Why is Blaine Gabbert a top prospect in this years draft?

I was waiting for someone to bring up Yates……I do not want in any form or fashion….I’m excited to see the Heels move on without him…

his is an Average college QB who NO ONE mentioned before Luck decided not to declare as a top NFL prospect and a potienall Carolina Panther. Why is this?

We’ve answered this a million times. It’s because he didn’t declare until after Luck decided to stay in school. He was considered a top QB prospect in next year’s draft, but then he suddenly decided to enter the NFL and everybody reacted accordingly.

Reading this article brought up memories of when I read an article that broke in mid 2010 from the former agent that spilled the beans about early contact with agents, and payments ect.

The part of that article which I am reminded of is when he gives a few scenarios where because of association with Kiper he would get Kiper to call during a meeting with the college guy and pump up his ego and get him a boost via his big board and mocks.

I looked for the article but couldn’t find it.. but i didn’t look very hard at all.

Good post.. i really enjoyed it.

Also: Go Ponder! Go Noles!

Some of you people are funny.

But is superior to them in athleticism. What’s the big deal about that? It’s true he is a better athlete.

But you’ve asked this question at least a hundred times and you’ve been presented with all the evidence as to why people rate Gabbert as high as they do. If you can’t at least understand why he is rated as highly as he is, that is no one’s fault but your own. Gabbert, at this moment, is a more complete QB. Newton has more raw physical abilities. But I’ll answer your questions for you:

1) Yes and no. He was expected to come out next year, not this year. And next year, he was expected to be a clear #1 QB overall. You could ask that same question of Newton or any other non-Senior. Who ever spoke of them before this year?

2) That’s really the same question as before. People weren’t talking about any QBs besides Luck before his announcement. And that’s just the way it goes. Usually no one talks about players who haven’t declared unless they’re seniors. Luck is an exception because he was exceptional. And it also depends on your definition of “top rated” as well. Do you mean top rated prospect or top rated college performer? Those are two different things.

3) I’ll assume you mean “As you watch film” and in that case I would have to say that he has his issues. That hop-throw on the run crap isn’t going to cut it in the NFL. He also has a habit of rolling out to the right, which cuts off half the field for him to throw to (not a bad thing if you have a bunch formation to the right though). Both of those problems are very easy to correct.

4) Probably 2 or 3. Same as Newton.

I desperately need that 15 mins of my life back

At least for me. I’ve been very pro Gabbert… He’s the most well-rounded QB in this draft. He can do everything from athleticism to making all the throws. But he’s still not a super high-ceiling prospect for most. And that sort of makes me feel like I’m settling for mediocrity.

Cam is definitely a big risk, but at least he has many supporters pro and amateur that sware he has a huge ceiling, and by far the highest in this draft.

So what do we do? Take the safe pick or follow the old adage “No risk no reward”? I’m not there yet, but starting to move towards taking Cam with a wing and a prayer.

But I wish ESPN or NFL would put Gabbert, Newton, Mallet, Locker, Ponder, Dalton, Stanzi, and Kaepernick through the exact same tests individually, and have a series of specials so that you could see a side-by-side comparison of their strengths and weaknesses in relation to each other.

- Whiteboard test – Diagram and explain the same plays.
- Have the QBs view and explain what they see in the same clips of game film of actual NFL games.
- Have the QBs view and explain film of their own games – honestly analyze strengths and weaknesses.
- Sports Science-like tests testing the same aspects for each QB – throwing mechanics, release, velocity of throws, accuracy on various routes, footwork on dropbacks, aerobic capacity, rate at which they can accelerate and maximum speed on runs, etc. (the latter of which, I can’t help but say, Newton is astounding based on his Sports Science analysis)
- Try to simulate actual game situations with a semblence of speed as much as possible without killing the QBs – basically hardcore flag football where a rushing defender grabbing a flag equals a sack. It’s not a secret that I like Ponder…and I’d be very interested in seeing him particularly in a test like this. From what I have seen, it seems like he has this internal clock and natural instinct to feel rushers closing in on him and how to best respond (holding on in the pocket and stepping up, rolling out, scrambling for yardage, etc.)
- Have former NFL QBs evaluate the QBs – former pros who aren’t employed by ESPN or NFL Network, or mentoring the QB they’re analyzing, or tied to the agent of the specific QB they’re analyzing.

I know it’s not something to expect, but honestly, would that not help everyone (mainly fans) get a better feel for the entire skillsets of the QBs coming up in the draft? I think a special series like that would be absolutely fascinating – particularly in a draft class where there are legitimate concerns with each and every QB. Right now, everyone’s comparing apples to oranges to grapes to bananas to whatever other fruit you choose. Like I said, they all have some clear weaknesses. But I do think there are biases that aren’t always justfied. Example, a bias based on the style of offense a QB ran. A college QB doesn’t control what offense a coach ran – running a pro offense versus a spread offense doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to translate to success or struggle in the pros. Running a simple one-read spread to a multiple-read spread doesn’t mean the latter QB is automatically going to be better than that former, and it doesn’t mean the latter QB has to be “smarter” than the former. There’s sometimes a bias based on past injuries. Yeah, it’s something to take into account, but when a player shows that he can play through or quickly bounce back, shouldn’t that count for something? A QB isn’t going to be kept in perfect health in the pros – ask Stafford, Palmer, Favre, or even our (former) own Delhomme.

Anyway, as to Gabbert, I truly don’t think he should be the consensus highest-rated QB. I don’t think any one of them should be the consensus Are there reasons as to why some might think Gabbert should be the highest-rated? Sure. But I think there are legitimate reasons why other QBs could be considered stronger. Again, it’s apples and oranges trying to compare all of these guys, and I do think that there just may be a case of analysts acting like sheep following each other. Sports journalists do it all the time…why limit the trend to that one sector of the sports media? I don’t mean this as a diss to Gabbert. I like some things about him. But I like and dislike things about all of the other “top tier” and “second tier” QBs as well.

Panthers tell us who your going to pick! I can’t take this s**t for 17 more days!!

I have to say that I’m super-impressed by his recognition that we actually do have some weapons on offense. I literally cannot recall any other talking head this offseason saying anything good about our offense (except there may have been 1 or 2 mentions of Steve Smith). But Casserly gave props to not only Steve Smith, but said that the team’s high on the young WRs, that we have good RBs, that Shockey should help out the TE situation, and that part of the O-line is strong (I think that’s lind of debatable…but whatever).

I’ve seen a few say that our D was pretty decent other than the DT position, but I was flabbergasted to hear anyone say that we actually have potential on offense with a decent QB. It made me happy. =)

About Gabbert himself, "Athletic ability, I think, is excellent. The guy can move out of the pocket, he can throw on the run, he can make those kinds of plays. His arm is good enough to make all the throws. The Iowa game stands out to me. He made a number of terrific downfield throws in that game. Also, the guy can read a defense.

Emphasis mine.

Did Casserly even bother to watch the end of this game?

No more plz.

2 points….
1. Gabbert looks good on film.
2. Athleticism is very much a desired quality for a number of obvious reasons. Just look at Cam Newton’s highlight reel from 2010. It’s also worthy of your time to revisit the first Panthers vs. Bucs game last year. Watch how many times Freeman escaped pressure and scurried for a 1st down. Athleticism adds a whole new element to the game.

The only people left commenting are 2-3 fighting with each other… I think this topic has played out and everyone has had their say.