Originally Posted by TigerUppercut:
Ok then explain the other 5 QBs on that list :-)
Smith and Rogers were considered incredibly flawed prospects.
Everyone knew SF was going to pick a QB #1 and the narrative was that they were going to overdrafted Smith or Rogers, and whoever they didn't pick might slide all the way to the 2nd round.
This was because most teams didn't think they were great prospects. Many didn't give either of them first round grades!
Anyone who says these guys were incredibly clear cut #1 guys is peddling revisionist history.
Rogers, in particular, had a rap as a gimmick Tedford system QB with bad mechanics and a cannon arm. Most fans and pundits preferred Smith entirely because of the 'Nobody good comes from that system' stuff.
I'm not sure where you get this idea that Rogers and Alex were graded on the same level as Manning or Luck. It's not reality. Scouts dumped more praise on Matt Ryan. Everyone just knew the 49ers were desperate for a QB, so everyone knew ONE of them was going top of the draft. SF tried desperately to trade down, but nobody would do it because everyone knew they were going QB so there was no market for the pick.
IF SF had traded down to 15, the first QB would have gone 15.
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Originally Posted by WhiteWhale:
Smith and Rogers were considered incredibly flawed prospects.
Everyone knew SF was going to pick a QB #1 and the narrative was that they were going to overdrafted Smith or Rogers, and whoever they didn't pick might slide all the way to the 2nd round.
This was because most teams didn't think they were great prospects. Many didn't give either of them first round grades!
Anyone who says these guys were incredibly clear cut #1 guys is peddling revisionist history.
Rogers, in particular, had a rap as a gimmick Tedford system QB with bad mechanics and a cannon arm. Most fans and pundits preferred Smith entirely because of the 'Nobody good comes from that system' stuff.
I'm not sure where you get this idea that Rogers and Alex were graded on the same level as Manning or Luck. It's not reality.
What NFL scouts told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Bob McGinn before the draft about quarterback Aaron Rodgers:
Marc Ross, Buffalo: "He's a little short. The thing you worry about is those (Jeff) Tedford guys. They don't do anything for a couple years and then they have a good year or two. Who of his quarterbacks has done what they're supposed to do? None of them. Is he just working magic with great college quarterbacks or just manufacturing guys?"
AFC scout: "I like him. He's a very talented guy. A lot of quarterbacks that were system people have not done very well. That puts up a red flag. Not that he is one of them. He could be an exception. But I can't get it out of my craw."
Rich Snead, Tennessee: "I like him. I just don't know if he's maxed out. He's more accurate than (Kyle) Boller but probably not as athletic. He's a better player than Akili Smith. He's more athletic than (Trent) Dilfer was. He's a little more mobile than Joey Harrington. He had to go to a JC because no one would recruit him because they said he was too small. He's been busting his (expletive) his whole life to get to this point. I just don't know how much more he has to give."
NFC scout: "(Alex) Smith is the better athlete."
AFC scout: "I think he has some upside although there are some things that are just ordinary about him."
Jerry Angelo, Chicago: "I'd give Rodgers the edge (over Smith) just because he was easier to evaluate. And there's a little more arm. But the edge is negligible."
NFC scout: "I think he has a good chance of being a bust. Just like every other Tedford-coached quarterback. Thing I struggle with him is he gets sacked a lot. He doesn't have great ability to change the release of the football. He's mechanically very rigid. Brett Favre can change his release point and find different windows. There will be more growing pains with Alex Smith but in the end he has a much better chance to be much better."
NFC scout: "The guys that Tedford has had, what have they developed into? They're too well-schooled. So mechanical. So robotic. I don't know if they become good pro players. I think Rodgers is in that same mold."
AFC scout: "I don't like him. He's a clone of Harrington and Boller. They all throw the same way. What have those guys done? Nothing. If you take him in the second round, fine. Heady guy. They do a marvelous job of coaching quarterbacks there. I don't think he's as good as the top quarterbacks coming out last year."
AFC scout: "I don't think he's in the class of the quarterbacks that came out last year. Strong arm. Pretty good athlete. Still has some holes in his game."
Bill Polian, Indianapolis: "I see a guy who has good arm strength. I see some athletic ability. I see a guy who was pretty good with a good team. I see a guy who's in a pretty efficient offense. Am I certain that he's going to come in and lead my team to the Promised Land? I can't say that. I'm not even sure I can say that about Alex Smith."
AFC scout: "He's a system quarterback. 3-, 5-, 7-step guy. Can't create on his own. Panics under pressure. Gets flustered easy. I don't think there's a quarterback in the draft worthy of a first-round pick. I'm dead serious. None of them are worth it."
NFC scout: "He fit right into the Cal system. He probably executed that as well as anybody. He doesn't have as strong an arm as Boller but can make the same reads and play the scheme as well as Boller did.
Ira Miller, San Francisco Chronicle writer: Alex Smith has more size, may be the better athlete and—scouts love this word—is said to have a bigger “upside.” Rodgers has a certain air of confidence about him, a good thing for a quarterback who will be drafted by a bad team. Smith is considered more cerebral.
Anonymous NFC scout, quoted in the Green Bay Press-Gazette story: I just think Aaron's the product of being on a good team. … I see Utah winning because of Alex Smith. He's the one that does it. I don't think Cal was winning because of Aaron Rodgers. He contributes to it, but I don't think he's the team.
Russ Lande, former NFL scout, current analyst at 120Sports: [Smith] was sort of the first of all these spread quarterbacks, where everything he does looks fantastic because he gets to throw to wide-open spaces. [At the time, everyone noted that] he’s a tremendous athlete with a capable arm, and he’s a smart kid. … He’ll be a rock star [they said]. The thing we didn’t know as a league was how hard the transition would be to going from that offense to… a traditional offense. … Clearly, it took him five or six years before he became an average passing quarterback.
Lande: [Tedford] was just such a brilliant quarterback coach. He’s been able to mask flaws in other quarterbacks that failed in the NFL [Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, David Carr, Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller], which is a red flag for NFL teams.
Because of him playing in that system, you rarely saw Aaron have to manipulate the defense with his eyes. You rarely saw him have to move safeties, things like that. … [Other] scouts I talked to had concerns about arm strength, which was not something I was concerned with.
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