It's early but...Initial Mock 2006 Draft

[Ghetto_Heisman]

Hackney is a solid QB with a cannon he'll go sometime late in the first of early in the second.....the Boys can take Hackney Stripes [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[truesportsfan]

as a steelers fan lindell white would be a great addition to fast willie parker. im pretty sure the bus is going to park and enjoy a well deserved rest

[CoeburnCane]

Hackney is David Garrard with a lil less scrambling ability and a bigger arm. At 6'1 and 235, I think he's undersized to play QB in the NFL...there's only been a few guys able to succeed to play at that size and survive the hits you're gonna take. He may make a nice lifetime backup for a team, good scout team type guy--nothing wrong with that. Still getting paid.

[imported_mega]

What makes him undersized man, his height, his weight?..Im lost.

[CoeburnCane]

The 6'1 mega...I think he'll have trouble getting the ball elevated enough, because his throwing motion is already about 3/4 to sidearm. I think if he gets his delivery right, he'll be fine, maybe even be a starter one day (but late in his career like Rich Gannon for instance). But the delivery added to his height given an NFL line is a question mark. Same question mark people still have about your boy Grossman (6'1, 218), but the same question over came by a guy like Drew Brees (6'0, 209) because of his throwing motion being a high & quick release...so it can be overcome.

Besides...Montana was only 6'2, 205, and he did well. I just think that, IMO, Hackney's only going to be a good backup or scout-teamer.

Go look around at the NFL rosters though mega, most of your really good QB's are in that 6'3 to 6'5 range. 2-4 inches more height advantage to see over a line makes a pretty good difference.

[Seventy4]

I would have thought that the success of Doug Flutie in college, Canada, and part timer in the NFL would have disspelled that belief.

If not, then the success of Brees.

These so-called professional scouts who love to downplay the physical stature of one player, and then overstate the stature of another one are about to ruin the sport.

Think about draft busts of the 90s alone. You had Todd Marinovich, the PROTOTYPICAL QB, 6'5, 200 lbs, blonde hair, blue eyes (Master Race anyone?) but what did he do? He couldn't even stay clean long enough to play for the Raiders. For crying out loud, the RAIDERS! Another? Tony Mandarich, 6'8 a gazillion pounds, but still able to run. Where's he now?

I think Flutie would have dominated in the NFL much like he did in the CFL, if someone would have given him 1/2 a chance. Look at Brady, if Bledsoe had not gone down, Brady would be lost in someone's depth chart. That kind of thing never happened for Flutie.

I know that mega hates Flutie for all the reasons I like him, but you can't deny the kid is a winner. Even in Buffalo at 100 years old he still played and won.

[CoeburnCane]

Brady's 6'4 225.

Flutie's talented, and knows how to use his legs to get into position and he is by far the best small QB of this modern era. He made a living throwing the ball inbetween the tackles...[img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] All 5'10 180 of him.

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
You had Todd Marinovich, the PROTOTYPICAL QB, 6'5, 200 lbs, blonde hair, blue eyes (Master Race anyone?) but what did he do? He couldn't even stay clean long enough to play for the Raiders.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't about whether so-and-so can stay clean, it's about if they did stay clean, would you rather have a 6'5 QB or a 6'0 QB? Honestly--there's no wrong answer...depends on intangibles and technique. But in a pinch--take the taller guy. And why bring up Mandarich? Guy was an O-Lineman! In my very best Iverson impersonation: "We're talkin bout QB's man. QB's."

Here's what it boils down to--most pocket passers are between 6'3 and 6'5 (a guy like Brees being the exception...b/c he's pure pocket passer). Most pocket passers flourish in the NFL...only a few scrambling QB's have been winners in the modern NFL era (see Cunningham, Flutie, Steve Young, even a young Brunell). Most pro-style offenses, to be successful, need guys with big strong arms who can see down the field to throw it down the field. A taller guy has the natural capability to do that better than a scrambling QB who has to escape the pocket to create a throwing lane for himself to make plays.

In terms of passing yardage this year, your top 5 were Brady, Green, Favre, Palmer, and Eli Manning. The shortest of those is Favre at 6'2--the rest are 6'3 and above, the tallest being Palmer at 6'5.

Being a shorter QB can be done in the NFL...it's just more difficult, that's all I'm saying.

[imported_mega]

I dont hate Flutie man, I just hate 1984 and the damn wheaties commercial.

I think Grossman has one of the best releases in football. Its short, compact, and the ball just explodes out of his hand. He sees over the offensive line just fine and rarely has a ball knocked down.

Chris Simms is 6-4 and has about 5 balls a game batted down. Which just shows that regardless of height, good quarterbacks find the passing lanes.

Offensive and Defensive lineman dont just hit a growth spurt after college. Hackney's line all average anywhere between 6-4 and 6-6 and most defensive lineman are around 6'3(The bears entire dline is 6-3)

If Hackney makes it in the nfl it will be because he develops. I dont know how good he is at finding the passing lanes but there are plenty of tall guys like Simms that are bad at having balls knocked down and plenty of short guys like Grossman that are great at not having them knocked down. I dont think his height or release will make any difference.

Kyle Orton has alot more balls knocked down than Grossman and is about 5 inches taller. Grossman sees the field alot better too. QB height is overrated, its not like Hackney is a midget.

[Seventy4]

I think Marinovich failed football before he failed a drug test. All I am saying is that size (height, weight, armspan) doesn't always determine if someone is going to be successful in the NFL.

[CoeburnCane]

I know...not always. But for the most part I'd rather take the 6'5 guy who can throw the 15 yard comeback with ease than a 6'0 guy who has to break the pocket to throw the same pass.