The latter paragraph of the Blaine Gabbert post from six months back proved to be anything but prophetic. At the time it seemed that Gabbert was entering a solid organization with stable ownership (team has since been sold), a long term coach (fired at the same time), an experienced, successful, offensive co-ordinator (feuded with H.C. during season, passed over as interim H.C., likely gone in off season).
On the field, incumbent quarterback David Garrard was cut loose on the eve of the regular season, due to a combination of poor training camp and ownership's desire to move in a new direction. The promising young bookend tackles Monroe and Britton, seldom played together, with Britton missing numerous games due to injury, and Monroe struggling alongside rookie guard Will Rackley. The receiving corps was horrendous, with the lone draftee Cecil Shorts contributing nothing, while incumbents Mike Thomas and Jason Hill performing poorly. To the point that Hill was cut loose as a parade of tryouts began, including former starter Mike Sims-Walker who was cut loose in the off season. Marcedes Lewis, who was supposed to be the bell weather, missed training camp while recovering from injury, signed a fat contract, and basically disappeared during the regular season. In a season with disappointments and failed expectations, Lewis stood out as the worst of them all. He is hanging on as a veteran leader and team spokesman, but his job is in peril for next season. Backup receiving tight end Zach Miller, a favorite target of Gabbert early on, was lost for the season due to injury.
After Garrard was cut loose, the team went briefly with backup Luke McCown, to give the kid more time to prepare, without having had a normal training camp to adjust to the league. McCown fell apart badly in the second game of the season and Gabbert came in much earlier than expected or hoped for. He had some moments early on, then the pressure and lack of support seemed to throw his game off during the midpoint stretch of the season. Sale of the team and turnovers in coaching staff followed on that. Blaine is keeping his head above water, but not much more, as the season winds down, and the injuries pile up. His stats to this point are about average for a rookie starter in the league, but he is getting a lot of extra pressure because other rookies drafted before and after him have performed well.
But you can see Blaine on the field make the throws that caught everyone's attention prior to the draft. The work ethic and leadership skills have been as advertised. Most impressively perhaps is the way he has handled himself amongst the chaos and breakdowns around him. With class, poise, and no public show of uncertainty. On the surface at least, he seems to be dealing with the difficulties well, adapting to the changing situations, and internalizing the lessons of adversity for future reference.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
NFL Draft 2011
Grading players for the NFL draft is a very subjective process, although with intense scrutiny over a period of several months, and probably tens of thousands of viewpoints published, a concensus of sorts emerges. The draft itself loosely follows that concensus, but the likelyhood of any single prognosticator coming up with the right selections in the right order probably does not last to the tenth pick of the first round. In 2011, Cam Newton was the first overall pick despite being generally considered the second best player at his position in the draft. Most high profile media scouting agencies and draft analysts, along with a majority of NFL scouts polled, felt Blaine Gabbert was the best quarterback available, and about the tenth best prospect overall.
As it turns out, Gabbert was taken with the tenth overall pick, by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who traded up six positions to acquire his rights. But he was the third quarterback taken in the draft, behind Newton and Jake Locker taken with the eighth overall pick. Gabbert's good friend Christian Ponder went just two slots later at number twelve overall. The talk was that Gabbert "slid" in the draft, but in fact it was more a case of other quarterbacks being taken much higher than they were rated on the big board. Blaine certainly wanted to go as high as possible in the draft, but the mild "slide" may prove beneficial to his career in the long run.
Being selected at the tenth overall spot offers a good blend of anonymity and reduced expectations along with a very healthy entry level contract. Gabbert's new teammate with the Jaguars, Tyson Alualu, was selected in the same spot a year earlier and signed a contract worth around $28 million, with $17.5 million guaranteed. A new rookie wage scale figures to push that number down somewhat, but quarterbacks generally get a position bonus added to their contract, so Blaine should be compensated somewhere in the same vicinity. More than enough money for anyone's lifetime with reasonable spending habits.
By dropping somewhat, and having the Jags move up from their original draft position, Gabbert landed on a team who finished the previous season with an 8-8 record, and one of the better offensive performances in the league. There is a stable coaching staff in place, with Jack Del Rio among the league's senior coachs in terms of service despite his relative youth. Offensive co-ordinator Dirk Koetter has been at the job for 5 years, and is highly respected for the work he does. The general manager position was created specifically for incumbent Gene Smith, who worked for the team in various front office capacities since it's inception sixteen years ago. Owner Wayne Weaver is a class act, has had the team since it's birth, and is dedicated to keeping it in the city.
On the field, Gabbert joins an offense led by veteran signal caller David Garrard, a hard working 10 year vet, who has been the starter for the past five seasons. Garrard is in his prime at 33 years of age, and has ranked among the top ten quarterbacks in the league for overall performance since he became a starter. He is a soft spoken, likeable leader of strong integrity. Garrard is supported by one of the league's top running backs in Maurice Jones-Drew, an inspirational overacheiver who is in his prime at 26. The other current star of the offense is also a 26 year old west coaster, Marcedes Lewis, the strapping 270 pound tight end. Lewis is a solid receiver, a strong blocker, and a respected leader. Two young offensive tackles taken in the first two rounds of the 2009 draft, Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, provide bookend protection on the offensive line.
As it turns out, Gabbert was taken with the tenth overall pick, by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who traded up six positions to acquire his rights. But he was the third quarterback taken in the draft, behind Newton and Jake Locker taken with the eighth overall pick. Gabbert's good friend Christian Ponder went just two slots later at number twelve overall. The talk was that Gabbert "slid" in the draft, but in fact it was more a case of other quarterbacks being taken much higher than they were rated on the big board. Blaine certainly wanted to go as high as possible in the draft, but the mild "slide" may prove beneficial to his career in the long run.
Being selected at the tenth overall spot offers a good blend of anonymity and reduced expectations along with a very healthy entry level contract. Gabbert's new teammate with the Jaguars, Tyson Alualu, was selected in the same spot a year earlier and signed a contract worth around $28 million, with $17.5 million guaranteed. A new rookie wage scale figures to push that number down somewhat, but quarterbacks generally get a position bonus added to their contract, so Blaine should be compensated somewhere in the same vicinity. More than enough money for anyone's lifetime with reasonable spending habits.
By dropping somewhat, and having the Jags move up from their original draft position, Gabbert landed on a team who finished the previous season with an 8-8 record, and one of the better offensive performances in the league. There is a stable coaching staff in place, with Jack Del Rio among the league's senior coachs in terms of service despite his relative youth. Offensive co-ordinator Dirk Koetter has been at the job for 5 years, and is highly respected for the work he does. The general manager position was created specifically for incumbent Gene Smith, who worked for the team in various front office capacities since it's inception sixteen years ago. Owner Wayne Weaver is a class act, has had the team since it's birth, and is dedicated to keeping it in the city.
On the field, Gabbert joins an offense led by veteran signal caller David Garrard, a hard working 10 year vet, who has been the starter for the past five seasons. Garrard is in his prime at 33 years of age, and has ranked among the top ten quarterbacks in the league for overall performance since he became a starter. He is a soft spoken, likeable leader of strong integrity. Garrard is supported by one of the league's top running backs in Maurice Jones-Drew, an inspirational overacheiver who is in his prime at 26. The other current star of the offense is also a 26 year old west coaster, Marcedes Lewis, the strapping 270 pound tight end. Lewis is a solid receiver, a strong blocker, and a respected leader. Two young offensive tackles taken in the first two rounds of the 2009 draft, Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, provide bookend protection on the offensive line.
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