2009 NFL Draft Top QBs

Honorable Mention Nate Davis, Ball State University
5. Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State University
4. Willie Tuitama, University of Arizona
3. Mark Sanchez, University of Southern California
2. Josh Freeman, Kansas State University
1.Matthew Stafford, University of Georgia

Year after year the public is made to believe that there are sure-fire quarterbacks that flop time and time again. Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith right a bell? This is 6Magazine's ranking of who we think will shine regardless of what the others may lead you to believe. Truth be told it will be at least three or four years before you can truly rank any draft class. Here is why we ranked them the way we did.

Nate Davis is yet another great quarterback produced by the MAC just like Byron Leftwich, Chad Pennington, and Ben Roethlisberger. Davis is of the shorter variety and that will hurt him in the NFL. Davis however remains one of the hotter topics among this years quarterback class, we rank him where we did because of lack of size and mid-level competition, but he will be a good quarterback in the NFL.

Bomar however controversial you think he is has a great arm, above average mobility and the swagger to lead an NFL team. It does not hurt being a true 6'2" either. Bomar has a checkered past, but in the right system he has the potential to be the best of bunch.

Willie Tuitama is the name that has you scratching your head right now, but the kid led the Pac-10 with 28 touchdowns his Junior year. I like Tuitama for one reason he is tough nosed and was a started for Mike Stoops and the Wildcats for three and a half years. Tuitama is often downed for locking on to receivers and not being the most accurate on throws deeper than 15 yards. However if you look at the last 2 games of his career (ASU and BYU) he has that "it" factor. Tuitama may be the Tom Brady of this year's class (hell no I'm not saying he is anywhere near as good) but he will be a damn good deal to whomever picks him up in the later rounds.

Mark Sanchez is the hottest commodity since cheese this year. I really feel he is an awesome talent but should really have come back to hone his game another year at USC. However, Sanchez looked at the awesome depth of 2010's quarterback class and left when he should have unlike Matt Leinart a few years back. Sanchez has good arm strength, mechanics, mobility, and quick release, which is why some argue he is the most NFL ready QB in this years class. I rank him third and that is that.

Josh Freeman is big, has an excellent arm, and is more mobile than his size would lead you to believe. Perhaps his best assets are his experience and three years of being the best player on his team. Freeman is no Poor-Man's JaMarcus Russell as he has been tabbed. He is a talent that will shine when he gets his opportunity in the NFL. Freeman shined against best competition KSU faced the OU Sooners and Texas Longhorns of the world. Being 6'6" does not hurt either. Like Tuitama he may not be high on everybody's draft board, but is the sleeper to me among all of the quarterbacks. Keep an eye on Freeman as he has all the tools to be an elite quarterbacks in the NFL.

Matthew Stafford, the Georgia Junior, is an extremely talented QB coming from a pro-style offense. He has amazing arm strength with great mechanics and pocket presence. He still needs to work on decision-making and intermediate accuracy. I've been following Stafford A.K.A. "The Howitzer" since his high school days at Highland Park in Dallas. "Tremendous Arm" is all I can say. He makes all the throws and has great vision. Furthermore, he does not get credit for being as mobile as he is, and can move around the pocket against the ferocious pass rush he will face in the coming years. Stafford had an amazing season at Georgia even though their offensive line was suspect most of the season. I give the edge to Stafford because he played in a pro style offense against the best defenses in the country (SEC) for three years and did a damn good job. Stafford will be the first quarterback off the board and probably the first player taken as well, and much deservedly so.

Sincerely,


DON'T JUDGE ME CLAYBORNE

2009 NFL DRAFT top RBs

Tis I Riverboat Ricky,

Remember I said I hated when football season ended several blogs ago because I have been MIA lately. Well yes, I do hate it when football season ends, but the NFL draft tithes me over until May, and then my life, esteem, and weight take a nose dive. The Super Bowl is Sunday so let's get a head start on all this draft mess.

Top 5 RBs

5. Donald Brown UCONN
4. Shonn Greene Iowa
3. Beanie Wells The Ohio State University
2. Knowshon Moreno Georgia
1. LeSean McCoy Pitt

I can hear all of the Georgia fans now telling me how stupid I must be. Knowshon Moreno is a great running back, but LeSean McCoy will be the better pro. Who will be taken first off the board, Moreno of course. Any true football fan should know that "draft experts" and GM's never make the proper decisions. These are the same guys that thought Ryan Leaf would be a better pro than Peyton Manning, the same guys that selected former Cardinals WR Bryant Johnson in the 1st round of the 2003 draft ahead of current Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin who was selected in the 2nd round. LeSean is a quicker, faster, and a better runner and all around back compared to Moreno. Don't get me wrong Moreno is a stud and will succeed in the NFL. This race for the best rb will be as close as Ricky Williams and Edgerrin James in 1999 draft.

Be sure to visit 6Magazine for in depth profiles on each of these soon to be NFL running backs. For now watch Mr. McCoy do his thing.

Peace,

Riverboat Ricky

Reynolds Wrap Rant

Ok, with football season winding down, I just wanted to write down some things that annoyed me this, and every other year about football. Some things I had noticed before and some things I hadn’t.

Let me preface this by saying that football (college or pro) is the greatest game that there is. The ultimate team game and the only one of our major sports that encourages outright violence and gives one opponent the ability to impose its will on the other (except for boxing I guess, but hey I said major sports).

If I hear one more commentator say “Chase Daniels” instead of Daniel; I might jump head first into a dumpster fire. Hey, I don’t like Mizzou and don’t pull for Daniel, but good Lord the kid’s name is Daniel….no "s" on the end. You guys are supposed to be professionals, come on!! Oh, and just so we can get this straight commentator guys, there is no such thing as a forward latera. It does not exist. Look it up in Webster’s and you will see that you cannot have a “forward” lateral. It would be called an illegal forward pass. And for that matter, anything passed backwards is just that: a backwards pass, not a lateral!

The thing that really drives me crazy is the next one. I am in fact trying to calm myself down now as I type so that I am not too enraged by simply writing it down. It is called a "shovel pass". Not shuttle and not shuffle. A shuttle is what you ride to the airport and shuffle is what a senior citizen does on the sidewalk on the way to Luby’s. Shovel pass!

With respect to the game itself, I have a few rants there too. The next player that fields a punt inside the 10 yard line should be fined (NFL) or benched by the special teams coach. There is nothing good that can happen from fielding a punt inside the 10 yard line. As a special teams coach, I would completely accept it if a punter could make a punt bite and sit down inside the 10 yard line like Tiger Woods with a sand wedge. I’ll take my chances. I mean as the punt returner put your heels on the ten and don’t you dare move a step backwards. I pretty much go hoarse from screaming at the TV about this next one. As a quarterback when you are scrambling out of the pocket and trying to avoid being sacked if you run out of bounds and take the loss of yards without throwing the ball away you should never be allowed to play the position again, ever! It’s pretty much the most routine and obvious thing you can do which is throw the ball away. I’m not even complaining about trying to make a play down field or running for the first down that’s fine, I understand you have to run out of bounds, but throw the ball away.

I’m sure that I could think of a few more but believe me my blood is starting to boil and the bad thing is I’ve got a little over seven months before I have regular football to watch, dissect, and scream about. I guess that is the beauty of this game. I am so in love with it that I can sit and scream at the TV and pull for my favorite team and come back for more the next week with a smile on my face.

Peace Out,


The Reynolds Rap