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I think there are some intersting comments made about Jacobs in the end of the article written by Harris. I agree with a few of them.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... /-1/SPORTS

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /-1/SPORTS

Harris makes a lot of statements about Jacob's friends/advisors overinflating his skills and convincing him to come out early. I would like to know his sources on that. He speaks like he was there sitting at a table with all these people and he was the only one telling Omar to go back to school.

I think Harris is trying to write an "I told you so" story. But I still would disagree with him and say Omar going pro was the right choice and he went to a very good place for him.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 3247830029

This is the story Harris wrote back at the end of the season. Sounds like he is just sticking to his opinion that Jacobs should stay at BG. Here is some quotes from the story followed by my comments:

"He needs to show he isn't a "system" quarterback..."
How do you do that when playing in the same system again? Unless he thought Brandon was going to totally revamped our offense just to make Omar a better pro prospect.

"Jacobs needs another season at BG so he can dispel any concerns among NFL executives about his unorthodox sidearm delivery" How does throwing another 400 passes prove that when he has done it for two seasons already?

"Jacobs needs to return for his senior year because there are no guarantees where he will be drafted in 2006. Right now, he doesn't know where he would be selected" There is never a guarantee when you are going to get picked. Ask Reggie Bush. How does coming back for another year guaranty you a draft position?

"unless he's already been told by an NFL team he'll be taken within the first three rounds in 2006, he does himself a disservice if he doesn't finish what he started at BG." Why draw the line at three rounds? Are guys picked in the first three rounds guaranteed to make millions of dollars, but if you go in the fourth or later you don't have a shot?

Lots of holes in Harris's logic.

As far as football goes, I don't think Omar's stock would've changed much with another year at BG. As Warthog mentioned he'd have the same knocks on him entering next year's draft as he did this year. System QB, poor mechanics, small school, etc. Another year would have likely not helped much in that regard.

I do think if I were him I would've rather been back at school for another year of college, and getting a free degree, rather than become a career backup. The NFL wasn't going anywhere, and I don't think his stock would've changed much.

Uh, guys, Omar went to school for 4 years.

Two comments about John Harris' article

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... /-1/SPORTS

But he's also a quarterback from a mid-major college who only had one great season, who throws with an unorthodox sidearm motion that makes NFL scouts uneasy, and who was coming off a junior campaign in which he missed valuable playing time because of a shoulder injury.

I agree with his being a QB from a mod-major withone great season and coming off the junior campaign with the should injury. I don't care about the unorthodix side-arm motion (every QB has some hitch).

Heck, with a strong campaign he might have been rated as the No. 2 quarterback behind Notre Dame's Brady Quinn.

Hey John, have you met Anthony Turner

transfer2BGSU wrote:Two comments about John Harris' article

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... /-1/SPORTS

But he's also a quarterback from a mid-major college who only had one great season, who throws with an unorthodox sidearm motion that makes NFL scouts uneasy, and who was coming off a junior campaign in which he missed valuable playing time because of a shoulder injury.

I agree with his being a QB from a mod-major withone great season and coming off the junior campaign with the should injury. I don't care about the unorthodix side-arm motion (every QB has some hitch).

Heck, with a strong campaign he might have been rated as the No. 2 quarterback behind Notre Dame's Brady Quinn.

Hey John, have you met Anthony Turner

In regards to his throwing motion, I thought it was interesting that the Steelers QB coach said "You just ask 'Does he throw a tight spiral?'" They concluded he does. So much for his motion being an issue.

After the draft last season, there was several draftniks saying Omar would be the second best QB in the 2006 draft. That prediction didn't come to fruition. You never know what upcoming Senior is gonna click and climb way up the draft charts. (Anyone here (besides hammb) even heard of Jay Cutler last year at this time?) And you don't know what new starters would explode onto the scene either. And there is no gaurantee Quinn will be the best QB in next year's draft. You just cant try to predict that kind of stuff.

I'm not a Harris-hater and I'm trying to be objective and ignore the fact that I'm glad to see Jacobs go, but that article was stupid. As someone else said, staying in the same system with the same coaches and all new skill players around you is not a recipe for major improvement. Moreover if you start playing to impress the NFL your team is likely to go down the tubes as well. I can't even imagine a reason for him to stay. I also believe he's not far from his degree so he didn't need to stay to complete that or to take a dance course.

h2oville rocket wrote:I'm not a Harris-hater and I'm trying to be objective and ignore the fact that I'm glad to see Jacobs go, but that article was stupid. As someone else said, staying in the same system with the same coaches and all new skill players around you is not a recipe for major improvement. Moreover if you start playing to impress the NFL your team is likely to go down the tubes as well. I can't even imagine a reason for him to stay. I also believe he's not far from his degree so he didn't need to stay to complete that or to take a dance course.

Valid points, H2O. What's done is done...I'm happy Omar's getting a chance with Pittsburgh. Good for Gradkowski getting drafted as well. I, for one, am glad BG won't have to face HIM again.

It definitely helps the MAC image seeing these guys get drafted.

Warthog wrote:(Anyone here (besides hammb) even heard of Jay Cutler last year at this time?)

I had heard of him, but in all honesty I had never even heard him mentioned as a first rounder until very late this season. Then the guy just flew up draft boards and was suddenly all the rage. Normally I'm wary of guys like that, but I must admit nearly everything I read about him was quite impressive. His highlights look good, but most players' do. He's one guy that I still have almost no projections for because I never actually saw the kid play until the senior bowl, and he wasn't real impressive there.

Like you said, though, there are always new players that are going to fly up draft boards. If you had told me a year ago at this time that VY was a surefire top 10 pick, I would've laughed at you. I would've told you that he was just a RB playing QB and wouldn't amount to a damn thing. Then, this year, I see a guy that obviously put in some serious work in becoming a better passer. There are always going to be players like that. What's more, if Omar had gotten hurt again in a senior year it could've been detrimental to his career.

As for him being in school 4 years, I realize that, but I was under the impression that he had not received his degree. If I'm mistaken on that, then I apologize.

hammb wrote:His highlights look good, but most players' do.

Just want to throw in a couple of comments about the highlight packages.

First, these usually crack me up. They show some defensive player making a sack when NOONE BLOCKS THEM!!! Anybody can do that. It sure tells me a lot about what a player can do when you see them make a play like that.

Second, I never saw this Ngata guy play, but was kinda hoping he would fall to the Browns. When Ngata, Bunkley, and Wimbley were all still there, I was happy because I knew those were the three guys the Browns were serious about. Then they trade with the Ravens and the Ravens pick Ngata and I am hoping that the Browns don't regret that. But then they show his highlight package. I was in awe of how bad he looked. I thought this big man would be pushing o-lineman all over the place and making takles in the backfield. What I saw was a guy standing up at the line of scrimmage and hoping to grab a piece of the RB as he went by. I thought I must be missing something here. Then ESPN goes to the studio and Merrill Hodge was saying the exact same things I was thinking about Ngata. I was happy the Browns didn't take him.

I loved watching the highlight films of the North Carolina State defensive lineman. I wouldn't watch the guy they were highlighting...rather I'd watch one of their other first round picks. You'd see the highlighted guy making a great play while the other guys were either pancaked, driven off the line of scrimmage or taken out of the play wide.

Hell even Rudy could have had a pretty impressive highlight reel at Notre Dame!

Actually, Rollo, I do the exact same thing. Anytime I see a highlight reel, I try to watch the OTHER guys that are prospects that are in the reel. For instance when they showed Omar's highlights I really liked some of the catches that Sanders was making

For the NC state guys (and Ngata too, really) I know what you mean, but DL is like that...it's a position of failure. If you beat your man cleanly 3-4 times a game you're considered dominant. It's very easy to create a lowlight package that would make even the best DL players look very bad, as ESPN did for Ngata. For NC State's guys I think Manny Lawson was the best and most consistent of them. He's who I really wanted Cleveland to take, I think he has more upside & athleticism than Wimbley, but time will tell.

Warthog, Ngata is a tough nut to crack. The guy doesn't make plays at all. I watched him play a couple times. In the USC game he was totally dominated, but the other times I saw him he looked very good. Still he NEVER made plays in the backfield or got pressure on a QB. Still, he would have been a quality player in the 3-4 because you don't want your NT to make plays. You want him to hold his ground and keep blockers off the LBs. In all the games other than the USC game Ngata looked like he could've been that guy.

That said, the highest drafted pure NT in the league right now is Casey Hampton who went at #19. Generally 4-3 teams do not covet these space eaters as much as a 3-4 team and you shouldn't have to invest a top 12 pick in a player like that. So, I thought Ngata would have made a good player for Cleveland, I didn't think he was good value.

Not sure if you know about Babatunde, but that dude was an absolute S-T-E-A-L at pick #181. In fact I had been screaming for them to draft him since the first pick of the 5th round. Here's a guy that was a grad student at Stanford and scored a 37 on his wonderlick...he's smart. He also started like 35 straight games at one of the few college teams to play a true 3-4. He was the rock at their NT position. He is quite a bit smaller than Ngata, but put up better strength numbers across the board. He was also a more consistent, and dominant, player in college than Ngata (notably in the same conference). Oshinowo was projected by a lot of places as a late first day pick, and Cleveland got him all the way in the 6th...why? Because nobody else wanted a guy that was a true NT. He may be a touch light for the position, but it wouldn't shock me at all if he ends up being a starter for them in a couple years. He could even prove to be the better player than Ngata when it's all said and done. This is a case where the extra 30 lbs of Ngata's girth got him picked 169 picks earlier, regardless of the fact that the other guy is the more consistent player.

I don't know anything about Okinawa (Stanford NT), but after I saw the pick I thought it made a lot of sense. Glad to hear you thought highly of him. I wonder if the plan all along was to try and get him leter so they were willing to pass on Ngata early on.

I like the Browns first two picks, but not sure about taking that OK WR in the third.

I didn't know much about the OU WR that they took in the 3rd, but I like the pick the more I read about him. OU fans came to the Browns board just gushing over him. Apparently he was a victim of some injuries and abysmal OU QB play this past year. He did have like 11 TDs as a junior when White was still there (did he have any against BG?).

Most people seem to criticize it because they didn't think WR was a need, but I think we were in dire need of a WR. Braylon might not be ready for the beginning of the season and that basically only left us with Northcutt & Jurevicious, both of whom are best served as #3 guys.

This kid is a big guy that uses his body well and supposedly has great hands. Definitely seems like a red zone weapon. Vickers in the 6th was also a great pick, if you ever watched Colorado play this past year. He's like a combo of Droughns & Smith, but catches the ball better than either of them.

The only picks I really question are the two 4th rounders. I know nothing of the IU OL guy. Leon Williams seems like a real reach. I saw a number of Miami games and he never stood out. He loks like a great athlete, but not much of a football player. The rest of the draft looks really good though.