Brady documentary

[wco81]

Running on ESPN.

Interesting part is that they have Mariucci explaining why the 49ers passed over Brady. They knew about him, including Walsh, since he went to Serra HS down the road.

But Brady measured poorly on all the measurables and they were concerned that Michigan wouldn't start him full time, instead having him split time with Drew Henson.

Instead, they like Gio Carmazzi, who had the measurables. But there is footage in practice where Mariucci is castigating him for not knowing down and distance, not delivering accurately.

Then in the Hall of Fame game, Carmazzi is sacked the first two plays. He never played in regular season game and was out of the league in 2 years. Mariucci says he thinks the lights and the competition level intimidated Carmazzi and he never recovered. Or maybe he never had the fire that Brady had.

I can kind of understand Mariucci and Walsh making the mistake, since most other teams didn't see much in Brady either. Funny thing about the Patriots draft in 2000 is that the 5 players they selected before Brady were busts too. But Bellichek liked his performance in college, always brining Michigan back in the big games. Brady wasn't ready but they carried him as the 4th QB because they didn't want to risk losing him.


What is INEXCUSABLE was that worthless POS Nolan choosing Alex over Aaron Rodgers. Again, the team passes by a QB who grew up as a fan and now will be another Hall of Famer. But then it was the god damn Yorks.

[Jikkle]

Brady wasn't the Brady he became to be coming out of college which is what a lot of those "analysts" who go "How could you pass on Brady?" don't understand.

Brady himself worked hard to improve himself but he also fell into a perfect situation in New England that allowed him to blossom and become the HOF QB he is today.

Brady is a good example as to why it would be nice if the NFL had a legitimate developmental league because I do believe there are guys that are talented that never get the shot because they still need more work coming out of college.

[MHSL82]

Running on ESPN.

Interesting part is that they have Mariucci explaining why the 49ers passed over Brady. They knew about him, including Walsh, since he went to Serra HS down the road.

But Brady measured poorly on all the measurables and they were concerned that Michigan wouldn't start him full time, instead having him split time with Drew Henson.

Instead, they like Gio Carmazzi, who had the measurables. But there is footage in practice where Mariucci is castigating him for not knowing down and distance, not delivering accurately.

Then in the Hall of Fame game, Carmazzi is sacked the first two plays. He never played in regular season game and was out of the league in 2 years. Mariucci says he thinks the lights and the competition level intimidated Carmazzi and he never recovered. Or maybe he never had the fire that Brady had.

I can kind of understand Mariucci and Walsh making the mistake, since most other teams didn't see much in Brady either. Funny thing about the Patriots draft in 2000 is that the 5 players they selected before Brady were busts too. But Bellichek liked his performance in college, always brining Michigan back in the big games. Brady wasn't ready but they carried him as the 4th QB because they didn't want to risk losing him.


What is INEXCUSABLE was that worthless POS Nolan choosing Alex over Aaron Rodgers. Again, the team passes by a QB who grew up as a fan and now will be another Hall of Famer. But then it was the god damn Yorks.

I blame Nolan and Rodgers because Rodgers should have just done the stupid drills without questioning if he wanted to be here so badly. Did he think Nolan was testing him to see if he'd call out arbitrary workouts and doing so would impress? Or was he just being a dick about it? If it's the latter, I blame Rodgers for not kissing Nolan's ass, at least until being picked. After being picked, then show the attitude.

[Pattersonca65]

Brady wasn't the Brady he became to be coming out of college which is what a lot of those "analysts" who go "How could you pass on Brady?" don't understand.

Brady himself worked hard to improve himself but he also fell into a perfect situation in New England that allowed him to blossom and become the HOF QB he is today.

Brady is a good example as to why it would be nice if the NFL had a legitimate developmental league because I do believe there are guys that are talented that never get the shot because they still need more work coming out of college.

I saw that episode several months ago. It was a really good one. Judging QB talent from college is tough. Look at all the failed QBs drafted in the first round and how many of the great ones went undrafted or in late rounds. Walsh wanted Phil SIms but since he was gone by the time Walsh picked, he chose Montana. Walsh took Montana in the 3rd and he wasn't projected to go until the 6th round.

Alot of teams passed on Aaron Rodgers. Again, misjudgement. I remember during the draft the thought on Rodgers was he was a product of Tedford's system and had probably hit his ceiling in college whereas Alex Smith was younger and had a much higher ceiling. Epic fail. As far as the 49ers were concerned, wasn't Mike McCarthy (ironically) as OC of the 49ers pushing for the 49ers to draft Alex Smith?

[CrimsonCrew]

The Rodgers thing is a tough call for me. He really landed in a perfect situation. I'm not at all confident that he would have turned into what he has if he was starting from day one with the Niners. He sat for three years, and then took the helm of a team coming off a 13-3 season that didn't suffer any tremendous losses, and he led it to a 6-10 record. He really struggled down the stretch, losing seven of the last nine, and five straight before winning the season closer. He looked very indecisive at times, and took a lot of sacks.

Rewind to 2005 and stick him on the Niners team that Smith took the field with, and I think it's reaching to say he becomes elite. Not many QBs - hell, not many people - are able to rebound from a start to a career like Smith had. It's a tremendous credit to him that he stuck through it. Now, it's possible that Rodgers' more fiery temperament would have turned the team around faster, but given the talent he would have been working with, I think that's generous. Add in a serious injury to a throwing shoulder - obviously we can't say this would have happened to Rodgers, but let's assume the full Alex Smith experience - and I just don't see him becoming the consensus best QB of his "generation" (considering an NFL "generation" as basically 4-5 years). We'll never know, but I don't think we can just accept it. While Smith's low-key demeanor perhaps held him back at times, it also allowed him to persevere through some truly challenging times. I don't know if Rodgers would have made it, at least playing with this team. It's possible he would have done a Drew Brees type things.

[CrimsonCrew]

It's worth noting that I see some similarities between Alex Smith and Blaine Gabbert, which is part of why I'm not as down on him as our backup as some/many are. He was in a pretty awful situation, and he played awfully. He's got qualities that make him an interesting backup, though.

[wco81]

Maybe Rodgers would have been wasted or mishandled under Nolan and Singletary.

But there is a huge gulf in physical talent between Rodgers and Smith. Even if he may not have developed mastery of the offense and the QB position as well as he has with the Packers, he still would have been in a better position to produce given the superior talent.

Of course, physical talent alone isn't everything, as the example of Carmazzi vs. Brady showed. That's the only basis on which presumably the 49ers brain trust chose Alex, that they thought he'd learn NFL offense better than Rodgers would.

Oh the other hand, if Aaron had put up huge numbers early on, he'd have gotten a huge contract and maybe the 49ers overall roster wouldn't have been as strong.

Rodgers' record in the playoffs since signing his huge contract is only 2-3.

[CrimsonCrew]

Maybe Rodgers would have been wasted or mishandled under Nolan and Singletary.

But there is a huge gulf in physical talent between Rodgers and Smith. Even if he may not have developed mastery of the offense and the QB position as well as he has with the Packers, he still would have been in a better position to produce given the superior talent.

Of course, physical talent alone isn't everything, as the example of Carmazzi vs. Brady showed. That's the only basis on which presumably the 49ers brain trust chose Alex, that they thought he'd learn NFL offense better than Rodgers would.

Oh the other hand, if Aaron had put up huge numbers early on, he'd have gotten a huge contract and maybe the 49ers overall roster wouldn't have been as strong.

Rodgers' record in the playoffs since signing his huge contract is only 2-3.

There's absolutely no doubt Rodgers has, and has always had, a stronger arm than Alex. That said, Alex lost something after the shoulder separation. He didn't have a big arm when he came into the league, but he could throw the deep ball more effectively prior to the injury.

[Pattersonca65]

Maybe Rodgers would have been wasted or mishandled under Nolan and Singletary.

But there is a huge gulf in physical talent between Rodgers and Smith. Even if he may not have developed mastery of the offense and the QB position as well as he has with the Packers, he still would have been in a better position to produce given the superior talent.

Of course, physical talent alone isn't everything, as the example of Carmazzi vs. Brady showed. That's the only basis on which presumably the 49ers brain trust chose Alex, that they thought he'd learn NFL offense better than Rodgers would.

Oh the other hand, if Aaron had put up huge numbers early on, he'd have gotten a huge contract and maybe the 49ers overall roster wouldn't have been as strong.

Rodgers' record in the playoffs since signing his huge contract is only 2-3.

That would be the last reason. Rodgers played in a pro style offense at Cal and was a four year college player. Rodgers already had experience in the system where Alex only had a couple of years experience in the run and shoot. No doubt Alex is smart enough to learn pro sty;e offense

[Pattersonca65]

Maybe Rodgers would have been wasted or mishandled under Nolan and Singletary.

But there is a huge gulf in physical talent between Rodgers and Smith. Even if he may not have developed mastery of the offense and the QB position as well as he has with the Packers, he still would have been in a better position to produce given the superior talent.

Of course, physical talent alone isn't everything, as the example of Carmazzi vs. Brady showed. That's the only basis on which presumably the 49ers brain trust chose Alex, that they thought he'd learn NFL offense better than Rodgers would.

Oh the other hand, if Aaron had put up huge numbers early on, he'd have gotten a huge contract and maybe the 49ers overall roster wouldn't have been as strong.

Rodgers' record in the playoffs since signing his huge contract is only 2-3.

There's absolutely no doubt Rodgers has, and has always had, a stronger arm than Alex. That said, Alex lost something after the shoulder separation. He didn't have a big arm when he came into the league, but he could throw the deep ball more effectively prior to the injury.

No doubt Aaron Rodgers in a way was lucky he didn't end up in SF. The team was a disaster and with the Oline issues no telling how his career would have progressed. Of course, alot of ifs. If Norv Turner had not bolted for San Diego things would have been different. Alex doesn't have a strong arm but I don't think his arm is awful. He can still go deep with a pretty good ball. Alex is so risk averse and I don't know why that is. He doesn't like to throw into tight windows and would rather check down than throw into a tight spot. That is why his intcerception numbers were so low.

[wco81]

Not just arm strength. Aaron has made a living with back shoulder throws to the sidelines. Smith has never shown that kind of accuracy.

Aaron has made a lot of big plays out of the pocket too, extending plays. Alex is athletic enough to get out of the pocket but once out, usually to the right side, he can only thrown short to medium passes to the right sideline.

Anyways, 49ers are going to have to draft another QB eventually. I only hope the talent evaluation is better by that time. I'm not sure Baalke and the current coaching staff can be trusted though.