I watched the Ole Miss defeat against South Carolina last night, mainly to have another look at Jevan Snead. I was hoping that the disaster zone that was his performance against Memphis in week one was just an off day. Those hopes were shattered by half time.
Something isn't working with Jevan Snead. He's an absolute mess at the moment. Any thoughts that he's going to be the #1 pick next year are well and truly in the trash can right now and it's going to take an almighty shift in fortunes to change that.
Yes, he has a big arm - but it's too wild. He over throws open receivers, he shows virtually no accuracy or touch. When things aren't going well he'll panic and try to throw big bombs down field to fluctuate his stats. He's not athletic when trying to run to avoid pressure.
He was 3/8 for 30 yards at half time and it never got much better. With 9:02 left in the third he took a snap and the rush did it's job, collapsing the pocket. He needed to recognise that, tuck the ball and get down to minimise the loss. Instead he took two huge hits and held the ball loosely in his arms, before inevitably fumbling the ball. It was one of many incidents where I'm just wondering whats going on in the kid's head.
With 4:53 left in the same quarter and 3rd and five to go, Ole Miss were 16-3 down. Rather than move the chains and with Snead struggling, he unwisely decides to go deep downfield. He takes the snap, locked on to one receiver and threw directly into double coverage. It was bobbled by the DB and should have been picked, a truly awful decision to throw that pass that went unpunished.
He should have been picked off twice more in the game but wasn't, the second of which was possibly the worst throwing decision of the lot straight to an area with three defensive players stood and a linebacker completely botching the interception.
Part of me wonders, is this a quarter back struggling under the intense media spotlight and expectation. Another part of me wonders if this guy needs better coaching - be told to calm it down when the pressure is on and better play calling.
But I've come to the conclusion that for all the tools, Jevan Snead is just too erratic. The big arm will interest some teams, but he's simply too raw. It's a shame too, I truly believed at the start of the year that Snead was well placed to become the top QB. He reminded me a lot of Matt Stafford, but I have to say he's been a big dissapointment so far in 2009. He has similar negatives to Stafford, but nowhere near enough of the positives.
Tony Pike however, his stock just keeps on rising. It wouldn't surprise me if by the end of the year, he's the top QB taken in the 2010 draft. It could happen, seriously. He has the tools and he's doing a great job leading that Cincinatti team. Another great performance today, getting it done when he needed to as the Bearcats defeated Fresno State 28-20. He registered 18/26 passes for 300 yards, 3TD's and no interceptions. Big, good arm and accurate with sound mechanics. He might not be the big name, flashy superstar QB but he has the least question marks.
5 comments:
It seems obvious to me that the Seahawks will be looking for a franchise running back next off season. They want to be able to dominate with the running game and a franchise RB would achieve that in one fell fell swoop.
I think they'll be lucky to find one in next years draft. The 2008 draft was loaded at the position but we've not seen that depth since. I loved Knowshon Moreno but Seattle were never likely take him at #4. If they'd been a few picks later on, even 8-12 I think they could easily have taken him.
Looking at whats on offer I'm not sure I can see a top 20 pick at RB. C.J. Spiller is my top rated RB and I think even he only warrants a pick in the 20's. Jahvid Best is more of a change of pace and not the all round back that you can rely on. Joe McKnight is under rated for me but he has serious issues fumbling the ball which puts me off.
Seattle will struggle to find an impact playmaker on offense early in this draft. I don't see any top 15 wide outs, it could even be another year where we don't see one leave the board till the late 20's or even top of the 2nd round. It's not a great draft for offense at all in fact, because the O-line depth doesn't appear to be great. QB has some depth and some big names, but I maintain that Tony Pike is top of my list at the position. I think he could be the first QB taken despite all the hype surrounding Bradford, Tebow, McCoy, Snead, Clausen etc.
Great write up!
I completely agree - Snead is very overrated at this point. You spoke to his arm well, but want to touch on something else that I've noticed - his mindset.
He's a complainer! I saw a play this week where he ran 10 yards down field, to a side judge, to argue a PI call. Are you serious?!?!? He looses his cool on the sidelines, and not in a 'pounding your helmet against your noggen' sort of way. Then, he tries to come back and force big plays with great throws. He doesn't play smart and he doesn't play level-headed.
If we take Snead, I hope it's with a mid-late second rounder at the soonest.
-JerHawks
It's a very good point JerHawks, and I've also noticed him on a few occassions yelling at teammates (mainly Dexter McCluster) when things don't work out. McCluster is a poor route runner, but he's being asked to be Percy Harvin when he's Dexter McCluster. Snead shouldn't be so quick to yell at anyone in ear shot when his own performance has been poor.
I just finished reading "The Education of a Coach" which is Bill Belichick's biography. The book describes in good detail how a young Tom Brady was able to take the starting job away from strong-armed, prototypical Drew Bledsoe. Brady was more accurate, read defenses better, and made better decisions. I think that could very well apply to Snead as well. I don't care about rocket arms if the decision making isn't there. I think Snead would be a mistake, especially if Bradford is available. I do like the idea of our QB and LT of the future this year. Of course I also strongly believe in best player available. I just hope Ruskell doesn't keep stacking the defense at the expense of the offense.
TJ
Post a Comment