***DISCLAIMER: The following article is an article independent of shower_beers. The opinions expressed in this article are of another party, and in no way endorses this opinion as his own ***
Here's something juicy to hold everyone over until draft time.
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Posted Dec. 29, 2009
Junior Quarterbacks - Jimmy Clausen
I bet you never thought in the past month that Notre Dame junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen is one of the most underappreciated quarterback prospects in the history of the NFL Draft. But after reading this blog entry, you just might change your mind.
First, I am going to tell you why you might not like Clausen, and let's be real here, there is a lot of bias against him. Some criticism is warranted, but a lot isn't.
Notre Dame is the most hated football program in America, period. They are the Duke of the gridiron. Automatically, you hate Clausen because he went to Notre Dame, just like you hated J.J. Reddick because he went to Duke. If you want to make an analysis as objective and professional as possible, then you need to cut the crap and get over the Notre Dame hate if you have it - and a lot of that is out there. Think about it: if you put Sanchez on Notre Dame and Jimmy Clausen at USC, then Sanchez is the hated prospect and Clausen is the beloved underclassman.
Maybe you don't like Clausen because of the blond, spiky hair, or the limo appearance he had when he was a senior in high school to declare for Notre Dame. These aren't "low profile" characteristics and automatically, you might have disliked him.
For whatever reasons you're down on Clausen, please put them in the back seat and have an open mind when reading this blog entry.
Clausen just amassed one of the most impressive junior seasons among pro-style quarterbacks in the past 10-20 years.
Let's remember that Clausen had a very bad offensive line this year for Notre Dame. Sure, he had good weapons, but the running game was poor and receivers Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph missed significant action (eight games missed total between them).
When Floyd went out, Clausen stepped up. With a bum turf toe, he didn't play at all in the second half and led the team to a game-winning drive to beat Purdue. The following week, he posted 422 passing yards against Washington. Over the next three games (USC, Boston College, Washinton State), Clausen threw for 774 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions....
-03-08-2010, 08:19 AM
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