Mizzou football 2010

[cardsfansince82]

Everything else is top notch pro skills from Gabbert. Feet, arm, legs, awareness, toughness, competitiveness, even lifting his mediocre skill position players to new levels.

These are all things that someone who has watched him play a lot would know. I've already said his measurables are very good and never denied his pro prospects. I question his ability to play under center and some intangibles/decision making. I could give you specific examples if you want. Considering he's the QB of my favorite college team I would have every reason to describe him as favorably as possible, but I try to remain objective. All I'm saying is I don't think he's a sure thing and I'm kind of confused by how quickly his draft stock has risen recently when he's been the same player all year. With the right coach and the right situation he could be successful in the NFL. He kind of reminds me of Drew Bledsoe, which would be a nice ceiling for sure, but he could easily be a bust too. I would love him as a late first or second rounder in a situation where he can sit and learn for a year or two. Not so much as a "let's give this guy a bunch of money and play him right away" top 5-10 pick. Taking a QB early in the draft is a huge decision that can make or break a franchise for several years.

[phins]

I definitely appreciate your input, and your viewpoint.

May I ask you a question? In what way does Gabbert remind you of Bledsoe? I don't see that at all. Bledsoe was a complete statue, and one of Gabbert's biggest strength's are his legs and feet. Not just to run, but to move around the pocket and avoid the rush.

I see Gabbert as more of a tick taller Aaron Rodgers.

Gabbert's stock has always been high as a future pro. Coming out of high school, he was the MVP of the Elite 11 camp, and tabbed with most pro potential. Fellow 5 star recruit Andrew Luck has moved ahead in that regard, but Gabbert has always been highly thought of in scouting circles.

If you've watched Gabbert as the season has progressed, you've seen his footwork improve exponentially. In the bowl game, he had the best footwork of the season (it looked as though he really prepared to showcase it for scouts to me). He should transition just fine with his drops in the NFL. Of course he has warts, every prospect does. I just really like the tools he brings to the game. I'm from Missouri, many friends went to Mizzou and follow them. People tend to be split on him. Good friend of mine, who did better than I did in this previous draft loathes Gabbert. I've just never been afraid to form my own opinion and be wrong on guys.

I like TJ Yates a lot in this upcoming draft, and think he'll be a very good pro, and that's definitely on an island.

Last draft I loved Clausen, and was dead wrong. If I wasn't ever wrong, I'd be doing this professionally. I'm sticking to my ranking of Gabbert being far ahead of Mallett or Newton though. He's the one guy that could be realistic for Miami that I really like as a prospect.

Fwiw, I give Luck the highest ranking I've ever given any prospect since I've been amateurishly doing this. He's on another level as a prospect.

[robbotis]

I don't get the Gabbert hate.
He was the 2nd most succesful QB at the school, ever. Just because he followed in the footsteps of everyone's favorite little underdog, people hate him.
He's strong armed, accurate, fast, by all accounts works hard and is likeable.
I think he'll be a heck of a NFL QB. I wish the Vikings would be able to snag him, but he'll likely, and rightfully, be gone by then.

[TheoSqua]

I think if Gabbart could have a career like Drew Bledsoe's he'd be pretty happy about that. Drew Bledsoe is a positive comparison in my book.

Also, Phins, Bledsoe was fairly mobile in his early years. He averaged two rushing attempts per game through his career and have a few years around 3 rushing attempts/game. He wasn't necessarily a GOOD mobile QB, but there's a lot of questions about Gabbert's decision making on the run as well.

Either way, if Miami can draft the next Drew Bledsoe that's a pretty good pick.

[TheoSqua]

I don't get the Gabbert hate.
He was the 2nd most succesful QB at the school, ever. Just because he followed in the footsteps of everyone's favorite little underdog, people hate him.
He's strong armed, accurate, fast, by all accounts works hard and is likeable.
I think he'll be a heck of a NFL QB. I wish the Vikings would be able to snag him, but he'll likely, and rightfully, be gone by then.

I don't think it's necessarily hate on Gabbert, just skepticism about his talent ceiling. Don't forget the favorite little underdog that you mention wasn't deemed an NFL talent by the bulk on this board.

[JL21]

I don't get the Gabbert hate.
He was the 2nd most succesful QB at the school, ever. Just because he followed in the footsteps of everyone's favorite little underdog, people hate him.
He's strong armed, accurate, fast, by all accounts works hard and is likeable.
I think he'll be a heck of a NFL QB. I wish the Vikings would be able to snag him, but he'll likely, and rightfully, be gone by then.

Who said anything about hate? Certainly nobody in this thread. And the Daniel comment about him being everyone's "favorite little underdog" is ridiculous. Daniel got a ton of praise and deserved all of it, by every single objective measure you could use. To suggest otherwise is flat-out wrong.

All cfs82 is saying (and I agree) is that there are some things that he feels like Gabbert needs to work on before he'll be a 1st round quality QB. Is that really such a huge deal? EVERYONE would tell you that he's strong armed and fleet of foot. His accuracy is garbage on deep routes- he very consistently flings the ball into the next county, missing wide open WR's by some 20 yards, which of course looks impressive because it shows off his rocket launcher but also disappointing because it's nowhere near the wide open WR- but that's correctable. He also bails on the pocket too soon, which is more or less a consensus on GRB among the people who follow Mizzou the most. He gets happy feet. It was bad in the Illinois game, decent (but not great) against Iowa, bad against Iowa St... It generally improved throughout the year but there's still some work to be done. I hope Blaine Gabbert has a HOF career and that 82 and I are both way off base with what we've seen from the guy. He's been a damned good QB at Mizzou and there's not a single person in this thread that would dispute that.

[Freed Roger]

Aaron Rodgers?...no. more like Ryan Leaf.

Festivus...Festivus.

Real good analysis/discussion.

Really -IMO, he has more of the look/style of Ben Roethlisberger for comparative purposes. With quite a ways to go to be that good.

[Faceman]

Should I want my 49ers to draft Gabbert?

[phins]

I think if Gabbart could have a career like Drew Bledsoe's he'd be pretty happy about that. Drew Bledsoe is a positive comparison in my book.

Also, Phins, Bledsoe was fairly mobile in his early years. He averaged two rushing attempts per game through his career and have a few years around 3 rushing attempts/game. He wasn't necessarily a GOOD mobile QB, but there's a lot of questions about Gabbert's decision making on the run as well.

Either way, if Miami can draft the next Drew Bledsoe that's a pretty good pick.

I feel like you missed the point.

If Miami got a QB who had a career like Bledsoe, I'd be ecstatic. Bledsoe is on the short list of just missed Hall of Famers.

My point is that Bledsoe doesn't seem similar to Gabbert as a player. Gabbert will run in that 4.6-4.7 area, and has decent agility. Bledsoe was never anywhere near that mobile, had a stronger arm, threw more over the top, had a longer, slower release, and was a different type of player.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Gabbert has 4.6-4.7 speed, but he's not all that quick until he gets going in a straight line. And he's going to be that much slower relative to NFL defenses.

I think everyone acknowledges that Gabbert has a few things to work on, and they're mostly in the mental/instinctual realm. However, pretty much all draft prospects have something to work on, and Gabbert's are more fixable than others(Chase Daniel isn't getting any taller or any more arm strength, for example). The fact that Gabbert isn't a finished product ready to step in and be one of the 10 best QBs in the world doesn't mean he's not a good pick at some point(or any point, really) in the 1st round.