Matt Ryan??

[wartowne]

Aside from Ryan, BC wouldn't even be a bowl team...even in the ACC. Ryan needs to go to a team where he can sit a year, learn the speed of the Pro game and put on some weight. Green Bay maybe?

The guy is 6'5", strong arm, smart, good pocket awareness and has shown solid leadership skills. What else do you want?

Your assessment of Ryan is good. He's got lots of tools and moxie, and is unpolished as you would expect a college QB to be on an NFL scale. A good coach could really develop Ryan into an excellent NFL QB.

However, BC isn't just a 1 man band. BC has lost when they have played bad defense, and won when they've played good defense this season. Look at the VTech game. The O was abysmal for almost the entire game, but VTech only scored 10 points. Similar deal with the defense keeping BC within reach of winning the game against Clemson.

BC has been in bowl games every year since 1999 and returned a lot of starters from a team that went 10-3 in 2006. I don't think there's any way that saying they'd miss a bowl game if Ryan was out is accurate. No chance at a BCS game? Yes, that is likely, but they could make it to their standard ACC #3-4-5 type game.

ACC Championship Game December 1, 2007. Go Eagles!

 

[mgteich]

I agree that we should have a veteran backup QB; need is another question entirely.

Belichick believes that Tom Brady cannot be injured. He therefore does not waste cap money on a veteran NFL backup, which mere mortals would think a critical compenent of the team.

Belichick seems to think that there is no team without Tom Brady. So, he seems little point in providing a reasonable backup.

I have a suggestion for all those who think that Cassell is ready to start if needed: pass the koolaid. Yes, Gutierrez is a fine future prospect. That does not remove the "need" for a veteran backuip for Brady.

ok, ok. I shouldnt have said the name Matt Ryan. My bad.

the IDEA is regarding dealing with the backup QB issue. I dont feel its a good idea to have this historically great team one hit away from being a 10-6 at best team.

We need a solid NFL backup. If not the high draft pick, what are the best ways to do it?

 

[PatriotsReign]

No chance at a BCS game? Yes, that is likely, but they could make it to their standard ACC #3-4-5 type game.

ACC Championship Game December 1, 2007. Go Eagles!

If they win the ACC CG, they will play in a BCS bowl automatically, won't they?

 

[TruthSeeker]

No, I am a huge BC fan and Matt Ryan is overrated. He has pulled out some clutch wins but thats just about it.

Well, I've seen Matt Ryan in about 4 games this year. From that sample, I'd say he holds the ball longer than Bledsoe, has never seen a sack he didn't like and is often off-target.

All this means that he is a sure-fire NFL clipboard holder at ridiculous prices for a number of years. Let it be on some team other than the Patriots.

 

[Lifer]

Whats the one position where the Patriots empire is most vunerable?

I submit that everything comes crashing down, winning Super Bowls-wise, if Tom Brady goes down. What sustained the great 49er dynasty, and turned it from a 10 year reign, to a 18 year reign, was having Steve Young to replace Joe Montana.

If the Patriots get a very high pick from the 49ers fall this year, I think they should use it to draft the very best QB available. Im looking long term here, they must find Tom Brady's replacement now, as time does march on.

Any other injury or loss they can recover from, but not a Brady injury. I'd love to see a guy like Matt Ryan being groomed to take over. Im not convinced if Brady gets hurt tonight that a Matt Cassell can take them anywhere. So they need to think big with this potential high pick.

Think Montana and Young. How many draft picks is 8 years of a continued dynasty worth?

ok, 13 months later. I was wrong about Cassel at that point. But I was correct about Matt Ryan. No applause please
And he wouldnt have been a FA after this year either.
Then again, we wouldnt have Mayo.

ok, ok, im glad we drafted Mayo, but I was right that Ryan would be really good.

 

[Scouse Patriot]

Sometimes I like looking at threads like these because it's shows who really has a clue consistantly about prospects, which for me is good because I don't see alot of college football, if any at all. Even if the subject matter is a little nuts...

Thats my excuse for liking Gholston.

 

[Lifer]

Sometimes I like looking at threads like these because it's shows who really has a clue consistantly about prospects, which for me is good because I don't see alot of college football, if any at all. Even if the subject matter is a little nuts...

Thats my excuse for liking Gholston.

this thread is hysterical. people saying that Ryan is slower than Bledsoe, overated etc etc.....

again, that being said, i didnt show much confidence in Cassel, although i did post in this thread that if Brady got hurt, the Patriots would go 10-6 at best.
ironically, the reason the Patriots will go 10-6 or 11-5 isnt because Brady got hurt, but mostly, i think, because of the defense and special teams failures. This is a great testimony to Matt Cassel!

 

[billdog3484]

i mean, you probably also stated that Vernon Gholston was the one player we needed to put our pass rush over the top.

 

[ScottishPatriots]

Sometimes I like looking at threads like these because it's shows who really has a clue consistantly about prospects, which for me is good because I don't see alot of college football, if any at all. Even if the subject matter is a little nuts...

Thats my excuse for liking Gholston.

You need to subscribe to NASN, you can see plenty of College Football here

Gholston is looking like a major bust but then thats what you get when the Jets take you in the first.

 

[Scouse Patriot]

again, that being said, i didnt show much confidence in Cassel, although i did post in this thread that if Brady got hurt, the Patriots would go 10-6 at best.
ironically, the reason the Patriots will go 10-6 or 11-5 isnt because Brady got hurt, but mostly, i think, because of the defense and special teams failures. This is a great testimony to Matt Cassel!

Who really did? I never because in fairness he didn't look anything like a QB at one point. He's done brilliantly though since then though so fair play to him.

You need to subscribe to NASN, you can see plenty of College Football here

Gholston is looking like a major bust but then thats what you get when the Jets take you in the first.

I used to get that for free and caught a couple but now it's not really worth my while to pay for it. Totaly forgot about the channel tbh.

Yeah, Gholston is taking his time to adjust. He was a physical beast in college and I think he could count on beating players with that alone but now he's in the NFL with elite athletes he's having to find other ways in his game aswell as a role he'd have to adjust too again.

If he doesn't improve next season he's a massive, rather expensive bust.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

ok, 13 months later. I was wrong about Cassel at that point. But I was correct about Matt Ryan. No applause please
And he wouldnt have been a FA after this year either.
Then again, we wouldnt have Mayo.

ok, ok, im glad we drafted Mayo, but I was right that Ryan would be really good.

Fun to revisit old threads. 3 things about this one stick out.

1) I think most of us were wrong about Cassel. Credit Coach for knowing a sh!tload more about player development then we here at PF.com

2) Talking about Ryan is moot. We NEVER had a ACTAUL shot at him. He ended up going third and at the time you wrote this post, we were staring at a high pick (or more realistically a "too early to tell pick"), but until the season ends, you never know . It's kinda like saying "If we'd have picked Adrian Peterson last year, our run game would be so much better". It's one thing to take a pass on someone and he turns out to be great, ala Brady, but this is altogether different situation.

I see what you are saying though.

3) Ryan is doing very well this year. I'm not entirely convinced that Atlanta's turnaround is all him. There is a new culture there and they are doing a great job utilizing his strengths. Couple other things of late that are disturbing a bit. Had some poor decisions in his last 2 games and has a 1/3 TD/INT ratio and his QB rating is a full 12-13 pts lower then his season ave. to that point. He won one, lost one, but both games were close. Both were divisional opponents that had more film to watch and playing him again. Also 5 of Atlanta's wins came against teams with losing records, including OAK, DET & KC (arguably the 3 worst teams in the league). 2 of the others are divisional game split wins (which are typical). For the money they spent too, he better be doing well. They are an improve team and he is doing well with them, paticularly well again other marginal/poor teams.

Bottom line, he's having a great year, as is his team...... but I think e may have to wait a few years to say he could've been the next Steve Young.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

ok, ok. I shouldnt have said the name Matt Ryan. My bad.

the IDEA is regarding dealing with the backup QB issue. I dont feel its a good idea to have this historically great team one hit away from being a 10-6 at best team.

We need a solid NFL backup. If not the high draft pick, what are the best ways to do it?

Nah. We stick with Cassel. But there is this kid at San Jose State we should grab if he makes it to the third round. If Brady went down in the first week I think the team could manage to eek out 10-6 or even 11-5 and go to the playoffs. Unless Jets somehow find a probowl QB that should be enough to win the division.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Lifer: Great. Kudos to you for pointing out a year ago the Pats vulnerability should Tommy get hurt and even moreso for having the courage to remind us how wrong you were about Cassel (but you had a lot of company on the latter).

To me this all boils down to the following:

One, in the cap era it is impossible to keep two proven, premium QB's in their prime on a Roster without shorting other positions.

Two, as a result, the ability of Coaches and Management to spot and nurture the "right" unproven backup QB in their system is critical.

Three, not only do Coaches and Management have to develop the right backup in their system, but, just as importantly, they have to trust their judgment as he gets his sea legs during his first few, full-speed NFL games as a starter. Let's face it, if Piolichick had listened to some of the garbage that was written on this board about Matt in September and October, they would have optioned him to the CFL. But, they know their jobs a lot better than any of us can know them.

Four, as the Jets are (hopefully) proving this year, it is better, as a general rule, for a team to trust its judgment and grow its own talent within its own system at QB over the years, rather than rely on parachuting in a veteran. The latter is a risky strategy at best. So far, it's working out for Miami, but do any of us really think that Chad (whom I honestly admire as a Warrior after observing him pretty closely here in New York for several years) is going to take the Dolphins deep into January this year, or next year, even if he gets them to the Playoffs? Kurt Warner is QB for a Divsion Winner, but his record is 8--6, soon to go to 8--7 (we all hope). The Titans peaked early under Kerry Collins' veteran leadership, but few are picking them today to be in Tampa.

Five, the Pats could be facing a dilemma that at least half the teams in the NFL would kill for when they have to decide whether to franchise Matt (who I truly believe is going to be a major star at QB) or roll the dice on TB's being ready to go on day one.