Did Jimmy Clausen throw well enough to give the Rams a bargaining chip?

by Ryan Van Bibber on Apr 10, 2010 7:15 AM CDT in 2010 NFL Draft

The St. Louis Rams have officially checked out three of the draft's top quarterback prospects, having jetted from Austin, TX earlier in the week for Colt McCoy's private workout to South Bend, IN yesterday for Jimmy Clausen's pro day. And what did we learn about the Rams' preference come draft day?

Nothing.

Rams GM Billy Devaney offered praise for the two QBs he saw this week that was virtually indistinguishable from what he said about Sam Bradford in the wake of his March 29 pro day. Others did offer plenty of praise for Clausen's audition, and the question now becomes can the Rams still legitimately consider him with the first overall pick? That probably won't happen unless contract talks with Bradford hit the skids, but it does seem that Clausen's workout should have at least given Devaney a bargaining chip. The Rams will host Clausen for a private visit in St. Louis next week.

The Rams will also be bringing Appalachian State QB/WR Armanti Edwards in for a visit next Tuesday and Wednesday. No word on whether the Rams have him as a QB or WR on their draft board. My guess would be WR, since they have two developmental QBs on the roster and Edwards is 6' 184 lbs.

Here's a really interesting post taking the top prospects in this year's draft and comparing them to their best and worst case scenario NFL counterparts. A sampling:

Jimmy Clausen: Best - Aaron Rogers, Worst - JP Losman

Sam Bradford: Best - Kurt Warner, Worst - Chad Pennington

I'm assuming the Pennington comparison has mostly to due with the injury concerns.

I'll have more from the TST Community Mock Draft throughout the day.

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Comments

After looking at both pro days of Bradford and Clausen my choice is

Bradford hands down is the clear choice as the number one pick, for me it was not even close ,this is a very easy one for Billy D. to make
i would not waste a first round pick on Clausen ,at best early second rounder

by Ram-on on Apr 10, 2010 12:49 PM CDT reply actions

tell me why you

wouldnt “waste” a first on clausen?

by rams3!!! on Apr 10, 2010 2:49 PM CDT reply actions

+1

Please explain … or risk your opinion being considered irrelevant.

Yes, I actually wore a watermelon on my head during the Rams SuperBowl victory in 2000.

by Midasknight on Apr 10, 2010 6:42 PM CDT up reply actions

We need a QB who can throw the long ball accurately.

Avery’s first year he would get a step on the CB and Bulger would throw it where only he could go get it and it worked well. Last year when he got a step, none of our QBs could get the ball to him. He would have to stop and come back to the ball, fighting the CB all the way, and most of them were incomplete or intercepted. When we have a choice between a QB who can throw everything including the long ball accurately and one who can’t throw the long ball accurately, why would we choose a QB who couldn’t even throw the long ball accurately on his pro day? Having a fiery personality is fine, but I’d rather have a QB who can throw the ball where it belongs, including the long ball.

by andyrose on Apr 10, 2010 2:53 PM CDT reply actions

That's like having a RB who is faster than defenders

you want that of course, but bottom line is there are more important things.

Having the strongest arm doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful either, Jamarcus, Leaf, etc.

You’re putting too much weight on something that is not as deficient as you think it is, Andy. If he had a very weak arm that coudn’t get the job done, he would not have been so good for so long. It defies simple logic. Don’t be Al Davis.

He’s been extremely efficient and a good decision maker for several years, and that should be priority 1 in a QB.

The blind stares of a million pairs of eyes, lookin hard but won't realize, that they'll never see the C. And when I'm rollin by, you can't see me!

by CoachConnors on Apr 13, 2010 12:06 PM CDT up reply actions

So we need to draft a QB to cater to Avery?

I value leadership with an above average arm higher than long range accuracy with a bland personality and an inability to fall correctly.

Yes, I actually wore a watermelon on my head during the Rams SuperBowl victory in 2000.

by Midasknight on Apr 10, 2010 6:44 PM CDT reply actions

So you want Bulger with a better personality?

Bulger can do what Clausen can given a line. Bradford also has an above average arm and I wouldn’t say he has a bland personality. I haven’t seen anything less bland in Clausen than in Bradford. And the long range accuracy is what Bradford has that Clausen doesn’t. Name me something Clausen has that Bradford doesn’t, other than a bland personality which I don’t buy. Also, I could ask you the same question about why you are worshiping Clausen or however you phrased my Bradford support.

PS Bradford bulked up to keep from “falling wrong” or when he does fall wrong it won’t hurt him as easily.

by Carneros on Apr 10, 2010 7:39 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm not worshipping Clausen ...

… I’m just playing devil’s advocate to all of the people that are saying how godly Bradford is.

Bradford reminds me a lot of Alex Smith. Clausen reminds me of Philip Rivers.

I am no scout. I am certain Devany will make a better decision than I can.

Yes, I actually wore a watermelon on my head during the Rams SuperBowl victory in 2000.

by Midasknight on Apr 10, 2010 10:29 PM CDT up reply actions

Care to elaborate on those comparisons?

Because Philip Rivers is one of my favorite players and I don’t see him in Jimmy Clausen.
Also Alex Smith is more like Tebow. They were both coached by Urban Meyer and are having trouble making in the NFL, Tebow hasn’t technically had trouble yet but he has to make a huge transition in his game. Bradford ran a lot under center and was not a all spread gimmick QB.

by Carneros on Apr 10, 2010 11:03 PM CDT up reply actions

I think your reasoning is a bit flawed

Accuracy is arguably the most important attribute for a QB. If you look at Warner’s great years with us and AZ, his passes weren’t always tight spirals—in fact, some were downright ugly—but they were almost always on the money. The same can be said for Peyton Manning. He’ll throw some mallards from time to time, but the accuracy is there. The ability to put the ball where only your receiver can get it is what separates the good QBs from the great ones.

My thinking is that if some people are going to play down Bradford’s accuracy at his pro day because he wasn’t being pressured or throwing against a secondary, shouldn’t we be playing up any of Clausen’s inaccurate passes for the same reason?

by mikemcd41 on Apr 10, 2010 8:22 PM CDT up reply actions

Asking if we need to cater to Avery is just a ridiculous question.

We need a QB who can make all the throws, not just those less than 20 yards. Avery happens to be our long threat and we need a QB who can get the ball to him when he does get behind the defender. We saw what happened in 2009 when we couldn’t throw the long ball. The defense put eight in the box and just sat on the short pass routes one on one with no fear of having us throw it over their head. That needs to change.

by andyrose on Apr 10, 2010 11:07 PM CDT up reply actions

Saying Clausen can only make less than 20 yard throws ruins your credibility.

The blind stares of a million pairs of eyes, lookin hard but won't realize, that they'll never see the C. And when I'm rollin by, you can't see me!

by CoachConnors on Apr 13, 2010 12:08 PM CDT up reply actions

then say bye bye to schurmur

and then we might even run more then 4 plays a game this year

by STLfan1 on Apr 10, 2010 11:33 PM CDT reply actions

Was it really Shurmer's play calling

or was it the fact that we didn’t have a QB who could throw the longer passes accurately? There’s no use calling them if the QB can’t put the ball where it needs to be. I’m no fan of Shurmer, but I don’t know what options he had to work with last year.

by andyrose on Apr 11, 2010 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions

We should really be talking about the 2nd round pick by now

It sounds like it’s about a 90% chance we’ll be taking Bradford in the first. Like it or not, anything else seems unlikely.

The 2nd round pick has a ton of potential scenarios, however. We’ve beaten down the “Bradford vs. the field” scenario. Let’s move on the the 2nd round, where it could really be interesting.

by Oski Bear on Apr 11, 2010 12:12 AM CDT reply actions

And this year we get a whole day to talk about it!

Instead of 10 minutes…..still don’t know if I like this new set up though. Guess I’ll find out soon enough – I just don’t like it starting on a Thurs so early (Pac time).

Baseball season is back - Go Halos!

by gorams77 on Apr 11, 2010 2:00 AM CDT up reply actions

Sounds like a good idea

because that is the pick Devaney will be getting calls about. The question in my mind is which deal will he choose. Do we trade the pick to DEN for Marshall or keep him out of SL?

by RamsFan1979 on Apr 11, 2010 11:53 AM CDT up reply actions

If the Rams would consider trading it for Marshall,

and they think Denver would consider it as well, then I hope they talk to his agent to see if a longer term contract would be reasonable. I sure don’t see trading the pick for a one year rental. He is a heck of a receiver and could help the offense if he was happy and looking forward to his time here. If he wouldn’t be happy with what we could offer him longer term, then forget it because he will be a locker room problem.

by andyrose on Apr 11, 2010 1:29 PM CDT up reply actions

Trade down a few slots...

gain an extra pick in round three, then trade the 2nd round pick for Marshall.

…just another scenario

by Oski Bear on Apr 11, 2010 4:09 PM CDT up reply actions

meaning trade the 2nd round pick for someone looking to get....McCoy or Tebow

by Oski Bear on Apr 11, 2010 4:10 PM CDT up reply actions

The further down you trade,

the less likely it is that Denver would make the trade. They can just keep Marshall if they don’t like the deal, since he’s still under contract for this year, and they are still saying they will only take a first round pick for him. Our 33rd might do the job if someone is there they badly want, but I’m afraid going down any lower would end any chances of a deal.

by andyrose on Apr 11, 2010 10:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Clausen on film

appears to me to lack a little something extra when throwing that longer range pass. Even on completions they looked to me like Golden adjusting to make the catch rather than the ball thrown with authority. Bottom line, they just looked like passes NFL dbs would knock down or intercept.

by p stuby on Apr 11, 2010 4:37 PM CDT reply actions