Continuing the process of semi-analyzing the depth at every position, introducing you to the men playing those positions, and revealing how difficult it is to write something about someone you have never seen play.
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Wide Receivers | Linebackers | Backfield | D-Line | Quarterback | O-Line | Secondary | Special Teams
With today's Position-alysis we will be taking a look at the quarterbacks. While we all know who is at the #1 spot here, thanks to 2009 we also all know how quickly things can change. On any given play, the #2 can become the #1, then #3 becomes #2, then... well, you get the idea of moving everyone up a spot. So let's take a look at the starter, and who will be backing him up at the QB spot.
The Starter
Brandon Weeden | 6-4 | 225 | Ju | Edmond
This seems like as good of a place as any to introduce everyone to Weeden's new nickname: The Million Dollar Man, Brandon Weeden.
He is a millionaire right? His signing bonus was for $565k in 2002, and he played in the minors for four years. Although I can't find any other details of his pay during that time, I do know that he was traded two years into his contract. And one thing I know about the MLB farm system, is that for the most part only guys with value are involved in trades. So I have to assume that for at least two years he was valuable enough to receive his normal minor league pay, plus some sort of bonus, probably equal to at least half of his signing bonus. And odds are, he received a bonus in his third year as well while he was with the Dodgers. So all that adds up to a minimum of 1.3 million dollars, meaning that at some point in his life he is/was worth close to, or over, one million dollars.*
*The entire previous paragraph was intended to backup the validity of the photoshop above, and justify Brandon's new nickname: The Million Dollar Man, Brandon Weeden (MDMBW).
As for Weeden's abilities as a quarterback, we have only seen glimpses of him, but what we have seen has all Cowboy fans excited about his potential. At 6'4", with a rocket arm, and enough mobility to be able to avoid pressure, Weeden has all the physical tools required to be a top flight quarterback. The question marks surrounding him are his inexperience and decision making ability.
We all remember Brandon's impressive performance in relief of Alex Cate in the Colorado game (10/15 168 yards 2 TDs), and his Spring game performance seemed to pickup right where he had left off as he was 22/34 for 257 yards and 4 TDs. Every account out of spring practice has had the same basic message - that Weeden looks extremely impressive and should not be looked at as a typical first time starter.
While we like to make jokes about Weeden being old and banging Golden Girls and going to HS reunions with Bill Snyder, at 26 he really is in the prime of his athletic career and has a mental advantage over everyone else on the field given his background and maturity level. One of the most important attributes of a quarterback is that they are a leader, and at 26, having been through what he has already been through, there is no doubt that the rest of the offense will look to Brandon as their leader. I think we are safe in expecting some big things out of MDMBW in 2010.
Click the Jump to read about MDMBW's backups.
The Reserves
Johnny Deaton | 6-2 | 200 | Fr | Sand Springs
The best thing Johnny Deaton has going for him, is that his name is Johnny Deaton. That is one of the most bad-ass, P-slaying, quarterback names I have heard recently. Deaton was an early enrollee at OSU earning him the right to go through Spring practices with the team. He saw some decent action in the spring game going an economical 14/18 for 63 yards with 1 interception.
Deaton was a highly acclaimed High School quarterback earning All-American and All-State honors and was ranked as the 6th best dual threat QB in the nation by Rivals. Scout had him listed as the 46th best QB overall in the 2009 class. I obviously have not seen Deaton play, but from the descriptions I have read and videos I have watched, he seems to fit the Z-Rob mold of a pass-first run threat, but with a much stronger arm. Deaton is listed as the primary backup to MDMBW (is this nickname working yet?).
Clint Chelf |6-1 | 200 | RsFr | Enid
Clint saw some action as well in the Spring game connecting on 6 of 7 passes for 42 yards. While undersized with a relatively weak arm for a Big XII quarterback, Chelf's accuracy and ability to throw on the run might be a good fit for the dink-and-dunk passing style that the spread tends to favor.
Collecting gold medals is a little hobby of Nathans
Nathan Sorenson | 6-3 | 200 | Fr | Texarkana
Just an all-around stud athlete. Out of high school Rivals had him ranked as the #32 QB in the country, Scout had him at #41. He was once clocked at a 4.5 forty, and was a member of the Texas state champion 4x800 relay team. His senior season he passed for 1700 yards and rushed for another 769. According to his scout profile, Nathan's best attributes are his arm strength and his size, while he needs to work on reading defenses and working through his progression. So basically the same things that every 18 year old QB needs to work on. This dude could impress if he gets the opportunity.
Brayden Stringer | 6-4 | 216 | So | Lawton
Outside of the fact that Brayden went 9 of 14 for 61 yards and a TD in the spring game, I know absolutely nothing about him. I haven't seen him play and there is very little information out there about him. Well, I guess I shouldn't say that I know nothing about him. I actually do know some things about him. I know that he likes chillin w/ no drama (count me in!), and I know that he loves the band The Last Goodnight (when is their next show?). But sadly, that was as much information about Brayden as I could summon from ten minutes spent bing-ing the googles.
Summary
While I think we are all content with seeing what MDMBW can do, and letting him work out a few early issues should they arise, there is a lot of young talent behind him that is ready to step in if necessary (unless MDMBW has Virgil take them out). And looking past 2010, the next half-decade looks solid at the QB position with Deaton, Chelf, Sorenson, and next years addition of JW Walsh.