Mallett's performance vs. Alabama and looking ahead to Stanford/Oregon
National Football League
Draft King Analysis
September 27, 2010
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
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This past Saturday I watched almost the entire Alabama/Arkansas TV from inside of my friend Carla's father's RV at a tailgate in Starkville before the Mississippi State/Georgia game. Normally I like to use my remote control skills to flip around from game to game, but the tailgate I was at was a partican SEC crowd. So, while I would have enjoyed seeing how Andrew Luck was doing for Stanford against Notre Dame, I saw perhaps all of 30 seconds of the game live. I had to wait until I returned home to catch up on Luck, who had another strong performance, this time in front of a national television audience.
The next test for Luck comes soon enough, when Stanford plays Oregon in Eugene at the notoriously loud Autzen Stadium. That game will air nationally on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT for the locals on the west coast) and should give the entire country a chance to see what might be the most intriguing game of the 2010 season in the Pac-10.
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Ryan Mallett has a cannon for an arm. (Icon SMI)
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On the upside of missing most of Stanford/Notre Dame, the demands of the tailgaters gave me the opportunity to watch Ryan Mallett with a critical eye as he faced off against the #1 ranked team in the country. My take on Mallett: he stood tall in the pocket, looked the part of a top-notch quarterback, and had tremendous touch on his intermediate and long-distance throws. I was told during the game by a fellow tailgater about how Mallett adjusted his release this past off-season, learning to throw from the apex of his release motion to gain better accuracy.
Detractors will point out that Mallett threw three interceptions, and that isn't something even the staunchest Mallett supporter can deny. One of the interceptions came on a red zone throw into the end zone where a safety baited him into thinking his receiver was open. Another came while he tried to throw away a pass and he misjudged his distance from the sideline.
This article breaks down problems that Mallett has when he is put under pressure and has to move within the pocket. While I disagree with the premise that Mallett will lack value in the NFL because of his footwork, criticisims of his defeciencies in that department are valid and something that Mallett would be well-advised to work on between now and whenever he decides to make the jump to the NFL.
As for Andrew Luck, there is more and more buzz growing about him being not only the top quarterback prospect but also being a potential Heisman winner. A redshirt sophomore, Luck has shown great ability in the pocket to read defenses and find the proper receiver to reach. I would still contend that Luck doesn't have the medium-to-long touch that Mallett possesses, but Luck is making the case for being the top QB to be drafted in 2011. Buffalo just today cut a former Stanford QB in Trent Edwards, but that shouldn't necessarily be taken into consideration as it related to who the Bills might take if they end up with the #1 pick in the 2011 draft.
