Future Seahawks at the 2010 Senior Bowl: Quarterbacks - Open Thread
The East-West Shrine Game passed without much excitement. John Skelton looked like the play action Howitzer he is. It's a bit of a dying model. Drew Bledsoe, prototype, was quietly an ineffective quarterback for most of his career. Outsiders loved Bledsoe because he started fast and looked classic football, all bombs and strikes, but fans endured Bledsoe.
He bled sacks. When he wasn't sacked, his inability to avoid pressure and throw on the move exhibited itself in incompletions and picks. His early peak was only above-average and away from a tailored system, his weaknesses showed through. Bledsoe, Skelton and of course Joe Flacco, need a run-first offense to thrive in. Even though Flacco is fun and has achieved some early success, his ceiling might be quite low. Drew Bledsoe-low.
Pete Carroll is not likely targeting Skelton. He favors the Mark Sanchez-Drew Brees-Tony Romo type that can negotiate the pocket while still searching down field. A pure passer, so to speak; pure as in pass-first, able to complete a high percentage of passes and able to pass effectively without play-action. The draft has a handful of quarterbacks that match that profile.
The Senior Bowl raises the bar for talent. It's the ultimate college All-Star game. The Shrine Game produces sleepers like Daniel Te'o-Nesheim; The Senior Bowl produces first round picks like Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and B.J. Raji. I would love to give real coverage, but that's not happening this year. So, as a tool, here's a list of important names, players that fit PC's profile, and a link to their Google news feed. I'll post a new thread with some new names to consider every day. First, the most important player on the field:
Quarterbacks:
Sean Canfield: Canfield finished a sparkling senior season with an absolute dud of a bowl game. He completed 47.5% of his passes after completing 60%+ in every previous game. He has a professional profile: good height and frame plus experience as a pocket passer. But his arm is only so-so and the Beavers offense was built off the run. He fits the Marc Bulger/Matt Hasselbeck prototype, has that kind of upside, and likely will be drafted in the middle rounds, never to be heard from again.
Zac Robinson: Robinson is a toolsier version of Tony Romo, minus the professional success or likelihood of future professional success. His upside is higher than either Canfield or Skelton, but his likelihood of achieving that potential is much lower. Robinson began a scrambling quarterback, transitioned to a more passing-centric system in 2008, flourished, returned for his senior season, started strong, lost Dez Bryant, and then finished with a ruinous stretch of football. He would have been better off struck by a bus. Robinson must revive his draft stock before reentering the conversation.
Dan LeFevour: LeFevour, on the other hand, is riding a wave of success and must only prove his pro tools to become the class of this also-ran quarterback class. Of course, the path between promising and proving your pro tools can be short and definitive.
LeFevour ran a spread system that relied on yards after catch. In the NFL, yards after catch correlate much more strongly with the receiver than the quarterback, meaning LeFevour likely has bloated stats. He also benefited immensely from a weak schedule and an advantage that won't translate to the pros. LeFevour could out-gap college defenses by aligning shotgun, empty backfield and attacking with the keeper. Think of it like this: what if a team could run play-action without sacrificing a receiver. It would make for some easy passes, and, in the face of blanket coverage, some easy scrambles.
For a highly successful quarterback that beat up on bad competition by distributing the ball and witnessing the resulting carnage, like LeFevour, what matters is arm strength. And the arm strength that matters for LeFevour is short and mid-range zip. LeFevour has Alex Smith-like potential--nothing to sneeze at.
Tony Pike: Pike has injury red flags and the build and pocket awareness to make those flags stick. He's probably playing for his NFL career. It's easy to write Pike off. Florida smacked around the Bearcats in a joke of a Sugar Bowl. Pike was particularly unimpressive. Some would contend that he wasn't even the best quarterback on his own team.
But Pike excelled in a pass first offense; the best offense in college football according to S&P. His potential is still very high. Finishing his career so poorly might make him a value pick. He has great height and good athleticism, enough arm strength, and an excellent record of success on a team without great skill talent. Pike played poorly against the Gators, but his entire team was over matched. The Senior Bowl allows him to compete with and against equal talent. Should he excel, Pike might save his career.
Then of course there’s Tim Tebow. Tebow reflects a certain arrogance shared by the scouting community: A belief that any and all pertinent quarterback abilities can be compartmentalized and evaluated. We can all anticipate the criticism Tebow will face, but does any of it prove he will fail? Lost in the fault-finding one upsmanship is the greatest potential of any player since Michael Vick.
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I feel that Tebow could have success in the NFL
if he’s drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round and allowed to sit on the bench for two or three years. He has all the athletic tools needed to play QB at the NFL level, he just needs a complete overhaul on his throwing game. Let him sit on the bench for a while to learn how to play QB in the NFL and he may become good some day. Throw him into the fire in his first year and I feel like he’ll fall back on scrambling a lot and turn into a mediocre at best QB, and possibly a terrible one.
Now with more lemon bars!
I tend to agree but...
whoever drafts him will have to live with the QB that he is. “… a complete overhaul” is about as likely as Tebow deciding to throw right-handed – there just isn’t any reason he, or any quarterback is capable of changing at this stage of the game. Best bet is he’ll be drafted by a team that is ready and/or willing to build around his strengths… not the other way around
Also saw this on MTD
The crux of Tebow’s problems are taking snaps from under center and dropping back. At one point, Spencer noted, Tebow fumbled three consecutive snaps in 7-on-7 drills. Tebow can be as nice as he wants, but that is unacceptable for an NFL quarterback.
Other observers noted that Tebow looked sloppy in his backpedal, but had good footwork when he was set.
Link
[DELETED ZOMG NO POLITICS]
I'd say it's much more likely
Tebow learns how to take a snap from under center than re-learning his throwing motion. For some teams his inability to work from under center will be a problem. For other teams maybe not so much.
Well, he also needs to learn to make better decisions in the pocket.
The jump throw is a good example.
Now with more lemon bars!
That sweeping, wind-up stuff by Billick made sense.
I wonder what Tebow can do to reduce his release time / change his arm-action pre-pass? Currently, he’s as ripe for strip-sacks as any player in my memory.
LeFevour...
…is going to be Graham Harrell mark II
It's interesting to see that both Tony Pike and Dan Lefevour both were coached by Brian Kelly.
Lefevour only had him for a season, but Lefevour was recruited by him. Pike was already at Cincinnati when Kelly was hired. Are they pretty similar in style? I wonder if they will have similar careers in the NFL.
by seattle_since_81 on Jan 25, 2010 5:45 PM PST reply actions
Pike looked like a Walking Stick during practice today.
A gangly, football throwing, Walking Stick.
All The Way, AIRBORNE!!!
by Airborne Hawk Guy on Jan 25, 2010 6:16 PM PST reply actions
Pretty sure all the SBN blogs get picked up by Google News. I think.
Mocking the Draft: Your NFL Draft source.
Interesting points on Bledsoe.
I was one of the outsiders. I never though Bledsoe was great, but always thought he had a pretty solid and underrated career. I think most Seahawks fans liked Bledsoe because of what we ended up getting with the number two pick.
Plus he's from Walla Walla.
Though they sink through the Sea, they shall rise again...Death shall have no dominion...
Zac Robinson intrigues me
I have had limited viewing experience of him but I did see him in person at Qwest against the cougs. He throws a nice deep ball, has great athleticism and size. He looked bad the last part of this year but to me he looks like he could transition into a pro system.
by Big E-Z on Jan 25, 2010 7:25 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Even though he will probably amount to nothing,
I think he has enough upside to take a serious look at. But what do I know, I liked Graham Harrell last year.
by Big E-Z on Jan 25, 2010 7:35 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I also thought the Hawks should have gone with Brian Hoyer
When he went undrafted. Now he is Tom Bradys backup and the Pats seem to think highly of him. Plus by the time Matt retires we would just be transitioning from one bald QB to the next
by Big E-Z on Jan 25, 2010 7:53 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Of the list I like LeFevour best for PC
I’m a fan of Canfield as well but my god is he slow. And not like John Carlson slow but like slow slow.
Colin Cole slow?
Like my freshman football coach used to say: “You’re slower than molasses in January in Vermont!”
Though they sink through the Sea, they shall rise again...Death shall have no dominion...
According to a former scout I know attending the Senior Bowl:
Senior Bowl Practice day 1:
Sean Canfield (QB, Oregon State) had an absolutely crap day accentuated by bad habits such as throwing off of his back foot with little pressure and missing open receivers over 7 yards away.
I was very impressed by Dan LeFevour (QB, Central Michigan). His footwork was the best of the day, and his timing will improve each day this week with his terrific speed receivers.
Tony Pike (QB, Cincinnati) definitely showed the hitch in his motion all day yesterday. He definitely has the arm to make every throw the NFL will ask of him, but the accuracy has to improve.
Senior Bowl Practice Day 2:
Dan LeFevour (QB, Central Michigan) is driving the ball nicely. He pushes off with his back foot better than the other two QBs, but still needs to work on his footwork and balance on the deeper drops. Essentially his first three steps look good, but his two smaller ones at the end are not getting his balance where it needs to be. It’s scary how broad rankings are on LeFevour. Three teams I spoke to this morning have him as the #1 QB in this draft….others have him 5th.
Tony Pike (QB, Cincinnati) really needs to sharped things up. He is such a long, lean guy that any hitch or shortcoming in process is going to throw everything off. He doesn’t have the natural ability to make up for small mistakes in motion. He also looks very abrupt getting the ball out in 3-step drops and his balance is off.
Sean Canfield (QB, Oregon State) really showed his experience under center today. He looked more relaxed and made up for yesterday’s shortfalls with nice 3 to 5-step drops. He was still a spread offense guy, but looked good.
Referring to his lack of arm strength or ability to make the tougher NFL throws?
I’m not sure how to read that statement. But, I think of Graham Harrell for some reason.
Graham Harrell played in a spread offense
Canfield, from everything I know and have seen, played in a very pro style offense.
I asked him about it and this is his response regarding the 'spread' comment:
He is more of the pro-style QB, but as grimace said, they run a form of the spread up in Corvallis. As I mentioned, he has the most experience under center of the bunch.
Holmgren's looking to axe one QB or the other
Just posted a quick Fanshot on this, but this may play into Cleveland’s draft day/free agent/trade market strategies

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