FanPost

My Cardale Write-Up



Here's my write up of Jones. As I see it, we might as well pay Tyrod $30 million a season because we have no other options....

I hope Dan L is right on this one and I'm completely wrong, but I just do not see it. >CARDALE JONES (Ohio State. Junior) – My beloved Twelve-Guage. My favorite player… to bash.

Acknowledgment: I lost A LOT of money two years ago betting against Ohio State in the NCAA playoffs. Like, I’m mad thinking about the burned potential vacation money. And you know what, do I blame Jones for costing me a ton? NOOOOOOO. I blame Ezekiel Elliott and the OSU offensive line. That should tell everyone how impressed I was with his ‘magical’ run two years ago.

Acknowledgment 2: He made the stupidest mistake I’ve ever seen any of these guys make: going back to school when there was only 3 games of film. 3 impressive games of film. Jones was misadvised. He should have entered the draft and refused to do private workouts or attend the combine. I guarantee a team would have traded into the 1st round to select the enigma. There would have been so much mystery, a team would have. But no, he went back to school and showed nothing! Sigh, Twelve Guage….

PRO’S:

1. Arm Strength – Best arm in the draft. Hands down, the best arm. He could challenge JaMarcus to a throw off and handle himself nicely (more JaMarcus Russel comparisons later).

2. Size – He’s the size of a linebacker.

CON’S:

1. Processing Time – Really, I could make my argument against Cardale here, and just end it. No coach and I mean no coach ever: Beli-cheat, Walsh, Lombardi, NO ONE will be able to help Cardale process fast enough to be an NFL qb. If anyone believes that EJ can not see the field; EJ is twice as good at it as Cardale is. You can literally watch him snap the ball and process his options; the problem: I don’t think he knows his options. The cliché deer in headlights applies. And this is against college defenses…my goodness, what will happen in the NFL? I can’t wait to watch it, as long as it isn’t on the Bills.

I can prove my point on one play.

ONE PLAY—

Against Maryland that showcases everything you need to know about Twelve-Guage. It was the 2nd play of the game. A fake zone read play. Cardale is looking right immediately, trying to watch his receiver that must have been his only read. Even as he is faking the handoff he stares right. Once he fakes the handoff, I honestly think he forgets that players on the other team might, just maybe, be trying to sack him. Jones literally hops on his feet continuing to look right without paying any attention to the rushers. Finally he realizes that whoever his option was is not open and he picks up his head, only to find a defender hitting him.

This play is so bad. I can’t even begin to explain how bad it is…nobody who does this stuff will ever, I mean ever, be able to play in the NFL. Period. Point blank. End of discussion!

2. Rawness – I hate the term ‘raw’ when it comes to a potential NFL quarterback. No qb guru can turn a ‘raw’ qb into an NFL star. None. The only one who might come close, going to stardom from rawness, is Steve McNair.

Air McNair played at Alcorn State in the SWAC. He played in an air-it-out system against subpar competition. When he was selected 3rd overall, it took him time to learn the NFL. Eventually he overcame his ‘rawness’ to become an above average player.

I mention this because I want to be clear, Twelve Guage is NOT Steve McNair.

McNair was a top notch athlete. He turned down a scholarship to the U of Florida because they wanted him to be a running back. McNair wanted to be a quarterback, so he had to accept playing at a lower level to prove himself. McNair showed he could dominate. And by dominate, I remember paying $4.95 to watch him play a college game (this was when they had college games on Pay-Per-View). Cardale is nowhere near dominate….

The next point, McNair had to learn the craft playing at 1-AA school with subpar coaching (most likely. I definitely can’t prove it, but I think if they were quality coaches they’d be at the 1-A level making more money). Cardale has spent 4 years at Ohio State. Ohio State is one of the best programs in the nation (I hate to admit this). He has the best of the best in terms of tutelage. Playing under Urban Myer is a gift in itself. I’m sure he is constantly told about nuisances of the position, what to look for, how to read a defense. He practices against quality talent, so on a daily basis, the quarterback position should get easier.

Anyone who watched Jones this year knows it didn’t get easier. He struggled. And he struggled in games where OSU had the supreme talent against lower-level competition….Hawaii, Northern Illonois, Maryland.

And if you think about ‘raw’ quarterbacks and how many develop into franchise signal callers: name me 3 raw qbs who did anything at the pro level?

Point 3 – The guy is 24 years old. 24?????? If he is still confused now, at the college level, when he is already older than most graduate transfers, what is going to happen in the pro’s? Will a team actually give him 5 years to grow into a quarterback who MIGHT be able to learn a playbook….please…

A quarterback needs to be smart….could Cardale pass a Regent’s exam? Would he be able to show off his Regent’s diploma? I’m guessing Twelve-Guage is on the non-Regent’s track.

3. Dual Threat – This one annoys me - people saying Cardale can be a dual-threat qb. NO WAY IN HELL!!!!

I’ll start by asking this, is Big Ben a dual threat qb? Because if Big Ben is, then Cardale might be.

I’ve seen many analysts claim that Cardale can be the new age qb that teams covet. The type that can run the read option, and also be able to throw it. Cam Newton is the perfect example of a prototypical dual threat NFL quarterback. Cam’s MVP season has been incredible. He zings the ball through the air, but he’s also run over linebackers, defensive ends, safeties. Watch the play from week 16 against the Falcons that exemplifies just how tough Cam is to bring down. And Cardale and Cam are roughly the same size: Cardale 250. Cam 245…

Well Cam ran a 4.58 at the combine. Now that is remarkable for a guy of his size. He actually outran Tyrod in the same 2011 combine (Tyrod ran a 4.59). Now that is a dual threat and why Cam can do both successfully…

Cardale might – he may --- break a 4.8. For comparison sakes, Big Ben ran a 4.75 at the NFL combine. Cardale and Big Ben are also similar in stature and have a similar amount of athleticism. I’m pretty sure this showcases a dual threat qb from a qb who has to be a straight drop back guy.

Now, can Cardale be a qb who runs for a first down now and again? Sure. All qbs can do that. Jim Kelly did that and he’s not dual threat. But is he going to be a qb you need to spy on every play. No way!

OVERALL ANALYSIS: I could go on and on about pocket presence and throwing with anticipation or tossing into tight windows or struggling to lead the most talented team in the nation or getting benched for JT Barrett—he lost the job to his own team for Christ’s sakes. On top of this he is 24 years old…24!!!!! Shouldn’t a quarterback have more of a learning curve at 24???? But guess what, ‘he don’t play school!’

(Post-draft edit: Whaley can shut-up about that 61% completion percentage in college...EJ Manuel had a 66% completion percentage coming out....and I think EJ is more accurate than 12-Guage.. But coach it up Roman)

Watch that play against Maryland. 2nd play of the game. And I retort, "Nothing left to see here."

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.