When I started watching Matt Stafford I made a bad mistake ...

I already was looking for weaknesses the first time I watched him.

Of all QBs I've watched I missed on him the worst (as far as guys that became high caliber).

So my qualifications changed. My eye test was too influenced by my expectations. So, I changed it to a few little things "once he was established."

An established QB has different "markers" for me.

1) Can he come back after a bad first half of getting his butt kicked and throw great passes and bring the team back. That's my #1. Rosen did it in game 1 against A and M. Darnold against Utah.
2) Does he trust his WRs and put them in a spot to make plays?
3) When the play breaks down, how is his footwork and focus?


An established QB, high in mock drafts, has already passed the basic tests. Guys that drop far after that are generally for attitude (see Connor Cook and Jimmy Clausen) .. and we'll hear about that at some point.

I've seen both Rosen and Darnold throw some ugly balls this year. But just "some."

What I haven't seen either of them do is come out and "play scared" ... like they're worried about draft position. They want to win games. When Matt Ryan came out he threw 17 INTs ... because he had no WRs to throw to and he had to throw a lot of contested balls and desperation throws to win games.

I couldn't trust my eyes after Stafford.

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