Teddy Bridgewater says he didn't want to play in Cleveland

[theENGLISHseahawk]

he's college play wasn't as overrated as you think.

How many potential #1 picks drop to #32 and aren't, in hindsight, considered overrated?

If he'd gone at #33 (where I thought he'd go) instead of #32, what difference does it make?

Lollol. This coming from a guy that had Barkley #1 to the Chiefs. Whatever man. If this board called you out the way they did Kiper you'd stick to soccer.

And if I called people out on all the incorrect predictions they think I made, I wouldn't have any time to write a blog that had 50,000 unique visitors on draft day.

 

[Hawkfan77]

Lollol. This coming from a guy that had Barkley #1 to the Chiefs. Whatever man. If this board called you out the way they did Kiper you'd stick to soccer.

And if I called people out on all the incorrect predictions they think I made, I wouldn't have any time to write a blog that had 50,000 unique visitors on draft day.

You forgot

 

[Subzero717]

he's college play wasn't as overrated as you think.

How many potential #1 picks drop to #32 and aren't, in hindsight, considered overrated?

If he'd gone at #33 (where I thought he'd go) instead of #32, what difference does it make?

Lollol. This coming from a guy that had Barkley #1 to the Chiefs. Whatever man. If this board called you out the way they did Kiper you'd stick to soccer.

And if I called people out on all the incorrect predictions they think I made, I wouldn't have any time to write a blog that had 50,000 unique visitors on draft day.

You didnt call Barkley #1 to chiefs? because I clearly remember it.

 

[Subzero717]

Lollol. This coming from a guy that had Barkley #1 to the Chiefs. Whatever man. If this board called you out the way they did Kiper you'd stick to soccer.

And if I called people out on all the incorrect predictions they think I made, I wouldn't have any time to write a blog that had 50,000 unique visitors on draft day.

You forgot

For what? Thats his deal. Saying he isnt wrong hoping you forget and when you prove it he says, "oh well, I wont be losing sleep over it." When he is the broken clock he pounds his chest and screams it from a mountain top even when he really isnt. The Carson Palmer episode comes to mind and them house hunting?


Look it is how he makes a living and thats fine. I have no issue with it. The fact he knocks other sites is what is laughable. He frequently knocks other mocks and draft experts and tears down sites like BR.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Actually it's not how I make a living.

I write the blog for free, paying money out of my own pocket to run it, so that Hawks fans can have a unique community to debate the draft.

And I'd rather be that guy instead of the one complaining about something someone else said on the internet three years ago.

 

[kearly]

Did Teddy Bridgewater fall to the 32nd pick because he was the same caliber of QB as Chad Henne, Geno Smith, or Brock Osweiler? Or did he fall to that far because he didn't fit the old prototypical mold good enough? Like Brees or Wilson? Based on the tape, I think it's the latter. Manziel is the same thing.

I dunno, maybe the specter of Brian Brohm hangs over any Louisville QB who puts up great numbers.

I also get the sense that the cautionary tales of Locker, Gabbert, Ponder, and (arguably) Tannehill have caused an over-reaction by GMs, especially since the 2nd and 3rd rounds have been so productive at QB since 2011. I think Bridgewater fell to #32 not because he deserved to be there, but as a reaction to recent draft history for the position.

 

[kearly]

Also, I think we've seen that guys who don't have prototypical profiles at QB are not getting drafted as high as they deserve. It's still an awkward time in the NFL when the "new breed" of QB is far from universally accepted.

 

[Recon_Hawk]

Actually it's not how I make a living.

I write the blog for free, paying money out of my own pocket to run it, so that Hawks fans can have a unique community to debate the draft.

And I'd rather be that guy instead of the one complaining about something someone else said on the internet three years ago.

In fairness, it's part of your scouting portfolio. You run a draft blog. It make sense if someone is going to make a claim to know the draft they deal with their past grading history.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

I've never once claimed to "know the draft". I have zero expertise. I'm a fan of college football who enjoys talking about the draft and found a way to talk about it every day.

But if we're going to talk about how accurately I projected the 2013 draft, I came joint 7th in the huddle report grading scale that year. This year I finished joint 23rd with Mel Kiper.

So not bad for an amateur from England.

 

[Hasselbeck]

I've never once claimed to "know the draft". I have zero expertise. I'm a fan of college football who enjoys talking about the draft and found a way to talk about it every day.

But if we're going to talk about how accurately I projected the 2013 draft, I came joint 7th in the huddle report grading scale that year. This year I finished joint 23rd with Mel Kiper.

So not bad for an amateur from England.

To be fair, there are a lot of NFL GM's that I question if they "know the draft" or not.

 

[Scottemojo]

I've never once claimed to "know the draft". I have zero expertise. I'm a fan of college football who enjoys talking about the draft and found a way to talk about it every day.

But if we're going to talk about how accurately I projected the 2013 draft, I came joint 7th in the huddle report grading scale that year. This year I finished joint 23rd with Mel Kiper.

So not bad for an amateur from England.

Odd enough, some here want you to eat crow for a draft miss, but if you bragged over and over how you called Carpenter to the Hawks or Juan James top 20 before most others you would be thought of as an ass.

I disagree with you plenty, and used to attach some importance to it for I don't know what reason. Now I realize it's just for fun, and differing opinions help me learn.

 

[General Manager]

I read the article i don't have a problem with what he said. Cleveland has terrible management, i wouldn't want to start my career as an NFL QB in Cleveland either.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

You're missing the point GM.

Whether Teddy Bridgewater wants to play in Cleveland or not, going public was not a classy move. He should be grateful Minnesota moved back into the first round to take him. In fact he should just be grateful to get a shot in the NFL. It's not for him to say where he did or didn't want to play.

And all this stuff about Cleveland is silly. It's not that long ago a certain other team had ownership issues, annual losing seasons and fired coaches after one season.

 

[Scottemojo]

The more I think about it, the more it seems like Bridgewater's words were more directed at Manziel than Cleveland. Kind of a yeah, you went before me, but I'm in a better situation type of thing.

Either way, Bridgewater should just focus on where he is. I remember Russ telling his pull the Hawks name out of a hat story, which made fans in Seattle feel good, he never talked bad about any of the 31 franchises that passed on him.

When a guy shows signs of emotional immaturity, which Bridgewater did, you always wonder if it will have some ill effect on his coachability.

 

[Recon_Hawk]

he should just be grateful to get a shot in the NFL. It's not for him to say where he did or didn't want to play.

Saying he should be "grateful" to be in the NFL minimizes all he did to to get to this point. Like any other college player drafted, Bridgewater earned his place to be in the nfl. It took talent, hard work, dedication, blood sweat and tears to get where he is.

Professional athletes aren't given anything. They work for it their whole lives. They play through pain. They give up social events and time with family. They even sacrifice schooling. Yeah, they made the choice to pursue a professional sports career, but like a student who dedicates 7 years to become a lawyer, they understood there's a market for their skills if they are capable of it.

Take Clowney and the Andrew Luck for example. Would you say they should be grateful to be in the NFL or is it really the Texans and Colts who should feel fortunate enough to have drafted them? I think most would say it's the teams who lucked out there.

You know who should be grateful? The historically, poorly ran NFL teams like the Cleveland Browns who don't have to compete for the rights of players because of the format of the NFL draft. If any other person dedicated their lives to a profession and was the top of their graduating class nationwide, they'd have the choice of their employer. Not in the NFL. Rookies have no say, even when getting paid a small percentage of a veteran free agent who can choose which team they want to play for and are rarely crucified for admitting to not wanting to play for a different team for whatever reason.

Bridgewater should have left Cleveland out of it, but his words hardly take way the fact he earned the right to be in the NFL.

I've never once claimed to "know the draft". I have zero expertise. I'm a fan of college football who enjoys talking about the draft and found a way to talk about it every day.

But if we're going to talk about how accurately I projected the 2013 draft, I came joint 7th in the huddle report grading scale that year. This year I finished joint 23rd with Mel Kiper.

So not bad for an amateur from England.

I was actually talking about personal draft grades. Projecting the first round doesn't truly reflect our own boards with lots of it coming from media and scout source information.

Take my mock draft I posted on .Net. If I counted correctly using Huddle Report scoring system and they include my Vikings selection of Bridgewater with the #8 pick as a 2 point player match, I finished with 41 points. Tied for 3rd. Still, I didn't necessarily agree with some of those picks I had in those spots, as I'm sure a lot you didn't agree with some of yours either.

 

[fenderbender123]

I think Bridgewater's comments were just fine.

There was a chance, but I actually told my agent that's not the place where I wanted to be. Throughout this entire process I felt comfortable with the Minnesota Vikings. Every visit that I had with the team, you know, there was a family environment and the players, great guys. A great group of guys. So I felt comfortable wanting to play here.

It's possible that he really wanted to go to Minnesota and nowhere else rather than specifically not Cleveland. By saying "...not the place...", he implies there was a specific place in mind he wanted to go. Or maybe he's just trying to be loyal to the team that drafted him.

 

[CPHawk]

John Elway and Eli Manning laugh at this topic.

 

[RolandDeschain]

Would you want to play in Cleveland given that circus they call a FO?

I sure as hell wouldn't be dumb enough to say it. Besides, a stud QB can turn any franchise around, really.

 

[Subzero717]

Would you want to play in Cleveland given that circus they call a FO?

I sure as hell wouldn't be dumb enough to say it. Besides, a stud QB can turn any franchise around, really.

To CPs point Elway doesnt get any heat for his refusal to stunt.

I wouldnt want to play in Cleveland and I dont care nor do I think its dumb that he said it. Players often do and say things to motivate themselves. Same as taking something someone else said and using it as motivation.