What is wrong with Mallet?

[ajcardfan]

I like the kid, but I'm not stupid. That was a killer turnover. One bad enough where I would not want to pay him close to 80 million. With that said if we were in the mid to late 1st or you bet your bottom dollar top of the 2nd, I'm still pulling the trigger. He is still better than DA. It's not even close. DA is just terribly inaccurate while I think Mallet loves his arm too much.

What does get me though is why people keep making Skelton out to be more than he is. They keep propping up Skelton in comparison to Mallet. What good does that do?

To me, "stud" and "difference maker" means top 10 worthy. Maybe those words have different meaning to you. That's cool.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Either way, we'll screw it up. If we take Newton, he's a colossal bust. If we pass on him and take a pass rusher, our guy will get hurt and Newton will go superstar.

oh, I believe this as well... but at least with Newton I can probably fool myself for a couple years. With a DE/LB it'll be apparent IMMEDIATELY.

 

[clif]

oh, I believe this as well... but at least with Newton I can probably fool myself for a couple years. With a DE/LB it'll be apparent IMMEDIATELY.

Me too. I have zero faith in Whiz wanting to draft a QB nor do I have faith in him actually developing one. We will always be in the hunt for a bandaid while he is the coach. This year proved it beyond a doubt.

 

[clif]

To me, "stud" and "difference maker" means top 10 worthy. Maybe those words have different meaning to you. That's cool.

I think he is a difference maker for Arkansas. He made the difference between a 8-5 team to an 11-2 team.


Poor 3-13
Average 7-9
Good 9-7
Difference Maker 11-5
Stud 13-3

 

[Tashunca]

Or maybe the system created his faults. I would not be upset if we took him. He clearly believes in his arm too much, but if you can get him looking in the right direction he could be a stud. Too bad. He sadly will be scooped up by a good coach and someone will get a steal. Based on tonight I can't argue on passing on him at 5.

Josh Freeman was taken at number 18.

 

[Southpaw]

Didn't Marino supposedly have character issues?

If this is a replay of the great QB draft of all time, just please don't draft Todd Blackledge of the group.

Failed drug tests.

 

[Southpaw]

Opening play. Mallett hits his receiver, in stride, in the hands 30 yds downfield. TD. Ooooops , he droped it. Next play hits another receiver in the hands, 8n yds over the middle. Ooos, he dropped it. Same story rest of night. Alligator armed receivers and dropped balls. The guy made some NFL throws behind a porous OL. The back shoulder throws were gorgeous.

 

[schutd]

Terrible pick. First time seeing him play. Was not impressed at all. Looked in the throes of a full on panic attack every time the pocket collapsed, and to OSU's credit, it collapsed often. 5 yard check down passes, on the run, at 1000 miles an hour into receivers ankles? No thanks.

Regarding the INT, I thought that was a BRILLIANT defensive call,blitzing your cover guy and dropping the DE into coverage. Fooled the hell out of Mallett. He never saw it. Game over.

 

[schutd]

Opening play. Mallett hits his receiver, in stride, in the hands 30 yds downfield. TD. Ooooops , he droped it. Next play hits another receiver in the hands, 8n yds over the middle. Ooos, he dropped it. Same story rest of night. Alligator armed receivers and dropped balls. The guy made some NFL throws behind a porous OL. The back shoulder throws were gorgeous.

That first throw was catchable, but saying he hit him in stride? Thats a stretch. That ball, lowered 18 inches was a no brainer TD. He missed on that pass, there was plenty of space to get that ball in there properly, he rocketed it past him. That said, it still SHOULD have been caught. His receivers flat out sucked tonight. But he wasnt much better.

 

[football karma]

Mallett would feel very at home with the 2010 Cardinals

poor protection and receivers dropping passes that hit them in the hands

Watching last night, you can see why he is an highly rated NFL prospect. Big arm. A little bit of a wind up, but not a long release. That ball just zips. Cutler is a good comparison. I thought he was accurate -- I think the Derek Anderson comparisons are misguided.

Short throws seem a bit awkward from him -- a couple of WR screens and short dump offs were thrown low.

I thought his pocket awareness was fine-- OSU put a good rush on him, and often it was Cameron Hayward right up the gut. I didn't see alot of standing in and delivering a ball and taking a hit, instead he wanted to pull the ball down and move. Clearly he is a pocket passer, and when kept clean, missed only a couple throws. I also saw three or four throws on the move where the ball was delivered down the field accurately into a reasonably tight window.

You can also see the "maturity" issues ( I think some people call them "character" issues, implying that he did something illegal, but I dont think that is correct). He yelled at a WR on a missed pass, telling him to keep running. Also yelled at a OSU player after being sacked -- so definitely a temper there. I suppose if he is a good QB-- the temper is described as being competitive (see Phillip Rivers), but if he is a bad QB, he is immature (see Ryan Leaf).

I am not putting too much into the interception: a zone blitz with a d-lineman out in space. It happens, especially when you have to throw the ball 47 times.

I didn't see anything that invalidated him being a 1st round pick. Top 10? i dunno. But clearly there is NFL ability there.

FWIW; I like Blaine Gabbert more -- quicker release and better touch on shorter throws.

 

[Heucrazy]

I like Gabbert better as well. Mallett just seemed to fold like a cheap lawn chair if there was even a hint of pressure. And with the Cards oline he would horrible.

 

[desertdawg]

Does anybody think Gabbert is a good idea considering Skelton has just about the same skill set?

 

[Dback Jon]

Does anybody think Gabbert is a good idea considering Skelton has just about the same skill set?

If we didn't already have Skelton, and had a veteran QB for a couple of years, then yes, but not at 5, imho.

Under our current situation - Gabbert would be a total waste of a pick.

 

[Mulli]

Kerry Rhodes twittered that Mallet is legit, but his receivers killed him.

 

[football karma]

I like John Skelton:

but passing on a highly rated QB because he is on the roster is a huge leap of faith --

like passing on Aaron Rodgers because we had just drafted Josh McCown in the 3rd round the year before.

the easiest problem in the NFL to solve is having two good QBs on your roster.

Again -- I don't know if #5 is the right spot for any QB not named "Luck"

-- but there is no other position on the roster where we would say "you can't draft an X in the first round because we just spent a 5th rounder on one of those last year"

 

[PACardsFan]

Kerry Rhodes twittered that Mallet is legit, but his receivers killed him.

I'll take an accurate arm over a cannon these days. Even when DA was on target, which wasn't often, no one would catch the ball. Skelton is a big guy, with a big arm & we dropped a ton of his passes. The same thing happened last night. It seems to me that WR's struggle to catch the laser beams. Warner didn't have a gun, but NO ONE dropped his passes! Luck has decent size, but seems to throw a very catchable ball. I guess we should look for a guy around 6'3", with an average arm & great accuracy???

 

[john h]

Just like most of you I am all for doing what ever is necessary to get Luck, but we all know that is not going to happen.. so I want to know exactly what the heck is wrong with Mallet. Where is this bad wrap coming from. From everything I've seen he only had one ok to bad game and that was against Alabama? What the dilly yo?

I think Luck would pull a John Elway or Manning before he would sign with the Cards. I see almost zero chance of us getting Luck for many reasons. I read that Whiz does not like running QBs like Cam Newton although Newton's stock has been rising in recent weeks.

 

[football karma]

I think Luck would pull a John Elway or Manning before he would sign with the Cards. I see almost zero chance of us getting Luck for many reasons. I read that Whiz does not like running QBs like Cam Newton although Newton's stock has been rising in recent weeks.

I dunno

the Qb power play thing seems to happen only once every 20 years.

Why would Luck say yes to Carolina or Buffalo but no to Arizona?

 

[Heucrazy]

Does anybody think Gabbert is a good idea considering Skelton has just about the same skill set?

What? You must be thinking of someone else. Gabbert doesn't remind me of Skelton at all. Gabbert has a quick release, makes fast progressions, and is pretty accruate.

Now if you meant Mallett I agree as he reminds me of Skelton with less pocket awareness.

 

[Gaddabout]

No you said difference maker. I think he is one based on the fact that he got them to the sugar bowl for the first time ever. I didn't say he was great.

Uh, this is the first time Arkansas has been to the Sugar Bowl since joining the SEC 1990, but it's far from the "first time ever." They had been to the Sugar Bowl five times in the past as a member of the SWC. They also had a national championship in the SWC.

 

[john h]

Isn't Mallet on national TV tonight (Ohio St v Ark)?

Definitely a "must watch."

That first play of the game when Mallet hit Joe Adams in stride behind all defenders and he dropped it was the key play of that game. I have watched all the Arkasas games and it appeared to me that Arkansas was up tight in the first half. Three consecutive dropped passes in the bread basket. Arkansas lost three games this year. Auburn, Alabama, and Michigan. They were leading Alabama in the third quarter but all in all lost to 3 very good teams. They have nothing to be ashamed of.

Will the Cards draft a QB in round 1? I doubt anyone has a clue. Not even the Cards at this point. I think it is 15 January before underclassmen can declare for the draft and even then if they hire no agent they can still go back to school. Will Grim be fired or will he be fired or will he be hired as a head coach for another team. That is a strange situation. There is a lot of fire and smoke about our DC so my guess he is gone. Why wait if this is the case?

 

[Mulli]

Uh, this is the first time Arkansas has been to the Sugar Bowl since joining the SEC 1990, but it's far from the "first time ever." They had been to the Sugar Bowl five times in the past as a member of the SWC. They also had a national championship in the SWC.

1st time in 20 years equals difference maker.

 

[Gaddabout]

I'll take an accurate arm over a cannon these days. Even when DA was on target, which wasn't often, no one would catch the ball. Skelton is a big guy, with a big arm & we dropped a ton of his passes. The same thing happened last night. It seems to me that WR's struggle to catch the laser beams. Warner didn't have a gun, but NO ONE dropped his passes! Luck has decent size, but seems to throw a very catchable ball. I guess we should look for a guy around 6'3", with an average arm & great accuracy???

This is what I keep saying. People fall in love with arm strength for no apparent reason when accuracy is at a super premium.

There's a margin for arm strength in the NFL. It has to be strong enough to make all the throws. You don't have to have a cannon. It's FAR more important to be able to be accurate. Those guys are hard to fine because even with good mechanics and footwork, the kind of accuracy required to excel in the NFL is really a God-given talent. Completion percentage numbers in college can be really deceiving because so many teams run spread/shotgun with a lot of short and underneath routes that inflate numbers. You really want to find a guy who's spend some time under center and had to throw downfield and still completes 60+ percent over a career against quality competition. That's usually a sign they can make the transition, and even then it can be a crapshoot.

 

[Mulli]

This is what I keep saying. People fall in love with arm strength for no apparent reason when accuracy is at a super premium.

There's a margin for arm strength in the NFL. It has to be strong enough to make all the throws. You don't have to have a cannon. It's FAR more important to be able to be accurate. Those guys are hard to fine because even with good mechanics and footwork, the kind of accuracy required to excel in the NFL is really a God-given talent. Completion percentage numbers in college can be really deceiving because so many teams run spread/shotgun with a lot of short and underneath routes that inflate numbers. You really want to find a guy who's spend some time under center and had to throw downfield and still completes 60+ percent over a career against quality competition. That's usually a sign they can make the transition, and even then it can be a crapshoot.

Mallet's completion percentage is 58%. That includes his stats at Michigan. His % has gone up each year.

 

[chickenhead]

I think Mallet might have just thrown his way into the second round with this showing. He is right there with Jake Locker. We are down to three QB's for the first round now. Luck, Newton and Gabbert. Newton reminds me of Randall Cunningham and Gabbert reminds me of Kurt Warner only he can also run and get out of the pocket.

Locker will rise again after the combine. I personally think the combine is incredibly misleading at times, but someone is going to fall in love with his raw talent and athleticism. It won't be the Cardinals at #5, but I don't think he'll be there by our second pick either.