Gruden camp with one of my favorite college quarterbacks ever, Kellen Moore:
I don’t know what, if any, kind of pro Moore will make. I think arm strength in is general overrated, but Moore’s lack of arm strength does concern me. To me arm strength is not a matter of more is always better — JaMarcus Russell is proof of that — but you do need a threshold level of arm strength necessary for each level. And it’s not about chucking deep bombs; it’s about the ability to throw the ball on a line 25, 30 or even 35 yards from the far hash to the sideline. But Gruden spends a lot of time in this piece on Moore’s uncanny anticipation and that focus is exactly right: If Moore can succeed — indeed the reason he has been so successful so far — it will be because he uses his smarts, accuracy, and anticipation to overcome some of his limitations. As Gruden points out in the video too, Boise State’s multifarious offense is just awesome to watch, but it’s also not easy, making Moore well prepared for an NFL offense — if he can physically perform.
(Also gotta love Moore drawing up two classic pass plays, Sluggo Seam and Spacing.)
– Final column by Rick Cleveland.
– The rise of George Whitfield as the premiere QB guru, including mentor to Cam Newton and Andrew Luck.
– Pre-Snap Read fires up for 2012, with a look at the fighting Bob Davies.
– Behind the scenes with Kevin Sumlin.
– Matt Waldman on this year’s wide receiver NFL draft class. I don’t know if there is a single, super dominant wide receiver in this year’s draft class like a Calvin Johnson or Randy Moss type, but I think there is a solid group of guys who will be consistent NFL contributors for a long time: I expect Justin Blackmon, Kendall Wright, Mohammed Sanu, Reuben Randle, Juron Criner, Marvin McNutt, Joe Adams and Ryan Broyles to all make NFL rosters and hang around with fairly consistent production for the next five to eight years, with at least a couple turning into pro bowl receivers.
After the jump, Mike Leach operates a crane because . . . why not? (H/t cougcenter.)
– Anti-The Art of Fielding. (I have not read the book; just thought it was an interesting review.)