I think every ND fan expects next year to be pretty brutal. Clausen is the most heralded high school QB since John Elway, but even ND fans realize he's not going to be enough. Of course, in Weis' first year, all the experts predicted ND to go like 1-5 in its first six games but ND ended up only losing two games in that regular season.

This whole thing with Quinn-Russell reminds me of all those NBA drafts where you had the great college basketball player, widely considered to be one of the top picks in the draft, but saw his standing in the draft drop as scouts picked apart his game where they were looking for things to pick apart. And, you would see high school players get drafted with the top picks, where they were being selected on 'potential' and 'wingspan'. There wasn't enough information to pick apart their games, and were instead relying on their workouts or their vertical leaps.

I'll be the first to admit it: Russel has amazing physical tools, and in that regards, has the bigger upside. And, while being able to throw 60 yards on your knees is a cool trick, how is that really relevant? We've seen other QBs like Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, Andre Ware, etc.. who all had those amazing tools. I think sometimes scouts fall too much in love with potential, and don't look enough at how those players performed in games.

And, Russel certainly had an impressive game against ND. But, I wonder if we're overemphazing that one great game too much. By all accounts, before that game, he was going to be a mid round pick in the first round but now he's shot up to number one? All because he played a great game against, what even ND fans acknowledge, was a weak ND defense.

Or, how does Quinn drop from a potential first pick to wherever he's going because of one bad game where his O line basically surrendered. And, since that game, when Quinn hasn't even thrown a pass, there's all this speculation that he's even dropping even further. Some of the stuff being said about him is risible- he's not tough, can't get it done in big games. His O line has not given him any protection and Quinn has been more than willing to hang in and get hit to make the throw. If anything, I wish Quinn would have utilized his speed and ran more often in those situations. And, he's peformed for the most part in big games. Just look at that game against SC last year, on that last drive.

As much as Quinn would like to get picked number one, it might ultimately be better if he slips a little, expecially past the Raiders pick. That Raiders pick will be a black hole. Russel has a lot of potential, but you have to be very careful with the way you bring him up. If you do it wrong, you'll end up with another Akili Smith or Ryan Leaf. And, the Raiders don't have a good reputation for bringing up QBs. They usually import QBs from outside. The last time they had a high pick and used it for a QB, they ended up with Todd Maronovich. Last I heard, the guy was surfing in the buff.

4 career losses in the toughest conference in America. That's it, 4! In case you didn't notice, Quinn lost 3 just this season. Not only did he lose 3, he lost to the only 3 decent teams he faced. Lost pretty bad all 3 times. Go ahead, and give me some excuses about how the rest of his team sucked and Willingham ruined him, or whatever else you can come up with. The fact of the matter is, that when a big game needed to be won, he didn't deliver. NFL scouts pay attention to those things.

Yeah exactly. I don' think a ND fan has any right to judge JR when he obviosuly hasn't seen him play much. Trust us LSU fans when we say that JR has led us down the field to victory many many times. Sure Brady Quinn looked great coming back against UCLA...but that was a much different UCLA team than the one that beat USC.
I'd like to see Brady Quinn throw a clutch TD pass against someone that matters...but then again, your team has to be in the game at the end against someone decent to have that opportunity.....Now this is the kind of Brady Bashing I can enjoy :thumb:

I think Lady would be a bad fit in Oakland for a plethora of reasons. Al Davis has shown an ability and propensity to alter careers and often for the worse. Perhaps Lady would be better off with the Titans so Norm Chow can work his QB magic. Help me Obe Wan Ka-Chow, you're my only hope.

this is too funny. even the same things are still said by the so-called LSU faithful who tried to slight russell.


make statements hes athletic with physical tools so then you can imply he is dumb. now the so-called LSU idiot fanbase who were wrong still say the same thing that hes being drafted on potential and nothing more. its really tough admitting when you're wrong.

4 losses in 2 years as nutria pointed out cannot be defended nor should be in the toughest conference overall. its quite sad but its similar to the vince young comments last year likely by the same idiots.

of course russell is not perfect. look at troy smith and bq. the top 2 qbs in the heisman race when jr is as good as those guys currently with much more potential while those guys started 3 years. i think smith took over for zwick mideseason but smith is nothing more than a return guy or receiver from what i see. hes just too short.



all biases aside, I thought quinn was spectacular 2 years ago yet this year i felt he regressed from game 1. he has what i call the joey harrington disease where he throws the ball in spite of what he sees and cant slow down his brain. he panics. the opposite of joe montana whom ive heard many domers try to compare him to. funny stuff.

quinn rushed so many passes even when not pressured i wondered what the hell happened to this kid. if he was really worried about his likeness i certainly would lean against taking him in the top 5. hes a good qb but i like the stanton kid just as much.

for some reason im a sucker for mich st qbs. i loved me some jeff smoker but he was cut last year i believe.




i was just wondering...has a white qb ever been labeled athletic while a black qb as heady and cerebral? or a white receiver actually considered fast and not having simply deceptive speed?

im guessing not.

Sure, there was that arkansas QB who got drafted but converted to a WR.

If JR has been so great, then why have so many LSU fans doubted the guy? He's always had the physical tools and potential, but he would make boneheaded mistakes until that game against ND. The question remains: did it finally click for JR, or was this was just a good streak in a limited number of games that will regress back when we have a larger sample?

You're trying to argue with LSU fans about our own QB when you know nothing about him....not a smart idea, considering you probably haven't seen any games of LSU this year and have only been listening to the media heads and what they say. Worry about your own QB. If you'd have watched all the LSU games this year like most of us have, you would already know the answers to all those questions you are asking.