Senior Bowl Mike Shanahan interview

[jim1]

I asked Washington Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan what qualities he looks for in a quarterback and this was his answer:

"I’m asked that all the time and it is really hard to pinpoint it. Cause there is so many things you look for. A guy’s gotta be competitive, very competitive. A guy’s gotta be bright, extremely bright. You’d like a guy that is an athlete that can make plays on his own sometimes. Usually if he doesn’t have that athletic ability he’s got to be a little bit taller because he can see and be able to dump the ball off instead of using his feet. But at the end of the day there is so many things you look for and it’s always hard to find the prototype guy and a lot of times you have to adjust your offense to the type of quarterback you do have."

Competitive. Bright. Athletic. Tall. Doesn’t that basically describe Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) perfectly? You could make the argument that Oklahoma St. QB Brandon Weeden (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) fits the profile too. I guess technically it could fit Baylor QB Robert Griffin III (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) since he hedged at the end. It's obviously just an educated guess on my part, but if I were a betting man I’d say either Tannehill or Weeden will be playing for the Washington Redskins when next season rolls around.

Alabama OLB Courtney Upshaw (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) also spoke and said the best offensive lineman he faced this week was Georgia’s Cordy Glenn (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.). I asked Upshaw if there was extra competitiveness with Melvin Ingram (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) of South Carolina in practice since they are battling for the same slot on Draft Day and this was Courtney’s response:

I mean, we teammates man. Of course we all think about it, you know. We all read, go on Google and read this and that. But I’m here to win also. I’m a competitor. I don’t wanna come here and lose because I’m trying to compete with Melvin. Like I said that guy is a tremendous player and when I watch him rush and do his thing it’s like wow. It is what it is and hopefully I get drafted beforehand and if not right behind him."

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[Da Phinishisher]

The next QB Shanahan develops will be his first. IMO he's one of the most overrated HCs in the NFL.

[ckparrothead]

Man I love Courtney Upshaw.

Shanahan's answer was sufficiently ambiguous enough that he could've been talking about Robert Griffin, Ryan Tannehill, Brandon Weeden, OR Brock Osweiler. well-crafted answer.

Tannehill notches the most checkboxes for Shanahan, but not because of anything he said at the press conference.

[HybridPHIN 23]

The next QB Shanahan develops will be his first. IMO he's one of the most overrated HCs in the NFL.

Never heard of hall of Famer John Elway ? Shanahan was the QB coach/offensive coordinator when he was drafted ya know.
Theres also Pro-Bowler Jay Cutler. Didn't he have Jake Plummer playing out of his mind as well ?

[Awsi Dooger]

Shanahan says he's asked that quarterback question all the time but the media still whiffs on the most relevant questions, IMO, particularly in lack of follow up. For example, when Philbin mentioned passer rating differential in his introductory presser there wasn't a single related question. I haven't looked carefully but I didn't see any analysis in the local media.

What does an NFL team do with that information? I know darn well what to do as a bettor. But does Philbin anguish if next week's matchup is 30 points differential in favor of the opponent? Adjustments? Emphasize it to the coaches and quarterbacks all year? No clue.

The differential approach is somewhat flawed to begin with, if you don't grasp the value of strength or weakness at the extremes, regardless of the net. For example, Green Bay may have led the league in net this season but their defensive number was weak by historical standards, above 80. That implied vulnerability. And it would have been considerably higher minus the flood of interceptions, which don't always transfer to the post season. I don't view a +42 at 122-80 as favorably as let's say a +38 at 100-62, which would indicate a superior defense in this era. More and more seasons will flub the tendency of a team in the top two in net winning the title, if they try to do it with moderate defenses, to be kind.

It was more than amusing when Cold Hard Football Facts touted that stat this summer then the first season it's unveiled for public consumption the Packers and #2 Saints blew out before reaching the conference title game. They wrote a long article basically mocking the Giants' playoff chances against Green Bay, asserting all the differences from 2007 to 2011. That was getting a bit carried away with yourself. I could have told them you can't rely on the Packers. When I was a regular on Las Vegas radio the Packers were notorious for ruining the statistical or situational trend of the week. It got to be a running joke, to go the other way when Green Bay was involved.

In college football, where I've also used and studied YPPA Differential, Baylor this season had roughly the same net as Alabama but the range could not have been more diverse. Baylor was +3.2 at 10.8-7.6 while Alabama was +3.5 at 7.8-4.3. I'd have to be a world class moron to consider those teams roughly equivalent, and not to prioritize the astounding 4.3 defense, the best number in decades, eclipsing the 4.6 of ripped-off 2008 USC.

Anyway, regarding another point from the OP, I watched only one Senior Bowl practice and Cordy Glenn indeed looked good, quite agile on pass blocking with nice rooted form. I don't know where he's rated and wouldn't mind hearing some opinions. After following personnel closely from the late '70s through early the past decade it's now too much to keep track of, other than Canes and Trojans and a handful of guys here and there, now that I'm no longer on Las Vegas radio with a need to fake it. :lol:

[TedSlimmJr]

Cordy Glenn will look a lot like John Jerry at left tackle in the NFL. He'll get you by in a pinch, and won't be a liability to the point of not allowing the offense to execute and put up points. However, when you really break down the technique, you can clearly see a guy who's just not natural at the position. You can see the struggles within the struggles. Jerry consistently gets over-extended, and caught bending from the waist at the left tackle position trying to compensate for his lack of natural ability. But if the QB is getting the ball out of his hand on time, you won't notice the guy struggling with technique unless you look for it. Just because you didn't "give up" any sacks doesn't mean you're not struggling out there. You're competing.

I see the same things with Cordy Glenn. He's just much more natural inside where the worst thing he can do is lose leverage. Your offensive line is only as strong as it's weakest link. Finding the right mixture of 5 guys often boils down to figuring out where all 5 guys have the best chance to not kill the execution of your bread and butter, whatever that may be depending on the coach's scheme and philosophy.