Looking back at Gabbert now with all this hindsight I still think if you looked at each part of his game seperately you'd see a good QB each time. It's just that he could never bring all those parts together at the same time, in the same play.
Quote:Looking back at Gabbert now with all this hindsight I still think if you looked at each part of his game seperately you'd see a good QB each time. It's just that he could never bring all those parts together at the same time, in the same play.
I remember the week after the draft, ESPN Classic aired games from all the players taken. They chose the Oklahoma game, in which Gabbert's team beat the top ranked Sooners. I remember watching that game but did not pay a ton of attention to Gabbert but remembered him playing well. I watched the re-air and was surprised how often Gabbert missed the easy passes. It seemed like he struggled with anything over 15 yards downfield. And that remained an issue for him here. The pocket presence thing I did not notice but they were basically a first read team and he rarely felt pressure.
Price Amukamara was taken the same year and his highlight game was against Missouri. So I watched that game too. That was the first warning sign. Gabbert was awful. Nebraska got a lot of pressure on him and he looked rattled. He was the same guy here.
A good example of why Pro days/combines don't mean anything.
I don't think he said anything wrong about Gabbert. The guy just doesn't handle pressure well and can't react well to a defense. All Mayock said was that during this time, meaning the pro day, he had good footwork, especially for being in a spread system. He also said he had a good arm. He could have developed into someone really good, but unfortunately he did not.
When you look at Gabbert and compare that to what you want in a franchise QB, you check off a lot of boxes. Size. The arm. Enough athleticism. etc....
but he just cant handle pressure. Whether it be people in his face or having to make a big throw in a key moment. He just doesnt have it. And obviously you wouldnt see something like that in a pro day. But then again thats not what you are looking for at a pro day.
Quote:A good example of why Pro days/combines don't mean anything.
Makes you wonder why all those smart people spending millions of dollars on these players even bother to go....
Quote:Makes you wonder why all those smart people spending millions of dollars on these players even bother to go....
Well, the only value I see in the combine and pro days are the medical issues/getting to know the player. When it comes to the QBs passing/doing meaningless drills I don't buy into it, rightfully so.
Quote:Well, the only value I see in the combine and pro days are the medical issues/getting to know the player. When it comes to the QBs passing/doing meaningless drills I don't buy into it, rightfully so.
I don't think most of the scouts buy into it either.
(with a good GM) A player can only hurt himself at the combine or during a pro day. But he has to do one or the other.
Gabbert did not hurt himself at his pro day, and wouldn't, because there is no pass rush. He's a great practice QB.
Quote:I don't think he said anything wrong about Gabbert. The guy just doesn't handle pressure well and can't react well to a defense. All Mayock said was that during this time, meaning the pro day, he had good footwork, especially for being in a spread system. He also said he had a good arm. He could have developed into someone really good, but unfortunately he did not.
I think that's a good point. I don't think we appreciate how much randomness some times plays a part in someone's career.
Sure, we're all great pro scouts in hindsight, but in real time it's extremely hard to forecast the future of any human endeavor.
It's a fine line between success and failure, with a huge number of factors involved - including luck.
I'm always amused at this time of year to read comments about "bums" or "can't-miss prospects". You don't know and I don't know. We're all just guessing.
I just remember meeting a Missouri fan shortly after the draft. I was still beaming with excitement due to us drafting our future franchise QB. I asked him what he thought of Gabbert and he said something like,"He's terrible. I'm glad he's gone. Last pass I remember him throwing was am interception".
Sobered me up a bit.
this thread makes me think that it would be cool if guys like mayock revisited the drafts 3 or 4 years later and tried to analyze and discuss what went right and what went wrong with certain players. Could be a cool piece.
I forgot just how weird of a throwing motion Clausen has.
Quote:I just remember meeting a Missouri fan shortly after the draft. I was still beaming with excitement due to us drafting our future franchise QB. I asked him what he thought of Gabbert and he said something like,"He's terrible. I'm glad he's gone. Last pass I remember him throwing was am interception".
Sobered me up a bit.
Pick 6 in his final game with his team up in the 4th quarter. He rolled to his right flushed by absolutely nothing at all and never even lifted his eyes to scan downfield. Finally lifted his eye level up at the last second and threw a dead duck to a waiting LB that cost his team the game.
Quote:A good example of why Pro days/combines don't mean anything.
When some guys skip almost everything at the Combine, you have to kick the tires sometime.
Gabbert has everything you want and need in a NFL qb, except the stones to stand in a bad pocket, which is what completely ruined his mechanics in game and thus hurt his throwing accuracy. From all reports, he looks great in non contact, practice situations. Just seems afraid when he is in the game
Quote:Looking back at Gabbert now with all this hindsight I still think if you looked at each part of his game seperately you'd see a good QB each time. It's just that he could never bring all those parts together at the same time, in the same play.
All I know is leading up to that 2011 draft, and you watched Gabbert's footage from college and saw how unimpressive he looked combined with the kind of pedestrian production he put up in the same offense that
Chase Daniel put up monster numbers in....that pretty much gave you all the red flags you needed. And if you needed another red flag with Gabbert, there was always his abysmal completion pct in pass attempts over 15 yards. IIRC it was one of the worst of that QB class heading into that draft.
I remember posting about Gabbert prior to that draft that "the play simply never came close to matching the hype". If people think Bridgewater was unimpressive in college, Gabbert paled in comparison to him when you watched him play.
Truthfully I wasn't on this board when Gabbert was drafted, I wasn't even following the NFL massively at the time (nooby I know) but I remember a few month back I went all the way back to see the draft thread for when he was drafted and all I can say that is that I saw very few upset people about drafting Gabbert, especially considering how many people say on this board 'I never wanted to draft him'.
Sometimes you draft someone that looks perfect, it just doesn't click, it certainly didn't help drafting a developmental qb and not letting him develop
Gabbert has always been good in shorts and a t-shirt with no pass rush. 16 TD's and 9 INT's in a full season his last year SHOULD have been enough to tell even the worst GM he was not worth the #10 overall pick in the draft. But sadly, it was not enough for Gene Smith.
At least Mayock was right on DE Aldon Smith!
And LOL about the last thing Mayock says on his Florida Pro Day report. When talking about Aaron Hernandez: "He's got some off the field issues." You think???