put those guys on the field last year with Eli Manning at QB and you're a 9 to 10 win team.

[12]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jarodd21

Cam Newton- I'm definitely believe the opposite of what most people think. I believe he was have a great NFL career. Might start of kind of shaky this year with the talent he has around him mainly the WRs. But he has a solid O-Line and running game around him which should help. Plus I believe he wants to prove ALL his critics wrong and that is definitely going to make him work hard to prove so he can prove that. I predict Cam Newton having a few good moments this year willing his team to maybe one or two comeback wins and gaining some momentum going into his 2nd year. He's going to have to put in work coming from the system he came from in college but I definitely believe he will have a great career. The Panthers got a stud. Jake Locker- I'm on the fence with Locker. He has all the talent you want in a QB but his accuracy just was not good and he didn't win many games. He has everything around him to help him succeed.. Thats one thing I'll give him is that he didn't have much talent working around him at Washington but that Nebraska game keeps popping up in my head where he just threw terrible. I believe he will have a decent career. Solid starter but nothing more. Won't see any pro bowls unless guys keep dropping out like they have over the years.. Blaine Gabbert- I just never could understand the hype this guy received once he declared for the draft. He wasn't mentioned as a top underclassmen QB if he decided to turn pro and once he did all of a sudden he was rated number 1 by most Analysis. He didn't light it up in college in a pass happy offence like his successor Chase Daniels did and he has much better physical attributes then him. 10 yards or more his accuracy is the worse. He's not going to be able to dink and dunk and be successful in the NFL. I predict Gabbert will not have to good of a career and go the route of Brady Quinn after a few years. Christian Ponder- Where do I start with him. I didn't believe Ponder was any good in College. So I was shocked as most that the Vikings jumped the gun and grabbed him early like that. Ponder in my opinion was holding Florida St back with his terrible play. Florida St was still producing talent. He was just making them look bad. The QB position has been holding them back since Chris Weinki. Ponder career will flare out like Cade McNown. He will be the reason the Vikings will finish last in the division and will be in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Andy Dalton- I like Dalton but I'm not sure here. I like his will to win and he's a smart QB. I guess with Dalton if he's in the right system he'll definitely have a chance to be successful. So I'm going to lean more to Dalton having a good career in the league. Colin Kaepernick- Kaepernick fell into the perfect situation. He'll get to sit behind Smith for a year and 2. Get coached up by Jim Harbaugh and I definitely believe he will have a successful career in the NFL. He has all the physical tool and was a winner in college. Plus he wants to prove he's better then those QBs that went before him in which I believe he is with the exception of Newton. Ryan Mallet- In my opinion the 2nd best QB in the draft hands down. The Titans may be Ok with Locker but the Vikings definitely will be kicking themselves in a for choosing Ponder over someone like Mallet. Mallet will sit behind Brady for a few years and learn from him. Then should be ready to go with either the Patriots or definitely will be traded for a 1st round pick for a lucky team..

I am an admitted Jake Locker homer but he couldn't win at Washington. There just wasn't enough talent surrounding him. Tyrone Willingham was a horrible coach and he never brought in very good recruiting classes, they were average at best, and even that is being too generous.

Locker never had a good offensive line protecting him, nor was he ever complimented by a defense that could stop anyone. U-Dub was ALWAYS playing catch up, with meant many pass attempts and the feeling that Locker had to make something happen in order to spark his team. Look at his last two years against USC though; he beat them both times on final drives and proved that the kid has ice water in his veins.

His accuracy concerns are legit as of right now, but as far as physical tools go, and being a GREAT kid who wants to prove his naysayers wrong, I'd be surprised if he wasn't the best QB in this class. I wish he was on a team where he had the luxury to sit for two years, but it doesn't look like that will be the case in Tennessee.

[12]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jarodd21

Cam Newton- I'm definitely believe the opposite of what most people think. I believe he was have a great NFL career. Might start of kind of shaky this year with the talent he has around him mainly the WRs. But he has a solid O-Line and running game around him which should help. Plus I believe he wants to prove ALL his critics wrong and that is definitely going to make him work hard to prove so he can prove that. I predict Cam Newton having a few good moments this year willing his team to maybe one or two comeback wins and gaining some momentum going into his 2nd year. He's going to have to put in work coming from the system he came from in college but I definitely believe he will have a great career. The Panthers got a stud. Jake Locker- I'm on the fence with Locker. He has all the talent you want in a QB but his accuracy just was not good and he didn't win many games. He has everything around him to help him succeed.. Thats one thing I'll give him is that he didn't have much talent working around him at Washington but that Nebraska game keeps popping up in my head where he just threw terrible. I believe he will have a decent career. Solid starter but nothing more. Won't see any pro bowls unless guys keep dropping out like they have over the years.. Blaine Gabbert- I just never could understand the hype this guy received once he declared for the draft. He wasn't mentioned as a top underclassmen QB if he decided to turn pro and once he did all of a sudden he was rated number 1 by most Analysis. He didn't light it up in college in a pass happy offence like his successor Chase Daniels did and he has much better physical attributes then him. 10 yards or more his accuracy is the worse. He's not going to be able to dink and dunk and be successful in the NFL. I predict Gabbert will not have to good of a career and go the route of Brady Quinn after a few years. Christian Ponder- Where do I start with him. I didn't believe Ponder was any good in College. So I was shocked as most that the Vikings jumped the gun and grabbed him early like that. Ponder in my opinion was holding Florida St back with his terrible play. Florida St was still producing talent. He was just making them look bad. The QB position has been holding them back since Chris Weinki. Ponder career will flare out like Cade McNown. He will be the reason the Vikings will finish last in the division and will be in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Andy Dalton- I like Dalton but I'm not sure here. I like his will to win and he's a smart QB. I guess with Dalton if he's in the right system he'll definitely have a chance to be successful. So I'm going to lean more to Dalton having a good career in the league. Colin Kaepernick- Kaepernick fell into the perfect situation. He'll get to sit behind Smith for a year and 2. Get coached up by Jim Harbaugh and I definitely believe he will have a successful career in the NFL. He has all the physical tool and was a winner in college. Plus he wants to prove he's better then those QBs that went before him in which I believe he is with the exception of Newton. Ryan Mallet- In my opinion the 2nd best QB in the draft hands down. The Titans may be Ok with Locker but the Vikings definitely will be kicking themselves in a for choosing Ponder over someone like Mallet. Mallet will sit behind Brady for a few years and learn from him. Then should be ready to go with either the Patriots or definitely will be traded for a 1st round pick for a lucky team..

Also... About that Nebraska game. Locker made some terrible decisions that game, especially with the pick that he threw to Dennard on the opening drive... But let's also recognize that his receivers dropped EIGHT balls that game and he threw the ball away four times to avoid the rush. His 4-20 line could have been more like 11-20, or 12-20. Still not good, it was still a bad performance, but not nearly as bad as the stat sheet made it look.

[Jarodd21]

Quote: Originally Posted by Apostle

I am an admitted Jake Locker homer but he couldn't win at Washington. There just wasn't enough talent surrounding him. Tyrone Willingham was a horrible coach and he never brought in very good recruiting classes, they were average at best, and even that is being too generous. Locker never had a good offensive line protecting him, nor was he ever complimented by a defense that could stop anyone. U-Dub was ALWAYS playing catch up, with meant many pass attempts and the feeling that Locker had to make something happen in order to spark his team. Look at his last two years against USC though; he beat them both times on final drives and proved that the kid has ice water in his veins. His accuracy concerns are legit as of right now, but as far as physical tools go, and being a GREAT kid who wants to prove his naysayers wrong, I'd be surprised if he wasn't the best QB in this class. I wish he was on a team where he had the luxury to sit for two years, but it doesn't look like that will be the case in Tennessee.

I agree with you.. He wasn't surrounded by alot of talent at Washington.. But like I said I'm on the fence with him and he's in a great position to succeed. Has a great running game with CJ and a beast WR in Britt. He has all the physical tools so we'll see what happens..