"I think they liked him in Clemson and they tracked him through college and in the preseason," Smith said. "They've done their research and made a judgment. They've looked at his intangibles, his background, where he's been trained, what kind of a guy he is, and what his study habits are. I think that's all positive. I think the only thing missing is the body of work as an NFL player."
No small detail, that. But Smith also revealed that the gap in San Diego between the experienced Volek at No. 2 and Whitehurst at No. 3 wasn't as large as most assumed. Volek somewhat surprisingly re-signed with the Chargers in 2008, blocking the still-not-ready Whitehurst's path to the backup job. But since then, Whitehurst's improvement under the tutelage of offensive-minded head coach Norv Turner has been steady, and some opposing teams were clearly aware of his value. Whitehurst possess an NFL arm, a quick release, and has the requisite brains to handle the most complicated position in the game. That's a pretty good start, especially since game experience is the missing component the Seahawks can most easily rectify.
In many ways, Seattle's gambit echoes the successful move it made nine years ago, when then-Seahawks head coach/general manager Mike Holmgren traded for untested Green Bay backup Hasselbeck, who had yet to make an NFL regular-season start. That one worked out pretty well, and now we'll get to see if history repeats itself in the Pacific Northwest. Come to think of it, Hasselbeck was the son of a former NFL player, too, so Whitehurst has that mojo going for him.
"I'm prejudiced for the guy, because he was our third guy," Smith said. "I think he's going to be a success, and obviously Pete Carroll in Seattle feels the same way. It's a judgment call. But he's a very talented player and he's been a great pro for us. He's a great team guy, and his work ethic and preparation are excellent. Especially for a guy who's not a snap away from playing. We think he's gifted and has all the tools. And he's been in the NFL and with a great program here, with other good quarterbacks.
"I think he's ready for the challenge. He hasn't played in the NFL, due to the circumstances here, but we have to say that about college players coming out in the draft every year. They're getting an outstanding player."
It's a hobby, hence - amateur. Like Balco, who posts some GREAT threads that get little attention on this forum breaking down college tape I like watching players develop and make notes throughout the process - watching games (live and recorded) and following off field progress (in-season and offseason). I watch more than most football fans, and do so for somewhat different reasons (being a fan of lousy teams helps), but not as much as guys who do it for a living. I'm wrong about some (like anyone), but I'm right more than I'm wrong. I also keep an open mind, if something I didn't know about the player gets brought to the table I may change my mind. Two days later and...nothing...a lot of people were easily hooked though...shocking.Whitehurst hasn't shown anything outside of San Diego's coaching staff he may be any different than when he came out of school - an NFL arm with no head. Trade a future 3rd for him? Ok, maybe, I don't agree but that's the sort of trade you make for a backup. Trade down 20 spots in the 2nd and give him $10 mil? That's just silly.
Let me get this straight. You only have televised games to use for your "game tape" and you find it suprising you cant find anything to analyze Whitehurst with. Do you think NFL teams(professional scouts) are only using CBS's coverage for their game tape?
I just listened to Tommy Bowden, Whitehurst's college coach (
but I just want to make a quick comment on this.I don't know about anybody else here but I've always taken it as a given that, although we have a lot of very knowledgeable football fans here, none of our opinions are as valuable as any NFL coach simply because there is such a huge gap between the information available to us vs. the information available to them. If, for example, Rex Ryan decided to start posting here and weighed in on the Manning vs. Brady debate, I don't think there is anybody here who is qualified to argue with him.The same thing goes for draft prospects analysis. There are a lot of very knowledgeable posters here and the analysis and debates are always interesting but if anybody on this board thinks they know more than even the worst of the NFL GM's, they are seriously deluding themselves.That doesn't mean we can't have opinions but we have to accept our opinions for what they are. None of us are professional scouts.
