MMQB (cont.)

Quote of the Week I

Peyton Manning took in a round of golf with Tiger Woods last week in Charlotte. AP Peter King's Mailbag Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Peter King on Twitter

"Brett actually reminds me of Rex Ryan. Their favorite wardrobe is sweatpants. Neither guy has ever met a razor they liked.''
-- Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, comparing quarterback Brett Favre and the rookie Jets coach, on Sirius NFL Radio.

Quote of the Week II

"With [Matthew] Stafford, I think you throw him in there right away. I think he's lucky, the fact that he's coming in with a new coaching staff. That's a big advantage because basically he's just like all the other veterans as far as learning this new system, learning the way their new head coach is going to approach things, learning his philosophy ... I'm waiting for somebody to break that NFL rookie record for interceptions I set back in '98. Hopefully Stafford will give it a good run. But I'll say this, there's no way I could have played as well as I did in my second year if I hadn't played that first year.''
-- Peyton Manning, on the Kravitz and Eddie show on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis, on whether the first pick in the 2009 draft should play as a rookie or observe.

Quote of the Week III

"One thing I was kind of upset about is it makes you feel like you're a bad quarterback, someone who's not wanted or something. But at the same time, it makes you a stronger person.''
-- Washington quarterback Jason Campbell, who in the span of one month has had his team nearly trade for one replacement (Jay Cutler) and then nearly trade up to draft another (Mark Sanchez).

Stat of the Week

In the past 13 years, nine of the first 13 overall No. 1 picks in the draft were quarterbacks.

In the 13 years prior to that, nine of the first 13 overall No. 1 picks were non-quarterbacks.

Tweet of the Week

"Maclin and Crabtree are top 20 picks but Harrell and Daniel, the guys who throw to them, are 'system guys?' I don't buy it.''
-- Tweet from rodhartwig, who is Rodney Hartwig of Phoenix, on Twitter, referring to undrafted quarterbacks Graham Harrell of Texas Tech and Chase Daniel of Missouri, both of whom went undrafted.

Daniel signed as a free-agent with Washington. Harrell had to go to Cleveland's rookie mini-camp over the weekend to essentially try out for a free-agent contract. Man, what a comedown for one of the most exciting players in college football over the last few years.

I raised this point on Twitter (you can follow me here) the other day, then ranted about it on Sirius NFL Radio with co-host Randy Cross. If you're a football scout or GM, how could you watch the Texas-Texas Tech game last fall and not think Harrell belongs in the NFL? He doesn't have the arm of Matthew Stafford, obviously, but neither did Joe Montana, and neither does Drew Brees. But let's compare Stafford and Harrell in a few categories:

Player Stafford Harrell Height 6-2 6-2 Completion % for 2007-08 59% 71% Yards/attempt for 2007-08 8.14 8.09

I'm not measuring arm strength, obviously. But I'm dead serious when I ask this question: If Joe Montana, who was a third-round pick 30 years ago, came out today, how many teams would declare him either undraftable or a free-agent only?

My humble advice (and I mean that; I don't study college tape at all) to those who make their living grading college football players: Watch the games.

Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me

Did you know Hank Stram, on the hottest days of Kansas City training camp, used to wear a doubleknit, basketball-type, sleeveless, red-and-gold Chiefs tank top with matching basketball shorts, both with a snazzy Chiefs logo? The Chiefs are in the process of inventing a Hall of Fame for the grand reopening of a refurbished Arrowhead Stadium in 2010, and the incredibly bizarre Hank costume will be included in the exhibit. I tried to figure out what it reminds me of when I saw it on my recent draft trip to Kansas City, and the only thing I could come up with is: early ABA uniform.