Drafting a QB an iffy proposition

USA TODAY, May, 2008 by Gordon Forbes

They come into the NFL with their fast-talking agents and their piles of college clippings. They are the so-called quarterbacks of the future, if they have a future.

Thirteen more came in last weekend. Matt Ryan, a tall, bright rookie who had Dan Marino-type numbers at Boston College, was the first. Ryan was picked in the early minutes of the draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons like Ryan's size, athleticism and arm strength, the measurables of the game. What they can't measure is how Ryan will react to the complex defenses of the pro game.

The next quarterback to arrive was a small-college star named Joe Flacco. At Delaware, Flacco passed for 4,263 yards and was only intercepted five times in 521 attempts, or once every 104 passes. He had the strongest...