By PFW staff
The following quotes are from NFL scouts, coaches and front-office personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
• “Is anyone going to give Bill Parcells a hard time for all the crappy picks he made in Miami? Is everyone afraid he is going to beat them up? I don’t know why it never gets addressed. He passed Matt Ryan for Jake Long and that’s fine, but what about everyone else? The cupboard is empty. It’s not just a lack of talent, though — you have to be able to work with the talent you have. I would have given up a (first-round pick) for Vontae Davis.”
• “(Panthers head coach) Ron Rivera will blame (defensive coordinator) Sean McDermott if it does not work out this year. I can already see the writing on the wall. The truth is — that was supposed to be Ron’s responsibility when he took the job."
• “Did you see (Chiefs first-rounder) Dontari Poe in the preseason? He is second-string. He is not ready and has not looked very good. (And) I think the (K.C.) quarterback’s (Matt Cassel) arrow is going down.”
• “(Bears QB Jay) Cutler made the throws he needed to make after a slow start. Indy is just not good enough — they have a long ways to go. The Bears are in good position heading to Green Bay. The Packers are going to be worn out by San Francisco — that is a physically imposing team.”
• “Mike Vick is a coach killer. … Mark my words — this will be his last year in Philadelphia.”
• “Miami is a team that is in flux right now. They had to take a quarterback. Matt Moore is not the guy. He couldn’t get it done in Carolina when he had a chance either.”
• “The QB situation is not good in Cleveland. The running back (Trent Richardson) is damaged goods. The (offensive) line is horrible. (C Alex) Mack is not bad, but the two guards are not very good and the other tackle is bad. All they have is (OLT) Joe Thomas. (Jason) Pinkston is terrible — he is just a guy. I gave him a free-agent grade coming out. (WR Josh) Gordon flashes, but he is a train wreck waiting to happen. (QB Brandon) Weeden will be like David Carr in three years — he’ll be shell-shocked and unable to recover from it. He was that way at Oklahoma State.”
• “Outside of the running back, what do they have in Minnesota? The quarterback (Christian Ponder) is going to need a lot of help. They don’t have much at receiver.”
• “One thing I am noticing with a lot of our (players) — these guys got to learn earlier what it means to be pros. You can’t underestimate rest, rehab, nutrition, working out and on and on it goes. If you’re not mature coming into this league, you’re going to have a hard time adjusting.”
• “Robert Griffin III is a playmaker. I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen from him in the preseason, and he got it done (against New Orleans in Week One).”
• “This will be a make-or-break year for Sam Bradford. I think he has a chance to be really good."
• “(Atlanta OLT) Sam Baker looks a lot quicker this year than he did last year. He might be all right. … Julio (Jones) will be a Pro Bowler. I didn’t expect Matt Ryan to be as good as he has been when he was coming out. He is a phenomenal guy — and that was the most important trait (GM) Thomas (Dimitroff) got right after (Michael) Vick. He needed to bring in a great guy.”
• “What blows me away with the Chiefs — when they drafted (Javier) Arenas, Kareem Jackson was the No. 1 corner on the other side (at Alabama). When they drafted Jalil Brown in the fourth round, he was No. 2 behind Jimmy Smith (at Colorado). (DeQuan) Menzie was No. 2 behind Dre Kirkpatrick (at Alabama). Stanford Routt was No. 2 behind Nnamdi Asomugha (with the Raiders). I can’t figure out why Kansas City likes No. 2 corners so much, but it’s definitely a trend and hard to understand.”
The following quotes are from NFL scouts, coaches and front-office personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
• “Is anyone going to give Bill Parcells a hard time for all the crappy picks he made in Miami? Is everyone afraid he is going to beat them up? I don’t know why it never gets addressed. He passed Matt Ryan for Jake Long and that’s fine, but what about everyone else? The cupboard is empty. It’s not just a lack of talent, though — you have to be able to work with the talent you have. I would have given up a (first-round pick) for Vontae Davis.”
• “(Panthers head coach) Ron Rivera will blame (defensive coordinator) Sean McDermott if it does not work out this year. I can already see the writing on the wall. The truth is — that was supposed to be Ron’s responsibility when he took the job."
• “Did you see (Chiefs first-rounder) Dontari Poe in the preseason? He is second-string. He is not ready and has not looked very good. (And) I think the (K.C.) quarterback’s (Matt Cassel) arrow is going down.”
• “(Bears QB Jay) Cutler made the throws he needed to make after a slow start. Indy is just not good enough — they have a long ways to go. The Bears are in good position heading to Green Bay. The Packers are going to be worn out by San Francisco — that is a physically imposing team.”
• “Mike Vick is a coach killer. … Mark my words — this will be his last year in Philadelphia.”
• “Miami is a team that is in flux right now. They had to take a quarterback. Matt Moore is not the guy. He couldn’t get it done in Carolina when he had a chance either.”
• “The QB situation is not good in Cleveland. The running back (Trent Richardson) is damaged goods. The (offensive) line is horrible. (C Alex) Mack is not bad, but the two guards are not very good and the other tackle is bad. All they have is (OLT) Joe Thomas. (Jason) Pinkston is terrible — he is just a guy. I gave him a free-agent grade coming out. (WR Josh) Gordon flashes, but he is a train wreck waiting to happen. (QB Brandon) Weeden will be like David Carr in three years — he’ll be shell-shocked and unable to recover from it. He was that way at Oklahoma State.”
• “Outside of the running back, what do they have in Minnesota? The quarterback (Christian Ponder) is going to need a lot of help. They don’t have much at receiver.”
• “One thing I am noticing with a lot of our (players) — these guys got to learn earlier what it means to be pros. You can’t underestimate rest, rehab, nutrition, working out and on and on it goes. If you’re not mature coming into this league, you’re going to have a hard time adjusting.”
• “Robert Griffin III is a playmaker. I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen from him in the preseason, and he got it done (against New Orleans in Week One).”
• “This will be a make-or-break year for Sam Bradford. I think he has a chance to be really good."
• “(Atlanta OLT) Sam Baker looks a lot quicker this year than he did last year. He might be all right. … Julio (Jones) will be a Pro Bowler. I didn’t expect Matt Ryan to be as good as he has been when he was coming out. He is a phenomenal guy — and that was the most important trait (GM) Thomas (Dimitroff) got right after (Michael) Vick. He needed to bring in a great guy.”
• “What blows me away with the Chiefs — when they drafted (Javier) Arenas, Kareem Jackson was the No. 1 corner on the other side (at Alabama). When they drafted Jalil Brown in the fourth round, he was No. 2 behind Jimmy Smith (at Colorado). (DeQuan) Menzie was No. 2 behind Dre Kirkpatrick (at Alabama). Stanford Routt was No. 2 behind Nnamdi Asomugha (with the Raiders). I can’t figure out why Kansas City likes No. 2 corners so much, but it’s definitely a trend and hard to understand.”
