Posted by Lisa on October 2, 2008, 12:20 pm, in reply to "Stanton"
You don't know me very well, but since you are also a Lion fan you know that the draft is the Lion's big day. So, when I realize that the Lions are out of it, I am very critically scouting the college players, looking for possible players. I know it's a waste of time, because Millen never listened to me...but a Lion fan needs dreams. And now I can hope that they get some talent evaluators who can match my evaluations 
Anyway, I ended up watching Drew Stanton a lot his last two years of college. He had an absolutely terrific junior year based almost entirely on his will to win and his football gifts. He was legitimately a Heisman hopeful. But his senior year was a disappointment, not only because he got injured, but because he never progressed as a QB. I blame J.L. Smith for this and that his surrounding talent didn't give him much opportunity to develop. His receivers had butter fingers or couldn't get open, his o-line was just as bad as the Lions' that year, and his defense couldn't hold a lead. In fact I think Drew regressed his senior year, developing bad habits. Basically, I think he NEEDED a year off from being chased by defensive linemen for his life. There were some games I watched his senior year that made him look undraftable. But I thought/think he was a legit 2nd round pick. And that means I saw him as a 1 to 2 year project, ready perhaps sometime late in his second year.
Like it or not, I don't think any rookie QB is ready to deal with the media pressure. It has become a huge part of the learning curve in becoming a starting QB. Add in that Drew has a tendency to not be politically correct. I like his realness, but I don't think it plays well with the media. So watching Kit deal with the media...and for the most part it has been a good example, though we all know he's gotten jacked for making predictions...has been positive. From the off-season interviews with Drew that I've read, I don't think he's ready. He has a tendency to point fingers and not say the "right" thing. You can't do that if you are the starter and considered a leader.
Obviously, I'm not terribly upset by him having to sit out last year. Except that Martz tore him down and never bothered to rebuild him, and put him on IR so he couldn't get reps on the scout team. That has put him behind my schedule for him by at least a 1/2 year.
I do believe Drew has the attitude and physical abilities that could make him the best QB the Lions have had for a long time. But then, I have a penchant for a QB with some mobility, but dislike the ones who overly rely on it like Michael Vick, Mike McMahon, etc...who never grew out of it. Steve Young, Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair and others kind of grew out of running too quickly.
Nonetheless Drew is still rough around the edges. I think Drew's smart enough to pick up defenses...but he isn't there, yet. And from what I saw of him in college, he is a pass first kind of guy with really good pocket awareness, which at MSU meant RUN. I think once he learns to trust his o-line (which isn't this year) he will surprise some folks with how good he really is. This year Drew has Loeffler (sp?)working with him on his mechanics, which needed some cleaning up, too, tho' I agree with the philosophy of not wanting to change what works for him (like Martz wanted to do).
I don't think he can just step in and be Jay Cutler good. (Cutler was my favorite QB coming out that year and the most NFL ready QB to come out of college since Peyton Manning.) Purely from a selfish standpoint, I would like to see if Drew still has the ability I thought he had in college. And having his abilities out there would make the game more fun to watch. But for Drew's best interests, and therefore the Lion's best interests, I am going to have to say we should delay our short term gratification and let Kitna and Orlovsky struggle through the rest of this year.
Yes, I think Stanton could win some games for the Lions with his legs in a relief role this year, because most defenses don't account for the QB when playing against the Lions. But if he were being game-planned for, he would get killed.
Though I love Drew's competitive nature and his ability to get a first down in seemingly impossible situations; in the long run, he needs to learn when a play is dead. He needs to learn not take the big hit or try to throw the bomb to somebody who isn't really open. He needs to learn how to read defenses better. And he needs to refine some of his mechanics so that his accuracy improves on his mid-range balls. He does a good job of throwing from awkward positions, but he still could use some consistency in turning his body toward the receiver, so he gets more velocity while he's running for his life. Anyway, I think the rest of this year of practice and the offseason, and continued maturity, is needed before they throw him into the fray.
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