Posts tagged Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater’s NFL Personality Assessment

0 Comments read 2014 NFL Draft, Players, Quarterback
Best Louisville prospect in this draft? Maybe, but don't give the short end of the stick to the Cardinals' safety Calvin Pryor. Photo by KYNGPAO
Teddy Bridgewater’s personality assessment flies in the face of statements about the QB’s personality-leadership-capability to learn . Photo by KYNGPAO

An NFL source confirmed to me that Teddy Bridgewater has scored exceptionally well on a league-used personality assessment. 

I know how some bloggers have develop some disdain for the anonymous source when it comes to football news.  If you’re one of them, this isn’t the post you want to read. If you don’t care, tonight I’ve been given the green light to share basics about Teddy Bridgewater’s personality assessment that at least two-thirds of the league uses for rookie prospects.

I know the scores, but I have been cautioned not to share the exact numbers. What the source has confirmed is that Bridgewater scored exceptionally well on his personality assessment-very close to the highest possible score. Bridgewater scored high in these categories:

  • Focus
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Dedication
  • Self Efficacy
  • Affective Commitment

This information–if accurate–calls into question the points we’ve been hearing in the media since the combine that Bridgewater is dull and lacks leadership skills. These results support what at least many have seen that opposes the statements to the media that Bridgewater doesn’t have “It”. It also pokes holes in the statements from anonymous executives through major media that Bridgewater can’t “be the face of the franchise” or lacks “CEO” qualities.

Based on what I’ve seen from Bridgewater in Jon Gruden’s QB Camp, Bridgewater was straight-forward, accountable, and engaging. Is he the classic personality type that charmed Jon Gruden like Aaron Murray? Not at all.

Neither was Joe Montana, Joe Flacco, or even Johnny Unitas. It’s been said that Mike Nolan and the 49ers preferred Alex Smith’s grounded personality to Aaron Rodgers, who came across as arrogant.

Where the Wonderlic assesses book smarts in a timed environment, this test–according to my source–uses fast-paced, jarring questions that can often be embarrassing and pointed in nature. Much of the NFL is apparently sold on this  interview-style test’s ability to assess leadership, emotions under pressure, how a player works with others, and behavior on and off the field.

Is it a good test? I have no idea. I’m sure folks with some expertise could find flaws with it just like the Wonderlic.

Does this assessment prove that the NFL is exhibiting some degree of bias? It’s a good indicator that at the very least, Bridgewater doesn’t fit the tried-and-true mold that the NFL prefers when it risks high draft picks on quarterbacks: big arm, big frame, and/or great mobility.

When it comes to precision passers with smarts but arms, athleticism, and frames that are “good enough,” but top-drawer, the NFL seems to balk at the idea of using a top-15 pick. On the other hand, they’ll err this high with good athletes possessing lesser football skills and football intelligence.

As my buddy Ryan Riddle says, “It means that teams have to determine if Bridgewater’s intelligence for the game is that much better than the norm and that’s a very hard thing to evaluate.”  Drew Brees is mobile, but not dynamically athletic and his arm strength was lacking for teams to feel he was a “can’t-miss” guy. However, San Diego GM John Butler was confident that he stole Brees at the top of the second round.

If me, Daniel Jeremiah, Kurt Warner, Josh Norris, Doug Farrar and the rest of Draft Twitter are correct, Bridgewater is going to be the best value among the quarterbacks in this class.

For analysis of skill players in this year’s draft class, download the 2014 Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Better yet, if you’re a fantasy owner the 56-page Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2012 – 2014 RSPs at no additional charge and available for download within a week after the NFL Draft. Best, yet, 10 percent of every sale is donated to Darkness to Light to combat sexual abuse. You can purchase past editions of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio for just $9.95 apiece.

Reads Listens Views 4/25/2014

0 Comments read Reads Listens Views
Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down. Photo by Fraser Elliot.
Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down. Photo by Fraser Elliot.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, the Wobble Masters and Teddy Bridgewater, Donny Hathaway, and a good daddy.

What is Reads Listens Views?

If you’re new to the Rookie Scouting Portfolio blog, welcome.  I post links on Friday to content I’m saving for later consumption. You may not like everything listed here, but you’re bound to like something.

Listens/Views

[youtube=http://youtu.be/KEeBPSvcNZQ?start=3689]

Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked about Harvard President Lawrence Summers’ comments about genetic differences with men and women in science and gave a compelling answer about race in America. A great listen that only takes a few minutes.

 Opinion

I read Greg Cosell’s take on Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles two days ago and there were two things that surprised me about Cosell’s views. The first was this quote:

Bridgewater doesn’t spin it very well; too many passes came out wobbly. If you don’t think that’s a concern for NFL coaches, then you are not watching the NFL.

I watch the NFL. In fact, I watch this guy a lot who has been known for his wobbly throws since his days as a Volunteer.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/1aq_VzigxHo]

This guy that Cosell has great affection for as one of the best pocket passers in the game. A guy, whose wobbly passes in the video below are harder to see here, but the Boston Globe’s beat reporter seemed to have no problem seeing them (or dozens of fans and writers and Twitter) all season when in January, he said that “Rivers hasn’t thrown a perfect spiral in forever…”

[youtube=http://youtu.be/-wMEVeiYl28&start=74]

Here’s a guy who threw flocks of baby ducks interspersed with some aesthetically beautiful passes throughout his MVP career.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/Xau9mcAXhz4&start=300]

And I grew up on this guy who said “I’ve never been a guy who threw a tight spiral. Everyone who plays with me says I throw a tight wobble, not a tight spiral.”

[youtube=http://youtu.be/nkKHj7TmJt0]

And if you think he’s kidding, here’s another quote from Joe Montana talking about his wobbly passes.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s no question that a tight spiral is preferable on a deep ball.  And I’m not attacking Greg Cosell, who is a fine analyst of the game–I’m questioning his points.

Cosell is an aesthete when it comes to quarterbacking. While it’s a fantastic quality to possess and it comes from three decades of experience studying football, there’s a degree of nitpicking with the wobbly pass analysis.

In light of Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Steve McNair, and Joe Montana’s work, I think his inference  if you don’t agree with me then you aren’t watching football is melodramatic.

I also have questions about what Cosell means when he  says Bridgewater and Bortles can be starters, but not “top quarterbacks” if they don’t improve their deep game. I don’t know what his definition is for a “top quarterback.”  Is it a handful of passers or half the starters in the league?

If it’s the latter, I could find more NFL successful quarterbacks who throw wobbly deep balls as supporting evidence–and I don’t have to go back to Billy Kilmer’s era to do it–but I want to address the second piece of this analysis of Bortles and Bridgewater that runs counter to what I’ve seen on film.

Cosell says Bridgewater “had to put a lot of body into those [deep] throws; as a result, he struggled with trajectory and accuracy.” In contrast, he said, “Bortles will improve his lower body mechanics with more coaching and more refinement.”

Did Bridgewater “put everything” into this throw that covered 48 yards from the line of scrimmage and 56 yards from his release point?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZzmXxB64ec&w=560&h=315]

I don’t see an overcompensation to drive the ball. If anything, there wasn’t enough use of his legs to drive through the pass.

TBDeep

On the other hand, I see Bortles putting far more into his throws to deliver a downfield pass. This one is a 34-yard throw from the opposite hash covering 43 yards from the release point.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6JLz-M9E8E&start=380w=560&h=315]

In fact there are numerous opposite hash throws in the short and intermediate range where Bortles wheels his entire body through his release with the hope of generating momentum.

BortlesDee

 

When I watch Bridgewater, I see a player who had smaller adjustments to make with his throwing motion than Bortles to deliver a ball with greater velocity. If I’m right, add it to the list of reasons why people are grossly underestimating Bridgewater. If I’m wrong, this will be another learning opportunity for me with quarterback mechanics

Listens

[youtube=http://youtu.be/9eotl7otdlo]

Thanks, Bloom . . .

Download the 2014 Rookie Scouting Portfolio

Friday’s are also my chance to thank you for reading my work, encourage you to follow the RSP blog, and download the Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication.

The RSP is available every April 1 for download. This year’s RSP is nearly 300 pages in the draft guide section and filled with analysis of  164 skill position prospects that has earned a loyal following:

  • Rankings
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You can learn more about the RSP here. If you want to see samples of the play-by-play notes I take to write the analysis, you can find them here. If you want to know what my readers say about it, look here. If you want a quick video tour, here it is:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRsQwtyOCDM&feature=share]

If you don’t have time to look into details, know that once you look through the RSP, there will be no question in your mind that I do the work, that I have a plan about the work that I do, and that you get more than your money’s worth. It’s why more and more draftniks every spring can’t wait until April 1.

If you think that’s a ton, you ain’t seen nothing. When you purchase the RSP, you also get a free post-draft publication that’s available for download a week after the NFL Draft. Fantasy football owners tell me all the time that this alone is worth the price.

Best yet, 10 percent of each RSP sale is donated to Darkness to Light, a non-profit devoted to preventing and addressing sexual abuse through community training in schools, religious groups, and a variety of civic groups across the U.S.

Here is what the RSP donated to D2L this year. According to D2L, the RSP’s 2013 donation amount was enough to train 250 adults in communities across the country.

Pre-order the 2014 RSP and/or download past versions of the publication (2006-2012).

In Case You Missed It/Coming Soon

Reads (Football)

Listens

[youtube=http://youtu.be/7rWtDMPaRD8]

 Reads (Life In General)

Views

[youtube=http://youtu.be/Bpu0TIXzI1w]
This dad clearly knows how to talk to his kid like a human being in an age-appropriate manner that’s not condescending. Also, he obviously spends a lot of time with her. Great video.

 

How to Find Your Mercedes: A Lesson to “Anonymous”

0 Comments read Walk on the Wild Side
Best Louisville prospect in this draft? Maybe, but don't give the short end of the stick to the Cardinals' safety Calvin Pryor. Photo by KYNGPAO
Teddy Bridgewater. Photo by KYNGPAO

A lesson for the anonymous NFC executive who can’t find the right car in a parking lot.

In case you didn’t know–or missed it–I’m fortunate to join Cecil Lammey, Sigmund Bloom, and Jene Bramel on Thursdays for the live Audible podcast that is now a Hangout (at bottom of page).  Last week’s 52-minute show covers topics from the NFL Draft:

  • Buy/Sell QB News
  • Match Game: “What Would Bloom Say?”
  • My rant on NFL executives and their discomfort with Teddy Bridgewater.

Funny how a this rant came a week before an NFL executive said that Bridgewater is soft. Just a word of advice to the anonymous NFC executive: If you want to disguise your discomfort with drafting an intelligent, dark-skinned black man as the leader of your offense, I suggest you find another criticism.

Bridgewater took some big hits during his career and never went into a shell. You clearly need an education. I suggest you travel down the hall to those offices that have the word “Scout” on the name plate and ask them to show you tape of this Rutgers game where Bridgewater comes off the bench with a broken wrist and a badly sprained ankle on his plant leg to lead a comeback against Rutgers.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/1ELPwI9_y5U]

Bridgewater put his team in the Sugar Bowl with this effort where he later stomped a top-ranked Florida defense that smacked him around early on.

I have to presume that you’re a product of rampant nepotism, otherwise you would have never used Byron Leftwich as an example of being soft. The former Jaguars’ starter may have had his share of issues on the field, but getting bent into a pretzel and coming back for more was never one of them.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/Oa1JhHcGD7g]

Leftwich was a top-10 pick – a good example that there are NFL organizations willing to invest in a high pick on a pocket quarterback of color.

As for you, anonymous NFC executive, it must be tough for you when you continue to mistake the Hyundai with your Mercedes in your parking lot (same paint color and all . . .). Let me help you:

Hyundai by Visual Pun.
Hyundai by Visual Pun.

 

Mercedes by Ahmad Hashim.
Mercedes by Ahmad Hashim.

One more time . . .

Hyundai - a pretty nice car that will get you from A to B . . . (Photo by Seng1011)
Hyundai – a pretty nice car that will get you from A to B . . . (Photo by Seng1011)
Best Louisville prospect in this draft? Maybe, but don't give the short end of the stick to the Cardinals' safety Calvin Pryor. Photo by KYNGPAO
Mercedes – a car that will get you to A to B with high performance. Photo by KYNGPAO

I know it’s difficult to tell the difference. Keep looking at the visuals of them in action and let someone else do the drafting for you until you figure it out.

For the rest of you, here’s the Hangout (Bridgewater part at 22-minute mark):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61h5fKkn2oY&feature=share]

Futures: Louisiville QB Teddy Bridgewater

0 Comments read 2014 NFL Draft, Players, Quarterback
Teddy Ballgame (sorry, Mr. Williams) gets the Futures treatment. Photo by KYNGPAO
Teddy Ballgame (sorry, Mr. Williams) gets the Futures treatment. Photo by KYNGPAO

Bridgewater is fluid, relaxed, and confident, but does his arm, deep accuracy, and hand size inspire the NFL’s confidence?

Futures: Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater

By Matt Waldman

The question of what makes a good NFL quarterback isn’t much different than the question of what is healthy eating for a human being. Most want a simple answer to a complex question. Of the few who know many of the right answers, even fewer put the knowledge into practice.

Most prefer to latch onto the magic-pill theory. During the past 20 years we’ve seen teams, analysts, and fans latch onto a particular concept that they hope will be a game-changer.

Take quarterback buzz words and phrases like arm slot, compact release, running ability, and height and replace them with acai, agave, paleo, gluten-free, and kale and the drift is the same – embrace the potential these things and you look smart. At least until there’s a backlash like there has been with running quarterbacks and kale.

Both the vegetable and the particular species of NFL quarterback were trending as beneficial commodities until the past six months. Now there’s fear that too much kale is linked to hypothyroidism.Check out the symptoms and it sounds lot like Washington after too much Robert Griffin.

Of course, both kale and Griffin have earned a bad rap due to incomplete analysis. One has to be “significantly iodine deficient” or “consume the vegetable at an insanely high level,” for kale to hurt the human body. Likewise, Washington’s offense was deficient of the necessary chemistryfor a wilted Griffin to thrive.

The trendiest of these magic-pill characteristics this year for quarterback is hand size. The common sense reason is that the bigger the hand, the more control a quarterback has over the football in the face of chaos and bad weather.

I like common sense. However, let’s not take that common sense, run it through a process of reverse engineering, and spit out some myopic analysis with data that lacks any usable context. Tyler Wilson is a good example.

Read a football article, forum post, or tweet this year that details the importance of hand size and the conversation often works its way to Wilson, whose hands were smaller than the average NFL quarterback. There’s more implied about Wilson’s hand size as a knock-out factor for his career potential in Oakland than the fact that there were many more viable reasons why the Raiders cut him.

It’s like adding kale to your daily menu of fried chicken and liter of Pepsi and thinking you’re eating healthier only to develop a heart condition. To make matter worse, you then blame your condition on the weekly candy bar rather than the daily dose of fried meat, super doses of soft drinks, and a myriad of other unhealthy habits.

Hand size is no more of a magic pill than height, release mechanics, off-field character, or anything else. It’s rare if any single characteristic of a quarterback is a magic pill or knock-out factor. Combine the hyper-analysis of a singular skill set or a measurement lacking any context of how well a prospect integrates his athleticism, skills, and concepts of the position and it provides ample reason why quarterback is the most misunderstood position in the NFL.

On the basis of physical skills alone, Teddy Bridgewater may possess the least upside of the top quarterbacks entering the 2014 NFL Draft. Yet, on the basis of how a quarterback integrates his skills on the field, the Louisville passer is the best in his class.

The choice of quarterback does more to shape an NFL team than any position on the field. If the coaching staff that inherits Bridgewater designs its offense to match what the quarterback does best, Bridgewater has the skills to be the most productive rookie of this crop with as much upside as any of his peers.

As with all quarterbacks, what’s most prominent with Bridgewater’s game is his footwork. Derek Carr’s movement reveals initiative and impulsivity; Blake Bortles’ indicates decisiveness that can cross the border to the unmindful; and Johnny Manziel’s feet reveal a dynamic player who can lean too much on an improvisational mindset.

The three words I use to describe Bridgewater’s mentality as seen through his footwork are “fluid,” “relaxed,” and “confident.” Bridgewater shares the confidence and decisiveness of Bortles, but the dynamic imagination of Manziel with a better governor over his limitations.

What Bridgewater lacks is weight, top-notch arm strength, and deep accuracy. I’m confident that he can improve each of these weaknesses to some degree. Even if he doesn’t, his integration of his athleticism, touch, accuracy, and manipulation of defenses within 35 yards of the line of scrimmage should be enough to make him as a quality game day manager who can help a team win.

Read the rest of the analysis featuring clips of Bridgewater facing Miami, UCF, and Kentucky at Football Outsiders.