Draft Review: First 5 Picks

This is Cam Newton's college football career stats:

YEAR TEAM CMP ATT PCT YDS AVG TD LNG INT RAT
2007 FLA 5 10 50.0 40 4.0 0 14 0 83.6
2008 FLA 1 2 50.0 14 7.0 0 14 0 108.8
2010 AUB 185 280 66.1 2854 10.2 30 94 7 182.0

I still cannot understand for the life of me why you spend the #1 overall draft pick on a guy who had one good season in college football.

The Atlanta Falcons won a lot of games and advanced in the playoffs without Michael Vick every bothering himself with serious film study. One-look-and-run was his style.

Not saying it's the right way. But Vick showed it is possible to do well in the NFL with an inaccurate, fast-running quarterback. OK, super-fast running!

Unless Can Newton is a chronic liar, he's going to be hitting the playbook and the film room a lot harder than Vick did his first 6 seasons.

Based on Cam Newton's offensive background at Auburn, he'll need a lot of coaching up to get his game to an NFL level. The Panthers hired a defensive-minded Ron Rivera, which I would suspect leaves the bulk of the work to Rob Chudzinski (former offensive coordinator in Cleveland, whose background really is as a tight ends coach), and Mike Shula (who's had a few stints as an OC, a QB coach, and was the head man at Alabama for a few seasons). Not exactly a crew that would inspire a whole lot of confidence from me if I were a Panthers fan.

Chud's offense in Cleveland was very vertical. Newton has the arm to go down the field, but accuracy and reads have to be a big concern. DeAngelo Williams is also an unrestricted free agent, and he goes elsewhere, teams may be able to force Newton into long throwing situations quite a bit. Could get ugly in the first year.

I don't love A.J. Green to Cincinnati as much as everyone else. It might sound like sour grapes coming from a Browns fan who'd been stumping for Cleveland to draft him, but I thought Peterson might have been the better pick in this spot (or accepting that trade with Atlanta that they supposedly turned down and went to the Browns). Either way, Green should be an excellent player, but with the uncertainty at quarterback, Benson's free agency, and a more passing-oriented AFC North, I might have gone with Peterson. This might be nitpicking, though.

All in all, it's hard to really argue with 2-5, so I'm sure we'll talk most about Cam.

I still don't get how people can call 4.5 speed "a concern".

4.3 speed = 9.31 yards a second = 40 yards after 4.3 seconds.

4.4 speed = 9.09 yards a second = 39.09 yards after 4.3 seconds, or 32 inches behind the 4.3 guy.

4.5 speed = 8.88 yards a second = 38.18 yards after 4.3 second, or 65 inches behind the 4.3 guy.

So, I think two tenths means a real difference on the field, but not one tenth. A raised arm can provide the difference of 32 inches IMO, but nothing will ever defend the perfectly thrown ball.

I agree with Cris that AJ Green's speed is obviously not top end. Jerry Rice, Anquan Boldin and so many others didn't run great 40's but sure could play. I think Green has "functional football speed", carries his pads well. Some guys who run that crazy 40 time don't translate it to the field. I do feel that Green's best talent is the "contested catch". His 6'4" height and long arms plus great vertical jump give him a huge catching radius. He is one of those receivers who is open when he is thought to be covered. He can bail a QB out. The QB has to build a trust with him that in these contested catch situations if he can't make the play, he will make sure the defender doesn't.

Originally Posted by wxwax

The Atlanta Falcons won a lot of games and advanced in the playoffs without Michael Vick every bothering himself with serious film study. One-look-and-run was his style.

Not saying it's the right way. But Vick showed it is possible to do well in the NFL with an inaccurate, fast-running quarterback. OK, super-fast running!

Unless Can Newton is a chronic liar, he's going to be hitting the playbook and the film room a lot harder than Vick did his first 6 seasons.

Playing in Carolina and learning on the fly is a tough way to break into the NFL. I hope he plays well, but I couldn't have drafted him number 1.

40 time speed doesn't equal game speed.

Originally Posted by hobbes27

This is Cam Newton's college football career stats:

YEAR TEAM CMP ATT PCT YDS AVG TD LNG INT RAT
2007 FLA 5 10 50.0 40 4.0 0 14 0 83.6
2008 FLA 1 2 50.0 14 7.0 0 14 0 108.8
2010 AUB 185 280 66.1 2854 10.2 30 94 7 182.0

I still cannot understand for the life of me why you spend the #1 overall draft pick on a guy who had one good season in college football.

Well, that one season of college football produced 50 TDs. It's way more than you can say about Blaine Gabbert for sure. I'm not defending the Cam Newton pick, but I understand the intrigue.

Green is a very fluid big man. He gets in and out of his cuts like Chad Johnson in his prime. In the NFL the QB will have to throw it to him covered on deep balls and trust him.

I hope the Bengals are moving on at WR and QB. It is time to build a football team around passionate young players. I am willing to wait while they grow. Plus, if it flops this year, Andrew Luck awaits.

In order of personal preference:
1A-1B. Miller and Green - a tie, both are very special players with no visible flaws.
3. Peterson - may workout best as free safety but return value and overall athletic ability offer great potential.
4. Dareus - versatility a big plus, production good but not spectacular, will play hard.
5. Newton - still pretty much a high risk/reward pick. Maybe he is the QB of the future but that will need to be proven. Will they revamp an offense to utilize him?

It will take 2-3 years to find out which team won the quarterback derby.

Man, I wish that Carson Palmer would just stick around for one more year so he could play with this young, passionate recieving core. Chad, Housh, and Chris Henry once were Green, Shipley, Simpson and it was fun to watch in 05 and 06.

A.J. Green should be able to use his height and physical ability to compensate for 4.5 speed. Hopefully he runs good routes and Dalton is able to run the West Coast Offense and give Bengals fans hope for the future.

Tim Tebow did everything Cam Newton did in college and then some. While he didn't look too bad in the games he started for Denver, I never really saw him get comfortable in the pocket. Carolina's offense was as bad as I have ever seen last year so I do not see a scenario were he is not going to be running for his life on every play and he will not be running over NFL linebackers like he did in college.

Carolina drafts a QB with the first pick after taking a QB in the second round last year. Plus, they took Edwards and Pike last year as well. Their incompetence at recognizing and developing talent will be an embarrassment to Charlotte for years to come. This isn't the SEC, and you can't run around the defense at this level. Simply depressing

I think the Bengals should play Andy Dalton all year no matter what happens. He will get a year of experience, and if it is a complete disaster, Andrew Luck awaits. I am ready for the Bengals to hit the re-set button. Get rid of all headaches and get some passion in that locker room.

Originally Posted by Cris Collinsworth

Green is a very fluid big man. He gets in and out of his cuts like Chad Johnson in his prime. In the NFL the QB will have to throw it to him covered on deep balls and trust him.

I hope the Bengals are moving on at WR and QB. It is time to build a football team around passionate young players. I am willing to wait while they grow. Plus, if it flops this year, Andrew Luck awaits.

If the Bengals get to draft Carson Palmer and Andrew Luck within ten years, I might just snap.

As I understand it, if Carolina's o-line is healthy this year (it wasn't last season) it could be pretty good. They also have good running backs.

That should take some pressure off the QB. Their glaring need is at wide receiver, especially if Steve Smith departs.

Defense was the team's biggest weakness. That probably explains Ron Rivera and 4 defensive draft picks.

Originally Posted by Cris Collinsworth

I am ready for the Bengals to hit the re-set button. Get rid of all headaches and get some passion in that locker room.

Where does the head coach fit in that makeover?

Re: Bengals rebuilding

Originally Posted by wxwax

Where does the head coach fit in that makeover?

I agree. It's hard not to look at this situation, at least in part, as reflecting Marvin Lewis's work as the head man.

Originally Posted by mkocs6

Re: Bengals rebuilding


I agree. It's hard not to look at this situation, at least in part, as reflecting Marvin Lewis's work as the head man.

I agree to an extent. But you also have to keep in mind that he's a head coach who's had (problem) players repeatedly heaped on him and without the authority to discipline them.

I don't think Marvin's an awesome coach, but I think he's pretty good. He's made the best of a bad situation over the last 8 years.

Originally Posted by Cris Collinsworth

I think the Bengals should play Andy Dalton all year no matter what happens. He will get a year of experience, and if it is a complete disaster, Andrew Luck awaits. I am ready for the Bengals to hit the re-set button. Get rid of all headaches and get some passion in that locker room.

As an avid Bengals fan, I agree. Now, we just need MB to accept a trade for Carson and Chad. Package deal to Seattle maybe. Get something for them and get rid of them.