Live from Flowery Branch: Stafford, Ziggy and the NFL draft!
Flowery Branch — A declaration: I wouldn’t have taken Matthew Stafford No. 1 overall. I say this as someone who saw his first collegiate pass (against Western Kentucky) and his last (against Michigan State) and several hundred in between. He’s a great talent, but I don’t think he’ll be a great NFL quarterback.
I thought he was a very good college quarterback, and there’s no doubt he fits the NFL prototype as well as anyone ever has — he’s smart, he’s tall and he has, as the world knows, that big right arm. My reservations have nothing to do with anything physical. My reservations regard attitude.
I see Stafford as a guy who too often tried to get by on the strength of that big arm and who threw too many killing interceptions as a consequence. (See Florida, 2008.) I see a quarterback who wasn’t so much a team leader as a solo act. More to the point, I’ve never seen in Stafford the attention to detail that you get with Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or, yes, Matt Ryan.
Not long ago I described Stafford as diffident, and I’ve since wondered if I misused the word. So I looked it up yet again — you can, too, by going here — and I’ve decided I didn’t. For all his gifts, Stafford is indeed reserved and unassertive. (And I mean in his demeanor, not as it pertains to his big arm.) I’ve never gotten the feeling that losing gnawed at him the way the Ole Miss game got to Tim Tebow.
And yes, those with long memories will recall that I wrote last fall that Stafford would outplay Tebow in Jacksonville. I was wrong. (Fancy that!) But it wasn’t so much that Tebow did anything extraordinary that day — he would subsequently do the extraordinary in the SEC title game against Alabama — as he avoided the Big Mistake. Stafford thew an interception (on first-and-10 from the Florida 30) when Georgia trailed 14-3 in the third quarter, whereupon the game fell apart.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.No, you cannot blame Stafford for Georgia’s three defensive collapses last season. But in three years of watching him I’ve never sensed he grasps the sensitiviy of his position. He can make all the throws, yes, but too often he tries to make one throw too many. He’ll throw into triple coverage or fling it off his back foot, and because he has the big arm he’ll sometimes get away with it. Sometimes, alas, he won’t.
If you’re the 0-16 Lions, you need a quarterback who can make plays. (Actually, you need everything.) But if you’re ever going to get good, you’ll need a quarterback who can manage games. I’m not sure Stafford can do that at the NFL level. He’s not Jeff George — he’s a better guy than that — but I do see in Stafford the same overrating of one big arm and the same underrating of football’s nuances.
There, I’ve said it. Perhaps you disagree. That, conveniently enough, is why there’s a comment box below.
Give me Ziggy or give me … sea bass?
I’m not going to lie. I’d love to see the Falcons take a defensive tackle in Round 1, and I’d prefer that tackle to be Evander Hood, who goes by Ziggy, of Missouri. But at this point I’m willing to grant Thomas Dimitroff the benefit of every doubt.
As UGA B wrote on the ol’ blog yesterday: “If I went to dinner with the guy and he told me to try the sea bass, I’d try the sea bass.”
And guess what the Falcons are serving for the media lunch/dinner? Sea bass!
(Kiding. According to publicist Frank Kleha, we’ll be dining on roast beef au jous and potatoes of some sort. I’ll save y’all some!)
Travel notes
I had my plan. I was going to listen to Sirius NFL Radio all the 51.4 miles it takes me to drive to Flowery Branch. But before I could switch over, “Medicated Goo” by Traffic was playing on Deep Tracks. Then came “The Loner” by Bernard Shakey. Then “Bouree” by Jethro Tull.” It was only after I hit Spaghetti Junction and Wishbone Ash came on that I flipped over. At which point …
The guys on “Press Coverage” were talking about — you guessed it — Stafford, and Lions fans kept calling in and griping about his contract, which calls for $41 million or $78 million or some number in between. Stop me if you’ve heard this already, but Detroit is in an economic slump. And a No. 1 pick making that kind of money going to that particular city is going to have to overcome a lot of negativity.
Then again, Ryan had more than a few folks to convince when he came here. But I say it again: Matty Stafford isn’t Matty Ice.
Round-by-round predictions
This from Sporting News Today, which offers a projection on every pick in all seven rounds. Here’s who SNT has the Falcons taking:
- Larry English, defensive end, Northern Illnois.
- Marcus Freeman, linebacker, Ohio State
- James Casey, tight end, Baylor
- Woody Turenne, cornerback, Louisville
- Clinton McDonald, defensive tackle, Memphis, and Ra’Shon Harris, defensive tackle, Oregon
- Tom Bradstater, quarterback, Fresno State
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844 comments Add your comment
Bill
April 25th, 2009
10:07 pm
Thanks mark for a long day of fun and all the info. 2 great picks and looking forward to next season.
Mark Bradley
April 25th, 2009
10:08 pm
A record on the new blog, Cuz, which debuted in February. The old one broke 1,000 a time or two, if I’m not mistaken.
Cuz
April 25th, 2009
10:08 pm
Give it a rest Mark, see ya tomorrow.
Mark Bradley
April 25th, 2009
10:09 pm
You’re welcome, Bill. And you know, in 25 years in Atlanta I’d gotten used to covering the draft and ripping the Falcons. It’s kind of refreshing to go the complimentary route for a change.
Mark Bradley
April 25th, 2009
10:10 pm
Thanks, Cuz. But I won’t be here tomorrow. D-Led will be your master of ceremonies, I believe.
Bill
April 25th, 2009
10:10 pm
You the man!
Mark Bradley
April 25th, 2009
10:13 pm
Thanks, Bill, but I’m afraid you overrate me.
And, being that I didn’t see a single minute of the Hawks game, can somebody tell me just what in the wide world of sports happened to them?
Barry Jay
April 25th, 2009
10:28 pm
On the Hawks…can you say “choke”? Can you say, “stunk up the place”? Can you say, “Couldn’t hit the basket if it were the size of a barn?”
Mark Bradley
April 25th, 2009
10:31 pm
I can say all of those things, Barry, and in my time I’ve said them all about the Hawks. But I didn’t think I’d be saying them in this series.
chuck
April 25th, 2009
10:38 pm
Can we give all of our picks from round 4 on for a couple of more picks in round 3?
urban legend
April 25th, 2009
10:44 pm
does anyone who isn’t a UGA fan think we should draft Asher Allen?!
BirdWatcher70
April 25th, 2009
10:58 pm
U Legend I’m a UT fan but also a Falcon fan from way back. I really don’t see what the love affair with Allen is all about. IMO if DJ Moore (or a couple others) and Allen are on the board at the same time we’d be insane to draft him. Again maybe I’m wrong I have been before, I just think there are better guys out there
O'brien
April 25th, 2009
11:03 pm
Mr. Bradley, You said nobody gets to write “Fire Woodson” but you. After seeing the way the Hawks played and were dominated in game 2 and 3 (bad defense, no adjustments, no half-court system) how do you feel about Woody now?
chuck
April 25th, 2009
11:07 pm
Can we give the Bravos some luv b4 this day is through?
ugafan
April 25th, 2009
11:28 pm
does anybody know what kind of black bracelet stafford has on during games?
Bub
April 25th, 2009
11:39 pm
Mark, don’t know if has been asked, but can you name one other “killing interception” Stafford has thrown in the past two years, in addition to at Florida in ‘08? Of course he’s thrown other INTs, but what QB hasn’t? Your beloved Matty Ice, who I’m a huge fan of myself, threw 19 INTs his senior year, twice as many as Stafford last year, & I’m sure some of them were ill-timed as well. I respect that you have an opinion, I just disagree with about 90% of what you wrote today & don’t know where it’s coming from, really. Certainly not reality.
SE GA LADY
April 26th, 2009
12:05 am
I bet all the drafted UGA football players, especially your favorite target, Matthew Stafford, cannot wait to get away from all you anti-UGA writers at the AJC. Oh, by the way, what happened to your editor, and why can’t I buy an Atlanta Journal down here on SSI? The vendors say that you guys say it is “cost prohibitive.”
UGA could not possibly have been as bad as you say, or they would not have had two players in the top 12. Also, Mo went in the second round. As a 5th grade teacher, I would say it sounds a wee bit like jealously that the guys you wanted didn’t get it!!!
Mark Bradley
April 26th, 2009
12:21 am
Just off the top of my head, Bub, I remember the two on consecutive possessions at Kentucky — one from the Georgia 1-yard line, the other from the Kentucky 2-yard line. Those were massive. And then he threw another on Georgia’s final drive to seal the loss.
And didn’t Tech return one for a touchdown in Athens last year?
Mark Bradley
April 26th, 2009
12:23 am
Actually, Mr. O’Brien, I didn’t see any of the game tonight. (Last night now.) But I kept hearing scores. Didn’t exactly sound as if the Hawks hit the floor running.
North ga grad
April 26th, 2009
12:53 am
Bradley your comments are without merit.Stafford has talent and will be
a great pro passer.he was never appreciated by the fans.most fans that complain never played even pop warner football.they need to get a life.
Kyle
April 26th, 2009
1:43 am
Quit with the George comparisons! He was a tool and an idiot – Stafford is neither. He will have a very good pro career.
Bradley, regarding your analysis, you could do a global search and replace, generally, with P. Manning replacing M. Stafford. In Peyton’s TN losses, he often looked awfully pedestrian (SEC defenses will do that to you). AND those TN teams were LOADED with a stable of WRs and RBs unlike anything Matt has had at UGA. Get over yourself regarding Matty Ice. I too am impressed with him (after thinking the Falcons had reached way too high to get him). Ask yourself, though, just how well would he have done (i.e., how calm, cool and collected would he have been) had Michael Turner not had his outstanding season? I argue that without Turner, Matty Ice would have likely melted under the pressure of being an NFL rookie QB, not because he wasn’t capable but because he would have shouldered too much too soon. The chips, luckily, fell into place perfectly for the Falcons and Ryan was fortunate to have his first season be both manageable and surprisingly productive.
David
April 26th, 2009
6:51 am
Mark, as a UGA fan, I agree with your assessment on Stafford. He actually reminded me a lot of Chipper Jones. I think it took Chipper about 10-12 seasons before he became a real leader in the clubhouse. For Stafford, he’s the QB so he only gets about 10 days before he needs to lead.
Perhaps his tunnel vision for the NFL limited his performance in college? For his sake, I hope he can step up and prove us wrong…
Absolem Malakesh
April 26th, 2009
7:17 am
Go Torki
Gen Neyland
April 26th, 2009
7:38 am
Stafford’s dream of ‘Today could be the day’ has come to pass, or fumble. The Lions!? At least he’s now another of Georgia’s instant millionaires. What Hollywood starlette will be hooked to his wallet by years end..? Nonetheless, good luck to him and the other 87,000 drafted and free agents entering the Big Show…
beanuga
April 26th, 2009
7:42 am
Stafford will make it as a NFL quarterback. I just watched the UGA 2008 football highlight video yesterday. Stafford will do just fine in the NFL. If you don’t think Stafford was a leader, then you need to watch the interviews of him in the locker room after the games. MS led a very young team last year to a lot of victories. He never got a chance to play behind a veteran OL. The only thing that MS has going against him is going to the worst team in the NFL. Atleast he has one good reciever to throw too.
webdawg
April 26th, 2009
7:55 am
THEN WHO? AND WHY? THAT’S WHY YOUR A HALF… WRITER AND NOT A COACH!!!!!!!
Bub
April 26th, 2009
8:27 am
Mark, maybe you misread my question about Stafford’s “killing interceptions”. I asked about any bad INTs he threw in the past 2 years, not when he was thrown into the fire as a true freshman. I don’t think it’s totally fair or valid to include that time when evaluating his pro prospects, because 90% of QBs, including Sanchez, were watching from the sidelines at that time. As for the Tech INT, yes, it was returned for a TD, but again, what QB HASN’T had an INT returned for a TD at some point or another? That pick occured in the 1st quarter, not the 4th, so it wasn’t THAT huge of a deal (about 75 points were scored by the two teams afterwards). Fact is, in the past two years his decision making & accuracy were much improved. He & Sanchez threw the same number of INTs this past year (10), which again was about half of what Ryan threw as a 5th year senior (19).
slimpickens
April 26th, 2009
8:43 am
Typical Atlanta press response!
DawgMan
April 26th, 2009
9:13 am
Stafford will make millions, but may end up as a bust like Joey Harrington. The Lions always screw up the draft somehow—the worst organization in the history of pro sports.
beanuga
April 26th, 2009
10:44 am
Stafford led last years team with a poor defense, poor special teams and injury plagued . MR tried a onside kick in the beginning of the Gator game. Killed momentum instantly. MR did not trust the Defense or DC. Good luck Stafford and Moreno!!!!! Go Dawgs.
Steve Hunter
April 26th, 2009
11:03 am
In reading the AJC I have come to a conclusion. UGA and its players really suffer because of the constant scrutiny of its players and coaches. No wonder the fans are always griping. You have the first player taken in the draft from your team ,and your coach is one of only 7 or so in the history of the game to win 80 games in his first 8 years (also, in the toughest conference in America). So how do the media and the fans react to this? We blast our QB that is taken as the first pick and our coach. Until the media and fans develop some loyalty, and a spine, things will never change. I think we all need to take a deep look in the mirror.
kshizzle
April 26th, 2009
11:10 am
The only way for Stafford to be sucessful in Detroit is the get the ball to the ex-Jacket Calvin Johnson. Funny, I don’t think I’ve seen such a situation that one player from the hated rivals must depend so much on a player from the other. If he get’s the right coverage he should be able to utilzie that big arm and just heave it down field to Calvin. This is why Donte Cullpepper and Randy Moss were so sucessful in the beginning of their careers.
Alex
April 26th, 2009
12:51 pm
I respect your opinion which is based on experience and reason, but I think (hope) that you will be proven wrong here. The only raps on him are that he is so young and that he didn’t single handedly win a “Big One.” The latter was tough to do since he had so many dropped passes, had teams plagued with injuries, had youthful blocking, and was surrounded by such running talent. Let’s wait and see.
notsureifollow
April 26th, 2009
1:20 pm
Mark, while i can see where youre coming from, i dont entirely agree on your assessment of stafford. sure, he underachieved and did often times try to force the ball, but as you said yourself, he wasnt the one who lost us games. in fact, there were numerous times in his career where he single-handedly WON games for us (tech 3 years ago, auburn, kentucky, etc) . as far as losses not gnawing at him like tebow, you have to realize that tebow is content: he is already at the top. he will not be a better pro than he is a college player (simply because he is an amazing collegiate player). games mean more to him now because his nfl potential isnt as great (not that he’ll be a bust, just less potential) . for stafford and numerous others, their biggest dream is NFL football. so while college losses are disappointing, they dont ruin the big picture. sure, it would have been nice to see a less “diffident” stafford in college, but dont let his lack of school pride clout your assessment of him as a pro, especially before he has even taken a single pro snap.
notsureifollow
April 26th, 2009
1:25 pm
and i dont get why ppl are always saying he wasnt a leader. there are different ways to lead. he doesnt have to yell and get in everyones face to be a leader does he? look at it this way; no one talked about his leadership problems after we won the sugar bowl. if the defense didnt lose us 2 games this year and we won another bcs bowl game, would ppl talk about his lack of leadership skills? just curious.
joe
April 26th, 2009
1:45 pm
“and i dont get why ppl are always saying he wasnt a leader.”
Because they can’t come up with any legitimate reasons. So they grasp at the one nobody can prove either way. The only way you could ever possibly know if Stafford was a leader is if you were in the locker room and huddle with him. Since nobody who makes this idiotic assessment was, they’re just grasping at straws.
BigGAdawg
April 26th, 2009
2:12 pm
Sounds of Bradley, as usual, blah blah blah blah blah blah blab blab blab blab blab blab waaah waaah waaah waaah waaah, etc. What a pathetic whiner. All negative all the whining time.
beanuga
April 26th, 2009
2:37 pm
Stafford is a leader. Stafford will make it in the NFL. Go Dawgs!!!The best of luck to all of the Georgia players going through the Draft. Big wreck in Taladega got to go!haha
beanuga
April 26th, 2009
2:41 pm
Everyone check out the 2008 UGA Highlight Video. Wow! Great to be a Georgia Bulldawg!
bee shabazz
April 26th, 2009
2:55 pm
Tim Tebow is so much better at leading than Matt Stafford that the NFL gave Stafford $41.7mil guaranteed, and told Tebow to keep enjoying those alumni kickbacks, free meals and risking injury playing for THE CROCODILES another year.RIGHHHHHHT!?!?!?!!!
Dog in Fla
April 26th, 2009
3:23 pm
Diffident: Heistant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence.
And the picture dictionary better illustrates the definition of ‘diffident’ with a sequence of Stafford photos showing some of his drives, hesitations, constant moments lack of self-confidence and bad throws:
busted face v. Kentucky three years ago; 1 and done v. Bama two years ago; UF two years ago; Auburn two years ago; Hawaii two years ago; LSU this year; Kentucky this year; Tech this year; Michigan State this year.
We could have won three the Divisional, SEC and BCS championships if only our QB hadn’t been so hesitant in acting and speaking, including all of those audibles he mumbled, if he had manned up and shown some self-confidence so his receivers wouldn’t drop his passes, his pass blocking and run blocking techniques were better, his defense could tackle and wouldn’t get a personal foul every other play. And most of all, if he is so good, where was his special teams play? How come he couldn’t kick it into the end zone and why did he kick it out of bounds all the time? Each and every one of his teammates was not hesitant and all were brimming with self-confidence and played smart all the time, not just some of the time.
Also why couldn’t this Stafford guy look over the sidelines to get signals from coaches before each and every play like all the other non-diffident, or is it indiffident, QB’s did? What a loser. We could have done so much better without him. So what if he’s the number one pick. How come they don’t know what we know?
Portland Dog
April 26th, 2009
3:49 pm
Given a veteran, healthy O-line, Stafford would have been a hero. He had to throw quickly, it makes a big difference.
Rebel Rouser
April 26th, 2009
7:53 pm
Bradley, You really need to stop looking at yourself in the mirror and jumping on the New York media bandwagon all the time so they’ll think you are one of the guys…..Plain and simple Stafford did not ever have an offensive line in front of him the whole time he was at Georgia that could give him the proper amount of time to be able showcase all his abilities. What do you know that NFL scouts don’t about NFL talent?….nothing. Sanchez…is a good QB ….but in the short number of games he played in college he was far from a super star….If he was so good he would have been starting a long time ago…..You show absolutely no class by taking pot shots at Stafford now as he is leaving Athens knowing you will never have to be in his presence again. You had plenty of opportunities to tell him what you thought of him while he was at Georgia. How come you didn’t tell him to his face before ….what a coward! We readers have come to expect this kind of reporting from you …that’s why nobody will ever take you seriously!
Bradley’s Buzz: “The Falcons select Terrence Cody” | Mark Bradley
April 29th, 2009
10:17 am
[...] And some of you folks thought I was hard on young Matty. [...]