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Rodgers vs. Smith: no snap decision

Sporting News, The, April 22, 2005 by Dan Pompei

College spread offenses don't score nearly as many points with NFL teams as they do against NCAA teams.

One reason quarterback Aaron Rodgers might be drafted ahead of Alex Smith is the system Rodgers played in at Cal was more similar to pro offenses than the wide-open shotgun system Smith played in at Utah.

49ers coach Mike Nolan, the man who will make the call on the first pick of the draft, recently said, "Aaron is certainly ahead of Alex because of the style of offense he ran." Last week, Nolan and a 49ers entourage traveled to Salt Lake City to watch Smith work out for a second time, in part because Smith didn't take snaps from center on their first visit.

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The team that drafts Smith will have to work with him on receiving snaps directly from center, dropping, setting up and reading defenses. Rodgers already has been doing those things. But taking snaps and dropping back are not difficult things to do. "On the list of priorities, that's probably eighth or ninth," says one NFL general manager.

A lack of experience under center hardly is a reason to avoid a quarterback if that quarterback's skills are superior to those of another QB who is more experienced in a conventional offense. Nolan knows that. How long could it possibly take for a quarterback to learn to take a snap under center and drop back? And you have to consider that no matter how adept he is at those two skills, chances are he isn't going to be very productive initially anyway.

If a quarterback can't adjust to taking conventional snaps, he probably won't be able to adjust to more important aspects of the game that are more critical to his success. "With the types of zones we play, the combinations are far more sophisticated than what they are playing in college," Falcons general manager Rich McKay says. "It isn't necessarily what a quarterback prospect is exposed to on offense but what you've seen on defense. None of them have seen what they'll see here, so the question becomes: How quick are they to pick it up?

Other quarterbacks, Such as Drew Brees of the Chargers, Chad Pennington of the Jets, Byron Leftwich of the Jaguars and Tim Rattay of the 49ers, have made the transition from shotgun quarterbacks to pro-style quarterbacks, and Smith should be able to as well. Playing in the shotgun didn't prevent Philip Rivers from being picked fourth in the draft last year, and it didn't stop Tim Couch from being picked first overall in 1999. Couch's struggles have led to more caution about quarterbacks from spread offenses, however. "The evaluation might be harder," McKay says. "You can't see them do some of the things they'll need to do--pattern read, go through progressions, audibilize at the line and help in protections." Utah's system undoubtedly played to Smith's strengths. He might not have been productive if he had played in a system more similar to the one Rodgers played in. The same could be said for Purdue's Kyle Orton, another quarterback from a shotgun system. But the key to evaluating is looking through the system, identifying the ability and then projecting it.

Not a block buster but potentially a star

Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson, who is expected to be a top 10 pick, has been criticized for not being a "take-on" linebacker. But that's tike downgrading a Ferrari because it doesn't handle well in off-road conditions.

Basically, there are two kinds of linebackers--those who try to avoid blockers and run to the ball, and those who try to go through blockers. Johnson is the former. Not coincidentally, almost all of the NFL's best linebackers are similar players, including Atlanta's Keith Brooking, Tampa Bay's Derrick Brooks, Denver's Ian Gold, Baltimore's Ray Lewis and Chicago's Brian Urlacher.

Generally speaking, those who can run around blocks do; those who can't take them on. You wouldn't want a linebacker with Johnson's speed to be wasting it wrestling with ogres nearly twice his size.

The reason Johnson has been criticized is he shows no interest in colliding with blockers. In fact, it isn't unusual to see him kind of curl up when a blocker has a bead on him. "He surrenders," one general manager says. "He looks worse than the norm? Because of that, a team that runs a 3-4 defense probably won't have much interest in Johnson.

Johnson should be able to improve at taking on blocks if it's demanded of him. Clearly, it was not demanded of him at Texas. Either way, how Johnson handles blocks should not define him.

DRAFT DISH

Florida State DT Travis Johnson' turned off a number of teams with a cocky, surly disposition in interviews and at his Florida State workout. That has left the door open for Northwestern's Luis Castillo to surpass Johnson as the No. 1-ranked tackle, and Castillo has burst right through. Castillo tore the ulnar tendon in his left elbow during the season, and on January 31 he couldn't even benchpress the bar with no plates on it. NFL scouts were under the impression Castillo would have to undergo surgery. But less than a month later, he did 32 reps in the 225-pound bench press at the Combine. Now that he appears healthy, Castillo should be the top tackle taken. > NFL teams had been leery of Florida LB Channing Crowder because he had three anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions on one knee and another on his "good" knee. But renowned orthopedic surgeon James Andrews examined Crowder and signed off on his health in a letter that made it into the hands of all 32 teams. Wrote Andrews: "Both knees are stable at this time with no evidence of any degenerative changes.... There is no reason this young man cannot continue to play football, even at the highest level, with the current status of his knees.... I feel confident the patient is not at any increased risk of having additional ACL tears." Not coincidentally, the Patriots, who have the 32nd pick in the first round, have visited with Crowder three times. > Even though the Jaguars made a big free-agent investment in DE Reggie Hayward and also signed DE Marcellus Wiley, it would be an upset if they didn't draft an end in the first round. Their need at the position heading into the offseason was as severe--maybe more severe--than any team's need at any position. The good news is the depth at end should leave the Jaguars with a decent player. Among those they could choose from: Georgia's David Pollack, Wisconsin's Erasmus James and Oklahoma's Dan Cody.

Rodgers vs. Smith: no snap decision

Sporting News, The, April 22, 2005 by Dan Pompei

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