Damn!!! I am really impressed! I can't wait to get to TC now. The trip will be worth it just to watch him alone. I wasn't aware of his size either... 6'-6", 230. I noticed his play action in the first video. In one of the plays, his fake handoff was so good it even fooled me, even though I knew they were mostly passing situation videos. I also liked the look of his goal-line short passes. One of them had a super-quick release... no hesitation... just burned the defense horribly. The one where he gets the 2 points was like a rifle... you couldn't even see the ball. He does have excellent protection and his receivers are smart... he looks smart as well... with very good chemistry with his wideouts. I wonder what his Wunderlik was? He looks to be a very smart player. Thanks for the videos.. looking forward to seeing him in person at TC.
Year comp att yds % YPA TD int sck QB rat 2006 233 348 2989 67.0 8.59 19 9 13 151.95 2007 325 519 3522 62.6 6.79 31 10 3 135.48 Good observation, and something I forgot to mention. He is very decisive, and has a very quick release. I have been touting this kid since before the draft. I saw him play twice this year, against Alabama, and Florida. The Vols lost both games, but he played very well with little support. In the Florida game I was afraid they were going to kill him, but he still played very well. With all of that said there are a few raps on him. He can throw on the run, but in general is not very mobile. At times his mechanics are very poor, and he is herky jerky, and throws off his back foot. I think coaching can fix that. Notice in the stats I posted above that in 2006 he was sacked 13 times, as opposed to only 3 in 2007. His stats in 2006 were still excellent. His coach said that his completion % fell in 2007 due to the broken finger. Still excellent I believe that he improved over the year, and his quick release and decisiveness helped his OL a great deal These weren't against scrub teams, this is against the SEC. I'm not getting nutty here and realize he is a 5th round draft pick, but I watch a lot of college football and really like the kid. I was very surprised he was there in the 5th. I think the Jets were to. I also am very excited to see him in pre season. Not sure how much we will see him. Pennington and Clemens are going to get a lot of snaps. Still it's nice to know they might have a sleeper on the side lines
In the second video I believe the announcer said something like, "He could go in the late 1st Round of the NFL draft." At one time was he slated that high? I thought I heard that anyway. I wonder if anyone knows his Wunderlik Score. Not that it's a big deal, but the kid looks like he's a smart player... either that or the rest of the team made him look that way.
All this speculation between the two QB's. Bring in Fav-Re and conversation done! (...for the most part.)
Most people had him from the 2nd to the 4th. A few did have him in the late first, not many though ERIK AINGE NAMED SENIOR BOWL OFFENSIVE MVP FOR THE SOUTH Erik Ainge was named Offensive MVP for the South in yesterday's Senior Bowl for leading his team on a game-winning drive in the final minutes. With 2:48 left to play and the South down by six, the drive started at their own 14. Ainge completed six passes, including an 18-yarder to Florida's Andre Caldwell on fourth and ten, a 22-yarder to Houston's Donnie Avery, and a 23-yarder to Louisville's Harry Douglas. The winning play came on fourth down with four seconds left when Ainge handed off to Caldwell on an end-around and Caldwell scored. NFL.com has the video. Oh, and Brad Cottam scored the only other touchdown for the South. Ainge and Michigan's Chad Henne were the only QBs to avoid costly mistakes, although Henne was saved from the consequences of a poorly thrown ball by one of his receivers. Andre Woodson? Lost a fumble and gave up a safety on two different plays. He did throw the TD to Cottam, though. John David Booty threw an interception in the end zone. Colt Brennan also threw an interception, as did Delaware's Joe Flacco. I think Ainge should be a first round pick. He has size, arm strength and accuracy, and this year he lost all of his recievers and his left tackle, not to mention has to score lots of points to win games because of his defense, but he has only gotten better. CP/AT YDS TD INT E. Ainge 13/21 159 0 0 C. Henne 5/9 64 2 0 J. Booty 6/12 72 0 1 C. Brennan 2/6 29 0 1 A. Woodson 3/6 27 1 0 J. Flacco 2/7 22 0
Wow, maybe the Jets finally got lucky. He has an interesting throwing motion. He opens his hips when he throws and doesn't use much of his lower body. Kid of the opposite of Clemens, who puts allot of his lower body into his throws. Anyway, I know it is a highlight reel, but it is encouraging.
^The QB is supposed to throw with his legs rather than his arm. Its like a pitcher in baseball. Ainge and Pennington are arm guys. I'm not saying Ainge is going to be like Pennington in terms of arm strength, but the velocity comes from the legs, accuracy from the arm.
I agree with both of you 100% That is probably the main reason he fell to the 5th round. it sure isn't his arm strength, it sure isn't his TD to int %, it isn't his accuracy, and it isn't his size. Its his mechanists. I said it before, he kind of has a herky, jerky motion to him. He throws off his back foot way to much. NFL scouts realize this makes him a project. I see it as a positive. As evidenced by the video's, Ainge has a lot of skills that translate well to the NFL. He seems to have it all physically, except he isn't very mobile. But he is very strong, and will get stronger, and has very good pocket presence. Judging by his TD to int ratio in a very tough conference, he seems to make good decisions. Seems to be very smart in games. The Video's to be a good sampling of what he can do. There were a lot of plays shown. Of course they were all positive plays, but the kid showed a lot of skill. If a QB coach can keep him on the roster for two years, and teach him how to set his feet and throw thru his hips. This kid has a chance to be very good. Key word there is CHANCE. He dose have the skills and the brains though. Then again this is the Jets we're talking about.
The Jets stole Brian Daboll from the Pats as the QB coach. Hopefully he can help his progression and fix the problems and make the kid a potential starter around year 3, if Clemens aint the guy.
I agree IMO one of the things that make Parcells a HOF coach is that he always had the ability to put together great coaching staffs, that quickly got teams playing football their way. It really hasn't been talked about much by either the media, or on message boards, but the addition of people like Callahan, and Daboll, in the long term, may be just as impact, as the addition of Jenkins and Faneca. The icing would have been if the crazy old man in Oakland would have fired Ryan. Haven't given up hope on that one. Never know what Davis is going to do. Maybe next year. Even if Clemens is the guy, having two young guns never hurts
It's a curious thing... not throwing with the entire torso. It's almost something that's either picked up naturally at a very early age or it's not. Of course, I guess it can be taught, but you'd think it comes rather naturally if a guy is athletic at all. You either throw with your torso or you throw "like a girl." About 8 years ago, my grandson was one year old and I was already playing catch with him in the living room.. with a soft, cloth ball. Well, he would wing that thing at my head at like 40 mph! He had this natural ability to "feel" that his throw was better (faster) if he wound up his torso and released it. It was the funniest thing, and I pointed it out to my wife... I said, "This kids gonna be a QB." Well, he's now the QB of his Pop Warner team. You should see how he can wing that ball... such a little kid and yet he gets so much velocity on it. And it all starts with him getting sideways and winding up and unfurling his entire body like a coiled spring. Last year, before a Patriots game on TV, John Madden was on one of the NFL networks explaining the mechanics of a good throw and using Tom Brady's motion as an example. He was pointing out that after the throwing motion is complete, your right hand should be touching your left pocket. My grandson was GLUED to the TV screen. The next morning, while we were playing catch out in the yard, he said to me, "Watch Grampa... my right hand is touching my left pocket every time!" But my point is, this small child picked this up all by himself at the age of one. John Madden only made him notice his motion was correct, but it had been there all along, naturally.
Thats an awesome story, good luck to your grandson. Whats almost equally amazing is that John Madden said something profound.
Great story, thanks for sharing it. It does make a good point. It just seems it should come natural to step through a throw. When you watch Ainge, even his 40+ yard passes, he keeps his hips square. Couple of things about that. I'm not sure you want to completely coach that out of a player. perhaps he was even coached to do it as a youngster. In spite of his size, 6' 6", and obvious arm strength, he still throws a lot of short check off type passes. The square hips is a good thing in pressure situations, and creates a quick release, which cuts down on your sacks dramatically. On a mediocre Vols team, for the SEC, he only had 3 sacks last season, that quick release probably played a big role in that. I'm not sure you want to completely coach that out of him. What might be more difficult, is to coach him to know the difference when he has to just flip the ball out, and when he has time, and can step through his throws, and drill it. Not sure, I'm not a QB coach, and didn't play QB, but it seems to make sense that if a QB knows when he has to get rid of the ball quickly to a check down receiver, or a hot receiver during a blitz, and when he can wind up and fire it down field, is a part of the key to the whole thing in great QB's. I guess that's why they pay guys like Dabol big bucks.
I would love to see Clemens step up and be the star QB of the NY Jets, and I even think it could happen. Nobody, at least not me, is saying that Ainge has any chance of winning the starting job this year. It is just kind of exciting that perhaps the Jets might have found a QB project, with a very high ceiling in the 5th round. The kid seems to have all the tools, but he is surely a project.
It's his right time and the right place. And let's face it, we've done everything you could possibly do in one offseason to give the QB as much protection as possible. This is really a golden opportunity for him... one that many other young QBs in the league would give their eye teeth for. Tannenbaum was on TV in an interview last night and naturally, he was asked about the starting QB. Of course, Tanny wasn't going to say anything and instead gave one of his usual, canned, "I love both quarterbacks and we'll see which one emerges as the starter.".... something like that. And it showed video of both QBs working out with red shirts on. But really, I think Clemens has to know that this year is his year. He either steps up and makes it and plays pretty well or he disappears into the Great Black Hole Of QB Has-Beens. It won't be for lack of everyone wanting him to make it either... everyone from Mangini on down has to be rooting for him to succeed. Pennington is not much of an option for us anymore. It'll be nice knowing Chad is on the bench if Clemens gets hurt, but that's about all we should be seeing of Chad this year, besides a lot of sideline chatter with Clemens after every series.
This is a great story. Hopefully we can all chant for your grandson at the Draft one day when the Jets select. Lol..
Can't do that. If we are going to wish the boy well, he will have to be the first pick in the draft. Sorry 227 the Boy is going to have to play for the Pats or Fish. (just kidding) Maybe we could trade up for him as Clemens HOF career winds down
Thanks fellas... LOL. He lives in FL and he's a huge Gators fan no less... which wouldn't be a bad school for him to go to and play for. His whole room is orange and blue with Gators all over the place. In fact, I've already started putting money aside for his college education. A lot of good players come out of that system. Problem is, in terms of a QB or football in general, he probably won't have the prototypical physical size. His dad's built well, but he's only 5'9" or so. His mom is tall and slender. But I'll tell you what, I call him "Neon Leon" and he likes that nickname. He runs fast as hell and cuts and jukes like you've never seen, I kid you not. He just has a lot of football athleticism, so who the hell knows... he could be the next Leon Washington. Leon's one of his favorite players. By the way, that little cloth ball we used to play catch with when he was one? It was a Jets ball, naturally. Don't worry, he's totally indocrinated.
Doing what the Jets have done to the OL may or may not be all they could have done, but while we should expect an improvement, it remains to be seen how strong the right side of the line is. To put it in perspective, I don't think it has become one of the top OL's in the league, which is what "other Qb's" would want to play behind if they had the choice, not merely a somewhat improved from one of the worst lines. The problem again with the current situation is that Chad shouldn't even be on the team. Even if Clemens starts we may see Chad in there. That should not even be a possiblity.
