I have looked at 5 QB’s on tape and here is the order in which I like them and there strength and weakness. Keep in mind I have looked at each guy along with 3 or 4 games that he has played and studied each throw from those games to help make my evaluation. Here are the things I find to be most important when I study QB: 1 - is he a good decision maker, 2 - is he accurate and 3 - is he tough.

Now there are more things to playing QB but these are the big 3, if you struggle identifying coverage before the snap you won’t make it, and if you can’t make throws that WR can run after the catch or into a tight window you have no shot of being consistent in the NFL. Also if you’re not tough this league will see right through you! Remember Joe Montana could not make all the throws, but he was a good decision maker, accurate and tough!!!

1. Matthew Stafford: Georgia, first thing that stands out is he can make (RARE) throws; now what is a rare throw? A rare throw is a throw that can be made to break down or take advantage of certain coverage in an area few QB’s could make. Here is what I’m talking about, when a team plays cover 2 there are some voids in this coverage and if you have the arm strength to make the throw, you can take advantage of the coverage and you make defensive coordinators nervous. Here is one of the voids - between the corner who is at the line of scrimmage jamming the WR if they choose to and the safety to that side who is over the top of the corner. Now if you run a seem route (that means a go route straight down the field) that void is between the corner and safety, it’s not a big window and it’s even hard to make if it’s to the wide side of the field because the ball has to travel even further. Now very few QB’s in the NFL today can even make that throw. One guy that can make this throw in the NFL is Jay Cutler, so very few have his arm strength so very few can make it or even try. Stafford can make a throw like that with out a second thought and I saw him make that throw against South Carolina and it was very, very impressive. So this strength is rare and what it gives an offensive coordinator it is the ability to run all kinds of routes to all kind of coverage’s and you have no limitations. Now this can also be a weakness because when you have an arm like that you just think you can make any throw any time and that’s just not the case and it is even more magnified in the NFL, so he will have to work on being disciplined on what throws he can and should make, because for all the throws he can make he can get you into trouble if he is reckless with the ball.

One other thing I think is important as I look at QB’s is, do they anticipate throws? I felt he was ok in this category and would have liked to see a little more consistence with that. He was also not as accurate as I would like him to be, and the area I thought he struggled the most at was the deep ball. When a guy has big arm I think people just think he is accurate down field just because he can throw it so far. Not that case on Matthew. I also thought he had moments when he was inconsistent with shorter routes as well. I felt his foot work will have to get better the games I watched if he had to move in the pocket, like slide away from someone he kept moving instead up avoid and rest which is what he will need to do at the next level. As I studied him I did not feel he had as good a command of coverage’s, for example when you throw the ball. the QB in most cases must control the safety especially when they have a single safety. You can use routes to hold safeties but at the end of the day the QB needs to know where they are and control them because safeties tell you everything. In fact I thought there were times he did not even know what they were doing. This is a must at the next level. I did feel he was tough because his offensive line was not very good and he took shots from the defense and would stand in there and deliver the ball with no fear. I love that. I’m not sold that he should go first overall to Detroit because even though he has a lot of special tools I’m not sure he is special enough to carry a franchise and Detroit needs more than just a QB to get a win this year!

2. Mark Sanchez: USC, when I put in the tape the first thing that I noticed, USC was A LOT better team than Georgia. I watched Mark right after I watched Stafford so that stood out right away, and its very important as you evaluate players on what kind of team did they play on, because a great team can hide major weaknesses, much like the USC teams Matt Leinart played on. Mark is a good decision maker and would throw into tight windows and threw with better anticipation than did Matt Stafford. The one thing Mark does not have is Mathew’s big arm so he can’t make the throws Mathew can. Perfect example is the cover 2 example I gave with Stafford. I felt he was more accurate from the pocket than on the move. He is very rhythmic which is good, but when things are not in rhythm it really affected him and at the next level you need to be just about as good when things go bad as you are when things go well. Mark will make a good pro but will not elevate a team, just like at USC, he needs a strong supporting cast to succeed. Now I know all QB’s need help, but some need more than others and I feel Mark is one of those guys that will need more than just one good WR to be consistent. I also felt he was tough, even though he did not get hit much I did not see him shy away when he would throw for the most part.

3. Josh Freeman: Kansas ST, talk about raw, he is athletic and makes things happen when he runs but it’s not his first thought to run which makes him a gamble in the NFL but more importantly he would force things at times which could mean he was not sure of what coverage a team was in or he would single a WR out and throw the ball to him no matter what the coverage was saying. Neither one of these habits are very good. I felt his accuracy was ok and I did feel he was tough and his offensive line was not very good and they got into some games were it was a blow out. His best bet is to get drafted on a team with a great QB coach so he can spend a few years on the bench learning from his coaches and the QB’s in front of him and then will have a better chance to make an impact.

4. Pat White: West Virginia, I have to say the only thing I got from Pat was he is a very good athlete and an amazing runner. WVU offense is pure college and I’m telling you there is nothing in that offense that would give you a indicator that Pat could play QB in the NFL. His accuracy was ok decision making was ok, in fact it was great when he would run the ball because there is more reading of defenses running the ball than throwing it based on how that offense works. If you draft him as a QB it will be a major project unless you just run bubble screens and have a dominate running game with Pat carrying the ball 10 or so times a game. Like they did in Tennessee with Vince Young!

5. Harrell Graham: Texas Tech, I always get nervous when I see a QB with big numbers and he plays a majority of his snaps from the shot gun and most of the routes are slants, hitches or crossing routes. The reason for that is it’s so unrealistic in the NFL to run this offense on a consistent basis so you have to be so careful that you do not let numbers tell the whole story. I thought he was very accurate especially with the short to intermediate routes; he does not have a big arm so when he tries to push it down the field he lost alot of accuracy. The offensive system Texas Tech ran forces the QB to be a good decision maker and Harrell did that very well. The thing that he will struggle with is learning to play from under center more.

Arizona Cardinalsalready gave themselves a shot to get back into the playoffs next year, by signing Kurt Warner. That was key because Matt Leinart does not have the accuracy or quick release Kurt does and Matt would not be able to take advantage of the talent the Cardinals have on offense. Now as we look to the draft you have to remember when young guys play especially rookies you usually see there greatest improvement in year 2, so I expect Tim Hightower to be a big help on offense next year. They had injuries in the playoffs at the TE position and could use more depth there. On defense when you are playing a 3 - 4 you need to always have talented LB’s because you are playing with 4 and creating depth at that position is so critical. I also think they need more help in the secondary.

Titans - losing Albert Haynesworth, was it really that big of a deal losing a DT? Well, were the Eagles ever the same after they lost Reggie White? Answer NO! Listen I know he missed some games and they won most of them, but remember it was just a few games and Albert played in the majority of the 16 games. Over the course of an entire NFL season is when you will see the difference, once the body of work is gone from your defense play after play. He makes life so much easier for the LB’s and DE’s, the secondary and the defensive coordinator. He will be missed over a 16 game season for sure. The defense will still be very good but I do not believe it will be as dominant as last year! On offense, getting Kerry Collins signed and Nate Washington adds explosiveness but the foundation of this team is their running game and this offensive line is very underrated and TE Bo Scaffe is better than most people realize, but they could still use another TE that can block and catch to help complete the foundation of this team and their commitment to the running game.