Is Russell really better than Quinn?

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Originally Posted by Defensewins

More coincidence, Young/Russell are drafted above Leinart/Quinn because they have higher upside. They have more potential to be better once they learn the pro game. Young/Russell were not on National TV as much in college so they did have as much hype. They did not play in pro style offenses in college.
I think similarities are many and my analogy is pretty good.

Ok, but what is upside? Russell either will be really good, or he won't. There is no mythical concept of potential of which he will only hit under certain circumstances. Upside just simply refers to the growth that each prospect will make over the course of his NFL career. Every player grows. Is there any reason at all to expect Russell to grow at a different rate than any other QB? I don't understand why this would occur.

JaMarcus Russell will be 'X' good. This is a simplification of a simple concept. He's only going to be as good as he is. So what is Russell's "X"? Is it Ryan Leaf? Rex Grossman? Patrick Ramsey? Byron Leftwich? Carson Palmer? Daunte Culpepper? I believe he will be the next Rex Grossman. That is his ultimate potential. Until proven otherwise, its' reasonable to make a case for him being the next Donovan McNabb. That could possibly be his potnetial.

But to say he has "upside", you might as well be telling me that he's also got two arms and two legs. Tell us where you think he will be in his prime. He's either going to be better than Quinn or worse than Quinn. Saying he has upside is neither analysis nor a prediction. Maybe he will turn out to be a better QB than Quinn, but certainly that would be because he was the better prospect all along...not because of a belief that he grew differently than every other quarterback, correct?

Regarding your comment about Young coming into a decent Titan D, the Titans were reeling at 0-3 when Young stepped in for a veteran QB with super bowl experience. A rookie stepping in to a 0-3 team and he made it work. Many of the wins were directly related to Young's great play, the 50 yard run in the Texans overtime win for example. You should not take credit away form V. Young, he played well enough to win all of those games and almost get them in the playoffs after starting 0-3 is remarkable for any QB much less a rookie that was not supposed to be ready for the NFL.

Regarding who will be better in the NFL, Quinn or Russell? I hope they both succeed, the NFL has a shortage of good QB's. I am not sure why you and some others are rooting against Russell? My opinion is much more will play into what team they go to, the situation that team is in and the playing time they see, not so much their invidual talent. They are both good QB's.

Don't take credit away from Vince Young's teammates. I mean Young played the game consistently composed and focused for a rookie, like the good QB prospect he was. But he wasn't a good passer, and while his running was very effective, it wasn't as effective as he was given credit for. 0-3 doesn't tell you much, it was a three game sample with an inept QB (Collins). Young played about how you would expect from a dynamic rookie, and his teammates played some great football at times and kept the score close allowing one play to make the difference in a few games, and Young did his job. But VY's passing wasn't anything you wouldn't have expected from him as a rookie. He's still got a long way to go to get his team to the next level. Leinart was better in 2006 on a worse team last year. I'd bet the Cardinals are a better team than the Titans in 2007, and Leinart might be a pro bowler.

I'm not rooting against Russell in the slightest. I am rooting for Quinn. But I can asimilate them with past QB prospects based on college stats, and it doesn't look good for Russell. This is consistant with everything about him that seems like he shouldn't be a top pick. As Hooskins pointed out, he wasn't on the NFL's radar until January. Once he got on the NFL radar, he should have taken another year to prove that he belongs there like Quinn did. If Quinn had done what Russell did and left after his Jr. season, he wouldn't have been a good prospect either.