[Deb]

SANCHEZ-STAFFORD BECOMING THE NEXT MANNING-LEAF?

Posted by Mike Florio on February 23, 2009, 6:57 a.m.

With Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford present at the Scouting Combine but merely a bystander while his peers show what they can do in increasingly fancy T-shirts and shorts, USC one-year starter Mark Sanchez possibly has converted the contest between the two players into a Peyton Manning-Ryan Leaf dilemma, circa 1998.

Per Albert Breer and Russ Lande of Sporting News Today, it’s now neck-and-neck.

Or, as NFLN’s Mike Mayock called it, “a two-horse race.” (Which is far better than calling it a “two-dog fight.”)

Frankly, we were troubled by those images of Stafford, present at the Combine but coming off as a guy who was either too good for the process or too lazy to jump in and do things that should be second nature for a guy who anticipates making a living off of doing what he has been doing for years.

And we don’t care that past quarterbacks didn’t do it. There’s no reason to not do it, in our view. And if Sanchez leapfrogs Stafford this year, maybe future quarterbacks will show up and throw the ball.

Frankly, we think it’s better to not be there at all than to be seen standing around, like the presumptive King of the quarterback class.

[Doyle]

What I am afraid of is the hype being attitubted to Sanchez. Look, this guy played for one of the best teams in the NCAA.....and he has 300 career passes. Now if this guy had pulled the same numbers with....let's say.....Red's SC Game****************s. Those numbers would be much more impressive, but they weren't. He did that on a team with top notch weapons all around him and a massive O-Line in front of him.
I could be proven wrong, but this guy has Tim Couch and Ryan Leaf written ALL over him! (sorry, Ray-Ray)

[TrojanHorse]

Originally Posted by Doyle

What I am afraid of is the hype being attitubted to Sanchez. Look, this guy played for one of the best teams in the NCAA.....and he has 300 career passes. Now if this guy had pulled the same numbers with....let's say.....Red's SC Game****************s. Those numbers would be much more impressive, but they weren't. He did that on a team with top notch weapons all around him and a massive O-Line in front of him.
I could be proven wrong, but this guy has Tim Couch and Ryan Leaf written ALL over him! (sorry, Ray-Ray)

I think Sanchez should have stayed, in terms of development, but I can't fault him for not wanting to exit in the same draft class as Sam Bradford. The thing about the talent around him, this was supposed to be a horrible offensive year at USC. John David Booty left last year, but more important, he took 4 of 5 starting offensive linemen with him. They also lost the tight end, Fred Davis, who was the team's leading receiver in 2007. Sanchez didn't have the benefit of a Steve Smith or Dwayne Jarrett out wide, as both Leinart and Booty did.

But still, If it was all about the talent surrounding the QBs at USC, Carson Palmer, Matt Cassel, and Matt Leinart should fail. Some say Leinart has failed, but how many QBs are going to start over Kurt Warner? I admit JD Booty is overrated. I've been saying it for years, and was glad to see him leave. Matt Cassel had ZERO starting numbers at USC, because he never opened a game under center. When the NFL is drafting a QB off someone's bench, in a year that the Heisman winning QB didn't get drafted at all (OU's Jason White), that speaks volumes about the staff and preparation to launch players to the next level.

From the minute Sanchez arrived at USC, I started telling people he's more like Palmer than any of the other QBs. But he won't show that for years to come, because he didn't have enough time in the saddle. The biggest difference between Sanchez and Palmer is that Carson was developed under Norm Chow, as was Matt Cassel, Matt Leinart, and the Chargers' Philip Rivers. I don't think he'll be another Ryan Leaf, because he's not likely to land in a spot where he'll start tomorrow. He'll develop behind another NFL QB first, as Palmer did for a year, and Leinart continues to do.

[Doyle]

Yep, and in 5 years, history may prove you to be 100 percent right. While others were, I was never that impressed with Leinart. Even while at USC I thought of him as little more than a servicable QB. (Seriously) And JDB??? His success was ALL scheme.....he'd have trouble starting in the CFL, let alone the NFL.
One thing we can most certainly agree on is that Sanchez should have stayed one more season. Right now, he's just barely ready for Division I football, let alone the NFL. His vision, his arm strength in throwing the 10 -15 yd. out, and his inconsistent throwing motion all scream to me.
For the sake of those who really like the guy, I hope I'm wrong.

Oh...and for a comparative of how I see things right now, let me say for the record that I do NOT think Stafford is going to do anything on the pro level either. I think this is THE weakest draft for QBs in years. You will find better NFL caliber QBs in the middle rounds (Rhett Bomar, Graham Harrell, Pat White) than either of the Top 2 currently being touted.