It's Official, Clausen Entering The Draft

[bartshan-83]

Intense, fiery leader, strong passion to win. He's matured significantly over the past two years. And he doesn't cry if he loses.

 

Some people think he's a douche and maybe that's true. So were Kelly and Marino.

 

I'm not disputing that ND is high profile. I'm saying that dispute that, Clausen has not received nearly the coverage and accolades for his personal performance as the top 3 (in terms of hype) QBs this year, partly due to the Weis saga (I agree with that), and partly because ND has a crappy defense that blew games they should have won.

 

McCoy is a Heisman favorite and Clausen has never been mentioned as a candidate. Yet who played better this season? Who showed up against his teams' toughest opponents? Attention and credibility follow wins, not individual performance, and so Clausen has been undervalued.

+9999

[KD in CA]

+9999

 

But CA QBs can't play in the cold. Just look how much Aaron Rodgers sucks in Green Bay.

[John Cocktosten]

But CA QBs can't play in the cold. Just look how much Aaron Rodgers sucks in Green Bay.

It was 70 degrees in Wisconsin just two weeks ago!

[bartshan-83]

But CA QBs can't play in the cold. Just look how much Aaron Rodgers sucks in Green Bay.

 

I'd put down a good wager that the average person who dislikes Clausen, is basing it on:

 

a) Arriving in South Bend in a limo almost 4 years ago

b) Being from California

c) Playing for ND

 

There is really nothing he has done in the past year+ that would make you think he had a bad attitude or lack of a bright future. But like we've both said, maybe he is a douche, maybe he's not. That doesn't likely separate him from many other QBs...

[vincec]

People wouldn't be talking about a guy passing at 68%/3700 yards/28 TD/4 INTs in a pro style offense at Michigan or Miami? Really?

 

Fact is, it's the opposite situation here. Clausen hasn't received nearly the recognition he would have playing at a big name school with more recent success. He didn't get any press for at least half the season while everyone slobberred over Tebow, McCoy and Bradford. It wasn't until people started noticing that Clausen was running one of the most dynamic offenses in the country that he started getting some attention.

You must be joking. ND is the national media darling. Kellen Moore (Boise State) and Tony Pike (Cincinnati) have comparable statistics but you don't see any threads about them... and their teams are undefeated! They're not in the press cycle like the ND qb. Think of all the recent highly touted QBs to come out of ND... Rick Mirer, Ron Powlus, Brady Quinn. How have they fared?

[frogger]

He reminds me of Carson Palmer, highly recruited and it took his final year to prove to people he belongs, I like JC, When I look at this team, first we need a QB, we can get OL and DL in free agency we can't get a QB, unless his name is Jeff Garcia. Get the high prices LT in free agency, and get the DT in free agency. Draft a RG in the in the 2nd or 3rd round. Its better to pay a lot for a proven player with 3-5 years behind him, then an untested one that doesn't pan out (see Mike Williams)

 

Bring in Marty

Maybe that will convince McNeill to come to Buffalo...that and a lot of money. move Wood to center if healthy, Butler at RT, McNeill LT, Levitre at LG, and maybe 2nd round pick Mike Iupati, I know he'll go higher, but Guards may fall.

[The Senator]

I guess you'd rather have Graham Harrell? You'll just be another one saying, "I wish we would've made a move to get Clausen somehow in the draft," by week 6 of next season.

No, I'll be saying, "You know, we could still sign Graham Harrell from up there in Saskatchewan!"

 

Seriously though, I think Brohm might be our guy...

 

6' 4" 228 lbs. (Jim Kelly-sized)

Born - Louisville, KY ('cold-weather tested' )

Named one of Top 5 H.S./Prep QBs in America 2003

Scholarship offers from Notre Dame, Tennessee, Alabama, Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Purdue, Illinois et al.

Played 4 years at Louisville, started 3 years, 2006 Heisman Candidate

Ranked Top Pick in 2007 Draft by Sporting News - projected first round pick in 2007 - chose to return & play his senior year

2007 Senior year - 308 completions/473 attempts; 4024 yards; 30 TDs/12 INTs; 152 QB rating; ranked in top 10 QBs

Drafted #56 in 2008 by Green Bay (mid-2nd round)

 

Could this actually be the proverbial 'once in a while even a blind squirrel finds an acorn' for Brandon & Co.?

 

 

(If not, we can always draft Taylor Potts in the 7th round in 2011 )

[bartshan-83]

You must be joking. ND is the national media darling. Kellen Moore (Boise State) and Tony Pike (Cincinnati) have comparable statistics but you don't see any threads about them... and their teams are undefeated! They're not in the press cycle like the ND qb.

Then start a thread about them. Is this board the "national media?"

 

Kellen Moore is a top-5 Heisman candidate and just might be invited to NYC for the Heisman ceremony.

 

Tony Pike is talked about plenty. The reason he isn't on any Heisman list is because he missed 3 games and Cincinnati didn't seem to notice.

 

If Jimmy Clausen had chosen to go to USC over ND, USC would be in BCS position right now and he'd be the Heisman front runner. His on-field performance has been way more deserving of the accolades he has received this year. I mean, people honestly believe that Colt McCoy is a better prospect! Think about that. If roles were reversed, Clausen might already have a Heisman and McCoy would be going undrafted.

 

Think of all the recent highly touted QBs to come out of ND... Rick Mirer, Ron Powlus, Brady Quinn. How have they fared?

Mirer...BUST

Powlus...was never good at ND. Never touted as good pro prospect

Quinn...late 1st rounder, jury still out, talent nowhere near Clausen's.

[The Senator]

If Jimmy Clausen had chosen to go to USC over ND, USC would be in BCS position right now and he'd be the Heisman front runner. His on-field performance has been way more deserving of the accolades he has received this year. I mean, people honestly believe that Colt McCoy is a better prospect! Think about that. If roles were reversed, Clausen might already have a Heisman and McCoy would be going undrafted.

Nah...trust me - Pete Carroll would have found a way to !@#$ it up.

[Phlegm Alley]

You must be a wuss. Here's the data, sir...

 

South Bend Nov 09 (N.B. 11/7/09 - 70 degrees)

 

South Bend Nov 08 (N.B. 11/3/08 - 73 degrees)

 

South Bend Nov 07

 

Folks seem to just blindly make the claim that he's 'cold-weather tested' - erroneously thinking that, just because it gets wintry in South Bend, that Wanker-Punk has played in wintry weather - it just ain't so!

 

 

If Fanning Fan Edwards EVER had gone 23-30 for 340 yards and 5 TDs against ANY COLLEGE OR PRO TEAM in ANY WEATHER, I'd pay The Dean's bar bill for a year. The fact that Wanker-Punk did in in sunny Palo Alto does not prove him 'cold-weather tested'. Nor do his 41 yards-0 TDs-2 INTs in a losing effort at USC in '08, 110 yards-0 TDs-2 INTs in a loss to Navy, or 226 yard-0 TDs-4 INTs in a losing effort at BC. Guy just does not seem to have won many games (15W/18L) either.

 

 

So what? Edwards has lived in Buffalo longer than Clausen has in South Bend - does that make him a 'cold-weather QB'?

Gimme a guy that grew up in this crap - a guy from East Brady, PA maybe - a guy from anyplace where he had a ball as a kid playing football in icy, sub-zero, blizzard-like weather every year - that's a 'cold-weather QB'.

 

 

That picture of Wanker-Punk and his queer Speedo buddies should forever disqualify him from any consideration as the Bills next QB project....

 

'Cold-Weather Tested'

 

 

 

I agree that I am not a huge fan of Clausen (primarily because of his Wanker-Punk-ness), but I do think the cold weather QB argument is a bit overrated, and I do think that Clausen is going to be an extremely successful QB in the NFL. You only have to look at tonight's MNF game to declare that argument iffy at best. Aaron Rodgers (who Clausen reminds me an awful lot of) was a JUCO transfer to U Cal back in 2003 and started a total of 23 games at UCal before declaring himself eligible for the draft after his Junior season.

 

Maybe all those years lying in wait to become the heir apparent to Brett Favre taught him a thing or two, but he is a having an awful lot of success behind an offensive line that is worse than the Bills' and he didn't play in nearly as many games as Clausen and played (and grew up) in a climate that was a lot more favorable than South Bend.

 

Here are Rodgers' career stats at UCal:

 

Passing Rushing

Year Comp Att Pct Yds YPA Td Int Rate Att Yds Avg Td

2003 Cal 215 349 61.6 2903 8.3 19 5 146.58 86 210 2.4 5

2004 Cal 209 316 66.1 2566 8.1 24 8 154.35 74 126 1.7 3

Totals 424 665 63.8 5469 8.2 43 13 150.27 160 336 2.10 8

 

 

 

The thing is Sen, QBs from East Brady PA only come around once in a lifetime and as much as I would like to see a QB with the cold weather pedigree of Jim Kelly, I just don't know if this franchise has the time to wait for someone like that to come around.

[Thurman#1]

Well, 'the genius' has also resided at Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Iowa - but that's irrelevant since I'm not proposing he should be the Bills QB!

 

Jimmy's November games in 2007 included a loss to Air Force at home on 11/10/07 - temp range 27/47, and a win against Duke on 11/17, before moving on to sunny Palo Alto to beat Stanford on 11/24.

 

A quick check shows me that Wanker-Punk played Pittsburgh in South Bend on 11/1/08 - the temp range in South Bend was 43/59 - and Syracuse on 11/22/08 - temp range 11/28. He lost both games. So much for 'cold-weather tested - he failed. He also lost a night game at BC on 11/8/08 - temp was in the 60's that afternoon, but don't know what it was at game time. Presumably it was a but warmer in Annapolis when he beat Navy on 11/22/08, but even a return to sunny SoCal couldn't save him against USC on 11/29. I'll presume it was fairly warm in Honolulu on Christmas Eve, when he beat Hawaii.

 

This past November had Jimmy playing (and losing) in South Bend on November 7th (lost to Navy - temp range 49/70) and November 22 (lost to Connecticut - temp range 32/56), before moving on to sunny Palo Alto to lose to Stanford on November 28th.

 

And lets not forget Jimmy's biggest November loss this year...

 

Wanker-Punk Starts Bar Fight: Gets His Ass Kicked

 

(FYI, temp in South Bend that night was in the mid-30s )

 

Clausen, cold-weather tested???? Hardly.

 

 

Your article has no evidence that he started the fight, none. As usual, you misinterpret the situation and act like it's fact.

 

And is it really a bar fight if someone sucker-punches you? IMHO, no. Nothing wrong with what he did there.

 

I'm not sure whether or not I want Clausen, but that incident isn't a negative at all.

[Astrobot]

At DraftTek we are now expecting Clausen to be drafted 1st by Cleveland, Bradford going to Washington at #6, Buffalo drafting O-Line at #7, Locker to Seattle at #13, and Colt McCoy going to J'ville at #20 in the first Round. After McCoy, we see a big drop-off. Tebow would be drafted at #43 after the Bills 2nd Round pick at #39, assuming they stick with Brohm and perhaps a FA vet.

 

DraftTek will have a new mock out Tuesday or later on tonight which will show Clausen, Berry, and Suh off the board first.

 

Astro, Bills Correspondent, DraftTek

[bartshan-83]

Nah...trust me - Pete Carroll would have found a way to !@#$ it up.

I don't like the Surfing Poodle either, but c'mon....

[Thurman#1]

He reminds me of Carson Palmer, highly recruited and it took his final year to prove to people he belongs, I like JC, When I look at this team, first we need a QB, we can get OL and DL in free agency we can't get a QB, unless his name is Jeff Garcia. Get the high prices LT in free agency, and get the DT in free agency. Draft a RG in the in the 2nd or 3rd round. Its better to pay a lot for a proven player with 3-5 years behind him, then an untested one that doesn't pan out (see Mike Williams)

 

Bring in Marty

Maybe that will convince McNeill to come to Buffalo...that and a lot of money. move Wood to center if healthy, Butler at RT, McNeill LT, Levitre at LG, and maybe 2nd round pick Mike Iupati, I know he'll go higher, but Guards may fall.

 

 

I wouldn't mind getting a QB in the first.

 

But, get a high-priced LT in free agency? Except for Peters, who is the last high-priced LT to switch teams? Teams hoard these guys like gold, like franchise QBs. There'll be a journeyman or two available, but that's all.

[Marc in MontrÈal]

Ha. Too funny.

 

I used to work in and around auto body shops. It's amazing how many gruff, tough appearing dudes in attitude have kitty-cat, 5 year-old boy names like Jimmy, Billy, Johnny, Timmy, Bobby....

 

 

"Jimmy's under the boards. Jimmy's in the open. Jimmy makes the shot."

 

"Jimmy's got some new moves."

 

"Jimmy and misunderstanding kinda clash."

 

 

Marc in Montréal

[Thurman#1]

I agree that I am not a huge fan of Clausen (primarily because of his Wanker-Punk-ness), but I do think the cold weather QB argument is a bit overrated, and I do think that Clausen is going to be an extremely successful QB in the NFL. You only have to look at tonight's MNF game to declare that argument iffy at best. Aaron Rodgers (who Clausen reminds me an awful lot of) was a JUCO transfer to U Cal back in 2003 and started a total of 23 games at UCal before declaring himself eligible for the draft after his Junior season.

 

Maybe all those years lying in wait to become the heir apparent to Brett Favre taught him a thing or two, but he is a having an awful lot of success behind an offensive line that is worse than the Bills' and he didn't play in nearly as many games as Clausen and played (and grew up) in a climate that was a lot more favorable than South Bend.

 

Here are Rodgers' career stats at UCal:

 

Passing Rushing

Year Comp Att Pct Yds YPA Td Int Rate Att Yds Avg Td

2003 Cal 215 349 61.6 2903 8.3 19 5 146.58 86 210 2.4 5

2004 Cal 209 316 66.1 2566 8.1 24 8 154.35 74 126 1.7 3

Totals 424 665 63.8 5469 8.2 43 13 150.27 160 336 2.10 8

 

 

 

The thing is Sen, QBs from East Brady PA only come around once in a lifetime and as much as I would like to see a QB with the cold weather pedigree of Jim Kelly, I just don't know if this franchise has the time to wait for someone like that to come around.

 

 

 

Seriously, Green Bay's line isn't even in the same state, never mind the same neighborhood, as being as bad as the Bills line. It is just not close. GB's line is much better, somewhere around low-mediocre, but their tackles are actually pretty decent. The Bills OL is abysmal.

 

Doubt it? Go to profootballfocus.com and compare the rankings of the players at each position. In four positions, the Bills guy ranks well below the GB guy. In the other, the GB guy ranks slightly below the Bills guy but only just barely, and both guys are ranked very low.

 

The Bills have the lowest ranking guy in the league at TWO positions. Center and LT.

[Flbillsfan#1]

I wouldn't mind getting a QB in the first.

 

But, get a high-priced LT in free agency? Except for Peters, who is the last high-priced LT to switch teams? Teams hoard these guys like gold, like franchise QBs. There'll be a journeyman or two available, but that's all.

I agree. I think they could do as well with a 2nd or 3rd rnd pick as with a free agent LT, for much less money.

[Flbillsfan#1]

Seriously, Green Bay's line isn't even in the same state, never mind the same neighborhood, as being as bad as the Bills line. It is just not close. GB's line is much better, somewhere around low-mediocre, but their tackles are actually pretty decent. The Bills OL is abysmal.

 

Doubt it? Go to profootballfocus.com and compare the rankings of the players at each position. In four positions, the Bills guy ranks well below the GB guy. In the other, the GB guy ranks slightly below the Bills guy but only just barely, and both guys are ranked very low.

 

The Bills have the lowest ranking guy at his position at TWO positions. Center and LT.

I think the Bills could have a decent O-line next year if they can get a couple decent Tackles. Wood @ Center, Levitre @ LG, Butler @ RG.

[BuffaloRebound]

Claussen and Bradford probably aren't getting past Cleveland and St. Louis. And if they do, then I don't want them at pick #5 or pick #7. Brohm was a nice pickup to avoid wasting a pick in the 2nd or 3rd round on a QB this year. Unless Locker declares and has franchise talent, I don't see the Bills drafting a QB this year.

[The Senator]

"Jimmy's under the boards. Jimmy's in the open. Jimmy makes the shot."

 

"Jimmy's got some new moves."

 

"Jimmy and misunderstanding kinda clash."

 

 

Marc in Montréal

 

"Jimmy's getting upset."

 

"Jimmy says, 'Uh oh...' "

 

"Jimmy's getting his ass kicked."