Luck vs Mallett

[Haplo848]

So a lot of people have written posts about some of the top college QB prospects for next year. This weekend, I decided to take a look at two of them, Ryan Mallett and Andrew Luck. Luck seems to be the consensus top QB (at least by people on this board), but while flipping channels this weekend between the Arkansas vs Alabama game and the Stanford vs Notre Dame game, I wasn't impressed by Luck at all. Granted, he made some good throws, but overall, his performance was underwhelming. I was impressed by Mallett, however. He seems to be able and willing to make all the throws, with the height to see everything and get throws over the line, good awareness of where blitzers are coming from and being able to avoid it/get the ball out in time, as well as very good footwork. To be perfectly honest, I really got an impression of a young Peyton Manning when I watched him. Any thoughts?

[cmjoyce113]

I would say more young drew Bledsoe... His feet kinda suck. I agree though that he looks better than luck.

[Sisyphean Bills]

All you need is some Luck.

[CarolinaBill]

Right Now I like Mallett over Luck and especially over Locker.

[MVaeth]

Don't know very much about Luck, but as a Michigan grad I've watched Mallett very closely since his college career began. I still don't know what to make of him as an NFL prospect. He has a Million Dollar Arm, like from another planet kind of arm. His passes literally would shred the gloves of his WRs as a freshman. Can make all the throws an NFL QB needs to make right now. The downside is that he will at times try and make throws that he shouldn't because he has such confidence in his arm and will lead to poor decisions and passes that get picked at critical moments. Generally makes quick decisions and has a really quick release but will try and force things from time to time. Big, strong kid who can take a beating and has not shown to be injury prone. Will need an OL that is strong in pass protection, the comparison to Bledsoe in the pocket is pretty accurate. He actually has decent straight line speed if he needs to take off and run for a guy his size, but doesn't move in the pocket real well. I'm assuming he's matured personally quite a bit since he transferred to Arkansas and seems to have grown up some from what I can tell watching games, but when at Michigan he was not well liked by his teammates. Would openly argue with teammates during games and blame mistakes on them, all captured on national TV (game at Wisconsin his freshman year was a prime example), and you could see teammates staying away from him on the sideline and just shaking their heads at him. Leadership was not his greatest skill and he alienated a lot of people on campus while he was there. He also seriously struggled adjusting to the cold weather in Ann Arbor, so I am not sure how well he would handle life in WNY. He's from Texarcana TX and lived in the south all his life until college.

 

He's a high risk/reward player. Guy could be a pro bowler and win a lot of rings because he's got a once in a blue moon type of arm, but he could be the next Ryan Leaf if he hasn't gotten all the knucklehead out of his system and get a GM fired. His arm will get him drafted early, no doubt. I don't know if he's the right fit for the Bills though.

[Rico]

I would say more young drew Bledsoe... His feet kinda suck. I agree though that he looks better than luck.

[JM57]

I don't see how you could be unimpressed by Luck's performance on Saturday, but impressed with Mallett's. I liked them both going into Saturday, and likewise watched both games. What I saw from Mallett was an unbelievable cannon arm, but also a tendency to trust that arm too much. He forced a couple of throws, threw some costly picks, and most of all...an inability to throw short to intermediate throws with any touch. There are 3 or 4 times I can think of where he threw a 5-10 yarder so hard his receivers couldn't even hold onto it. That's one area I'd like to see him improve. Learn that you can't always throw the heater. Also his accuracy was a little suspect at times.

 

Luck showed that he can make plays with his feet if not with his arm, threw a couple of nice touch passes too. The first TD, to his TE Fleener is most prominent in my mind. He also showed a bit of extra confidence in his arm, I think the one deep pass to Owusu got picked off when he didn't throw a great ball. He was pretty accurate overall, and seemed to make the right decision with the throw 98% of the time. You could see him go through progressions and most of the time, not force it.

 

Also on Luck's side...pedigree. His father was a QB at West Virginia, then backed up Warren Moon in Houston from 1984-86 (he was the starter in 1983)

[Maddog69]

I am fine with either. I think both of them have a ton of talent. I have been a little more impressed with Mallett. I think that is mostly because Locker has been playing in very lopsided games whereas Mallett has played against some good teams and has had to face some adversity. Last week, he drove the team for the game winning score in the 4th. This week he threw the game away a little bit.

I like both of them and look forward to watching them play out their seasons and perform at the combine and all of that good stuff.

[1B4IDie]

I don't see how you could be unimpressed by Luck's performance on Saturday, but impressed with Mallett's. I liked them both going into Saturday, and likewise watched both games. What I saw from Mallett was an unbelievable cannon arm, but also a tendency to trust that arm too much. He forced a couple of throws, threw some costly picks, and most of all...an inability to throw short to intermediate throws with any touch. There are 3 or 4 times I can think of where he threw a 5-10 yarder so hard his receivers couldn't even hold onto it. That's one area I'd like to see him improve. Learn that you can't always throw the heater. Also his accuracy was a little suspect at times.

 

Luck showed that he can make plays with his feet if not with his arm, threw a couple of nice touch passes too. The first TD, to his TE Fleener is most prominent in my mind. He also showed a bit of extra confidence in his arm, I think the one deep pass to Owusu got picked off when he didn't throw a great ball. He was pretty accurate overall, and seemed to make the right decision with the throw 98% of the time. You could see him go through progressions and most of the time, not force it.

 

Also on Luck's side...pedigree. His father was a QB at West Virginia, then backed up Warren Moon in Houston from 1984-86 (he was the starter in 1983)

I DVRed both games. I watched the Luck game before Monday night football and wanted to see Luck against a better defense than the week prior.

He definitely didn't perform like an NFL ready QB (not saying that anyone is saying he is already NFL ready there are many more games to play and develop )

His passes zip but they definitely wobble a little and he threw too many passes from his back foot. I noticed 2 out of the 3 times he scrambled he just tucked his head and ran, he didn't look down the field and try to make a pass down the field. He did do that once and the RB turned a 5 yard dump off into a 27 yard pass.

Both interceptions were his fault. The first "fade" type of throw was 10 yards too short.

The second interception was again too short. It was tipped by a LB that was shadowing the backfield. It wasn't tipped by the Defender in coverage, the defender in coverage reacted the tip and got the pick. A Really bad pass.

All that said he does make many more good decisions than bad.

In my opinion he needs to develop foot work to help with the inconsistent velocity on his ball. I think he threw a few too many passes short because sometimes he has his feet under him and sometimes he is off balance without pressure.

 

He has potential but definitely needs a lot of coaching up before he can start in the NFL.

Learning from Fitz for a year would have to be the route with Luck at this point in time.

 

I'm going to watch the Mallet game before the end of the week. I Already read Mallet blows the game in the 4th.

Edited September 28, 2010 by Levitre + Wang = Wood

[SouthGeorgiaBillsFan]

I like Mallet. I am biased because he plays in the SEC, and that means he is playing against the closest thing to NFL caliber defense that college football has to offer on a weekly basis. Other than just reading a stat line, I cannot understand why anyone would prefer Luck.

[Andrew in CA]

I like Mallet. I am biased because he plays in the SEC, and that means he is playing against the closest thing to NFL caliber defense that college football has to offer on a weekly basis. Other than just reading a stat line, I cannot understand why anyone would prefer Luck.

I don't buy that argument because the SEC has only 4 NFL starting QB's by my count (Cutler, the 2 Mannings, and Stafford). The PAC-10, for the sake of argument, has 5 (Palmer, Sanchez, Cassel, Anderson, and Rodgers). Hell, even the ACC has 4 starters.

 

While a prospect's college opponents are a factor, I don't think it's an overly important one. You can find quality starters who didn't play in a top conference (Warner, Favre, Romo, Flacco, Roethlisberger, et al).

 

Personally, I prefer Luck right now, if only because Mallett choked away the Alabama game. That being said, I prefer either (and Locker too, for that matter) than any QB other than Bradford in last year's draft, so I'm glad we waited and didn't pick some dud QB this year just because it was a need, knowing there are much better prospects in 2011.

Edited September 28, 2010 by Andrew in LA

[Billsguy]

Right Now I like Mallett over Luck and especially over Locker.

 

Kellen Moore is better than all of them. Boise State.

[Mr. WEO]

If Ralph's alive, no way he pays that kind of money for a QB.

[CarolinaBill]

Kellen Moore is better than all of them. Boise State.

kellen Moore is generously listed at 6 foot tall, has a weak arm and is left handed. He's a great college QB, but he wont even get drafted.

[The Dean]

I saw bits and pieces of both games. Not a good way to judge, I know. But from what I saw, Luck looked like an NFL QB. He seemed smart and polished and was making good throws. Mallet looked like a raw big guy with a cannon. Looked very flustered throwing away the game in the 4th quarter.

[1B4IDie]

If Ralph's alive, no way he pays that kind of money for a QB.

He doesn't have a choice if they draft top 3. It's all slotted. He would have to trade out to save the dough.

[The Dean]

He doesn't have a choice if they draft top 3. It's all slotted. He would have to trade out to save the dough.

 

 

He could trade the pick. And QBs do tend to get a bump on the slot in those early picks, so he could opt to not pick a QB, but another position.

 

Ralph likes to save money, but the idea he wouldn't pick a QB because he is cheap is a bit preposterous.

[Andrew in CA]

He could trade the pick. And QBs do tend to get a bump on the slot in those early picks, so he could opt to not pick a QB, but another position.

 

Ralph likes to save money, but the idea he wouldn't pick a QB because he is cheap is a bit preposterous.

Plus, after cutting Trent, you got to believe that they are targeting a Round 1 QB. Frankly, if they don't get either of these guys, there might be a riot in Buffalo.

[BobbyC81]

Kellen Moore is better than all of them. Boise State.

 

I like Kellen Moore, too!! They have some nice paint colors. Oh wait, you're talking about the QB.

 

Seriously, even though he usually isn't playing against top competition, he has at the start of this year(Oregon St)

I've been impressed with his leadership & decision making.

[Mr. WEO]

He doesn't have a choice if they draft top 3. It's all slotted. He would have to trade out to save the dough.

Or pick DB. My point was he would pass on the QB. Why on earth would he spend the money at that point??