Brett Hundley Baffles Me

[DR RAM]

I am a UCLA fan and have seen about 5 games at the Rose Bowl the past 2 seasons. My positive opinion on Hundley has cooled a bit after this past season.

I wanted to first speak about his running. There is a perception that he runs for his life most of the time. I disagree. Hundley was sacked 41 times in 13 games. Only 9 teams gave up more sacks than the Bruins. If Hundley always ran when he was in trouble, he wouldn't have been sacked as much. Many times he was sacked while waiting for things to develop down field. On the other hand, during some of the games I saw in person, I could see receivers breaking open and he did not see them. So, I agree he will need time to develop his reading of defenses and learn to get rid of the ball when the internal timer goes off.

We have a bingo! Mariota does more one read stuff than Hundley, but he was afforded better receivers, an off balance defense, and an OL, so much better, it's hard to quantify. Both will need time. I'm seen them both make those reads though. They can do it, and Hundley improved this year. Neither player their reached his ceiling.

 

[CGI_Ram]

On the other hand, during some of the games I saw in person, I could see receivers breaking open and he did not see them.

All QB's miss guys like that now and again. However; field vision and mental processing are not things you can develop - you have it or you don't.

If a QB can't process fast enough: he won't succeed. This trumps physical ability every day.

 

[DR RAM]

To Dave, are you forgetting about Tommy Gun? He was a Ram, and Cade McNown was a high pick, not that long ago, although I thought he was way overrated. A lot of QB's that year were. Remember Akili Smith? Of course you don't. UCLA would have won about 5 games without Hundley last year. Mora helped, and he's getting talent now, but Hundley was the difference between wins and losses. Make no doubt about that. They didn't win in spite of him, but because of him.

 

[Dodgersrf]

To Dave, are you forgetting about Tommy Gun? He was a Ram, and Cade McNown was a high pick, not that long ago, although I thought he was way overrated. A lot of QB's that year were. Remember Akili Smith? Of course you don't. UCLA would have won about 5 games without Hundley last year. Mora helped, and he's getting talent now, but Hundley was the difference between wins and losses. Make no doubt about that. They didn't win in spite of him, but because of him.

Nobody is questioning his ability to win college games. He does. Manziel won a lot of games in college as well.
This doesn't always translate to the pros.

Hundley does have a better set of tools than JF. It's just really difficult to get an accurate read on him.
Moras job is to win games. Not develop talent. Mora used the immediate skill set of Hundley as is.
Hundley needs some work.
Just how long it will take to get him ready for the next level is the question. If he's capable of even becoming a starting caliber qb can't be ignored either. Which we could say about most qbs coming up.
It certainly didn't work out for A. Smith

 

[DR RAM]

Nobody is questioning his ability to win college games. He does. Manziel won a lot of games in college as well.
This doesn't always translate to the pros.

Hundley does have a better set of tools than JF. It's just really difficult to get an accurate read on him.
Moras job is to win games. Not develop talent. Mora used the immediate skill set of Hundley as is.
Hundley needs some work.
Just how long it will take to get him ready for the next level is the question. If he's capable of even becoming a starting caliber qb can't be ignored either. Which we could say about most qbs coming up.
It certainly didn't work out for A. Smith

It did work out for another A. Smith. Look, I'm not naive, and my very first post on Hundley (months ago) was that he's very hard to evaluate, because of a lot of factors. In this thread, I said that I get it, so I guess I'll say it again, I understand everybody's concerns.

As far as my evaluating goes, I wouldn't have touched J. Football with a ten foot pole wrapped with a condom. This isn't hind sight, this was my stance all along. We are going to have to take a chance on somebody, if we take a QB in this draft. Every QB in this draft has major questions. I feel as comfortable about him as anyone else in this draft, more so than most. He'd be my #3.

 

[Dodgersrf]

It did work out for another A. Smith. Look, I'm not naive, and my very first post on Hundley (months ago) is that he's very hard to evaluate, because of a lot of factors. In this thread, I said that I get it, so I guess I'll say it again, I understand everybody's concerns.

As far as my evaluating goes, I wouldn't have touched J. Football with a ten foot pole wrapped with a condom. This isn't hind sight, this was my stance all along. We are going to have to take a chance on somebody, if we take a QB in this draft. Every QB in this draft has major questions. I feel as comfortable about him as anyone else in this draft, more so than most. He'd be my #3.

Fair enough.
I'm one that's on the fence with him.
When I've watched him, I keep wondering what he could be. I was just never impressed with who he is at the moment.

I wouldn't be upset at all if we drafted him. He has pro level, physical talent.
I wouldn't be upset if we didn't, either.

I also agree that he's probably the 3rd best option in the draft, but I haven't really seen Mannion or Grayson.
Petty looked interesting to me.

 

[OC_Ram]

If we trade down once, maybe twice then take hundley late 1st round, I wouldn't cry having the extra picks.

 

[den-the-coach]

You may be right, was it Mark Harmon that was at UCLA the same time Haden was at USC or vise versa?

Correct Mark Harmon was at UCLA and so was John Sciarra who also played defensive back for Vermeil's Eagles.

 

[den-the-coach]

You are absolutely correct! Pat Haden was definitely a Trojan!

 

[TheDYVKX]

I guess I can be on board with drafting him as long as we can guarantee he won't play his first year, like the Cardinals did with Logan Thomas and the 49ers did with Kaepernick.

The thing with Hundley is that from play to play, I either see amazing things or terrible things, and I have no idea what I'm going to get from him. I could see him being both McNabb and Campbell.

I think if we could give him a lot of time to learn, he could be something. Depends on the situation. If he has to play right away though, he WILL be a bust in my opinion.

 

[paceram]

This^...Good Arm, intelligent, athletic, huge hands and he was the crown jewel for Jim Mora that has made UCLA relevant again. His favorite Quarterback was Donovan McNabb and @jrry32 McNabb baffled many of Eagle fans. I truly believe Hundley will be like that. There will be times he will struggle, but will have the ability to make a big play at all times.

In the end I concur with @LACHAMP46...One small step for fans, one giant leap for Ramkind!

So Coach - Are you saying you are for drafting Hundley? And, if so, which round would you be willing to select him? I don't think I would take him in the 1st round but I would strongly consider him in the 2nd round!

 

[den-the-coach]

So Coach - Are you saying you are for drafting Hundley? And, if so, which round would you be willing to select him? I don't think I would take him in the 1st round but I would strongly consider him in the 2nd round!

I concur with you if he"s there in round two otherwise look for Grayson or Petty in round three. I'm on board if new QB Coach Chris Weinke is, I trust his judgment because he's been working with many young QB's over the last several years.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Well, as a Bruin fan as far back as Tommy Prothro I think I'll weigh in here. (don't need film)

Hundley basically needs to be drafted by a team that will use him to his strengths, just can't say it any better than that. (SF is utterly clueless on this issue with CK)

He'll be a star if drafted by Philly...

A failure if drafted by a "protect our investment" team

Dude has tons of heart, a winner (then again I thought the same about Cade McNown so...and yeah he didn't get a real chance imo) all the natural "measurables" combine geeks look for ( tho that means notta to me)

But what I find myself unable to decide on are his instincts and mental processing speed.

The $64,00 question sir We really don't know as he was THE most sacked QB in CFB the past two years...could it be the mental processing speed or just...he was running for his life right after the snap? I'd say a combo of both, as I've said in the past, he really needs work on "pre snap reads"

No way imo opinion he falls to the 2nd rd, but if he did, I'd take him in a heartbeat.

 

[DR RAM]

I'm doing OL evals right now, to finalize my top 10's that I do every year. Christ, I'm evaluating FSU's OL, and Winston just blows me away. When he makes a mistake, it's like a brain fart, but he clearly is the best QB, by far, in this draft if you can overlook his immaturity, or character issues. He's very, very good. Easily would have been top ranked guy last year.

 

[Dodgersrf]

I'm doing OL evals right now, to finalize my top 10's that I do every year. Christ, I'm evaluating FSU's OL, and Winston just blows me away. When he makes a mistake, it's like a brain fart, but he clearly is the best QB, by far, in this draft if you can overlook his immaturity, or character issues. He's very, very good. Easily would have been top ranked guy last year.

One of the flaws I have issue with regarding Winston. When he or someone else made a mistake, his frustration sometimes carried over to the next couple of plays. He's going to have to move on to the next play without the frustration.
But yeah, he stands pretty tall in the pocket and fires down field.

 

[DR RAM]

One of the flaws I have issue with regarding Winston. When he or someone else made a mistake, his frustration sometimes carried over to the next couple of plays. He's going to have to move on to the next play without the frustration.
But yeah, he stands pretty tall in the pocket and fires down field.

Decisive, is how I'd label him, with very good arm talent. He has some mechanical issues, and he makes some bad decisions under heavy pressure, but man, he hits the open guy.

I agree with you on his mentality, which is a major plus for Hundley. He stays even keel, until they score, then he celebrates. I watched one game where he got sacked on every down on 3 straight possessions, none of them his fault, he had no chance to run, or get rid of the ball, and he didn't hang his head, complain, or get down. The next possession, they went about 85 yards and scored a TD.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Decisive, is how I'd label him, with very good arm talent. He has some mechanical issues, and he makes some bad decisions under heavy pressure, but man, he hits the open guy.

I agree with you on his mentality, which is a major plus for Hundley. He stays even keel, until they score, then he celebrates. I watched one game where he got sacked on every down on 3 straight possessions, none of them his fault, he had no chance to run, or get rid of the ball, and he didn't hang his head, complain, or get down. The next possession, they went about 85 yards and scored a TD.

Hundley does seem to have a favorable demeanor.

 

[OnceARam]

My impression from reading what you draft geeks wrote is that Hundley is a winner and has the physical capability to win at the next level.

The issue is can he learn how to be a pocket passer. Because at a certain point a qb has to be able to play from the pocket.

Assuming that is the crux of the issue than the answer is "no".

Look at Tebow. That guy had everything going for him but could not adjust his game. Granted Hundley could have better throwing mechanics, but if you look at great QBs at the Nfl level... they all came into the league knowing how to do a three step drop.

Huntley is a pass Because he will tantalize us but never deliver on his talent.

 

[DR RAM]

My impression from reading what you draft geeks wrote is that Hundley is a winner and has the physical capability to win at the next level.

The issue is can he learn how to be a pocket passer. Because at a certain point a qb has to be able to play from the pocket.

Assuming that is the crux of the issue than the answer is "no".

Look at Tebow. That guy had everything going for him but could not adjust his game. Granted Hundley could have better throwing mechanics, but if you look at great QBs at the Nfl level... they all came into the league knowing how to do a three step drop.

Huntley is a pass Because he will tantalize us but never deliver on his talent.

No, can't do that comparison, at all.

 

[OnceARam]

No, can't do that comparison, at all.

Okay. That's a valid point.

But then tell me is the process of re-conditioning Hundley's muscle memory to become a throw-first QB possible?