Bye Omar

[hammb]

I'm no draft expert and I will never profess to be, but if I were an NFL guy and I had to take one of two quarterbacks, one with physical skills and one with maturity skills, it only makes sense to me to take the guy with the physical skills any day. It only seems logical to me that the leadership/maturity skills can be learned/taught/absorbed a lot easier than the physical skills. To be totally honest (and you're not going to like this, hammb - sorry), I laugh everytime I see Frye in a game. The kid has such a weak arm and floats so many balls into coverage that I really don't see him lasting very long at all in the NFL. He didn't really play enough this year for opposing secondaries to totally catch on to this, but Pittsburgh certainly did, and if he is the starter for the Browns next year, so will the rest of the NFL. Believe me, I want to see anyone and everyone in any way associated with the MAC succeed at the next level, but I think Browns fans are making the same old mistake they've always been making by resting their future on a QB with a weak arm.

Anyhow, I think Omar will be a much better NFL QB than Frye and that is really the point. Wait, did I have a point?

I didn't say I thought Frye would make a better NFL prospect, I said I thought Frye was a better college QB. For the NFL I think they're about equal as a prospect, because I do think it's just as difficult to teach the mental aspect of the game as it is the physical part. In fact, I think if you looked throughout the history of the NFL you'd find a LOT more physical specimens that flameout than vice versa. I think at the very least Frye can become a solid backup QB. Omar has a much more risk/reward proposition, IMO. I do agree, however, that the NFL scouts will regard Omar as a better prospect than Frye, because like you they like physical tools...when it comes to QBs I go for the "it" factor, "it" cannot be taught, and I don't think Omar's got "it".

As for his arm strength it's not as weak as you'd want to believe. His problem is his mechanics (especially footwork) are TERRIBLE. If they can get him to actually step into his throws you'd see a lot better arm strength out of him. For instance, at the combine he actually had the 2nd highest velocity of all QBs in last year's draft (behind Orton, I believe). I'm anxious to see if Charlie improves upon his arm strength, because it can be done. Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning have all made their arms stronger since they've gotten into the league. The nice thing about Charlie, from a Browns perspective, is that they have almost nothing invested in the kid. If a Vince Young drops to #12 they can still afford to take him, if not they've already got a young QB to work with. Wouldn't shock me at all if they ended up taking a guy like Omar either if his stock started to slip.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

The kid has such a weak arm and floats so many balls into coverage that I really don't see him lasting very long at all in the NFL. He didn't really play enough this year for opposing secondaries to totally catch on to this, but Pittsburgh certainly did.

I saw that too BO. Pittsburgh squatted on all those little slants and curls and had no fear of getting beat over the top. This allowed them to blitz safeties and corners mercilessly, and they pounded the Browns offense into the ground. A big part of that may have been the absence of Edwards.

Unless Charlie improves his arm strength dramatically this offseason, be it through improved mechanics or prayer, he won't make it through too many more games against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.


If Omar gets a chance, and matures as a leader, I think he's a lock to be a better long term QB than Frye (Or "Frey" as Freddie the Falcon would put it).

[hammb]

A big part of that may have been the absence of Edwards.

Without Braylon they had no deep threat. When BE was playing Charlie threw downfield quite a bit...his presence opened things up for all the other receivers as well.

It could be that those were also his first games and teams hadn't caught on yet, but the first starts by Frye had him throwing downfield quite a bit. After Braylon got hurt those throws were fewer and further between.

Anyone who remembers about a year ago I was very high on Frye because of his intangibles and playmaking ability. I think he showed a lot of that this year in his limited duty. He is not a physical specimen, to be sure, but he is a pretty good athlete. Also, despite being a weak armed rookie, he was 2-3 as a starter and posted a pretty decent QB rating for any rookie (72.8) and completed almost 60% of his passes. His numbers were actually better if you look at just his starts and not the first couple games where he came in cold.

Unless Charlie improves his arm strength dramatically this offseason, be it through improved mechanics or prayer, he won't make it through too many more games against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Agreed, although I'm not sure that the prayer route will work. There are 2 ways for him to improve arm strength. One is working out, especially the core of the body. Drew Brees said that he increased his arm strength about 25% last offseason just by doing a lot of ab and rotation exercies. That's a good area to start if you're Frye.

The other is to work on his mechanics. Like I said, at the combine he showed a strong arm, velocity wise, stronger than what Ben recorded when he was at the combine, in fact. However, this is wasted if you do not have the discipline to play mechanically sound in the games. This is something he MUST work on or no amount of arm strength can overcome poor mechanics.

Frye is no stud prospect, but he's on par with Omar, IMO, they just have different things to work on. Both have the size and the college performance to back it up. One needs to work on arm strength, the other needs to work on the mental aspect. Either one could end up a nobody and either could end up a solid starter. I think Omar's got a higher ceiling & a lower basement.

[tekekini]

Frye will be fine, will take some time but he will learn to play in the NFL as will Omar. Omar is better physically put together for the NFL with an accurate strong arm needs to tweak his release as everyone says . He will adapt to the speed of the game quickly if he gets a chance to play.

[Im_Full]

I hear alot of excuses, but I think what we're conveniently forgetting is the attraction of money none of us will ever see, and being no worse than the 4th QB off the board, meaning likely 2nd round. And going in the 2nd round is nothing to be ashamed of.

[hammb]

I hear alot of excuses, but I think what we're conveniently forgetting is the attraction of money none of us will ever see, and being no worse than the 4th QB off the board, meaning likely 2nd round. And going in the 2nd round is nothing to be ashamed of.

I'm not going to fault Omar, becuase I do think he made the right decision for him. He was going to have to put up VERY good numbers to appreciably improve his draft stock, and that would've been asking a lot out of a QB with an entirely new supporting cast.

That said, I'm not sold he'll go in the 2nd round. I think that's where he SHOULD go, but remember that very few QBs ever go in the 2nd. If the NFL grades them as a guy that can be a top notch starter in a year or two they go in round 1, and the team can sell the fanbase on a "QB of the future." However, that sell job doesn't work so well for a 2nd round pick, and the guys who are a little bit more of a project almost always drop into the 3rd round.

Now, while there is nothing to be ashamed of being a 3rd round pick, and they'll certainly be making more money than I ever will, it is still one helluva paycut from the first round.

So long as Quinn doesn't declare I think Omar will stay at the 4th QB slot. Cutler has flown up draft boards, and I cannot wait to see him play. I really don't see any of the other guys out there being able to surpass Omar. In fact Omar is almost on a plateau of his own, which could help him become a rare 2nd round QB pick. Young & Leinart are surefire studs, top 5 material. Cutler is gaining momentum and is probably a lock for the top 20. Omar is next, but I think he has a LOT more potential than other similarly rated QBs. Guys like Hackney, Shockley, and Clemens are ranked right behind Omar, but I think he's got a lot less question marks than those guys. So basically he's, IMO, far & away the #1 project QB.

I assure you I'm not mad...I'm pretty sure he made the best decision for him & his family.