azcards33
Footballguy
I have been doing alot of research on players for some of my dynasty leagues and it got me thinking about J.T. O' Sullivan
I remember this kid leading his NFLE team to the championship game a few years ago and people saying at that time that he was close to being NFL ready, despite having gone to an extremely small college (UC-Davis)
I also think back and remember the Packers insisting that O'Sullivan be part of the deal that they made with the Saints for Mike McKenzie because they were have said to have been extremely high on O'Sullivan, but apparently they gave up on him or feel that he is no longer in their plans, seeing how he is no longer on their roster
I see that he is now on Chicago's practice squad, which seems to be a tough situation with Chicago having two young QBs (Grossman, Orton) who have proven they can play in the NFL. Will O'Sullivan ever get a chance with Chicago or any other NFL team?
Here's an article on O'Sullivan and how high the Packers were on him at one point:
Packers like QB's potential
O'Sullivan seen as up-and-comer
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
Green Bay - In J.T. O'Sullivan, the Green Bay Packers have a much more finished product than the small-school quarterback the New Orleans Saints drafted in the sixth round three years ago.
Though O'Sullivan is still merely a prospect - not any different from Craig Nall, the Packers' fifth-round selection from the very same draft - he is well along a path that has led other developmental quarterbacks into starting jobs in the National Football League.
The Saints took O'Sullivan in 2002 with the idea of bringing him along the same way they had Jake Delhomme, a rookie free agent they signed in 1997 and groomed to be a future NFL starter. O'Sullivan spent three seasons learning from the likes of Aaron Brooks, Delhomme and Todd Bouman and waiting for an opportunity that never came.
When the Packers acquired him and a second-round draft choice in a trade with the Saints for cornerback Mike McKenzie and a conditional sixth-round pick, they got someone New Orleans thought was headed for success.
"J.T. has a chance," said Saints offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy, the Packers' quarterbacks coach under Ray Rhodes in 1999. "I'm a big believer in sending guys to NFL Europe in their third year and that's what we did with J.T.
"The first year you just let them absorb everything and the second year we had him in our quarterback school. The third year you get them experience. He has gone through the cycle you like to see. Now it's a matter of, 'Can he be a No. 1? Can he be a No. 2?' Clearly, he can be a No. 2."
The Packers made it clear to the Saints that they weren't going to do the McKenzie deal without O'Sullivan being part of it because they thought he had the qualities to be a starter in the NFL.
Before the 2002 draft, the Packers had scouted the 6-2, 220-pound O'Sullivan heavily at the University of California - Davis and considered him as an option. O'Sullivan is extremely bright and scored a 35 out of 50 on the Wonderlic intelligence test.
However, they liked the taller and equally smart Nall more because of his arm strength and pocket-passing ability and chose him ahead of O'Sullivan.
When O'Sullivan arrived in New Orleans, the first thing McCarthy did was change his throwing mechanics. McCarthy thought his delivery was too low and he worked hard on getting O'Sullivan to alter his windup so he could get the ball over the line of scrimmage.
What the Packers noticed most about his delivery is that it's quick. There isn't a lot of wasted motion and when he decides where he's throwing, it doesn't take long for the ball to come out.
O'Sullivan said that the biggest change he made in his motion was pulling it back farther so he could get more velocity on the ball. He said the Saints worked hard on altering his motion but eventually settled on letting him do it his way.
"It was one of those things I was trying to be as coachable as I could be and I was doing what they were asking me to do and it was little things that they wanted me to overcome as far as the whole motion of it," O'Sullivan said. "It just got to the point where I was like, 'I'm just going to throw it the best I can.' "
In his third year in the league, O'Sullivan, who is in the final year of a contract that pays him $380,000 this season, has yet to play in a regular-season game and he has had his ups and downs in the exhibition season. One of his worst performances came against the Packers Aug. 21 at Lambeau Field.
O'Sullivan crumbled under the Packers' blitz, threw two interceptions and was sacked once. He completed seven of 20 passes for 132 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown pass, but the scoring play was the result of missed tackle by rookie cornerback Joey Thomas.
Still, the Packers were impressed with his body of work in NFL Europe - he led his team to the championship game - and a brashness they saw in the August exhibition game. Coach Mike Sherman said one of his memories of O'Sullivan was him sliding near the Packers sideline and bouncing off the ground clapping his hands.
McCarthy said O'Sullivan's toughness is unquestioned and his competitiveness ranks equal to Delhomme's. Physically, he said Delhomme has a better arm, but O'Sullivan is a much better scrambler.
"He has a lot of characteristics of Jake Delhomme," McCarthy said. "He's one of those guys you see who as a young guy has a chance, just like Delhomme and (Matt) Hasselbeck and Aaron."
I remember this kid leading his NFLE team to the championship game a few years ago and people saying at that time that he was close to being NFL ready, despite having gone to an extremely small college (UC-Davis)
I also think back and remember the Packers insisting that O'Sullivan be part of the deal that they made with the Saints for Mike McKenzie because they were have said to have been extremely high on O'Sullivan, but apparently they gave up on him or feel that he is no longer in their plans, seeing how he is no longer on their roster
I see that he is now on Chicago's practice squad, which seems to be a tough situation with Chicago having two young QBs (Grossman, Orton) who have proven they can play in the NFL. Will O'Sullivan ever get a chance with Chicago or any other NFL team?
Here's an article on O'Sullivan and how high the Packers were on him at one point:
Packers like QB's potential
O'Sullivan seen as up-and-comer
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
Green Bay - In J.T. O'Sullivan, the Green Bay Packers have a much more finished product than the small-school quarterback the New Orleans Saints drafted in the sixth round three years ago.
Though O'Sullivan is still merely a prospect - not any different from Craig Nall, the Packers' fifth-round selection from the very same draft - he is well along a path that has led other developmental quarterbacks into starting jobs in the National Football League.
The Saints took O'Sullivan in 2002 with the idea of bringing him along the same way they had Jake Delhomme, a rookie free agent they signed in 1997 and groomed to be a future NFL starter. O'Sullivan spent three seasons learning from the likes of Aaron Brooks, Delhomme and Todd Bouman and waiting for an opportunity that never came.
When the Packers acquired him and a second-round draft choice in a trade with the Saints for cornerback Mike McKenzie and a conditional sixth-round pick, they got someone New Orleans thought was headed for success.
"J.T. has a chance," said Saints offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy, the Packers' quarterbacks coach under Ray Rhodes in 1999. "I'm a big believer in sending guys to NFL Europe in their third year and that's what we did with J.T.
"The first year you just let them absorb everything and the second year we had him in our quarterback school. The third year you get them experience. He has gone through the cycle you like to see. Now it's a matter of, 'Can he be a No. 1? Can he be a No. 2?' Clearly, he can be a No. 2."
The Packers made it clear to the Saints that they weren't going to do the McKenzie deal without O'Sullivan being part of it because they thought he had the qualities to be a starter in the NFL.
Before the 2002 draft, the Packers had scouted the 6-2, 220-pound O'Sullivan heavily at the University of California - Davis and considered him as an option. O'Sullivan is extremely bright and scored a 35 out of 50 on the Wonderlic intelligence test.
However, they liked the taller and equally smart Nall more because of his arm strength and pocket-passing ability and chose him ahead of O'Sullivan.
When O'Sullivan arrived in New Orleans, the first thing McCarthy did was change his throwing mechanics. McCarthy thought his delivery was too low and he worked hard on getting O'Sullivan to alter his windup so he could get the ball over the line of scrimmage.
What the Packers noticed most about his delivery is that it's quick. There isn't a lot of wasted motion and when he decides where he's throwing, it doesn't take long for the ball to come out.
O'Sullivan said that the biggest change he made in his motion was pulling it back farther so he could get more velocity on the ball. He said the Saints worked hard on altering his motion but eventually settled on letting him do it his way.
"It was one of those things I was trying to be as coachable as I could be and I was doing what they were asking me to do and it was little things that they wanted me to overcome as far as the whole motion of it," O'Sullivan said. "It just got to the point where I was like, 'I'm just going to throw it the best I can.' "
In his third year in the league, O'Sullivan, who is in the final year of a contract that pays him $380,000 this season, has yet to play in a regular-season game and he has had his ups and downs in the exhibition season. One of his worst performances came against the Packers Aug. 21 at Lambeau Field.
O'Sullivan crumbled under the Packers' blitz, threw two interceptions and was sacked once. He completed seven of 20 passes for 132 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown pass, but the scoring play was the result of missed tackle by rookie cornerback Joey Thomas.
Still, the Packers were impressed with his body of work in NFL Europe - he led his team to the championship game - and a brashness they saw in the August exhibition game. Coach Mike Sherman said one of his memories of O'Sullivan was him sliding near the Packers sideline and bouncing off the ground clapping his hands.
McCarthy said O'Sullivan's toughness is unquestioned and his competitiveness ranks equal to Delhomme's. Physically, he said Delhomme has a better arm, but O'Sullivan is a much better scrambler.
"He has a lot of characteristics of Jake Delhomme," McCarthy said. "He's one of those guys you see who as a young guy has a chance, just like Delhomme and (Matt) Hasselbeck and Aaron."
Last edited by a moderator:
