As we creep closer to spring football, writers have gotten a little bit more creative when coming up with content with news and information hard to come by. Here are a couple ideas I wish I would’ve come up with first:
* Over at SubwayDomer.com, the boys take on a wonderful debate topic: Brady vs. Jimmy. What former quarterback would Charlie Weis — again an NFL coordinator — want on his team?
Here’s a quick rundown of their picks:
TEAM BRADY:
Brady Quinn would be the easy pick for Charlie to take. Brady’s college
line reads like this. 929-1,602 for 58%. 11,762 passing yards, 95 TD’s
and only 39 INT’s for a rating of 134.4. Oh yeah, he also rushed for 6
TD’s in his career as the master of the QB sneak. At 6’4″ 235 the dude
is a beast. Brady was recruited under Ty Willingham and became the
starter as a freshman. It wasn’t until Quinn’s JR year that his success
took off under Charlie Weis.The thing that really sets Brady apart from Jimmy Clausen is 353 passing
attempts. Thats 353 more passing attempts in the NFL that Jimmy Clausen
has. Quinn has played in 15 NFL games. He has experience reading
coverage’s, trying to figure out pre-snap disguises and has had game
time to adjust to the speed of the game. Brady’s numbers might not be
the best in the NFL, but they are NFL numbers nonetheless. He completed
over half his passes and he has more career TD’s than INT’s. He did all
this while playing behind a porous line for the Browns and had almost
zero talent at the skill positions. Brady is clearly the better option
for Charlie to take.
TEAM JIMMY:
Jimmy’s numbers may be less than Brady’s, but he also had one less year
as he is forgoing his senior year for the NFL. There is no doubt that
Jimmy was certainly on pace to break Brady’s ND records. Jimmy was a
standout college QB, but there are more than just numbers with Jimmy
Clausen. No question about it, Jimmy and Charlie are forever linked
together… Jimmy was Charlie’s first big get. The number one QB coming out of high
school, Jimmy chose ND to specifically work with Charlie Weis. Since
Jimmy arrived on campus the two went through a veritable gauntlet
together.On a purely technical side, it would be much easier for Weis to pick up
right where he left off with Jimmy. Brady has been out of the Weis
system for three years, and it might take some getting used to for Brady
if he wound up in KC. Jimmy has proved he has the arm, the accuracy,
and the guts to make it in the pros. He left ND because Weis got fired,
there is no question these two share a bond, which is why Clausen would
be the best fit for KC. Jimmy’s numbers + bond with Charlie = Jimmy
rules (That’s exact science).
Since I’m hijacking this post, I might as well give my opinion on the argument, too. If I’m the Kansas City Chiefs right now, I’m probably choosing to work with Brady Quinn, though it isn’t because Charlie Weis told me so. Jimmy Clausen is going to cost a team a first round draft pick and a lot of guaranteed dollars. The market for Brady Quinn was softer than baby food. A sixth round pick and a run first fullback for a guy that you traded a number one pick for? More importantly, you’ve got to negotiate a contract with Clausen’s representatives, which likely will keep him tied up negotiating into training camp. That’s the exact kind of scenario that kept Quinn out of camp his rookie year and put him behind Derek Anderson to begin with. Intangibly, I think Brady’s the better leader, better teammate, and he’s already been through the circus before with significant NFL experience. But if I was picking quarterbacks on the sand lot and I wanted to win, it’d be a lot harder to call BQ’s name first.
Great debate topic by the guys at Subway Domer, especially on St. Patrick’s Day.
* Over at Under the Golden Dome, Nick Shepkowski brings March Madness to Notre Dame football, with a NCAA-style bracket to determine who the best Irish football player is of the last 25 years.
Shep’s broken the brackets into four groups: Quarterbacks, Defense/O-Line, WR/TE, and Running Backs. There are some heated battles too: No. 4 seed Tommy Zbikowski vs. No. 5 seed Justin Tuck and No. 4 Golden Tate vs. No. 5 Derrick Mayes.
If I had a bone to pick, it’d be with the selection committee. Putting all the defensive players in the same group as offensive lineman? Slotting Maurice Stovall as the sixth best wide receiver or tight end of the last 25 years, when Michael Floyd ranks eighth and John Carlson ranks seventh? Rhema McKnight could be there before Stovall. And where’s Shane Walton, Notre Dame’s last consensus first team All-American before Golden Tate made it there this season?
Arguing seeding is half the fun with a story like that and great conversation piece among Notre Dame fans who might spend the evening carousing.
