Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Cosell on the 2 qbs (he prefers Wentz fwiw)
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InvaderRam.
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April 16, 2016 at 9:24 am #42075
znModeratorGreg Cosell’s draft preview: Jared Goff’s strengths and flaws
Greg Cosell
I see a lot of good traits in Cal quarterback Jared Goff. His size, throwing ability and pocket attributes are all first-round pick worthy.
I think Goff is a more natural and better overall thrower than Marcus Mariota. Overall I think he’s a better prospect than Mariota or Jameis Winston, who went with the first two picks of last year’s draft. But a few questions remain, and they need to be looked at hard by NFL teams.
The two biggest issues I have with Goff are questions about his ability to deal with the adversity of the game and dealing with pass rush pressure.
When I look at the Utah game, it’s not a good piece of tape for Goff. He threw five interceptions, but it’s more than just the number of interceptions. It was more worrisome how his tendency to play fast and hurried showed in that game and led to the turnovers. He didn’t react well in this game.
This hurried throw in the face of the pass rush when he had nobody open is a good example of how his poise and composure must be evaluated carefully:
Goff’s feet at times can be a little jumpy and frenetic. That’s not a good thing, and you wonder how that will play out against the better and faster pass rushers in the NFL.
Despite that, Goff clearly has traits you look for in an NFL quarterback: light feet, good balance, pocket awareness and movement, compact delivery, natural accuracy. A third-and-5 throw against Washington is a good example of what Goff does well, moving well in the pocket, then delivering a strong, accurate throw for a 20-yard gain (it’s at 7:42 of this video).
One thing that consistently stood out about Goff was his natural ability to make the right kind of throw when needed. He threw with touch when needed and velocity when needed. Goff is an easy, natural thrower – his arm strength would be comparable to Matt Ryan. He is an aggressive thrower, willing to turn it loose at the intermediate levels and with the ability to throw with pace and touch when the situation calls for it. He has the look of a natural pocket quarterback at times.
There’s a lot that goes into playing quarterback in the NFL, but I saw some things that lead me to believe Goff can handle the subtle nuances of the position.
One thing he does is move his feet with his eyes always looking downfield, which is a refined attribute. Even though Cal’s offense is a shotgun spread offense in the mold of Hal Mumme and Mike Leach, it uses NFL route concepts with vertical and intermediate throws. Goff didn’t play in a dink-and-dunk offense. He has good functional movement in the pocket and is willing to turn it loose, which I like to see.
There are a lot of things to like about Goff. There are a few concerns, which really showed up in the Utah game, that NFL teams will have to look hard at. I think Carson Wentz is a better NFL prospect than Goff, and Wentz is my top quarterback in this draft, but Goff has a lot to offer as well.
April 16, 2016 at 9:25 am #42076znModeratorGreg Cosell’s draft preview: Carson Wentz’s valid Andrew Luck comp
Greg Cosell
Leading up to the NFL draft on April 28-30, NFL Films’ Greg Cosell will be sharing his views on many of the top prospects based on his extensive film study of those players.
Andrew Luck was considered a rare prospect, and as such, people are hesitant to compare other high-level prospects to Luck.
I believe Carson Wentz is a high-level prospect, my top quarterback in this draft class, and I think the comparison to Luck is valid.
What happens down the road in any prospect’s career is pure speculation, and how Wentz does in the NFL is a product of many variables. So I don’t know how Wentz’s NFL career will compare to what Luck has done or will continue to do. But I see many similarities between the two quarterbacks.
Like Luck, Wentz is smart. He was a 4.0 student at North Dakota State. Physically, the two are similar, and we’ll get to that in a bit. One thing that stood out to me about Wentz is his poise in critical moments. That reminds me of Luck as well.
Wentz, with his team trailing 28-24 against Northern Iowa last season, led a late drive and threw a game-winning touchdown in the final minute. He converted a couple key fourth downs and showed outstanding poise and composure. It was an excellent combination of patience and aggressiveness. (Move ahead to 11:24 of the video below to watch him lead the game-winning drive.)
Physically there’s a lot to like about Wentz too, and there are more reminders of Luck. Wentz is a very good athlete for a 6-foot-5, 237-pound quarterback (Wentz is actually a smoother-looking athlete than Luck because his body type is different: he is longer and leaner than Luck despite weighing 237 pounds). He has an awareness of how to play the position, like Luck. He has the ability to drive the ball when the throw demands it, as Luck does.
Wentz has very good arm strength. He is a tight, compact, easy thrower for a big quarterback. The ball comes out with velocity. Wentz can clearly drive the ball, which is a result of a strong core and lower body.
Wentz isn’t just a fastball thrower. He has showed the refinement to throw with touch and pace when demanded. He can make firm, touch seam throws that are part of NFL passing games. He showed an excellent feel for the different kinds of throws that are necessary for the situation.
There were other things I liked about Wentz when I watched the film: He had an excellent command of the offense, controlling the game at the line of scrimmage when needed with a lot of audibles and checks. He excelled in a structured passing game that asked him to make progression reads and difficult NFL-type throws. All of that will help in his transition to the pro game.
He also is a good runner. There were times when the NDSU offense looked like the Carolina Panthers offense with its multiple backfield actions and run game dimensions.
If a team decides to use Wentz as a regular part of their running game, as the Panthers do with Cam Newton, he has the ability to excel in that role.
Wentz has many skills you like to see, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be an NFL success. Going back to the Luck example, even though the assumption was that Luck’s decision making wouldn’t be a problem in the NFL because of his high-level intelligence, he hasn’t been a consistently good decision maker in the pros — that’s a part of Luck’s game he must continue to work on. So it’s always tough to project any prospect, no matter the position. There’s a lot of variables involved in becoming a high-level NFL player, especially at quarterback.
I can only tell you what I’ve seen on tape from the prospects going into the draft. And what I’ve seen from Wentz is pretty good. He’s my No. 1 quarterback in this draft.
April 16, 2016 at 10:10 am #42083
InvaderRamModeratori can see that. i could see a little luck in wentz.
wentz is a smart guy. one report had him scoring a 29 in the wonderlic. another report had it at 40. who knows what the truth is or even what that means in terms of making split second decisions on a football field but you’d think he’d have no problems learning a playbook.
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