ESPN | If Jimmy Clausen slips, look for Cards to make move

[Russ Smith]

I have alot of issues with immaturity. Drinking alcohol when you are 19 is nothing strange, I would encourage that for everyone, I don't consider that as immature at all. It is something you have to try at this period of your life. It's a period when you transform into a man and that must involve some alcohol. If you think that's a different story for some of the greatest QB's in pro football, I think you are wrong. Not all of them got caught though in same way. There is nothing in this story that suggest he will be an alcoholic from now on.

Here, you mention him getting drunk twice. Wow, what a big deal for a college student. He certainly will be a bust because he was out drinking twice.

I don't think getting drunk is the problem. Getting drunk an doing this type of behaviour is the problem, that probably shows more that you have a very soft immature side in you: http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9396/mattleinart.jpg. I would wish Matt was involved in a fight, rather than doing this, maybe it could make him tougher.

I don't think your story describes any soft and immature side in Jimmy Clausen. Cocky yes, but I do want a self confident QB, one that can stand up to a fight. Phillip Rivers is like that sometimes, Peyton Manning is like that as well at times on the field. Being confident in yourself is part of the QB job. Not being afraid to take mistakes and lead on the field. Protecting the ball and being scared of playing is soft. Reflecting your personality indeed.

ML always seemed soft to me and that was my problem with the kid. I don't see any softness in Clausen, I see the complete opposite. Now, his self confidence can get him in trouble later on, off the field. And that is a concern, I don't deny that. But self confidence can only be a positive trait on the field. He can stand up and fight.

Clausen, a jump ball QB? The deep balls he threw to Tate are jump balls? Tate is 5-11.... I wish you could look at them again, because he was consistently showing an extreme touch down the field where only Tate could catch it. And even some that look like "jumpballs" are much more easier to catch for WR than they are for the CB. KW has that ability as well, to place the "jumpball" so that the WR has a huge advantage. It's a throw that is wanted in Cardinals offense as well by the way. The accurate jumpball.

You said that he is inaccurate. Can you make any examples because It's difficult for me to find some? I defenitely think Bradford has superior accuracy, but Clausen is accurate enough.

The following is a good read on Clausen:

http://walterfootball.com/jimmyclausenhate.php

http://walterfootball.com/draftinterview_jimmyclausen.php

I didn't say he got drunk twice, I said he got in trouble because of alcohol twice. ND has something called an honor code, technically underage drinking is grounds for dismissal from ND. As a 19 year old Clausen was busted for some obscure law that said it's illegal for a minor to transport a legal adult(23 year old) to buy alcohol. What it really meant was he and a buddy took the 23 year old to buy a lot of alcohol, and not just beer vodka and whiskey, they got caught by a police sting, but because they knew who Clausen was they charged him with the midsdemeanor. ND didn't expel him because he wasn't charged with underage drinking.

Less than a year later he was photographed during the "Beer olympics" at a party near campus. Your pic of Matt with a beer bong, that's a pretty good representation of what the beer olympics is. Again he wasn't expelled because in the picture he wasn't himself drinking although there were multiple eye witnesses who insisted he was drinking and in fact was quite drunk. His drinking at ND wasn't exactly a secret. Again He's not the first kid that age to drink underage, but most of those kids aren't the starting Qb at Notre Dame and potential NFL draft picks.

Jimmy Clausens reputation in So Cal was good player, complete jackass. He's a kid who IMHO was a product of the system that Weis ran at ND. The one thing I like is he improved statistically every year, and quite significantly, but he just doesn't impress me at all.

He has a pro day next week I think, he hasn't thrown for anyone before then because he had surgery on his toe in the offseason. His workout will go a long way to determining where he goes, as will the medical reports since he had surgery on his elbow in college and had had according to his own dad(a coach) chronic elbow problems in HS.

 

[Early]

Yes, I have no problem with that he got in trouble because of drinking twice. It's college, I even encourage that. For a franchise QB, you search a mature figure, and when you are 19 and in college going out drinking is just a normal progress of becoming a man. He can go out and drink in the pros, when time allows that, nothing wrong in that either. If he drinks before a game, that can be a big problem, I agree, but he has not done anything like that as I am aware off.

How do you know that he is a jackass? I would really like to see some evidence for that. Have you met him? I treat that as a rumour, unless i get some more credible information. There is alot that contradicts that in the article.

On the field, he does not seem as you describe him. He fights for his team, he leads, he is clutch, and he plays through injuries. He takes hits, makes great passes when under presssure, and believe me, he was under pressure alot, that O-Line was horrible, yet he posted numbers that equal some of the best pro QB's in the game today. He plays with passion, that's easy to see. He did all that in a pro style of offense. Product of Weis? Well, if he is good enough for that, he can also be a product of Whisenhunt system then. As long as he posts those stats. He has shown he can preform with a bad O-Line and good recievers. He is not scared of trying to make a show - He doesn't protect the ball, is not afraid of the INT, and that shows mental toughness.

I think that he probably is arrogant. That's a good trait for a QB, and it is misleading people to believe he is jackass and a mental case like Leaf. I saw immaturity in ML. Saw the similar in Quinn and in Cutler. I don't see that in Clausen at all. I see mature arrogance. I see him as a self confident controverisal person that easy gets misunderstood, but that is mentally very strong and confident on and off the field. Not everyone will like him, but as long as he plays that well, it's fine with me.

He can get in some trouble, and he probably will, but like the college incidents, i really doubt they ever will be major. Small incidents are not that concerning. One huge incident is a red flag on other hand. Big big difference.

 

[Russ Smith]

Yes, I have no problem with that he got in trouble because of drinking twice. It's college, I even encourage that. For a franchise QB, you search a mature figure, and when you are 19 and in college going out drinking is just a normal progress of becoming a man. He can go out and drink in the pros, when time allows that, nothing wrong in that either. If he drinks before a game, that can be a big problem, I agree, but he has not done anything like that as I am aware off.

How do you know that he is a jackass? I would really like to see some evidence for that. Have you met him? I treat that as a rumour, unless i get some more credible information. There is alot that contradicts that in the article.

On the field, he does not seem as you describe him. He fights for his team, he leads, he is clutch, and he plays through injuries. He takes hits, makes great passes when under presssure, and believe me, he was under pressure alot, that O-Line was horrible, yet he posted numbers that equal some of the best pro QB's in the game today. He plays with passion, that's easy to see. He did all that in a pro style of offense. Product of Weis? Well, if he is good enough for that, he can also be a product of Whisenhunt system then. As long as he posts those stats. He has shown he can preform with a bad O-Line and good recievers. He is not scared of trying to make a show - He doesn't protect the ball, is not afraid of the INT, and that shows mental toughness.

I think that he probably is arrogant. That's a good trait for a QB, and it is misleading people to believe he is jackass and a mental case like Leaf. I saw immaturity in ML. Saw the similar in Quinn and in Cutler. I don't see that in Clausen at all. I see mature arrogance. I see him as a self confident controverisal person that easy gets misunderstood, but that is mentally very strong and confident on and off the field. Not everyone will like him, but as long as he plays that well, it's fine with me.

He can get in some trouble, and he probably will, but like the college incidents, i really doubt they ever will be major. Small incidents are not that concerning. One huge incident is a red flag on other hand. Big big difference.

So I assume you and Matt are drinking buddies? I mean obviously you've met him and know him or you wouldn't be asking me if I'd met Clausen right? Matt did some things early in his pro career that showed immaturity, but playing for USC under the spotlight and media he managed to stay out of trouble for 5 years. Clausen on the other hand could easily have been expelled from ND twice before his junior year if he'd been just another student.

Clausen's rep was well known in HS, when he picked ND you had lots of fans of UCLA and USC clapping, great he's overrated and he's a jackass. He comes from a family of guys who played college football so he's been hyped since he arrived in HS, he was a holdback so he was a year older than most in his HS class so he was physically mature for his class.

I don't think you're getting my point, I'm not saying Clausen is going to be on Sober House with Dr. Drew in a few years, I'm saying Clausen has shown repeatedly at ND that he was very immature and wasn't part of the program. The honor code at ND is a big deal, it's not just something they pay lip service to, when you're literally the starting QB and you're doing the stuff Clausen did in college you're basically saying I'm better than everyone else, I can do this stuff because I'm the QB and they won't expel me.

When Jimmy Clausen held his press conference to sign with ND he showed up in a stretch Hummer Limo, which just reinforced the opinion of him. Clausen arrived at ND "early" because he graduated a half year early, of course he was 6 when he started Kindergarten and repeated 6th grade so he was still older than virtually everyone in his class. He was being coached by QB guru Steve Clarkson(ex San Jose State QB) since he was in 8th grade, so he was a kid who was physically mature for his class and had a whole other level of coaching, add in playing on a private school team that had 12 players get D1 scholarships that year and you can see why Clausens highschool numbers were so impressive.

Brady Quinn was a better QB in the same system and so far is failing in the NFL. Quinn is taller and has a better arm than Clausen, and Quinn didn't have a recurrent elbow injury that required surgery which Clausen does.

When you're an NFL franchise drafting a QB in the first round is a HUGE investment, do you really want to put that kind of money into a kid who intentionally didn't tell anybody at ND he was having elbow surgery(he was afraid he'd lose his scholarship)? Do you want to put that kind of commitment into a kid who got in trouble repeatedly in college? Maybe he'll be much more mature in the NFL, maybe he won't, given your objections to Leinart seem to be based largely on off field things, I can't fathom why you would pick a kid like Clausen as the heir apparent, he's shown the exact same lack of maturity.

 

[mjb21aztd]

Meh I would much rather go defense with our first pick eaither linebacker or cb, besides i'm not that high on Clausen would be a bad pick imo. Hey we have to luck out on eaither Leinart or Anderson working out for us right lol.

 

[Zeno]

.When Jimmy Clausen held his press conference to sign with ND he showed up in a stretch Hummer Limo, which just reinforced the opinion of him. Clausen arrived at ND "early" because he graduated a half year early, of course he was 6 when he started Kindergarten and repeated 6th grade so he was still older than virtually everyone in his class. He was being coached by QB guru Steve Clarkson(ex San Jose State QB) since he was in 8th grade, so he was a kid who was physically mature for his class and had a whole other level of coaching, add in playing on a private school team that had 12 players get D1 scholarships that year and you can see why Clausens highschool numbers were so impressive.

Clausens brothers did the same thing...repeating 6th grade, the parents did that by design to make sure they were physically ahead of everyone in their academic classes. I don't see Jimmy being that much better than Casey, Mr. Clausen is only marginally less crazy than Marinovoch's dad and those type of guys tend to flame out.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

He doesn't protect the ball, is not afraid of the INT, and that shows mental toughness.

I am enjoying this debate but this sentence stood out to me.

Talk about spinning ***** into gold.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I have seen Claussen play twice live and I think he is going to be a pretty good QB. To lose probably the most underated WR in college in Floyd 4 or 5 games in and continue to put up crazy video game numbers (and Russ he is actually very accurate) like that is pretty intriguing.

In terms of players he reminds me of having the Kurt Warner timing, rhyhem throwing skill set.

Problem is he has none of the intangibles and has a big time chance to be Jay Cutler without the rocket arm. Yikes.

I saw Matt play a few times live in college too and think he has a pretty good chance to play well this year from what I have seen.

There is no way in hell I pick Claussen this year. If Leinart ends up blowing it then maybe I'll regret that but I don't think thats what going to happen.

 

[Gee!]

I think Clausen is gonna end up being the best QB in this draft... He will go far before #26.. I really dont care anyways.. We have Leinart..

 

[Early]

I am enjoying this debate but this sentence stood out to me.

Talk about spinning ***** into gold.

Interesting why this stands out. Offcourse I was refering to Matt Leinart defensive style of playing offensive football play. He is protecting the ball, simply because he has not the ability to score. Not even with the recievers that we have. We need a QB that can score, even if it costs many INT's. KW was that type pf QB. Favre is as well. You need to open up and not be afraid of your own mistakes.

Clausen does not seem as that type of QB to me, he attacks despite mistakes made earlier. He got better and better each year, learning alot from his mistakes.

ML has been regressing in every phase of the game since he came, that to me is a big issue and not the best sign. When you have been that long arround the best WR core in NFL, HOF QB, you should at very least be able to come in and protect huge leads and not collapse as he did. That's a simple task, compared to leading a team the entire season and playoffs.

 

[Early]

So I assume you and Matt are drinking buddies? I mean obviously you've met him and know him or you wouldn't be asking me if I'd met Clausen right? Matt did some things early in his pro career that showed immaturity, but playing for USC under the spotlight and media he managed to stay out of trouble for 5 years. Clausen on the other hand could easily have been expelled from ND twice before his junior year if he'd been just another student.

Clausen's rep was well known in HS, when he picked ND you had lots of fans of UCLA and USC clapping, great he's overrated and he's a jackass. He comes from a family of guys who played college football so he's been hyped since he arrived in HS, he was a holdback so he was a year older than most in his HS class so he was physically mature for his class.

I don't think you're getting my point, I'm not saying Clausen is going to be on Sober House with Dr. Drew in a few years, I'm saying Clausen has shown repeatedly at ND that he was very immature and wasn't part of the program. The honor code at ND is a big deal, it's not just something they pay lip service to, when you're literally the starting QB and you're doing the stuff Clausen did in college you're basically saying I'm better than everyone else, I can do this stuff because I'm the QB and they won't expel me.

When Jimmy Clausen held his press conference to sign with ND he showed up in a stretch Hummer Limo, which just reinforced the opinion of him. Clausen arrived at ND "early" because he graduated a half year early, of course he was 6 when he started Kindergarten and repeated 6th grade so he was still older than virtually everyone in his class. He was being coached by QB guru Steve Clarkson(ex San Jose State QB) since he was in 8th grade, so he was a kid who was physically mature for his class and had a whole other level of coaching, add in playing on a private school team that had 12 players get D1 scholarships that year and you can see why Clausens highschool numbers were so impressive.

Brady Quinn was a better QB in the same system and so far is failing in the NFL. Quinn is taller and has a better arm than Clausen, and Quinn didn't have a recurrent elbow injury that required surgery which Clausen does.

When you're an NFL franchise drafting a QB in the first round is a HUGE investment, do you really want to put that kind of money into a kid who intentionally didn't tell anybody at ND he was having elbow surgery(he was afraid he'd lose his scholarship)? Do you want to put that kind of commitment into a kid who got in trouble repeatedly in college? Maybe he'll be much more mature in the NFL, maybe he won't, given your objections to Leinart seem to be based largely on off field things, I can't fathom why you would pick a kid like Clausen as the heir apparent, he's shown the exact same lack of maturity.

Wait a second, he played so well, exceeded all the expectations, helped his team so much. And you are saying he did wrong with not telling about that shoulder? Obviously, he didn't let his team down since he took the decision and played out. He played through other injuries as well. The injury was not serious enough to stop him playing, and telling about it could only hurt him self, and the team. I don't see anything serious in this either. He wanted to play football, seems that this injury couldn't prevent him, and hasn't at all. He did the right thing i believe.

If that shoulder is so bad that he can play that well for so long time - Fine with me. I still want him on my team.

As for the other stuff, I have a very different view about immaturity than you, so we may not go far with this discussion. To me immaturity is what Leinart displays. He does not seem to be a leader on the field, i think Clausen displays all of that and much more intensity. Off the field, drinking is not a problem and never has been. It's wheter you can control yourself in those situations. Some drive while drunk, some act as small children like Leinart. Getting drunk, per se, is nothing immature.

I guess, time will tell. But let's evaluate Clausen few years down the road. I'm not sure he will be the greatest QB in the game, but i believe he will be very good one, and better than ML. My opinion.

 

[CtCardinals78]

I had the same nightmare, except McClain was available too and we passed on him for Clausen.

I actually had a nightmare the other night last week that Boldin got traded. I woke up thinking "it's ok Q will never be anything other than a Card, it was all just a dream" and felt better. Until about a minute later when I was fully awake and realized it was true. NOT a good way to start my day.

 

[Russ Smith]

Clausens brothers did the same thing...repeating 6th grade, the parents did that by design to make sure they were physically ahead of everyone in their academic classes. I don't see Jimmy being that much better than Casey, Mr. Clausen is only marginally less crazy than Marinovoch's dad and those type of guys tend to flame out.

Exactly that's what I meant by holdback, he was physically older and because he had a pro QB coach in 8th grade he was way ahead of his peers. Add in 3 years playing for a guy like Weis and I kind of doubt he's going to get a lot better, he's been coached by NFL caliber coaches for 8 years already.

Alot of the issues he had in college were probably due to the Marinovich effect you mention.

Clausen is a guy who's accurate in the short passing game and then not accurate at all in the longer passing game, the exact thing everyone rips on Matt for, he throws underneath too much.

Not that Todd McShay is Nostradamus but he absolutely shredded Clausen, said "there are serious issues about his maturity and mental capacity." Gruden loves him, McShay hates him, said his teammates didn't like him. His teammates deny that but then when pressed they say he grew up quite a bit his last year at ND, which is a PC way of saying he was an immature kid his first 2 years but got better last year.

Some question his arm strength, some say he's the most accurate thrower in the draft, some say he can't throw downfield and will have to play in a West Coast offense.

We'll see I just don't see the point of knocking Leinart for maturity and then suggesting you take Jimmy Clausen as the replacement, he's the least mature first round prospect QB in the draft. The main knock on him is people don't know if they can trust him because of the issues he had at ND.

 

[Russ Smith]

Wait a second, he played so well, exceeded all the expectations, helped his team so much. And you are saying he did wrong with not telling about that shoulder? Obviously, he didn't let his team down since he took the decision and played out. He played through other injuries as well. The injury was not serious enough to stop him playing, and telling about it could only hurt him self, and the team. I don't see anything serious in this either. He wanted to play football, seems that this injury couldn't prevent him, and hasn't at all. He did the right thing i believe.

If that shoulder is so bad that he can play that well for so long time - Fine with me. I still want him on my team.

As for the other stuff, I have a very different view about immaturity than you, so we may not go far with this discussion. To me immaturity is what Leinart displays. He does not seem to be a leader on the field, i think Clausen displays all of that and much more intensity. Off the field, drinking is not a problem and never has been. It's wheter you can control yourself in those situations. Some drive while drunk, some act as small children like Leinart. Getting drunk, per se, is nothing immature.

I guess, time will tell. But let's evaluate Clausen few years down the road. I'm not sure he will be the greatest QB in the game, but i believe he will be very good one, and better than ML. My opinion.

Elbow not shoulder and he outright lied to the coaches about it. Word got out he'd had elbow surgery, ND called him to verify it and he insisted it wasn't true. Then he gets to ND and his dad accidentally lets it slip that Jimmy had surgery that summer(before his freshman year) because of a chronic elbow problem.

We clearly do disagree on the immaturity issue, to me when you're named the starting QB at ND with the tradition and honor code they have and you have repeated off field issues with alcohol that's being immature. He was given a great deal of responsibility at a young age and he repeatedly risked his entire career at ND to drink? You keep acting as if he was just another kid in college, he wasn't, most kids in college aren't risking tens of millions of dollars in a career by getting a reputation for alcohol problems.

As for leadership, Leinart was the consummate leader in college, one of the most successful college QB's ever. Came through in big games, made the big throws. IN the NFL it's not as easy and after a nice start to his career he's hit some hard times. Clausen hasn't played in the NFL yet, you're comparing his college leadership to Leinart's NFL leadership, he hasn't played in the NFL yet.

 

[Early]

Russ -

Yes, but if he knows that the surgery is completely irrelevant for him to play through (which is indeed confirmed, now looking in retrospect), then I don't see any issue. If he had lots of problems and losing games because of it, then I would see the point. Maybe he also had some other surgery prior in his life, like with his nose or whatever, we don't know, and I don't even care, as long as it's irrelevent to his football career. If that injury was so relevant, he would be affected by it, that doesn't seem to be the case with the video game numbers he made. He took the decision that this "injury" wouldn't affect him at all. Then, there is no need to tell anything and create unnecessary discussions.

I think you are afraid of the word surgery itself, but lack to see that a surgery can be completely irrelevant for a footballplayer. There are lots of different types of surgery, as well as their outcome.

Leinart was not a leader in college, and he still isn't. He was surrounded by leaders that led him, not the other way arround. He looked soft to me, still looks soft. Never believed in him, and that won't change just because he is a Cardinal. He has not shown to be mature and leader enough so far, and therefore I still don't believe in him. It doesn't help that his rate of collapses on the field are so high. He has only suprised me regards with his position on the team. He has been a backup for so long, but yet he has not whined about it in media. Wheter that reflects his own choice or his agents strategy or the teams, we don't know. But if it his opinion indeed, I gotta give it to him, that's at least a small sign of toughness/maturity and willingness to finish a job properly.

Clausen has just that intesity and the way he leads his team during games, in huddle, there are serious lacks in the offense, yet he fixes all that with his brilliant play. Arrogance. There is absolutely zero arrogance in ML, Brady Quinn or Cutler as to take some examples. You can say, that the ND offense reminds of the Cardinals offense in that the strengths are the recievers, while everything else is either bad or mediocore at best. His skills are fine tuned for that situation and less requirement for adjusting.

Ironically for the discussion, it is exactly the arrogance that brought him in these minor issues off the field, that is my reason for the major difference between him and ML / Quinn etc etc. That is reflected on the field much more than off the field IMO. ML has fine mechanics, but Clausen has even better. Clausen has much better deep accuracy and zip. But those are not the major differences at all. He seems as a tough player to me, that's the crucial part.

 

[Mitch]

The interesting comparison that Clausen is drawing from the draft pundits is to Kurt Warner. And I can see why. Clausen is a pocket passer who hangs tough until his has the right window and then has the quick compact release to get the ball out. Plus, he's the kind of QB who will take whatever the defense gives him and will be relentless doing so.

For example, versus BC this past year, BC was giving up an 8-10 yard cushion to the wide side of the field, for fear of Clausen going over the top to Golden Tate and the speed ND WRs.

Talk about making pro throws. Clausen put on a clinic, as play after play he threw out passes on frozen ropes to the wide side of the field (which is longer than the pros---it's about a 35 yard pass at least). I have never seen so many out passes in one game, ever, and ALL of them were right on the money...and Clausen's mechanics, footwork and delivery on all of theme were exactly the same.

Notre Dame hadn't beaten BC is the last 6 tries. Because of Clausen's relentlessness to take what BC was giving him, Notre Dame prevailed.

I will be honest, before this game, I was intrigued by Clausen but not sold for sure on him. But, after watching how focused, fundamentally strong and mentally tough he was in the game and seeing how live and accurate his arm was, I started to follow him more closely and what I saw each week convinced me even more, this kid is extremely good. And he couldn't have been prepared for the NFL any better than the way he was prepared by the coaches at Notre Dame.

 

[Southpaw]

Claussen is top ten pick. Only classic drop back guy in the draft. Better than Bradford.

 

[Russ Smith]

Russ -

Yes, but if he knows that the surgery is completely irrelevant for him to play through (which is indeed confirmed, now looking in retrospect), then I don't see any issue. If he had lots of problems and losing games because of it, then I would see the point. Maybe he also had some other surgery prior in his life, like with his nose or whatever, we don't know, and I don't even care, as long as it's irrelevent to his football career. If that injury was so relevant, he would be affected by it, that doesn't seem to be the case with the video game numbers he made. He took the decision that this "injury" wouldn't affect him at all. Then, there is no need to tell anything and create unnecessary discussions.

I think you are afraid of the word surgery itself, but lack to see that a surgery can be completely irrelevant for a footballplayer. There are lots of different types of surgery, as well as their outcome.

Leinart was not a leader in college, and he still isn't. He was surrounded by leaders that led him, not the other way arround. He looked soft to me, still looks soft. Never believed in him, and that won't change just because he is a Cardinal. He has not shown to be mature and leader enough so far, and therefore I still don't believe in him. It doesn't help that his rate of collapses on the field are so high. He has only suprised me regards with his position on the team. He has been a backup for so long, but yet he has not whined about it in media. Wheter that reflects his own choice or his agents strategy or the teams, we don't know. But if it his opinion indeed, I gotta give it to him, that's at least a small sign of toughness/maturity and willingness to finish a job properly.

Clausen has just that intesity and the way he leads his team during games, in huddle, there are serious lacks in the offense, yet he fixes all that with his brilliant play. Arrogance. There is absolutely zero arrogance in ML, Brady Quinn or Cutler as to take some examples. You can say, that the ND offense reminds of the Cardinals offense in that the strengths are the recievers, while everything else is either bad or mediocore at best. His skills are fine tuned for that situation and less requirement for adjusting.

Ironically for the discussion, it is exactly the arrogance that brought him in these minor issues off the field, that is my reason for the major difference between him and ML / Quinn etc etc. That is reflected on the field much more than off the field IMO. ML has fine mechanics, but Clausen has even better. Clausen has much better deep accuracy and zip. But those are not the major differences at all. He seems as a tough player to me, that's the crucial part.

So you're saying his throwing elbow is irrelevant?

 

[Russ Smith]

Claussen is top ten pick. Only classic drop back guy in the draft. Better than Bradford.

FWIW I don't like Bradford either although I like him better than Clausen. I don't think there is a sure fire NFL starter in this draft at QB.

 

[Mulli]

Claussen is top ten pick. Only classic drop back guy in the draft. Better than Bradford.

Wager.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Let's see J - I - M - M - Y - C -L - A - U - S - E - N.

Nope. Doesn't match.

So he MUST be better than Leinart.

 

[john h]

I'd probably be semi-okay taking him at 26 (and I'm a Leinart supporter), but it seems to me there are some bigger wholes to fill at other positions. I'm not even sure he'd be the best player on the board at that point.

The reason i'd be okay is that it IS such an important position it's better to have your bases covered than be left with bare cupboards if Leinart doesn't work out.

There is never a hole bigger to fill than QB if you are unsure you have one who can win. I have no idea of how Matt will do. My concern is that if our GM and Coaches have a concern then I am concerned. There are so many quotes out there about Matt and the Cards taking a QB one has to wonder just what our decision makers really think?

 

[john h]

You are my new best friend. If the Cardinals draft Claussen in the first, or even if they trade up for him in the second, I am totally out.

According to many post taking Warner was a large mistake.

 

[Mulli]

According to many post taking Warner was a large mistake.

 

[Stout]

There is never a hole bigger to fill than QB if you are unsure you have one who can win. I have no idea of how Matt will do. My concern is that if our GM and Coaches have a concern then I am concerned. There are so many quotes out there about Matt and the Cards taking a QB one has to wonder just what our decision makers really think?

No, one doesn't. Since those quotes are coming from everyone EXCEPT the Cards, they mean absolutely bubkus.

 

[Mulli]

No, one doesn't. Since those quotes are coming from everyone EXCEPT the Cards, they mean absolutely bubkus.

I am horrified that Rod Graves might trade Leinart for a hockey player. I saw that on the internets, I have to wonder...