Mike Teel Is the Smartest Man from New Jersey

Everyone recovered from their Microsoft 7 launch parties? Mine was a firewall that couldn't be put out until 9pm! My fingers are still shaking from the mad customizing I was doing, but life can't be all troubleshooting and ClearType. We must be serious. We must be Seahawks fans for a second.

Seattle has three quarterbacks on its roster. No one wants to hear a damn bit more about Matt Hasselbeck or Seneca Wallace. So stop looking for missing drivers for a second and think about Mike Teel. Pack your penicillin, this story starts at Rutgers.

Mike Teel: Coming out of high school, Teel was the 23^rd ranked quarterback from the state of New Jersey. His Rivals page informs me he scored a 1080 on the SATs. That must be good for a quarterback, because he is about the only player I can find that posted standardized test information. Sam Bradford scored a 27 on the ACT.

Teel started partway through his sophomore year and through his fifth-year senior season. His numbers were never very good until a late senior season surge. This is the profile Tim Ruskell used to draft Brandon Mebane.

I didn't take much time scouting Teel's college play, so the following thoughts reflect what I saw in the preseason. Teel has some very good qualities, but one weakness that makes me wonder about both his potential and his viability in the pros.

His strengths are obvious and otherwise. Teel has a very strong arm. He throws a nice deep pass, can bullet it into tight windows and can make all the throws. Even the one-handed behind the back from the roof throw Seneca bet he couldn't. Teel has a clean drop-step, and plants and looks down field without delay. He can be accurate. His read and understanding of the playbook showed enough growth from week one of the preseason to week four of the preseason to be considered a strength and a promising sign.

Mike Teel cannot consistently make his passes. Sometimes he steps back, sees his man, cocks, plants and beans the cheerleader. It's not about sailing it or throwing it behind the man, it's about his accurate-to-whiff ratio, and it isn't good. He can zing one to Ben Obomanu in stride and then power a wobbler that bucks and bends like a knuckleball.

Consistency, often lampooned (ie "yeah, consistently bad"), is a fundamental part of all sports. Regularity might even be a better word, but there's that Mueslix connotation. Be it a golfer's swing, a pitcher's motion or small forward's hook shot, practice makes machine. The body can become so skilled in a motion that elite quarterbacks pass like I press "a". The outcome is assumed.

Teel doesn't have that. It's little wonder he seemed so streaky in college. He needs to develop consistency of control. He needs to make every throw and know every throw he's making.