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Russ Lande
Sporting News


Hundreds of NFL prospects will descend on Indianapolis, beginning Wednesday, in the hopes of wowing general managers, coaches and scouts around the league.

Even though scouting is now a year-round process, prospects will make and lose tons of money in the next few days. Doctors will prod every muscle and joint, personnel men will grill them with seemingly arcane questions and coaches will document every sprint, turn and leap.

As always, a huge focus will be on the quarterbacks. This class, more than others in recent memory, is chock-full of quarterbacks with big questions. Here is a quick look at the top quarterback prospects and what NFL decision-makers hope to learn this week about each:

1. Blaine Gabbert, Missouri

He is the most polished and NFL-ready of the '11 quarterbacks, but he is by no means a pristine prospect. At Missouri, Gabbert played in a spread passing attack similar to Sam Bradford at Oklahoma.

Whenever Gabbert throws for NFL coaches—he will not throw Sunday at the Combine—he must prove comfortable dropping back from center and throwing quickly and accurately while using good footwork, mechanics, even if it's without a pass rush or defense.

More important than the physical drills, Gabbert must impress NFL people in interview sessions Thursday, Friday and Saturday to show he understands NFL passing concepts and protection schemes. Coaches want to look into his eyes and determine if he can pick up these things quickly, to see if he's capable of starting early in his NFL career.


2. Colin Kaepernick, Nevada

Having played in a spread-option offense at Nevada, Kaepernick must interview well to overcome concerns about all quarterbacks from such a run-heavy scheme. Coaches are sure to grill him about his ability to read defenses, understand passing concepts and feel for calling protections.

It's a big adjustment for any quarterback but more so spread-option guys like Kaepernick and Auburn's Cam Newton.

Kaepernick, unlike juniors like Gabbert and Newton, was able to use the Senior Bowl to prove his skills dropping back from center and throwing quickly and accurately. Scouts also want to see if Kaepernick has been able to tweak his three-quarters whip-like release since the Senior Bowl or if he's been able to simply accelerate his release.


3. Christian Ponder, Florida State

Unlike most quarterbacks, Ponder’s biggest challenge won't be in the interview rooms or during Sunday's workout. His big moment will come during the medical evaluations Thursday and Friday.

There are concerns about his throwing elbow and arm because he played through injuries and then underwent surgery in early December. If his arm or elbow does not check out, his draft stock will plummet.

Should he be cleared physically and he's allowed to work out Sunday, coaches then can get a good feel for his arm strength. Do not be shocked if he checks out medically but still chooses to wait until late March or early April to work out for coaches and scouts. That delay would allow him extra time to work his arm back to its pre-injury strength.


4. Cam Newton, Auburn

Some analysts already have locked Newton into the top 10 overall, but we're taking a more cautious approach. He is flying up draft boards because quarterbacks rarely have his physical talent. He no doubt will "wow" everyone in whatever parts of the workout he chooses to participate, but that's not the big issue with him anyway.

The interview sessions will make or break Newton's draft stock.

Each interested team will have 15 minutes with him at the Combine, which isn't nearly enough time to grill him about his off-field problems at his three colleges or about reading NFL coverages. So teams in position to draft him will use this 15 minutes as the foundation for future hours-long interview sessions at private workouts later this spring.

Nobody can question Newton's poise under the duress of a pass rush, but coaches also hope to get a better gauge on his football IQ—reading defenses, calling out protection schemes, going through progressions—and his ability to drop back from under center.

Newton does have two big historical hurdles to overcome to become an elite NFL quarterback. No spread-option QB has ever become a good NFL starter. No QB who was kicked out of a major college program—he left Florida under the cloud of investigations about the theft of a laptop and academic fraud—ever has rebounded to become a good NFL starter. He has a lot of explaining to do about football and non-football issues.

Newton must sell himself more than his football skills this week.


5. Jake Locker, Washington

Locker is a physically gifted QB with excellent intangibles, but he must prove he can be an accurate passer to realize his potential to be a first-round pick. All scouts say he has good mechanics and footwork and a quick, compact delivery, but the issue is his accuracy. This is a major concern because a quarterback with sound mechanics and poor accuracy is tough to rehabilitate. He must step up and throw with good timing and accuracy during Combine drills to overcome his bad performance at the Senior Bowl.


6. Andy Dalton, TCU

Dalton is an athletic QB who has been rising up draft boards after a good '10 season and strong showing at the Senior Bowl. Like Gabbert, Locker and Kaepernick, he has excellent intangibles and good athleticism and a strong arm.

His improvement as a senior proved he has a higher ceiling than previously believed. At TCU, the bulk of his throws were within 2 or 3 yards of the line of scrimmage, so he must he can make the 10- to 15-yard throws with zip and accuracy.


7. Ryan Mallett, Arkansas

No one doubts Mallett's arm strength and ability to shine this weekend during the workouts, which should cause his stock to rise all over the league. The big issue with Mallett will be proving he can read coverages accurately and make good decisions with the ball.

He generally was a good kid at Arkansas, but he still must answer any subsequent maturity questions that remain after he was arrested in March of '09 for public intoxication.
 

Bob Sacamano

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He generally was a good kid at Arkansas, but he still must answer any subsequent maturity questions that remain after he was arrested in March of '09 for public intoxication.

uh, adults get arrested for public intoxication too.
 
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