QB of the future

[Love The Drake]

I don't get the Finley love.
Someone needs to sell me.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

However supposedly we had a scout at all his games so we know all about the kid.

To be fair, the Pats supposedly had a scout at all of Kevin O'Connell's games, and look how that turned out. . . .

 

[Love The Drake]

To be fair, the Pats supposedly had a scout at all of Kevin O'Connell's games, and look how that turned out. . . .

We did draft him

 

[ctpatsfan77]

We did draft him

Given his performance, though, I would hope they'd be a bit warier in the future.

 

[VJCPatriot]

As far as a QB goes I'm looking for the ultra competitive types. They don't need to have a 'golden arm' but if they got the fire like Brady, watch out!

Kevin O'Connell was a real disappointment. He had great athletic numbers but could never put it together at the pro level.

Talking of QB prospects how about Brett Rypien? He seems to have some intangibles to build upon and might be coached up in the Patriots system.

Scouting report:
https://www.sportsaldente.com/brett-rypien-nfl-draft-profile/

College stats:
Brett Rypien College Stats | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Highlights:


Film study:

 

[meatface]

Oof, that footwork looks rough, and that arm looks slow. Not a lot of zip on these throws either. They run a lot of spread stuff, which he doesn't look good in.
A couple blunders...
He calls for the snap as the fly motion is coming across, and they snap it into the WR.
He forces a deep ball with the pass rush approaching, and he gets hit on the throw. He couldn't finish his arm motion, so it's a duck to the FS. This is the kind of play that indicates slow processing speed, regardless of how bad his O-Line may be.

I don't think he's draftable. To play devil's advocate to someone that says 6'6" QBs don't grow on trees: other colleges knew this, and they still looked elsewhere. There's a reason he's playing for Central Connecticut.

Edit: That full game footage is from 2016. He looks a little better in 2018. More confident in the pocket, perhaps throwing a little harder. I think I'd want to see more from a different camera angle from 2018.

Apparently some people really like him. The Athletic did a feature on him. Article says he was looking at better offers than CCSU but got hurt his senior year of high school, also states that 6 GM's have him on their draft board, although it also says they arent sure if he will get drafted or signed as a high priority UDFA.

 

[patman52]

Would love it...only knock is him under pressure...my second favorite QB after Jones

My binkie for months now.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I don't get the Finley love.
Someone needs to sell me.

Except for the pop gun arm, he checks all the boxes, decision making and accuracy chief among them. But he is a total anticipation thrower.

Question is - on third and eight, can he put a ten yard out throw on the money in tight coverage? The answer is - no way! Not against nfl db’s.

 

[miloofcroton]

I don't get the Finley love.
Someone needs to sell me.

Do you remember when people called Tom Brady a system quarterback?

Do you think anything has changed since then?

There are different ways of playing football. The New England Patriots way is unique because it gives players advantages in whatever they're doing. If they're passing, they have either 4 receivers that are capable of running tight routes (and the occasional guy who can outran man, such as Moss or Dorsett) or a strong play action game with a very capable TE.

The Patriots tip their hand unlike most teams. Most teams want to line up in 3 wide and then call a run play based upon the numbers. Many teams are looking for the next Pat Mahomes, who they can rollout and make plays happen when everything breaks down. The Pats would line up in 3 wide and merely call a different pass protection if need be, but they're almost definitely passing and almost definitely on schedule.

The Pats need guys that can do their job, no hyperbole intended. The job of the quarterback is to make sure the offense can run. They don't have to be the hero, like the other teams where the QB is hung out to dry because they overloaded on star WR talent and left the O Line to the birds, or because they just rely upon talent at the QB position to avoid pocket pressure.

The hard thing about playing QB for the Pats is making throws reliably and making quick reads reliably. That's not enough in some systems, like I just explained. But it makes you a star in New England.

Finley is a guy that you can run your offense with, and there's not another guy in the draft that I'd comfortably say that about.

 

[miloofcroton]

Except for the pop gun arm, he checks all the boxes, decision making and accuracy chief among them. But he is a total anticipation thrower.

Question is - on third and eight, can he put a ten yard out throw on the money in tight coverage? The answer is - no way! Not against nfl db’s.

Finley has enough arm. He needs to learn to get his lower body into his throws more because he's using mostly his upper body right now, but I saw plenty of pop in his arm at the combine.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Finley has enough arm. He needs to learn to get his lower body into his throws more because he's using mostly his upper body right now, but I saw plenty of pop in his arm at the combine.

Might I be so bold as to suggest a desperately needed trip to the eye doctor in the near future?

 

[miloofcroton]

Justice Hansen looks like a good late round option. He has all of the downsides Drew Lock along with many but not all of the upsides, but he doesn't have nearly the same draft stock. There are obviously concerns, but he has physical talent to work with.

To put it bluntly, I like his arm.

Worth mentioning is that Hansen looked atrocious versus Alabama, but Hansen also plays for Arkansas State, and Alabama is probably better than the '17 Browns at this point.

 

[Kontradiction]

Patriots scouts on-hand to watch Murray throw seems like kind of a waste of time unless they’re planning to trade up to #1 overall... which they won’t. But I get it. Due diligence just in case.

 

[miloofcroton]

Just going to say... I watched some of Rosen in his rookie year, and it wasn't good. He was making all kinds of mental errors that you wouldn't expect based upon his reputation. And sure, he was a rookie with a crap team, but still. The physical talent left something to be desired too.

My money is all in on Ryan Finley.

 

[SBLIII]

I don't get the Finley love.
Someone needs to sell me.

Looks like a 6-7 rounder to me. He is pretty old as well.

Might throw **** against the wall and see if it sticks though. We have lots of late round picks.

 

[Love The Drake]

Lock if we trade ahead of Denver
I'm thinking Jones Stidham Jackson Rypien in that order.

 

[Snooky97]

None.. Wait till next year or save picks for Trevor..

 

[SBLIII]

None.. Wait till next year or save picks for Trevor..

agreed top 7 picks should be OL, DE, DT, S, WR, TE and CB/LB/double dip TE/DE/WR/DT.

 

[miloofcroton]

I'm looking deep, yet again

How about Eric Dungey? He's probably the #1 athlete at QB in the draft, making him excellent at extending the play outside the pocket and running when necessary. 4 year starter. He's a leader, from what I've read. No, he doesn't have a cannon for an arm and has never been a prolific passer, but he's also had to carry a bad team for four years. Ya, he throws an ugly ball, but he's throwing it downfield and hitting at 60%, which is honestly better than some of these other guys. No, I don't like his abbreviated throwing motion, but maybe he can work on that. It actually has come along and looks better this year than in years past.

And actually, from watching tape, it looks like his arm strength is coming along. It's easy to forget that these guys are only 20, 21, 22. Their bodies are still developing.

So, I kinda like Dungey. He didn't even get a combine invite, so maybe he'll be a bargain?

Here's tape from his final game last year:

Also, definitely watch this game. I'm in the third quarter, and he has his team beating #3 Clemson 16-7! He's leading the team right now. One of the things I'm most impressed with is that he knows when not to force a play. When Clemson's talent advantage takes over a play, Dungey makes the smart call and lives to play another down.

He has good zip on balls when his body is properly aligned. He only really has this awkward windup when he doesn't have his hips pointed in the right direction. I'm shocked no one has fixed that yet... But that should be something easily fixable in the NFL.

He's making pretty good reads. Only a couple mistake throws.

Incredible toughness when running the ball. They use him like Cam Newton at the goalline.

Edit: Hmmm, his pro day is tomorrow. I'll have to be on the lookout for clips from it.

Edit2: He gave an interesting interview a couple days ago...

Link: Syracuse football QB Eric Dungey talks Pro Day prep with Mike Tirico

On what he has been doing at the Russell Wilson QB Academy:

Dungey: "For the most part I’m just working 1-on-1 with Jake Heaps, who is one of the lead guys there. He’s been doing wonders for me, getting me on the whiteboard, really installing some NFL offenses and, for the most part, just getting my fundamentals right.

“I went through college, and it’s more about the Xs and Os, and Jake has really been breaking down my feet and basically I was throwing the ball wrong for four years in college. I wasn’t using any of my legs, and now I’m able to do that and get my footwork right. I’m able to throw a much better ball.

So basically, this is exactly what I was saying, and I'm glad it's being worked on.

He's a pure QB, not an athlete that you use like a swiss army knife, but I love this attitude:

On Taysom Hill and being more than a quarterback at the next level:

Dungey: "I’ve heard his name quite a few times.

“It obviously has rattled around my mind. I obviously want to play quarterback, but I just want to play. I just want to win. That’s the biggest thing about me. Whatever teams want me to do, I’ll do it, but I’m going to come in as a quarterback."

 

[miloofcroton]

Reports are that Dungey ran a 4.59 40 and looked pretty good in drills. I watched some grainy Twitter vid and was decently impressed with his mechanical improvements. He has a very compact release now that looks great on shorter throws. Not impressed with his deep ball though.

I'm going to have to be 'that guy' and wonder about Dungey's hand size. Grip is one of those things that can affect deep balls because it's harder to maintain a spiral when you release it at a higher angle and with more force than usual. I'm sure you've experienced this if you've ever been playing catch, tried to throw it as far as you could, and threw a complete duck.

In other news, Wilton Speight worked out in the Michigan pro day, not the UCLA one. Says something, both about Michigan's friendliness with him and how he got sort of screwed at UCLA. He could be another darkhorse candidate.