Welcome Mr. Stafford
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ninerinsider/detail?blogid=45&entry_id=38456
Matthew Stafford, come on down! The Georgia quarterback and possible first overall pick visited the 49ers today. What does this mean? It means the Lions could go with Baylor's Jason Smith with the first overall pick and that Stafford could tumble all the way down to no. 10.
We've seen this happen before with a highly-touted thrower. Aaron Rodgers and Brady Quinn both plummeted down the board despite predictions that they'd would possibly go first overall.
Here are the other possible meanings:
1. The 49ers are using another ploy to make it seem that they're interested in a franchise quarterback so they could trade back with other teams such as Denver and Washington who are desperately seeking a hurler.
2. Within the building, there's been a sublime loss of faith in former overall pick Alex Smith. General manager Scot McCloughan was the leader in the Draft Smith First campaign in 2005 and he's been supportive of him throughout Smith's troubled tenure. But maybe others (read Mike Singletary) don't believe Smith can be a field general. Smith didn't look sharp in the most recent minicamp and his passes wobbled more than usual. At one point after missing a receiver on a slant route, he doubled over and began shaking his arm. Is Smith fully healthy? Is he recovering from his latest surgery without a glitch? Hmmmm.
3. Having Stafford come in is awkward. Stafford said a 49ers psychologist pressed him about his parents divorce and Stafford said it was strange compared to other teams who asked him to draw plays. One report said Stafford shot back then asked the psychologist how much she made. Now Stafford is coming in for more questions and interviews? It's also awkward from Tom Condon's point of view. The NFL agent to the quarterbacks represents Stafford AND Alex Smith.
So what of Stafford? The arm strength is right there with Elway and Favre. He's 3-0 in bowl games; he beat three ranked opponents as a freshman. Like any quarterback with a bazooka arm, he has a tendency to fall in love with it at times and tries to wedge balls into tight spaces, which can result in bad decisions and even interceptions. He can get into cold streaks; he's coming out as a junior, which can be problematic for quarterbacks.
But he's the best quarterback in this year's draft, and his stock has only increased since the end of last football season. Here's what one scout, quoted in Pro Football Weekly, said of his pro day: "Stafford clearly was working on his footwork. It was a lot better at his pro day. His accuracy was pretty damn good. He threw two bad balls out of 50. He was zinging it with velocity and was throwing 100-MPH fastballs on the money. It was impressive. He's not a rah-rah, vocal leader, but he knows the game."
Of course what quarterback have you ever heard of who had a bad pro day. In Utah, they cheered Alex Smith after his pro day. Now if only Stafford can push cars around like Jim Druckenmiller and throw a ball through the goal posts while sitting on his knees at the 50-yard line like Kyle Boller, then everyone will know if he's a quarterback!
The obvious question is, if he's there, do the 49ers take him?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ninerinsider/detail?blogid=45&entry_id=38456
Matthew Stafford, come on down! The Georgia quarterback and possible first overall pick visited the 49ers today. What does this mean? It means the Lions could go with Baylor's Jason Smith with the first overall pick and that Stafford could tumble all the way down to no. 10.
We've seen this happen before with a highly-touted thrower. Aaron Rodgers and Brady Quinn both plummeted down the board despite predictions that they'd would possibly go first overall.
Here are the other possible meanings:
1. The 49ers are using another ploy to make it seem that they're interested in a franchise quarterback so they could trade back with other teams such as Denver and Washington who are desperately seeking a hurler.
2. Within the building, there's been a sublime loss of faith in former overall pick Alex Smith. General manager Scot McCloughan was the leader in the Draft Smith First campaign in 2005 and he's been supportive of him throughout Smith's troubled tenure. But maybe others (read Mike Singletary) don't believe Smith can be a field general. Smith didn't look sharp in the most recent minicamp and his passes wobbled more than usual. At one point after missing a receiver on a slant route, he doubled over and began shaking his arm. Is Smith fully healthy? Is he recovering from his latest surgery without a glitch? Hmmmm.
3. Having Stafford come in is awkward. Stafford said a 49ers psychologist pressed him about his parents divorce and Stafford said it was strange compared to other teams who asked him to draw plays. One report said Stafford shot back then asked the psychologist how much she made. Now Stafford is coming in for more questions and interviews? It's also awkward from Tom Condon's point of view. The NFL agent to the quarterbacks represents Stafford AND Alex Smith.
So what of Stafford? The arm strength is right there with Elway and Favre. He's 3-0 in bowl games; he beat three ranked opponents as a freshman. Like any quarterback with a bazooka arm, he has a tendency to fall in love with it at times and tries to wedge balls into tight spaces, which can result in bad decisions and even interceptions. He can get into cold streaks; he's coming out as a junior, which can be problematic for quarterbacks.
But he's the best quarterback in this year's draft, and his stock has only increased since the end of last football season. Here's what one scout, quoted in Pro Football Weekly, said of his pro day: "Stafford clearly was working on his footwork. It was a lot better at his pro day. His accuracy was pretty damn good. He threw two bad balls out of 50. He was zinging it with velocity and was throwing 100-MPH fastballs on the money. It was impressive. He's not a rah-rah, vocal leader, but he knows the game."
Of course what quarterback have you ever heard of who had a bad pro day. In Utah, they cheered Alex Smith after his pro day. Now if only Stafford can push cars around like Jim Druckenmiller and throw a ball through the goal posts while sitting on his knees at the 50-yard line like Kyle Boller, then everyone will know if he's a quarterback!
The obvious question is, if he's there, do the 49ers take him?
