I'm warming up to Mallett. His main problem seems to be INTs when pressured, and Jake Long is just about the best possible solution for that issue.
I'm warming up to him too. The things that scare most people about Mallet don't really scare me that much. The INT's against good teams, the lack of leadership skills, the off-field issues with alcohol, the lack of mobility.
INT's against very good defenses is not all that uncommon especially in college. That doesn't necessarily translate to a bad QB in the pro's. Most QB's need a year at the pro level to really begin to learn how to avoid turnovers. Some make the transition and some don't, it's too early to know whether or not Mallet will be able to make the transition.
The lack of leadership I think is overblown by those who don't really know him. If you talk to guys that played with him, there's no suggestion of lack of leadership skills. Jake Long never mentioned lack of leadership when asked about Mallet, he played with him for a year at Michigan.
Hmmm...a kid in college who likes to drink? Seems I've heard of that before a time or 2. Again, I dont' know that a couple instances of having too much to drink in college is really cause for alarm. There have been suggestions of other drugs, but there have been no instances concerning other drugs as far as I know. Kids usually grow out of that once they leave the college campus, not all do, but not all continue to have problems either, most don't.
The lack of mobility is an issue only if it means that he can't avoid sacks very well, but from what I've read he's actually pretty good at avoiding sacks. He's able to step up in the pocket and deliver the ball while taking a hit. He's a big guy, he doesn't seem to go down easy when hit either. Marino wasn't mobile and he did a fine job avoiding sacks, but I actually compare Mallet more to Ben Roethlisberger, who's able to shake off sacks long enough to get rid of the ball because of his size. If Mallet can do that he'll be just fine. I don't know for sure that he will, but I'm not convinced that he won't either.
The positives with Mallet far outweigh the negatives in my humble opinion. Good accuracy. Strong arm. Played in a pro-style offense. I think there's a fire about him too. Some were turned off by his snippy comments to reporters, I on the other hand like that. I like that he wasn't intimidated by reporters. There was also the question of him leaving Michigan to play for Arkansas, but I thought that showed guts. He knew the kind of offense they were putting in at Michigan didn't fit him and he was confident enough in his own ability to sit out a year and then go somewhere that fit his style.
One last thing that I think is important is that he's a similar type of QB to Henne. At first that may sound like a knock on him, but I don't think it is. One of the reasons that Pat White failed so miserably in my opinion was that he didn't fit this offense. Henne fits this offense. Mallet fits this offense. I don't want 2 different offenses one for the starting QB and one for the backup, I want a backup QB who can step in and run the same offense just as well as the starter. Mallet I think could come in and challenge for the starting spot right away, they wouldn't have to devise a different offense for him.
The only real question for me is whether or not #15 is too high to take him and whether or not another player would be better at #15. That I don't know, but what I do know is that I don't really like Mark Ingram at #15. Mallet has tons of upside in my opinion, I dont' see that in Ingram. Maybe Mallet never realizes that upside, but I'd rather take a shot at a special player over taking one that seems to be the "safe" choice. We did that with Long and it's worked out OK, but now it's time to be bold. Be daring. Take a chance on a kid that might just put it all together. Maybe he won't, but we can't wait for the perfect guy to just fall into our laps. We have been waiting for 11 years now for that to happen and it hasn't. It's time to take some chances.
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