When Quinn the QB gets to Detroit

I’m not sure everybody is going to jump for joy!

Come all without, come all within,

that’s why you'll not see Honolulu Blue on the mighty Quinn.

Being from the metro Detroit area, I can assure the rest of the country this will NOT be a popular pick with the fans here at home.  Now before I get into telling you all the reasons why Brady Quinn would never make it in Detroit, I want to preface it with an honest assessment of Brady Quinn.

Quinn is by all means the prototypical NFL pocket passer.  He’s got the size (6’4 230), he’s got the arm strength to make any throw he needs to make, and he makes great decisions while doing so, one look at his 69-14 TD/INT ratio over the past two seasons will tell you that.   Quinn was a four year starter at Notre Dame, so he’s got a lot of experience coming in, including the past two with former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss.  Weiss has on numerous occasions compared Quinn to another quarterback he knows quite well, that being Tom Brady.  Like Brady, Quinn will stand tough in the pocket and make good throws.   Everything points to the end result of Quinn being a franchise QB.

So why if I seem to like Quinn so much, do I, like most Detroiters not want to see him in the Honolulu Blue?  Take a good look at him, who does he look like?  He looks an awful lot like Champaign and Strawberries does he not.  Now I know that there isn’t an NFL scout alive who uses physical appearance or likeness to someone else in their evaluation process, but I can assure you that Quinn would be the target of an angry Detroit media and fan base before he even takes a snap in Detroit.  6’4 – 230, cerebral, I wonder if he plays the piano too.  Yeah, he looks a lot like Joey Harrington in so many ways. Harrington was also a franchise QB, as was David Carr the same year.  Detroit fans won’t go for this and Millen, despite many published report to the contrary, is not that stupid.  He knows he needs results fast,  and the chances of him selecting another pretty boy QB in the #2 spot are about as good as him selecting another wide receiver at that selection.  Speaking of which, as crazy of an idea as that sounds, I think it would be the better pick by far, Calvin Johnson is a freak and will be a dominating type wide receiver at the next level.  Not only did he run a 4.35 at the combine, he did it in someone else’s shoes. As much as I like Johnson, again I believe that Millen will avoid that route like the plague just to avoid the criticism he knows would come by doing so.

So where does that leave us?  If the Lions aren’t drafting Quinn, and due to the recent trade for Tatum Bell and George Foster, it appears they likely will not be selecting Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson, or Big Joe Thomas from Wisconsin. Assuming that the Lions do not trade out of the number two spot, they are most likely to select Gaines Adams of Clemson, the top Defensive End prospect in this year’s class.  Today’s trade of James Hall to the Rams for a late pick is yet another indicator that has led me to this projection.  Lions General Manager Matt Millen loves defense, and this is certainly his kind of pick.  Perhaps a likely scenario would send the #2 pick to the Cardinals for the 5th overall and another selection.  The Cardinals would surely take Joe Thomas, and the Lions most likely could get Adams at the #5 spot. 

This could all change again by tomorrow with players being signed sealed and delivered every day.  If the Lions do end up with a new quarterback, it’s far more likely that they go the free agency route, or even a trade.