Mr. ChumChums

I'm one of his bigger fans on this board, and have been reading up / trying to find as much analysis on him as I can. Much of what I know on him is from the TV analysts like Charlie Casserlie (form GM for the Redskins and Texans) and such, so it's all heresay. But still, it's something to go on. I'll just go ahead and list what I know off the top of my head - and feel free to dispute / add to this list if you want. - Has all the physical tools you want. Has a strong arm, is athletic, good size, etc.. - Was highly touted coming out of High School as one of the best "pro style" QB's in the Nation. He was heavily recruited by Jim Harbaugh. - In college, he did take occasional snaps from under center. They practiced under-center plays every day in practice at Mizzou. - His offense at Mizzou was complex. He was required to make many reads and was responsible for a lot in the offense. Audibles, protections, etc... pretty much everything that you would expect a good NFL QB to do, he had to do in college. He has the ability to make good pre-snap reads. After the snap, he typically had to go through several progressions to find his open receiver. Compare that to Cam Newton, Ryan Mallet, and Christian Ponder, who ran much simpler offenses that required really only 1, maybe 2 reads on each play, and weren't really responsible for much. It's like comparing how much control Peyton Manning has in his offense, vs the level of control Fitzpatrick has in ours (not saying that BG is going to be like Manning... but it's a comparison of offensive control) - I like to compare him to Sam Bradford, mostly because while they both ran the spread, their versions of the spread were of the complex, "read the defense like a pro" variety. It's a big step closer to actually playing on an NFL offense when you're required to do that. - While his stats in college weren't even NEAR that of Sam Bradford (who I think is the better QB anyways), a large part of it was that he didn't quite have the supporting cast that Bradford had at Oklahoma. Many people will point to the fact that Chase Daniels had a lot of success running the same offense in Mizzou before BG came along. However, the person-ell were completely different back then, and I expect, the offense was pretty different as well. Chase Daniels played on a very good team while at Mizzou. BG, not as much. This is all for now - I'm sure I'll have more at some point throughout the day to defend my opinion from all y'all haters .

Only in the past few days, it seems. What happened to turn them into chatterboxes? Maybe they've finally decided on their draft board, and have all this free time to address the media?

From what I've read on this board, Lee will be there tomorrow (flying from Miami). Dunno about CJ, but I expect the majority of the offense will be there.

I like it. But it only works if Nix & Co don't want to draft the QB that they see on the board, themselves.

Hahhh, had me chuckling at that one.

To be honest, I couldn't DISAGREE with you more. 1) Von Miller really isn't that small. Yeah, he's not the size of some of the heavier OLB's like DeMarcus Ware, but there are PLENTY of really good pass rushing OLB's in the game that are around Von Miller's size. Yeah, the weight is a small small concern, but it's minor to be quiet honest. And if his combine numbers being awesome scare you away, that's fine. But you can't ignore his college production, nor what pretty much EVERY scout is saying about him 2) I actually like Blaine Gabbert. I can see why you would think that he's a checkdown machine, but that's a result of how his offense was designed. The majority of his throws, and this is coming off of what I heard from some NFL Network analyst, were in that 10-15 yard range. Sure, he doesn't throw that many 50 yard bombs, but the 10-15 yard throws are really the bread and butter of the NFL passing game. Here's the biggest reason of why I DO like Blaine Gabbert. His offense at Mizzou was pretty complex - almost to the level of Sam Bradford's when he was at Oklahoma. Blaine Gabbert had to make complex reads and progress through his recievers like he would have to in the NFL. In fact, if we draft him, I will probably expect to see a Sam Bradford-like season out of him. Just my own guess, but there it is. He'll probably have the smoothest transition to the NFL game out of everyone in the draft this season. Other QB's like Can Newton really only had to make 1 read in their simpler offenses, where it was 1 read and run. Simple routes, simple plan, and implemented to take advantage of Cam Newton's physical abilities. 3) I can agree with you there. Aside from QB, what I think this team needs is LB's and Linemen. You say you want this team to have a QB and win football games. I say let's get on the Gabbert wagon and ride it to the super bowl

What's funny is that the Flyers were Pegula's first team. Then he moved to western New York and became a sabres fan

Ok, I could agree with you there I guess. George Edwards doesn't deserve our blind faith, but what about the tag-team of Edwards Wannstedt? And for what it's worth, at least Edwards did make an adjustment from the 2-gap to the 1-gap. Many coaches wouldn't have gone that far, but he at least did make the change. Granted...a little late / slow on it, but still.

I would have to disagree with you here, and here's why. I think it's a common misconception that your NT is supposed to be your big fat man plugging the middle in a 3-4. It all depends on the TYPE of 3-4 that you want to run. Yes, in the traditional "Bill Parcells" style 3-4, you need a big, run plugging 335 lb NT, with 2 300 lb DE's on the edge. However, there are only so many guys that are 320+ lbs, and athletic enough to play on a d-line like that. Because of this, several types of 3-4 defenses have evolved to compensate for the lack of available bodies, and to take advantage of the talents of certain individuals. Kyle Williams can be a star NT in the right type of 3-4. It doesn't matter if he's a penetrator, or a run-stuffer. He's widely regarded as being one of the BEST DT's against the run in the game, primarily because of his ability to get into the backfield. That, by itself, warrants double, and triple teams, allowing our LB's (our playmakers in the 3-4) to do their job. He's the type of player you build a 3-4 around - not someone you try to fit into some scheme. It all depends on whether or not George Edwards and the Wannestache can find a way to utilize KW's abilities best in the defense they want to run.

The Saints also traded away the 1st and 3rd round picks of the FOLLOWING year also. Granted, that was for the #5 pick - we could totally get more

Isn't that what the Saints did to draft Ricky Williams?

Lots of really interesting stuff here, about prospects that we care about. Take Von Miller for one: ALL the scouts are saying he's going to be special. I really don't get the Von Miller hate around here... And on Cam Newton: One of the many reasons I prefer Blaine Gabbert.

If the bills DO go QB at #3, then I can see them drafting offense in the 2nd and 3rd rounds as well. If you draft a franchise QB, what you're supposed to do is build around him - give him everything that he needs to succeed and grow, and afterwards, fix your defense. That's what Indy did when they drafted Peyton - they built around him. And what do you get? For a few seasons, one of the WORST defenses in the league - so bad, that Peyton was forced to throw and play catchup all season long (that was the season he broke Dan Marino's TD record). In ways, their offense compensated for their defense, as it was widely considered that you had to score at least 30 points on Indy in order to win (which wasn't hard... but still).

I believe in Blaine Gabbert, and about how he'll be able to be very successful in the NFL. Here's why: - While he did run the spread offense in college, his spread wasn't a quick 1-read and go type offense as it was with Cam Newton. Gabbert's offense was somewhat complex, where he actually had to make defensive reads, make adjustments, audibles, etc... He had to progress from his #1, to his #2, to his #3, etc. Very similar to how Sam Bradford had to make reads in school. Other QB's, like Cam Newton and Christian Ponder had 1 read in their offenses. They were very simple. - Everybody says he's accurate - I'm not sure how to really gauge that, but that's what I hear on TV, Internet, and Radio. - He has a good arm. Not the best, but good. Better than Bradford's, at least from what I've heard. If you want to look at the defensive side of the ball, I gotta go with Von Miller. Even though he has the size issues, you can't really find a negative with him. And if you watch tape on his sacks, you see some variety in terms of how he gets to the QB. It's not like Maybinot, where all he did was run around the edge to the QB. He actually does have a bunch of moves that he can use.

All good points, and very fair. I think that personally, I don't think you need a star at 5-technique in a 3-4. Just someone that is serviceable. One of Bill Parcel's draft philosophies is that the most important position in the draft (defensively) is Linebacker. The more linebackers you draft, the better. I read that somewhere, but I don't exactly remember where... Anyways, it makes a little bit of sense. Think of a DE how you would think of a RB in the draft. You can always find serviceable, and sometimes even good players later in the draft - at least for a 5-technique. Good Linebackers, however, especially of the pass-rushing variety, are much harder to find. That's where most of my thinking goes when I think that DE isn't our #1 need at the top of the draft. We can always find someone to do the job later. Again, good point. Didn't think of it from that side of the personell perspective. I guess the only thing I can think of that will in a way...excuse Edwards, is that while both Kelsay and Torbor were laughably bad, we really didn't have anyone else to replace them with (until we saw Moats emerging).

I've posted this link many times, and still consider it to be the best overall explanation of how defenses in the NFl work. It goes pretty in depth, discussing the various defensive philosophies, and what's required, etc... http://subscribers.footballguys.com/2009/09bramel_idpguide.php It's so good, that it was actually dropped into a 7-part NY Times series. Link to that is here (it's the exact same thing). http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-part-1/ So with that said, here are my thoughts. - I don't think we really have a need for a 5-technique. We drafted Alex Carrington last year, and have Dwan Edwards. Maybe we draft another for depth, but to be honest, I think we're fine. - Regarding NT, if you read the link I posted above, there are several types of 3-4 defenses. Not all of them need a 345 lb space eater at NT. The 3-4 that Wade Philips ran in Dallas, and that his father, Bum Philips developed, instead relies on the D-Line attacking gaps. Take a look at Jay Ratliff - he's only about 300 lbs, but is widely considered to be a top 5 NT in the league. Kyle Williams is fine at NT - I trust the George Edwards to build a scheme around his strengths, which are penetrating the interior. - Our run defense was terrible last year. We all know that. But what bugs me is that everyone thinks it's the fault of our D-Line. We in fact had probably the WORST LB corp in the NFL last season. They were so bad in fact, that the NFL network had 20 minute video segments during the season laughing at how bad Chris Kelsay was. What we need are playmaking LB's. I don't care if it's Von Miller or someone else - I want a playmaker, and someone that can both rush the passer, and put a beating on a runner. We are 2 LB's away from having a serviceable group - a Pass rushing OLB, and another ILB to play alongside Poz.

Also worth noting is that our very own Ryan Fitzpatrick owns the record for any active player (48) - tied with Ben Watson.

Actually, didn't the Packers have the HIGHEST Payroll in the NFL this past season? Something to the tune of 153 Million (Pats* were 152 Million), or something like that.

What LB's? Even if we had an all-pro combination on the line, I personally don't think it would make a difference. Our line, when I watched them, for the most part did their job in occupying blockers and causing disruption. Dwan Edwards was solid, IMO. Sure, he didn't have big tackle or sack numbers, but that's not necessary in a 3-4. Our problem was that our LB's were pitiful, and couldn't control their gaps and run responsibility. It's all on the LB's, because those are the guys that have to make the plays in our scheme. I'm not saying we SHOULDN'T draft a D-Lineman to play end, but I wouldn't count it as our biggest need. We need men to play both ILB and OLB.

I keep on reading people ripping on Dwan Edwards - was he truly that bad this season? Sure, he didn't get sacks, but his responsibility as a 5-technique 2-gap end doesn't get him stats.

I believe that Tommie Harris is strictly a 3-technique in a 4-3. This doesn't necessarily translate well on the field. The Raiders once tried to convert Warren Sapp from a 3-technique in a 4-3 to a 5-technique in a 3-4... with "eh" results. This is pretty much the same thing we tried to do with Marcus Stroud (we've gotten debatable results here). So no - I wouldn't want to risk bringing in Tommie Harris.

Well said. It's been a long running complaint among Steelers fans that Ben generally stinks it up in the first 3 quarters of most big games. But somehow, he turns it on in certain situations, like crucial 3rd downs, or late in the 4th. It's a shame that there isn't a statistic that measures the IMPACT of throws QB's make.

Well, they DID say that he would be a reach at 3, but is still worthy of top 10 consideration. I DO agree with the pick in some ways, as LB is our biggest need, IMO. Just not 100% sure if we should venture too far away from BPA, and reach for need.

I can agree with that. Although you could also reason that because pressure on the QB is one of the biggest things that FORCES turnovers, it could be the single most important thing (for both offense and defense). QB protection, and GETTING TO the QB are 2 things that can make or break a team.

+100 This is what I've been saying for a while - our greatest weakness is our LB's! Maybe now, with The Stache on our staff, we'll start getting (and developing) LB's similar to the LB's the "other stache" coached.