Jimmy Clausen

[Gibran Chandan]

I'll be honest here: I didn't really care who we drafted this spring, as we had a hell of a lot of needs.

 

But after watching some of the Panthers/Ravens game last night, I have to say...I wish we had drafted Clausen. For his first NFL game, he looked better than anyone we've got on the team right now. I couldn't help but think "he could've been ours" the entire time I watched. Am I alone here?

 

Oh well - here's hoping that Spiller ends up making me forget all about this tonight!

[deep2evans]

watching him at ND, i thought he had all the tools to be a fantastic NFL QB. it might end up being a gigantic wups.

[tennesseeboy]

We had two positions of desperate need, left tackle and qb. There was lots of debate about going qb or LT before the draft (I leaned on the LT side of things.) All that being said lets hope spiller has us eating our words from the first regular season game on. I'm not too hung up on what happens in the preseason.

[VA Bills Fan]

I'll be honest here: I didn't really care who we drafted this spring, as we had a hell of a lot of needs.

 

But after watching some of the Panthers/Ravens game last night, I have to say...I wish we had drafted Clausen. For his first NFL game, he looked better than anyone we've got on the team right now. I couldn't help but think "he could've been ours" the entire time I watched. Am I alone here?

 

Oh well - here's hoping that Spiller ends up making me forget all about this tonight!

 

You are not alone - he showed a lot of guts. Not that he's a 1st round pick, but I'd love to have him on our team. I read somewhere yesterday on TSW about Gailey's emphasis on quick passes and throwing to spots vs waiting for people to be open. Jimmy C. already gets that (or his coaches have installed in at ND and Car.). He looked like a leader out there too. If it continues (and Moore doesn't improve from yesterday), I think we'll be seeing JC starting.

 

I'm looking for Trent to show the same stuff today. Trust your receivers and get rid of the ball!!!

[ddaryl]

Clausen won;'t be crap, and next years QB's are a much better group to pick form.

 

I'm super glad we did not waste a pick on him

[mpl6876]

Clausen won;'t be crap, and next years QB's are a much better group to pick form.

I'm super glad we did not waste a pick on him

 

(1) You don't know that for sure?

 

(2) How do you know we will be in the position to draft a franchise QB?

 

(3) How do you know the Bills wil draft a QB?

 

I really liked Clausen too. I almost pooped my pants when we didn't take him at 41. However, I am not ready to proclaim him as a franchise QB. It was just one pre season game guys.

[Zulu Cthulhu]

I'll be honest here: I didn't really care who we drafted this spring, as we had a hell of a lot of needs.

 

But after watching some of the Panthers/Ravens game last night, I have to say...I wish we had drafted Clausen. For his first NFL game, he looked better than anyone we've got on the team right now. I couldn't help but think "he could've been ours" the entire time I watched. Am I alone here?

 

8-15. zero TDs. 2 sacks. 1 int. Yes, you are alone here. 30 other teams passed on him too, for a reason. He is Brady Quinn 2.0.

[BillsGuyInMalta]

To me, Clausen looked very average last night. While I give him props for his pocket presence as he didn't seemed phased at all by the pressure, he made some VERY questionable throws that would have been easily picked off had he been playing against a first string defense.

 

The one play that really jumps out to me is when Terrence Cody burst through the line and was (slowly) trying to chase him down and Clausen threw off his back foot into a group of Ravens defenders. What was confusing to me was he really didnt have to throw the ball there, he could have tucked it and ran for a few or thrown it out of bounds since Cody clearly wasn't going to catch him in a foot race. In a real NFL game, that errant throw will net the opposing team 6 points.

 

I'm actually in the camp that believes Clausen will be a pretty good pro, but lets not break out the knee pads yet since he'll go through quite a bit of growing pains before he is ready.

[BillsneedaSuperbowl]

i thought he was average yesterday and at notre dame.

[Cson76]

I'll be honest here: I didn't really care who we drafted this spring, as we had a hell of a lot of needs.

 

But after watching some of the Panthers/Ravens game last night, I have to say...I wish we had drafted Clausen. For his first NFL game, he looked better than anyone we've got on the team right now. I couldn't help but think "he could've been ours" the entire time I watched. Am I alone here?

 

Oh well - here's hoping that Spiller ends up making me forget all about this tonight!

 

 

Don't get caught up on a guy who looks good playing backups. Remember how good Hamden looked every year.

 

He may be a good QB, but, see what he does if he gets the first string nod.

[The Dean]

I flipped back and forth between the game and Burn Notice/Royal Pains. I saw some of Jimmy's performance.

 

He looked decent, I thought, but it also looked as though he threw to the check-down WR on every play I saw (don't the Bills already have that guy?) and fumbled a snap.

 

Still you can't really judge from one PS game. Particularly not the first.

[duey]

I actually thought his throwing motion looked awkward, with more than one pass wobbling its way to the reciever. I was not impressed. Plus, could he have looked any dimmer than he did during that segment with Gruden.

 

I was happy as hell that we didn't draft him...and I still am.

[BillsneedaSuperbowl]

I flipped back and forth between the game and Burn Notice/Royal Pains. I saw some of Jimmy's performance.

 

He looked decent, I thought, but it also looked as though he threw to the check-down WR on every play I saw (don't the Bills already have that guy?) and fumbled a snap.

 

Still you can't really judge from one PS game. Particularly not the first.

burn notice rules.

[CodeMonkey]

I actually thought his throwing motion looked awkward, with more than one pass wobbling its way to the reciever. I was not impressed.

It's that pseudo-sidearm delivery he has I think. Similar to what Tebow was/is trying to retrain himself out of.

[Doc]

Yeah, hard to say the Bills made a mistake passing on Clausen based on last night's game. And as an aside, Michael Oher didn't look so hot at LT.

[Rico]

I'm not a Claussen fan at all... but who's the idiot around here saying that he was on the verge of being cut?

[Kettle Creek Football]

From what I read today, his nagging toe injury is still bothering him. That's what plagued him last year and pre-draft.

[Zulu Cthulhu]

I really liked Clausen too.

 

You would, considering your posting history here. You know zero about football in general.

[mpl6876]

You would, considering your posting history here. You know zero about football in general.

 

Nice informative post.

[muggins]

Damn dude, no reason to get personal. You didn't select Spiller instead of what we needed at #9 pick.

[Zulu Cthulhu]

Nice informative post.

 

Thanks. Informing you and the rest of the trolls about the game and people who play it would take a very, very long time. However, I am free Tuesday and Thursday evenings so contact me if you would like some lessons.

[Dr. Fong]

As a Notre Dame fan I got to see a lot of Clausen. I never had the feeling that he'd make it as an NFL QB. The guy could prove me and a lot of other critics wrong, but he hasn't done it yet.

[Gibran Chandan]

8-15. zero TDs. 2 sacks. 1 int. Yes, you are alone here. 30 other teams passed on him too, for a reason. He is Brady Quinn 2.0.

 

9-15, 1 TD, 0 INTs. That is, if you take into consideration that what should have been a touchdown was dropped by the receiver, and the INT came after his target fell over. Just something to consider.

 

I'm not saying he had an amazing, rookie of the year, best QB ever night. I'm just saying that for a guy who's never played an NFL game, he already looked as good as (and sometimes, better than) anyone we've got right now. But maybe Trent will really surprise us tonight. New coaching could make all the difference...we'll know soon enough!

[Doc]

9-15, 1 TD, 0 INTs. That is, if you take into consideration that what should have been a touchdown was dropped by the receiver, and the INT came after his target fell over. Just something to consider.

Or he could have been 7-15 with 0 TD's and 2 INT's, if that 3rd down pass had been intercepted, instead of the WR making a great play to catch the ball after it was tipped by the DB.

[Zulu Cthulhu]

9-15, 1 TD, 0 INTs. That is, if you take into consideration that what should have been a touchdown was dropped by the receiver, and the INT came after his target fell over. Just something to consider.

 

I'm not saying he had an amazing, rookie of the year, best QB ever night. I'm just saying that for a guy who's never played an NFL game, he already looked as good as (and sometimes, better than) anyone we've got right now. But maybe Trent will really surprise us tonight. New coaching could make all the difference...we'll know soon enough!

 

Well thanks for the interesting hypothetical but I was just posting his actual line, not woulda coulda shoulda's. And no, based on his performance you cannot say he looked as good as or better than the current Bills quarterbacks. Both Edwards and Fitzpatrick have posted far better lines in their respective careers than Jimmy did last night, and they performed against starters. Jimmy's underwhelming performance was against backups.

[Zulu Cthulhu]

Or he could have been 7-15 with 0 TD's and 2 INT's, if that 3rd down pass had been intercepted, instead of the WR making a great play to catch the ball after it was tipped by the DB.

 

[bowery4]

It was an interesting game, 1st off I hadn't heard about Kindle, shame that liked him in college.

Troy Smith vs Bulger, IMO Bulger gets the nod at this point. Just don't see what ppl who were talking about us picking up/trading for him were going on about.

Gotta agree with Doc, Oher didn't show much.

 

Cody is so freaking big! On a good team like the ravens he might be really great. They really have good lbs. that one arm slap in the face tackle he made was mean.

 

Carolina's QB group is really young inexperienced and from what I saw Classen could be the best of the group. Moore might be ok but who knows the team is young, they will grow. I am pretty sure we did the right thing not taking him though. Time will tell. It could be interesting with that Edwards guy, he looks like a player, I liked how Jaws was going off on his talent. He really stayed on the field a lot. The Car. receivers never showed up either though, so a team with no good QB and no receivers, but a pretty tough D. They might see 8/8 this year wouldn't expect better.

 

The Raven are a good team and looked that way. Smith was responsible for most of the sacks IMO. I expect really good things from Bal this year.

[Mr. WEO]

Well thanks for the interesting hypothetical but I was just posting his actual line, not woulda coulda shoulda's. And no, based on his performance you cannot say he looked as good as or better than the current Bills quarterbacks. Both Edwards and Fitzpatrick have posted far better lines in their respective careers than Jimmy did last night, and they performed against starters. Jimmy's underwhelming performance was against backups.

Dude, it was his first apperance in an NFL game.

 

I believe the poster was referring to the QBs we have now as they are right now. We'll know if he is wrong after a peak tonight at both.

[CountDorkula]

So Carolina for Super Bowl champs then?

[Zulu Cthulhu]

Dude, it was his first apperance in an NFL game.

 

I believe the poster was referring to the QBs we have now as they are right now. We'll know if he is wrong after a peak tonight at both.

 

Thanks dude, I get that. And it kinda proves my point, doesn't it. He made the statement that Jimmay looks as good, if not better than our QBs. Well, we really don't know that yet do we? Edwards and Fitz are our QBs "right now" and both have performed better in the past against better competition. If either regress tonight and complete barely 50% of their passes for no scores while also throwing a pick, then I guess he's right: Clausen will be "as good as" what we currently have.

[Thoner7]

Or he could have been 7-15 with 0 TD's and 2 INT's, if that 3rd down pass had been intercepted, instead of the WR making a great play to catch the ball after it was tipped by the DB.

 

are you talking about the pass that was tipped by the WR (yes it was clearly tipped by the WR) who should have caught the ball the first time it hit his hands? That was a great throw even if it was picked off the tip.

 

But easily the most impressive thing about Clausen was how he was able to recognise the Ravens blitzes and adjust his protections. Very Very impressive to see a rookie QB being able to pick up the Ravens blitzes none the less. This is why guys like Carr/Russel fail - they cant pick this skill up at the NFL level because the coaches flashed them cards from the sideline in college, or they werent expected to read it at all. Bradford had the same "luxury" in college, while a guy like Matt Ryan read the D himself. Bradford is going to struggle to figure this out, while a guy like Tebow should adjust quicker because he at least as some experience doing it for the triple option.

 

Why this is always overlooked is beyond me because it is easily the most important trait of a QB. So much so that the success of the running game is even reliant on it.

[Hey Hey]

I'll be honest here: I didn't really care who we drafted this spring, as we had a hell of a lot of needs.

 

But after watching some of the Panthers/Ravens game last night, I have to say...I wish we had drafted Clausen. For his first NFL game, he looked better than anyone we've got on the team right now. I couldn't help but think "he could've been ours" the entire time I watched. Am I alone here?

 

Oh well - here's hoping that Spiller ends up making me forget all about this tonight!

I was thinking the same thing. Thing is we could of had him in the 2nd round. UNREAL he looks good

[HARCO186]

Would've, could've, should've....... I BILLIEVE that CHAN the F'n MAN knew and knows what is what and what his needs are to make us all BILLIEVE. Who cares about yesterday because we can't fix it....... Lets just sit back have a wing or two and a drink a Labatt Blue and enjoy seeing what we have today for what's instore for tomorrow.........

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I'm not a Claussen fan at all... but who's the idiot around here saying that he was on the verge of being cut?

 

That'd be Promo. Called him on his hyperbole, but he never responded.

[Wayne Cubed]

It's that pseudo-sidearm delivery he has I think. Similar to what Tebow was/is trying to retrain himself out of.

 

+1

 

His delivery looked real weird.

Guy was playing back-ups and looked average. Not a reason for the coulda, shoulda, woulda's.

He still looks cocky too.

[Zulu Cthulhu]

It's amazing how many people have hard-ons for guys just because they're Notre Dame players, even though the Irish haven't been relevant for 20 years.

 

Didn't Brady Quinn also play under Weis and learn his so-called pro-offense? He learned how to make the all the reads and adjust his protections too didn't he?

 

How's that working out for him? 10 TDs, 9 ints. 67 QB rating for his career.

[Geno Smith's Arm]

That was a good performance because he looked comfortable. He looked like a guy who is gonna be a starter soon. None of the QB's the Bills have drafted lately have looked that comfortable in their initial performance.

[Doc]

are you talking about the pass that was tipped by the WR (yes it was clearly tipped by the WR) who should have caught the ball the first time it hit his hands? That was a great throw even if it was picked off the tip.

It was right to the DB, who tipped it when he should have INT'd it (and that's why he plays DB and not WR). Moore made a great adjustment to catch it.

[Thurman#1]

I'll be honest here: I didn't really care who we drafted this spring, as we had a hell of a lot of needs.

 

But after watching some of the Panthers/Ravens game last night, I have to say...I wish we had drafted Clausen. For his first NFL game, he looked better than anyone we've got on the team right now. I couldn't help but think "he could've been ours" the entire time I watched. Am I alone here?

 

Oh well - here's hoping that Spiller ends up making me forget all about this tonight!

 

 

 

I liked him too.

 

But he has now thrown 15 passes. Completed eight, but still ... way too early to evaluate him.

[Thurman#1]

It's amazing how many people have hard-ons for guys just because they're Notre Dame players, even though the Irish haven't been relevant for 20 years.

 

Didn't Brady Quinn also play under Weis and learn his so-called pro-offense? He learned how to make the all the reads and adjust his protections too didn't he?

 

How's that working out for him? 10 TDs, 9 ints. 67 QB rating for his career.

 

 

 

Too early to evaluate him too. But this year is the year when people will see one way or the other ... at last he has a shot. His last shot to be a starter, most likely.

 

However, even at Notre Dame, Quinn simply wasn't as good as Clausen. Clausen improved every year, and his last year was insane. Quinn got worse his third year and never had a year remotely like Clausen's most recent.