The Trojan Duck

When Pete Carroll was last an NFL Head Coach, he was known as a bright young defensive coach who couldn't hack it as the "big man on campus". Now Carroll re-enters the NFL as a college coaching legend with the expectations of success already firmly attached to his new job.

The team that he had his last job with, USC, is holding their pro day today in Los Angeles. While Carroll's Seahawks are holding the 6th and 14th overall picks in next month's NFL Draft, my advice for Carroll is stay away from picking former Trojans with those picks.


While Taylor Mays, Charles Brown, and Everson Griffin are all possible first round picks, Carroll needs to think about more than just winning media coverage. If he selected one of his players, it would make for a great story and fill airtime during what sometimes feels like never ending draft coverage. 


The problem is what could possibly come next. The jokes about the players having to take pay cuts going from USC to the Seahawks. Pete Carroll being a biased talent evaluator and only liking his former players. And if one or more of them end up not living up to expectations, his old head can find itself on the coach's chopping block. Just ask Steve Spurrier how having a bunch of Florida Gators on his Washington Redskins' squads worked out.

If one of his former players happens to slip to the 2nd round and Carroll has a chance to select one of his former star players, there the expectations would probably be manageable. Carroll just has to be careful of the perception around his draft picks. If anyone in the media or fan base even thinks he is reaching to select a USC player, it starts the discussion going in a negative direction. 


These talented football players need to make their own mark on the NFL, too. Nobody wants to enter an NFL locker room with the "coach's pet" label attached to them. It is difficult enough to get respect as an NFL rookie, and each of these players surely want to make their own name.


So, Pete Carroll, when it comes to the temptation of selecting a Trojan with one of your first round picks: don't, just duck.




 


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Un-Golden Domer

After hearing all the positive news about Sam Bradford's workout, I thought, where has the positive press been for Jimmy Clausen?

Has nursing an injured foot and not participating in offseason scouting workouts hurt Jimmy Clausen's draft stock? 

Until he works out for pro scouts on April 9th, the discussion around Clausen will focus on his "attitude problems" and not on his ability to run an offense.

Where has all this negative press been coming from?  Some teams have been turned off by his NFL Combine interviews.  Being punched in the eye after the loss to UConn last season has raised questions, and some draft posturing by Mike Holmgren has led to a "reputation" for Clausen.


These are for the most part unfounded. NFL teams traditionally put out false reports, in hopes that the player - whose reputation they are damaging - falls to them in the draft. Real classy stuff, I know. Mike Holmgren is either hoping that Clausen falls to him or makes teams aware he is willing to trade down (for valuable draft picks of course) if Clausen falls to Cleveland's pick.

Getting allegedly blind-sided by an over-zealous fan while hanging out with your family and teammates is something that could happen to anybody.


The fact is that quarterbacks are confident by nature. Peyton Manning brought a list of questions to his draft interview with Bill Polian and, in turn, interviewed Polian. Joe Montana thought he was the best quarterback in the NFL before he ever stepped on an NFL field. Scared quarterbacks get hurt, sacked, and throw interceptions.


Only the NFL teams have the real story on Clausen. They know what is fiction, and what is reality. Hopefully, Clausen impresses on April 9th and is drafted appropriately.

 


Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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Sam I am a St. Louis Ram

Gil Brandt is reporting that, in his opinion, Sam Bradford had the most impressive private workout "for a quarterback since Troy Aikman." We all know how that worked out.


Brandt stated in his blog, "Bradford threw more than 100 passes during the workout and, in my estimation, didn’t have one that was uncatchable. He moved around well, including throwing on the run out of the pocket, and went through the entire route tree. The scripted workout included three-, five- and seven-step drops, shotgun, and play-action plays, plus sprints and rollouts to both sides."


I hope that Rams' fans are excited. He is one of the most accurate college quarterbacks I have seen (at least up there with Troy Aikman and Drew Brees). There is nothing that makes a draft more juicy than having a quarterback at the top of it.


This positive media coverage is not going to make it easier to convince the Rams' fans that Ndamukong Suh should be the No. 1 pick. This is a quarterback driven league, and Sam Braford made himself and his family a lot of money today.






Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.everymorningqb.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.everymorningqb.com.