Mark80

In that ESPN piece, Robert Kraft also remembered a story that went something like this: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft enjoys telling the story about how he met Tom Brady for the first time. It was during the 2000 mini-camp when Brady was a rookie buried at the bottom of the depth chart. He stopped Kraft one day after practice. “We’ve never met,” he said, “but I’m Tom Brady.” Kraft said, “I know who you are, you’re the quarterback from Michigan. You were our sixth round draft choice.” Kraft recalls Brady saying, “Yes, and I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.” I love that kind of attitude and cockiness, especially from the QB position. I agree completely with other posters, as much as I hate the guy (his talent, his wins, his stats, his Super Bowls, his money, his looks, his super hot and even wealthier wife) I've got to respect him. He possesses a drive in him that is very rare in a person.

Carson was well on his way to having a very nice NFL career until he got injured in 2008.

A lot of talk about how we could have drafted A.J. Green and Dalton instead of Dareus and Williams; well, what about AJ Green and Kaepernick? Yikes.

I'd be asking why someone like David Shaw (Stanford) or Charlie Strong (Louisville) didn't even get really mentioned anywhere or interviewed anywhere that I'm aware of for a HC position. To me, there is a much better case for those two than there is for someone who just got fired and had years of underachievement, like Lovie Smith.

Completely agree. In the earlier post in the thread I also discussed his stats and performances. As one who is always put off by the arguments of "I hate this QB because he went to USC and I hate USC QBs" etc., I completely understand what you're saying. That was not my sole argument against him but I do think it holds a lot of water.

He was being sarcastic.

I kind of get the feeling that Buddy is not going to be the end all say so in this draft. If he is, you're right, no way he takes him. If he's not, who knows what kind of players we'll be drafting? I like the idea of him as well though, from the 3rd on with combine results pending.

Way to take it to an unrealistic extreme. There's a saying out there, the greatest predictor of future success is past occurences and, to my knowledge at least, there has not been a single successful MAC QB from a losing team that has had any legitimate success in the NFL. An elite NFL QB needs to be a leader, a motivator, an example setter. If he's on a crappy team then he needs to motivate them to get to the gym more, practice harder, execute better. He needs to pump them up for the game (and during the game) to get them to play at the highest level possible. If you don't posses the skill set and/or leadership skills to create a winner in the MAC, I'm not going to put an NFL franchise on your shoulders. Could he be the first? Sure, why not. However, with his record, stats, and competition faced, I just don't see it happening. Let's not get enamored simply by arm strength or some mobility. Those are just a couple of pieces of the franchise QB puzzle.

Can you reference a single losing MAC QB that had any success in the NFL? I sure as heck can't. While this may be true of Ohio State, you are referencing a top 10 college football team. I'm more talking about the losses to Bowling Green (12 points scored), UB, Kent State, Central Michigan (16 points scored), and Ball State. I'm not looking for an average NFL QB, I'm looking for a guy that's going to lead us to the promise land and if you put any of the current guys in the league that could (even during their college days) they would not be 3-5 in the MAC, no way. Plus, look at what he did do against the good teams he played (Ohio State, Boise State, Cincy) all either OK outings and a pretty poor effort vs. Boise State. Take away one game against possibly the worst team in the nation, the 1-11 (0-8 MAC) Akron team, and his TD/INT is 19/12 and less than 3,000 yards. No way is that NFL quality. While I'm not completely opposed to the guy, by any means, I just feel that a 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd is wasted on way too big of a question mark and would much rather he be the 2nd QB we drafted if at all.

The only reason he broke any of Big Ben's records (which was basically only yards) was because he played 4 seasons vs. Ben's 3. Even so, Ben still had more TD passes, and a QB rating almost 20 points higher. Oh, and Big Bens last season they went 13-1, Dysert (as a senior) went 4-8. I'm sorry, but there is no way that a QB who goes 4-8 in the MAC, regardless of the talent on the rest of the team, is going to be a successful NFL QB. Any comparison to Big Ben is idiotic.

While I agree that Lacy certainly has first round talent, the recent trend is RBs fall below the first round. Mocks I've seen have him going in the 3rd and 4th mostly. That could definitely change with the Championship game performance where he looked way quicker than he's looked all season in battling a foot (maybe it was ankle) injury. With that being said, we have more dire needs in the 1st and 2nd, that's why it is my opinion that I would only be happy to get him in the 3rd or 4th. UNCs Bernard, Wisc Ball, Mich State Bell, Clemson Ellington, Standford Taylor, and South Carolina Lattimore (who was better than all before his nasty injury) are all seen as 2-4 round projections at this point along with Lacy.

Me too!

I'm on the Dwayne Bowe train. We need a bigger, play maker type receiver.

Me too, but Milliner wouldn't upset me at all. Jones has more talent, but the neck condition is scarry for a #8 pick.

Lacy has looked really really good lately. I wouldn't mind taking him in the 3rd or 4th to add some thunder to spiller's lightning. Unfortunately, I just don't think Freddie will ever regain the form of 2011. I wouldn't be shocked (or upset) if we took Milliner #8 (if he's there still) either. Gilmore and Milliner would be a nice set of CBs to run that aggressive D.

Can anyone name a single school over the last 10-15 years that has had more than 1 good NFL QB come out of it? Brady - Michigan Brees - Purdue Rodgers - Cal Manning - Tennessee Lil Manning - Ole Miss Ryan - B.C. Flacco - Delaware Vick - V. Tech McNabb - Syracuse Palmer - USC Favre - Southern Miss Luck - Stanford RGIII - Baylor Big Ben - Miami U Stafford - Georgia Newton - Auburn Romo - Eastern Illinois Freeman - Kansas State Bradford - Oklahoma Wilson - Wisconsin So, exactly what school are we supposed to draft a QB from? With your logic is must be N.C. State and Glennon because Rivers and Russel Wilson played there. He must be the only one that is going to have success.

Don't mistake this post as me lobbying to get him, just wanted a discussion on him. You have to realize that NO QB is going to hit every throw, especially college QBs. With that being said, I think he looks way better than Fitz. Fitz's short throws very often force a receiver to jump, stop in the route, or reach behind him, there is basically none of that here. On the medium throws, most of them were right on target (with about 4 of them dropped by receivers). Some were missed, yes, but like I said, not everyone hits every pass. I thought his footwork was very solid. Not nearly as awkward as Nassib, some off balance throws though for sure. I do agree that his throwing motion is a bit awkward, but the release is quick (maybe a little low though a la Rivers). I think that Fitz has above average speed for a QB so we may just see things differently there.

http://youtu.be/Q6PI0L7-xnk While I fully expect Nassib to be our QB pick at this point, let's not forget to discuss the other possiblities. I've seen numerous mocks having us take Wilson at #8. This is really the only game I've watched closely on him and here are my thoughts based on this game only. 1. Excellent short throw accuracy - receivers are always hit in stride with the ability to get YAC. 2. Above average medium accuracy - missed a few, but hit on a lot 3. Deep ball? Not too many deep ball throws. Severely underthrew an open receiver on a very difficult throw on the run (resulting in a pick), but threw a nice TD pass down the field. 4. Receivers dropped a lot of passes (was this a trend for them during the whole season?) 5. Good footwork 6. Good pocket presence, got rid of it quick when necessary, tucked it when necessary 7. Tough - took a couple big time hits and hung in on them 8. Above average speed The most impressive throw, to me, came at 14:40. Threw from an awkward position and threw an abosolute dart 30 yards down the field between two defenders. Shows nice arm strength. It would also be nice to not see the agrument that he can't play in the cold weather. Just because he played in the south, doesn't mean he can't play in the cold.

While I can understand how you got to your conclusion, I disagree. I don't think there is really any evidence that we were on the cusp of being a playoff team. We're drafting in the top 10, again; one of our best leaders (Kyle Williams) came out and said there are a lot of players on this team that don't give 100%, we severly underperformed for the talent (supposed) that we have on the team. In my opinion, Lovie Smith is just another coach who was fired that also underachieved with the talent he had on his roster. He couldn't win with a top 5 WR, top 5 RB, top 10 QB, and a top 5 D and we expect him to come here and win with a FA QB (or rookie) who will surely not be as good as Cutler (at least not right away), top 10-15 WR, a potentially top 5 back, and a D in shambles? We need someone to come in and motivate, bring accountability, and bust some heads. I think Marrone will do this. It's not really that we're rebuilding, per se, it's that we're bringing in a new philosophy. I hope he cuts guys, pisses guys off, and forces guys who don't buy in to leave. Good riddance. I agree with every move they've made so far (although am a bit scared on the OC front, but trust the judgement so far).

The Bills former coaches are loaded with NFL re-treads. Jauran, Chan, Wade are all guys that had some success as an NFL coach, were eventually fired, and were mainly unsuccessful as the Bills HC (except for Wade, arguably). We went from having the worst HC in the league, yes the worst (as far as decision making, play calling, motivation, game management) to a guy that is, by most accounts, the exact opposite of all those traits and you see no improvement? Just because you've never heard of him? Not to mention the NFL playoffs are still going on and there has been no free agency, draft, or workouts and your making judgements already? What is with people like you? Perhaps you're the one stuck in the "status quo." I just don't get it.

4th worst defense in the ACC, the terrible ACC, that year. And that's not even taking into account that they obviously don't have to play their own offense like most the other teams do, which was the 2nd best after Georgia Tech. So are you saying 8th out of 12 in a bad conference is not bad or are you saying the ACC is a good conference, or are you just talking out of your arse?

I think it would serve you well to look at the competition of play in those games. First two season played in the Big East. 2010 terrible numbers vs. LSU and NC State out of conference. 2011 played OK vs LSU but only 2/2 Td/int and comptelely tore up a terrible Clemson D in the bowl game. 2012 started off the charts vs. mostly terrible defenses then struggled against the better Big 12 teams (except Texas was part of the hot start). Pretty much shut down by Kansas St., Iowa St. and Syracuse.

Did you guys even pay attention to the second half of the season? Nothing to prove? I'd say he has a ton to prove at this point. He's looked very pedestrian lately, defenses adjusted to him and he has had no answer. I'd be shocked if he was the first QB drafted at this point and would say it's 50/50 whether he's going in the first or not right now.

Best thread on here in a while! Here's the best video of her that I know of. Probably not safe for work! http://coedmagazine.com/2012/06/26/kate-upton-gq-video-just-kate-being-kate/#photo=1

My thoughts on this game: Positives 1. Very accurate on the short throws. Hitting in stride, should have had more completions quite a few drops. 2. Can definitely put some zip on the ball when necessary. 3. No overthrown deep balls. Receivers had a chance to make a play on basically all the throws 20+ yards down the field. 4. Showed ability to put some touch on the ball when necessary. 5. Some ability to throw in the run. Negatives 1. Thought he was more of a running threat, he looked to have average speed. 2. Two additional passes (end zone pass that he underthrew, and touch pass that the safety misplayed) probably would have been intercepted the NFL. Possibly trying touch passes too much and you'll pay for that with NFL DBs. 3. Indecisive, especially in beginning of the video, clutching the ball numerous times before getting rid of it. Overall, he looked OK to me. Defintely not my first choice, but wouldn't be pissed if we got him either.