This is the complete transcript of my phone interview with Jeff Garcia. Enjoy. Q: What was your skill level coming out of high school? GARCIA: I probably wasn’t where I wanted to be from a development standpoint. I was still pretty light. I was only 165 pounds, really hadn’t filled out my body yet. Was still adjusting physically. I felt like mentally I could really grasp the game – growing…
This is my feature on the allure of quarterbacks who went to non-major-conference colleges. For the past five years, every quarterback who was chosen in the first round of the NFL draft went to a major-conference college. Meaning a college in the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC or ACC. Forget that trend. Draft gurus expect three quarterbacks who went to non-major-conference colleges to get drafted in Round 1 this…
I was reading an article by Steve Corkran yesterday in which he interviewed Rich Gannon about Johnny Manziel. Here is an excerpt of Gannon on Manziel: “My biggest concern is the discipline from a quarterback standpoint. Footwork, sitting in the pocket, going through reads and progressions. He has to go somewhere where they have a very disciplined coordinator and quarterback coach, somebody who is really going to grind on him and…
This is my Monday column on Johnny Manziel. One week before the NFL Scouting Combine, Johnny Manziel – bless his heart – said he wanted to be the first rookie quarterback to win the Super Bowl. Don’t count on it. Manziel has a better chance to be the next Matt Leinart. Remember him? Won the Heisman Trophy at USC in 2004. The Arizona Cardinals drafted him with the 10th pick…
One of the best reporters in the country, Bob McGinn, spoke off the record with NFL personnel executives and scouts and got their impressions of the top-50 prospects in the upcoming draft. Here is a brief excerpt about cornerback Bradley Roby from McGinn’s report: “When you talk about quickness, speed, athletic ability, change of direction, he’s got all that. Then he just gets beat every game. It’s mental.” To read…
Jim Harbaugh held a press conference Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine. Here is a transcript. Q: How has coaching in college helped you evaluate draft prospects? HARBAUGH: It helped. I feel like it still does. There are players in this class who I didn’t coach, but I recruited them. And some I did coach. So you continue to know guys that went to other schools. You remember recruiting them,…
This is my column for Wednesday. The 49ers need a new quarterback. This is not to say the 49ers should give up on Colin Kaepernick — with the right coaching he may still have a future. But they shouldn’t go all in with him, either. The 49ers should hedge their bets, draft a quarterback who could back up Kaepernick as a rookie and could eventually take over as the starter…
Here is my Wednesday column explaining how to rebuild the Raiders. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. TO: Reggie McKenzie, general manager, Oakland Raiders FROM: Grant Cohn Reggie, as a favor, I want to help you rebuild the Raiders’ roster. First, let me commend the job you’ve done the past two years tearing down Al Davis’ and Hugh Jackson’s expensive mess. You’ve made the…
