Just when I thought the Quinn dropping crap couldn’t get any dumber, ProFootballTalk.com delivered this little nugget on Monday.
“One of the darlings of the scouting combine is Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton. Word is that several teams now consider Stanton to be ahead of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, due in large part to great interviews with teams in Indy, and strong overall intangibles.
While no one doubts that Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has prepared Quinn to play quarterback in a pro-style offense, there are questions about whether he possesses the leadership abilities to be successful in the NFL.
As we’ve previously heard, there also are questions about Quinn’s ability to perform on a big stage, and some concerns about whether he wants to be a Hollywood type or whether he is committed to being the best football player he can be. Similar questions knocked Matt Leinart down to the tenth overall spot in the 2006 draft.
So don’t be surprised if Stanton gets drafted after JaMarcus Russell of LSU, and prior to Quinn.”
Please tell me what big games Stanton won while at Michigan State? If you want to talk about coming up short in big games, how about the choke fest Stanton performed against Notre Dame this year? One my main arguments in support of Quinn’s short comings in big games has been that there has been plenty of blame to pass around in Notre Dame’s loss. Well in Stanton’s case, it can easily be argued that HE was THE reason Michigan State lost to Notre Dame this year. Two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and lost fumble… and that was just in the final eight minutes of the game!
As for PFT’s other comment on Quinn about whether or not Quinn wants to be “Hollywood”, are they serious? Was there a single other athlete that this weekend’s combine in better shape than Quinn? All he has done since graduating early with his double major has been work out and prepare for the draft. There aren’t any pictures of him floating around the internet with drunken girls draped over him like there was with Leinart last year. Question Quinn’s big game performances all you want, but don’t question his work ethic – he’s put in more time in the weight and film rooms than almost every other college football player this past year.
Notre Dame suffers from being the Yankees of college football. If they’re not bashing the Irish for remaining independent, they’re bashing their players entering the draft. Brady has made it a point since his high school playing days that he was going to outwork everyone around him. If you watched the PTI on ESPN last Thursday, they had a discussion about Brady and all the exstensive training he has put himself through the past 4 weeks. He even went so far as to go through an exercise regimen to strengthen the muscles around his eyes to try and improve his field vision. If this isn’t a quarterback that wants to be the best he can be, please find me one that is.
Yeah I think a lot of this negative talk is a smoke and mirrors routine being put on by a few teams that want him to drop to them (dolphins?), and of course the press is going to blow it out of proportion much to the chagrin of ND fans. If PFT actually believes a word of what they printed they’ve obviously had their heads in the sand for the last four years and have zero credibility as a football publication. I have to admit that it is frustrating to have the media trash him like this though – everyone knows that if Troy Smith dropped down and put up the bar 24 times that would be hyped up as much as Johnson’s 40 time… The one positive thing I’ve seen written is SI’s Peter King pointing out that in the eight (by his count) big-game losses Quinn had in his career, the defense gave up an average of about 40 points.
Maybe Quinn dropping down in the draft isn’t too bad. If you look at the top 5 picks (Oak,Det,Cle,TB,Ari), these are bad teams that need more help than just a QB. Even though as much as I love Quinn, he wouldn’t be a quick fix for them and he would struggle and once again, all the haters will begin to question him and consider him a “bust”.
This time of year is all about disinformation. BQ is going to be a very high draft choice, and he is highly coveted by many NFL teams. The only people with opinions that count, amid all this hoopla, are the NFL scouts, GMs, coaches, and owners. The rest of us are just looking for some way to kill time before spring practice starts.
But, if you are an NFL team sitting there with the 8th, 9th, or 10th pick in the NFL draft and you really need a QB, you have no hope of landing Brady Quinn unless you can drive down his value in the eyes of the teams above you. If you can convince the two or three teams ahead of you looking at quarterbacks that BQ isn’t really that good, he just might fall to you. So you send one of your scouts out to accidentally let slip to some guy at PFT.com how good Drew Stanton looks.
Bottom line – lots of gamesmansip this time of year, and BQ is good enough that teams will play dirty to get a shot at him.
Great point realist. That was pretty bad ass of Quinn but I haven’t heard anything about it. The only reason I knew it even happened was from reading the Irish message boards. The only consolation I get out of this Brady bashing is that he at least may get to go to a half-competent team, instead of the Raiders or Browns. So it works out better for Brady in the long run. Maybe Weis is behind all the bad media…
Quinn bashing has definitely developed into a cottage industry. I love how the press fawns all over the story of Calvin Johnson borrowing the ECU QB’s shoes to run a 4.35 forty yard dash but you didn’t hear a peep from the press about what Quinn did in the weight room at the combine when the OL were benching. Evidently, the strength coach from, I believe, the AZ Cards started goading Quinn into lifting. Quinn desperately wanted to, but after calling his agent to ask if he could, the agent said “no”. Quinn couldn’t resist, plopped down on the bench & proceded to throw up the 225 lbs twenty-four times! For perspective, the average number of reps for all the OL from last year’s combine was 24. I understand that Abiamiri threw it up 25 times. Don’t get me wrong, Calvin Johnson is awesome…a freak of nature. But I, for one, have heard similar stories about someone borrowing another’s gear to perform. I mean how hard is it to find an athlete at the Combine w/ similar shoe size? But what Quinn did was friggin’ macho & what better way to shut up a bunch of smart asses. But I’m still waiting for ESPN or FoxSports to highlight that event.