How Can the Minnesota Vikings Replace Teddy Bridgewater?

Lukewarm Jonah is taking the reins today since his favorite team lost one of the best young QBs in the league.

Today the likelihood of a Minnesota Vikings championship run took a big hit when Teddy Bridgewater went down with a freak, terrible injury.  I know Joe is no Vikings fan, but he is a Teddy Bridgewater fan.  Though the news today was terrible, the regular season is rapidly approaching.  The Vikings have Shaun Hill healthy and that’s about it.  Second year quarterback Taylor Heinicke looked great last preseason, but is also injured.  It’s clear that the Vikings need to find a quarterback, but the question is who?  I’ve got a few suggestions that aren’t being talked about that I hope the Vikings listen to.

Zach Mettenberger may be their best option, so I’m going to lead this list off with him.  I’m a little confused why no one wants a third year quarterback who played average football on a terrible team during his rookie year.  He played a little below average last year, still on a terrible team.  I watched plenty of his games as a pro and saw plenty of potential.  The fact that this guy got cut is baffling to me.  Anyways, you have a young quarterback with starting experience and some upside.  Maybe the biggest positive to Mettenberger is that he’s a free agent.  He doesn’t cost a draft pick, just a roster spot and a pretty cheap contract.

Next up is a favorite of Joe and myself, Matt Barkley.  He’s the current 3rd string quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.  He was acquired from the Eagles for a 7th round pick, so giving a 6th rounder for him seems like a price that Arizona would be happy to receive.  This is another guy that I’m confused by the lack of opportunities he’s got.  He went from assumed number one overall pick to fourth rounder who couldn’t find any playing time, even with all the terrible quarterbacks who seem to find constant work.  He’s a guy with a high ceiling, and I’d happily trade a 6th rounder for him.

Let’s look out east for a couple of quarterbacks from the mighty Philadelphia Eagles.  That’s right a couple.  Chase Daniel is the obvious target.  A guy who by all reports was the best quarterback on a couple of teams he’s been on.  Many people wanted to see him play when he was in Kansas City, and if he stays in Philadelphia I would bet a large amount of money he starts at least one game this year due to talent alone.  However, the Eagles have Sam Bradford as their starter and Carson Wentz as their future quarterback so do they really need Daniel?  So who’s the other quarterback on the Eagles I mentioned?  None other than Mcleod Bethel-Thompson.  Who you ask?  Current Eagles fourth string quarterback, likely to be a free agent very soon, Bethel-Thompson had two runs with the Vikings and showed glimpses of greatness, even though it was in the preseason.  He’ll be a free signing that can back up Shaun Hill and potentially come in and spark the offense if Hill struggles.

I can’t finish the article without mentioning my personal hero Nathan Enderle.  6’4” 240 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal, if he’s signed the Vikings will finally win that ever elusive Super Bowl.  Really though, I wish he actually got a chance in the NFL because he’s got a big arm, he’s accurate, and he’s used to moving around in the pocket and avoiding pressure.  The only good part about him not playing is he would have started for the Bears and led them to way too much success.

Someone else who must be mentioned is Joe’s personal hero, the anti Colin Kaepernick, Mr. America Ricky Stanzi.  He’s available, loves America, and was a successful quarterback at the University of Iowa.  I’ll have to defer to Joe for any real insight into Ricky Stanzi (Joe's insight: He seems like a really good dude. That probably doesn't make him a great option at QB, but I'd definitely let him watch my dog), but he can play on the Vikings as long as he comes out to Real American.

Reviewing My Fantasy Football Draft - Part 3

My latest fantasy football draft happened Monday night. For the uninformed, it is part of a three sport keeper league with baseball and basketball, and you can trade between sports. I am an impatient person, so I am always wheeling and dealing, and that helped lead me to a hilarious end of this draft. Not many people get multiple picks in the last round of the draft, I had four of them, but we'll wait to get to that excitement and also to get to a review to see who my greatest challenger will be.

Round 11
121 Deez Nuts RB Charles Sims TB
122 Larry Donnell Trump 4 President TE Larry Donnell NYG
123 You Just Have To BELLieve! WR Brian Quick StL
124 Graham Cracker WR Breshad Perriman Bal
125 Too Many (Brandin) Cooks QB Ryan Tannehill Mia
126 Al Pacino From Scent of a Woman WR Roddy White Atl
127 Hot Joel WR Torrey Smith SF
128 Run And Hyde RB Andre Williams NYG
129 Steele Jantz’s Jock Strap K Stephen Gostkowski NE
130 Ready, Willing And Tom Cable WR Brandon Coleman NO
131 Geriatric All Stars WR Anquan Boldin SF
132 Ready, Willing And Tom Cable QB Teddy Bridgewater Min

Keepers: Ryan Tannehill

Best Pick: Teddy Bridgewater
I’m a total fanboy for Teddy, so I could debate whether he or Torrey Smith was the best pick, but the tiebreaker always goes to Teddy. He’s going to be good, really good. I get very angry thinking about how well the Vikings have drafted the last couple years, and Bridgewater is the most important person that they have drafted. He has some more weapons around (including a real life running back), so I think he takes a major step forward this year. I still doubt he is worthy of starting most weeks, but I think he’s a very viable keeper option going into next season.

Worst Pick: Stephen Gostkowski
Dude didn’t even have a defense yet. I usually wait until the last second for both, but if you’re going to reach for one, I’d at least make it a defense.

My Pick: Nobody
I traded this pick in a very confusing situation where I wanted someone to stash Paul George on their roster for me so I could use him as a keeper for the upcoming season. I probably should have tried to pay less for the cost of using an IR spot for most of the year, but if you make a lot of trades, they can’t all be winners.

Round 12
133 Ready, Willing And Tom Cable TE Zach Ertz Phi
134 Geriatric All Stars RB Matt Jones Wsh
135 Wegher Bombs WR Jordy Nelson GB
136 Steele Jantz’s Jock Strap TE Tyler Eifert Cin
137 Run And Hyde RB Roy Helu Oak
138 Hot Joel D/ST Bills D/ST Buf
139 Al Pacino From Scent of a Woman TE Julius Thomas Jac
140 Too Many (Brandin) Cooks D/ST Rams D/ST StL
141 Graham Cracker TE Antonio Gates SD
142 You Just Have To BELLieve! QB Carson Palmer Ari
143 Larry Donnell Trump 4 President D/ST Texans D/ST Hou
144 Deez Nuts D/ST Dolphins D/ST Mia

Best Pick: Tyler Eifert
I loved Tyler Eifert last year, and if his arm hadn’t snapped like a twig, it would have been a good pick. Of course he starts getting a bunch of hype before the draft this year and somebody decided to take him, which really screwed over my strategy of not taking a tight end until the final round strategy. But we’ll get into that later.

Worst Pick: Antonio Gates
Since suspended players can’t be put away on the IR, he’s just wasting a roster spot for the first few weeks. After that, he was very inconsistent, so do you really want him as a starting tight end in your lineup? Oh yeah, and he’s also one year older, and that athleticism has diminished to the point of mere existence at this point.

My Pick: Jordy Nelson
I’m just going to go out on a limb and say that Jordy Nelson for a tenth rounder next year will probably be a pretty good deal, so I’ve already got one of my keeper spots occupied. This pick made me very happy as people got upset in the draft room, and I even got a text the next morning where someone admitted that they had trouble sleeping because they were so pissed about this pick. That alone made this draft a tremendous success.

Round 13
145 Deez Nuts RB Cameron Artis-Payne Car
146 Larry Donnell Trump 4 President WR Jaelen Strong Hou
147 Geriatric All Stars D/ST Jets D/ST NYJ
148 Graham Cracker WR Michael Crabtree Oak
149 Too Many (Brandin) Cooks TE Richard Rodgers GB
150 Al Pacino From Scent of a Woman D/ST Ravens D/ST Bal
151 Hot Joel RB David Cobb Ten
152 Run And Hyde K Adam Vinatieri Ind
153 Steele Jantz’s Jock Strap WR Ty Montgomery GB
154 You Just Have To BELLieve! K Justin Tucker Bal
155 Geriatric All Stars WR Dorial Green-Beckham Ten
156 Ready, Willing And Tom Cable D/ST Cardinals D/ST Ari

Best Pick: David Cobb
David Cobb was probably my number one sleeper for this season. Had he not gotten hurt, I was going to pick him in round 8. He was awesome for Minnesota last year, and I have no doubt that he could have beaten out Bishop Sankey for playing time. Unfortunately, he got injured. I knew this would make him slip in the draft and was hoping I could snag him in the 14th. And I would have gotten away with it had it not been for that stupid auto draft, because Joel is such a dummy he couldn’t make a pick in the allotted time, and it auto-selected David Cobb. So he’ll just stash him away on IR, because it doesn’t hurt anything, and he’ll probably get a nice running back for the second half of the season.

Worst Pick: Cameron Artis-Payne
If you’re going to pick a backup running back for the Panthers, you probably should have picked the dude who is the real deal and going to steal the show once Jonathan Stewart inevitably gets injured. Unfortunately for Deez Nuts, that guy was taken later in this draft (Hint: it was by me and may have something to do with my team name).

My Pick: Nobody
I traded this pick so I could finally get rid of Jaime Garcia for Gio Gonzalez. Jaime Garcia has somehow continued to pitch out of his mind and become Cy-me Garcia. Gio has been inconsistent, much like he has been all year. It’s almost like past results indicate something about future performance. But I have faith that Gio will shine when it’s playoff time, at least that’s the hope that I’m holding onto. Long story short: I’m an idiot.

Round 14
157 Ready, Willing And Tom Cable K Steven Hauschka Sea
158 Geriatric All Stars K Cody Parkey Phi
159 Wegher Bombs D/ST Broncos D/ST Den
160 Steele Jantz’s Jock Strap WR Stedman Bailey StL
161 You Just Have To BELLieve! TE Owen Daniels Den
162 Hot Joel QB Jay Cutler Chi
163 Al Pacino From Scent of a Woman K Dan Bailey Dal
164 Too Many (Brandin) Cooks K Matt Bryant Atl
165 Graham Cracker D/ST Panthers D/ST Car
166 You Just Have To BELLieve! D/ST Eagles D/ST Phi
167 Larry Donnell Trump 4 President WR Rueben Randle NYG
168 Deez Nuts K Dan Carpenter Buf

Best Pick: Jay Cutler
I can’t really commend anybody for taking a defense or kicker, because trying to predict those stats, so that doesn’t leave me a whole lot of options. Although I think Jay Cutler is a garbage quarterback, he is a decent fantasy quarterback, so to snag a decent backup in the 14th round is pretty good value.

Worst Pick: Stedman Bailey
If I was going to take a chance on a former West Virginia wide receiver currently playing for the St. Louis Rams, I probably would have gone with Tavon Austin.

My Pick: Broncos D/ST
I really like the Broncos defense for this year. I think Von Miller takes it to another level this season and is my pick to lead the league in sacks. They also have two really good corners, so the pass defense should be on point. If they can stop the run, they should be a top-5 defense.

Round 15
169 Deez Nuts TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins TB
170 Larry Donnell Trump 4 President K Mason Crosby GB
171 You Just Have To BELLieve! RB Lorenzo Taliaferro Bal
172 Graham Cracker K Chandler Catanzaro Ari
173 Too Many (Brandin) Cooks WR Donte Moncrief Ind
174 Hot Joel WR Terrance Williams Dal
175 Hot Joel K Matt Prater Det
176 Wegher Bombs RB Brandon Wegher Car
177 Steele Jantz’s Jock Strap D/ST Packers D/ST GB
178 Wegher Bombs TE Kyle Rudolph Min
179 Wegher Bombs QB Colin Kaepernick SF
180 Wegher Bombs K Josh Scobee Pit

Best Pick: Colin Kaepernick
Yeah, I’m breaking my rules of giving out bests to my own pick, but looking at these selections, it’s pretty clear that Colin Kaepernick stands out above the rest. Snagging him in the final round is pretty nice, as they have some solid weapons on that offense, and with the defense being worse, they will have to score a lot of points to keep them in games. Since I am terrified of the Rams defense, I may even start Kaepernick the start in week one just to let everybody know that they have to earn their starting spot in my fantasy lineup.

Worst Pick: Josh Scobee
And I’m also going to break my rule for giving myself the worst pick. I am writing this on Friday morning, and two things became very clear. I made a smart decision by picking up Pittsburgh’s kicker, because they are going to score some points. Also, I made a very dumb decision by picking up Josh Scobee, because he is awful at kicking the ball. I was so mad after he missed his second field goal that I turned the game off shortly after that to watch Dog with a Blog. I should have just drafted Nate Kaeding.

My (Other) Picks: Brandon Wegher and Kyle Rudolph
WEGHER BOMBS! The only thing that I think I yelled more while watching Iowa games at a bar is “Mox is a fox!” in regards to James Vandenberg. And the only reasons that got yelled more is Brandon Wegher was a phoenix for the Iowa Hawkeyes whose fire burned out after one season of splitting carries. The dude has incredible natural talent, but it’s amazing that he’s actually harnessed everything after basically falling off the face of the Earth for a few years. Most young people do stupid shit. He did, but it seems like he has his shit together now, and good for him. He was very impressive in the preseason (you kind of have to be to make the team as an undrafted free agent), and I know he has the talent to put up numbers when Jonathan Stewart inevitably gets injured.

Kyle Rudolph is a tight end. In fantasy, it is wise to fill all open positions. Kyle Rudolph fills this requirement. Hooray, Kyle.

Predictions
So looking at the best and worsts of how people did in this draft, let's look at who my greatest challenger will be. Also, I gave an extra point for each keeper, as they all seemed to be very good value...oh, except for Cam Newton, who I subtracted a point for, since he was kept in the third round. Ties are broken by general feel. Without further adieu, here are the likely final standings for the 2015 fantasy football season.

1. Wegher Bombs ∞
2. Hot Joel 3-0
3. You Just Have To BELLieve! 3-1
4. Ready, Willing And Tom Cable 2-0
5. Larry Donnell Trump 4 President 2-0
6. Steele Jantz’s Jock Strap 3-2
7. Too Many (Brandin) Cooks 3-2
8. Graham Cracker 2-1
9. Geriatric All Stars 1-0
10. Deez Nuts 1-2
11. Run And Hyde 0-2
12. Al Pacino From Scent of a Woman 1-4 

Scouting The 2014 NFL Draft: Guys I Like More Than Most

We have finally reached the NFL Draft, and people have completely talked themselves into full circles, half circles, three quarter circles, every type of circle you can imagine. There used to be a quarterback ranked as the number one overall propsect, Jadeveon Clowney wasn't worth a top 5 pick before the combine, and Tom Savage wasn't good when he was forced to play in football games, but he's a stud now. It's all so stupid. But this is what the media does. Sadly, it is also what some teams do, but I feel those teams are in the minority as I think front offices are consistently getting better at the draft process. With all of that being said, I wanted to give a quick rundown of a guy I like more than most at each position. Some of these guys I have already gone in-depth about, but others will be new names.

Quarterback - Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville
Bridgewater, along with Clowney, were the two names in discussion for the first overall pick before this season began. Then the season happened and Bridgewater got some separation from Clowney. Then the combine happened and Clowney retook the lead. Then Bridgewater had a poor workout at his pro day, and now he might not be a first round pick. Here's the thing: He's worthy of the number one overall pick. Clowney might be a better prospect, but quarterbacks have such a huge impact that they are worth way more than any other position. I think all of the concern about an epic drop is not going to come to fruition. I predict he'll be a Top 10 pick, and considering he is worth a Top 5 pick, that will be great value. I just hope the Vikings aren't the team that pulls the trigger. Check out my in depth report on Bridgewater here.

Running Back - James White, Wisconsin
I covered him a couple days ago. He was always overlooked at Wisconsin, but he was also always good. There is a decent chance he doesn't get drafted, but in the right situation, he can become a very good back. He might be best served as the smaller share of a running back committee, but that's still good value late in the draft. Check out my in depth report on James White here.

Wide Receiver - Jeremy Gallon, Michigan
I just don't see a way that he is not a good slot receiver. He never had a quality quarterback but still put up good numbers because he found ways to get wide open where even bad tosses couldn't stop him from producing. The size is a problem, but his job won't be to go deep; it'll be to go across the middle and get first downs, and I think he can definitely do that much.

Tight End - CJ Fiedorowicz, Iowa
You can call me a homer if you like, but I think he provides good value in the third round where he is likely to be drafted. Probably not a pro bowler, but has a good possibility to start for a decade in a Heath Miller-esque career. Check out my in depth report on Fiedorowicz here.

Offensive Lineman - Jake Matthews, Texas A+M
I know this isn't much of a reach, but I think Matthews is the best tackle in this draft. Johnny Football owes a lot of his success to great offensive line play, and Matthews was the biggest reason for that. He isn't the most explosive athlete, but he is rock solid in his technique, and if he can handle that SECSPEED, he should be able to handle the speed of the pros.

Defensive Lineman - Will Sutton, Arizona State
I'll go with Will Sutton, just because he has fallen so far in people's minds. Had he switched his Junior and Senior years, he'd be a second round pick. Getting him in the fourth round is good value, because he has shown the ability to dominate games. It's tough to pass up on that.

Linebacker - Christian Kirksey, Iowa
Yes, I'm a homer, but just read through my breakdown and understand that Kirksey will be a valuable player in the NFL.

Defensive Back - Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida
I probably feel the least confident in this selection, but it was either him or taking another Hawkeye in Fernando (Boots Junior) Lowery. But he was good two years ago. I didn't watch much Florida this season, because I don't hate myself, but I like guys who show greatness even if there is a fall off in their final year of college.

Special Teams - Kirby Van Der Kamp, Iowa State
And some love for a rival in my final pick. Van Der Kamp always pinned Iowa deep, so he will probably have a statue in Ames within a few years.

And that wraps it up. I realize I have a bias towards the Big Ten, as that is the conference that I watch the most of as a fan, but I still see these guys as underrated for one reason or another.As for the live draft coverage, follow me on Twitter @HottJoe. I will be live tweeting the draft, and I will likely be joined by Lukewarm Jonah who you can find @JonahDrama. Join in on the conversation if you'd like. We're going to be tweeting fast and furiously, RIP Paul Walker.

Scouting the 2014 NFL Draft: Teddy Bridgewater

Today, I want to take a look at a prospect that most have had at the top of their list of quarterbacks the entire year. Teddy Bridgewater has had scouts salivating over his talents for years now, and most still view him as a top-5 pick in this upcoming draft. Still, that #1 quarterback position has been challenged recently by Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel, so it is no longer the lock it seemed to be a couple months ago. I had watched a little bit of Louisville this season, and from what I saw, I was impressed, but I decided to dig deeper by looking at his games against Ohio, a conference game against Houston, and the bowl game against Miami.

The first thing that stands out is Bridgewater just makes things look easy. He quickly finds his receiver and fires the ball.

This play is not going to be shown on highlight videos, but I need something to warm up the audience to what they are about to see through this breakdown.

He has a lightning quick release.

I don't make much out of releases, because there are much bigger things to focus on with quarterbacks, but seeing how quickly he can fire the ball while still putting zip on it is impressive.

He is very quick at going through his progressions. On this play, it appears that he looks at four different receivers. He looks left to start, then shifts back to the right. Then he shifts back to the middle, but he takes an extra split second before dumping the ball to the running back, because he was looking at the crossing pattern beyond the running back at first, but saw the defender closing down that route.

He does this all in approximately three seconds. It comes about 15 yards short of the first down, but he gave every option a look before settling for the short gain. Outside of accurately throwing the ball, there may not be an aspect more important than being able to quickly go through the progressions when finding an open receiver.

One thing that I sadly have to clarify is that although he is a black quarterback, he's not a running quarterback in the mold of RG3 or Colin Kaepernick. Louisville did do some read option with him, but it was more as a change of pace as opposed to being the backbone of the offense. That being said, he is still very athletic, as he moves really well in the pocket, but he's more quick than fast. He has great footwork, as he can quickly adjust his feet and set to throw. That being said, there are some refinements that could make him even better in the future as shown on this play.

The positives are that he was able to avoid the pressure this time, focused his eyes back on his receivers down the field and made a positive play. However, spinning and looping backwards is a dangerous game, and it has cost him big losses at times, as his left tackle could be doing his job and still be taking the edge rusher right into him with that strategy. If he slips up into the pocket, he's got a perfectly clean throwing lane and a much easier play. On a lot of plays, Bridgewater will do a good job of stepping up, but he does try that bail out technique more than I like. The key positive is that he is not a quarterback who puts the ball down and decides to run immediately. By keeping his eyes downfield, he opens up opportunities by being able to throw or run even when his protection breaks down.

He also does a very nice job of staying in the pocket instead of panicking when there is a blitz. On this play, his protection picks up the pressure, and he is able to fire the ball right as his receiver turns around despite having a guy in his face.

It is a small thing, but his blocking pushes the blockers beyond him on the blitz, so he takes a small step up and fires the ball to his receiver. It's not a wow moment, but it does a good job of showing his pocket awareness.

He throws very well on the move. Even when rolling to his left, he is able to throw a hell of a ball down the field while on the move. That is just ridiculous.

If he's rolling to his strong side, that's still a great throw. Yes, his receiver was wide open, but that was still going to require solid coverage to not get beaten on that ball. There aren't a ton of quarterbacks who can roll to their weak side and throw a 40 yard strike. Teddy Bridgewater can.

Bridgewater shows amazing touch on balls. This is something that is rarely seen from any quarterback, especially in college, but he knows when to use his arm strength, and he also knows when to take something off of it to put the ball exactly where he wants it.

This is just a beautiful loft into the end zone that lands perfectly in his receiver's hands. You can hear the announcer laugh after the play, because it's so tough to come up with the proper words, so all a person can do is chuckle about what they are seeing.

There are some games where his deep ball is on, and there are other games where he can struggle. Against Miami, he was a little off for most of the day. Still, on these back-to-back throws, he shows the good and bad. The first ball is overthrown, but he is definitely able to redeem himself with the next throw.

He is under pressure on that first throw, and he may have put a little extra on it because of that. He more than makes up for it as he is able to throw a nice ball down the sideline that his receiver can go up and get. Against Ohio, everything was on, and he was consistently putting the ball wherever he wanted it, so I have very little concern that he won't be able to challenge teams down the field at the next level.

This is one of my favorite throws that I saw from him. He looks over the middle first, sees nothing there. Then he looks to the right, and throws the ball just as the receiver is breaking to the outside, so his receiver has room to stay in bounds. Plus he puts plenty of zip on the ball so the corner has no chance to make a play, and there is also no way for the safety to get there in time to break up the route over the top.

He is on the near hash, so if he takes even a split second longer, it is going to be very difficult for his receiver to stay in bounds on that route. He does a great job at everything on this play.

Finally, my favorite pass from Bridgewater.

The way he fires this ball and places it perfectly on the back shoulder is something to behold. I could watch this pass all day.

The first word that comes to mind when watching Bridgewater is smooth. Everything he does looks so effortless. He is doing these incredible things, but he makes it all look very easy. Nitpicking, he could handle pressure better as the bailing out technique can cause some serious losses, his deep ball consistency could use some work, and he looks a little thin which could cause injury issues. Other than that, hoo boy, I think I'm in love. I really like Blake Bortles, but Bridgewater is just better. That smoothness also makes me think his success is more easily repeatable than Bortles. That is why I give him the edge and rank him as my #1 quarterback that I have scouted so far. I think the Texans would be crazy to pass on him, even for a physical freak like Jadeveon Clowney. The quarterback position is by far the most important position in football, and that is why it would be a huge mistake to take anyone other than Teddy Bridgewater.

Here are my quarterback rankings for the prospects I have looked at so far:
1. Teddy Bridgewater - Louisville
2. Blake Bortles - Central Florida
3. Zach Mettenberger - Louisiana State
4. Logan Thomas - Virginia Tech
5. Aaron Murray - Georgia

7 College Football Thoughts For Week 3 - Scouting Quarterbacks

1. First off, I was very underwhelmed by Brett Hundley. I know he won the game and by a large margin, but Nebraska's defense is just terrible. Hundley was just locking in on receivers and hesitating for a split second before throwing the ball. If the defense was reading his eyes at all, they were able to break on the ball before it was even in the air. When he actually did scan the field, it was never smooth and looked very robotic.

Hundley did show good mobility throughout the game and he seemed to have decent pocket awareness. One thing that I do wonder is whether he might be better with more pressure. He seemed to hold onto the ball long, because he had no pressure and maybe he would make quicker decisions and throws if he was forced to.

The good news is that he does have a good arm on him. He threw some nice balls and showed good accuracy for the most part. I would have liked to see more routes where he was forced to lead his receivers, but they threw a lot of curls and comebacks throughout the game. His touchdown pass down the near sideline was a thing of beauty.

2. Taylor Martinez...no. In all seriousness, he does a nice job in that offense, and he was pretty accurate early on, but the T-Magic stopped working in the second half. Also, he will always have two games a year where it's just brutal to watch him. Also, the arm strength isn't there for him to be a real quarterback prospect at the next level.

3. Teddy Bridgewater, on the other hand, is fun to watch. He is so smooth. He is able to go through his reads, and is willing to throw the ball away if nothing is there. Kentucky did a really nice job of taking away his first options and not letting him get anything deep, but he was willing to check down and take the gains that were open underneath. On top of that, he does some nice work with his play action where he will really hold that ball out until the last possible moment before keeping it for the pass play. Basically, just about everything about him is fantastic. He leads people  in stride, can throw it down field, it's all there. I love Clowney, but I have a very tough time believing that Bridgewater won't be the first pick in the draft.

4. For Blake Bell, I didn't watch a ton of the game, but man, that guy really floats his balls down the field. That won't work at the next level, but he was pretty damn accurate from what I saw, and if he can keep that up, Oklahoma has a good shot at the Big 12 title. He's not much of a prospect at the next level, but it's still fine to enjoy him for what he is.

5. Johnny Manziel was pretty impressive early on. Showing great accuracy when throwing the ball down the field. He was just tearing up Alabama with man-to-man, because he was either finding an open guy or was able to scramble, because everyone in coverage had their back to him. He was just taking his time and carving things up. His passes were incredibly accurate. It was all good.

Okay, so that stupid throw. It was 3rd and 8, so even if it gets picked, it doesn't really cost them that much, because they were going to be too far out for a field goal. They're looking at a pooch punt or a 4th and 8, which, even though he was rolling, is not an easy conversion. That being said, I think Johnny Manziel is just a madman who doesn't give a shit about anything, and none of that was actually going through his head. He really just wanted to make a play.

His interception in the end zone wasn't that bad. Not a great throw, but it wasn't done out of cockiness, as the CBS announcers stated. He just overthrew it a little and his receiver badly misjudged it. His interception at the beginning of the third quarter was much worse as he forced a ball into coverage, under threw the pass, and paid for it on a tip. His problem was that he was so successful throwing the ball down the field early on that he just kept doing it, and it eventually caught up to him. Also, the breaks just did not go their way, as Alabama really only stopped them with good defense on one drive in the first half. Otherwise, they were hurt by penalties, that first interception, and running out of time at the end of the half.

6. A.J. McCarron is solid in all aspects of the game. The arm strength is not going to wow you, but he knows what he's doing out there. He makes quick decisions in everything that he does. He also does a very good job of reading a defense before the ball is snapped to put him in a position to succeed. The toughest thing about scouting McCarron is he is surrounded by players on offense that are way better than any players he could face on defense. This is just as unique of a situation as trying to scout Marcus Mariota and the offense that Oregon runs to give them an advantage. I don't think he's been as good this year as he was last year, but the core skills are there for him to be successful.

7. I have heard Marcus Mariota rumored as a top QB prospect, and although I like him for the Eagles at the next level, I do not see him as a big time prospect for most teams. He's a fine thrower, but it is tough to put pressure on Oregon, and he showed an extreme lack of pocket awareness against Tennessee. I'll admit to seeing only about five plays from him in that game, but those are my initial thoughts from my limited view of him.