It has been amusing watch Tom Savage work his way up the draft charts. From mid-third round to top of the third. To somewhere in the second round, up to the top of the second. Now he is — at least in the rumors and chatter — to be heading into the first round.
How hot is he? Late last week Savage’s agent, Neil Schwartz, had to tell two teams who wanted to set up a visit or meeting with the quarterback that he didn’t have any time left to do so. “There are literally no days left on his calendar for him to go see any other teams,” Schwartz said Saturday. The deadline for teams to host players or work them out is April 27, and by then Savage is scheduled to have either worked out for or had visits with 24 or 25 teams. That’s an amazing number of workouts and/or meetings … and when I say meetings with teams, I mean time with either the GM, coach, offensive coordinator or two or three of those. … Amazing to think a player so itinerant and with so little college success could be leap-frogging A.J. McCarron, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger. But there’s a good chance Savage will.
The reasons are understandable.
Savage, physically, is a prototypical NFL QB. Or at least what the traditional NFL QB has been. He is tall. Strong. Big arm. Able to take hits. Not really mobile, but not a statue either.
Teams that took a closer look at Savage’s game tape also saw the offensive line he was behind this past year. One that got worse in the season as the injuries mounted. Yet Savage stayed in and took hits and kept playing. The issue of his poor line play has led to amusing arguments between Rutgers and Pitt fans over which team gave Savage less protection. I actually have to give the edge to Rutgers on this. The O-line for that team when Savage was there was a wreck from start to finish.
Another reason for the climb in the draft charts is actually touched on by the very next part of the Peter King post.
I’ve heard that at least four quarterback-needy teams—Houston (first pick), Jacksonville (3), Cleveland (4) and Oakland (5)—are strongly considering passing on quarterbacks with their first picks and waiting until their second or third selections. Simple reason: They’re not in love with any of the quarterbacks, and there are too many other good players who are surer things than a quarterback you have sincere doubts about. For that reason, there could be more quarterbacks taken in round two than round one.
The top-three QBs are still Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel. But the doubts, whispers and negatives about them have crept in slowly but surely.
They are all going in the first round, and the other thing to remember is that there is plenty of crap being flung around by NFL people in attempts to hide who they really want and to try and push that player’s draft stock down to where they can get him. To that end, some other players get built up in the process.
Predictably there has been the backlash. Some of it good natured. Some of it has been more in the sniping nature. Mostly from other college football fans who don’t like not seeing their guy getting the same love. Especially from partisan Louisville fans annoyed that Bridgewater has been taking nothing but hits to his game since declaring.
Don’t worry. There’s still three more weeks to the draft. Plenty of time for Savage to start falling back in the draft spots as teams pick him apart.
I always thought the reason DW was able to get better recruits than other Pitt coaches was his NFL cred …. and he did put more players in the pros than other Pitt coaches since he 80s (even most of the players listed above are his recruits.)
Anyway, there is no reason that PC cannot continue in this manner, especially with the type of offense he runs. This may contribute to long term success for the program with the added plus that PC has a better feel for the college game than DW.
I know as a Pitt fan, I am bit optimistic but it sounds like a plan to me
I guess if Baldwin could go 1st round, and I was surprised when that happened, Savage could go 2nd but my beer offer still stands.
I really didn’t think Baldwin had the discipline or the smarts to succeed in the NFL and it looks like that panned out. With all the so-called research into 1st & 2nd round draft picks these NFL teams are supposed to be doing they whiffed on Baldwin. With 44 catches & two TDs in three seasons I think you can truthfully say Baldwin has been disappointing at best. Sometimes WRs will bloom later in their career but 1st round picks are expected to succeed right off the bat.
I don’t put much stock if a player is projected to be drafted and what that would mean for PITT during his time here. I do agree with wbb though in that if a team has a high number of draft choices it will probably be a winning team, hence the latter DW years.
In essence I’d rather have more than less as long as they are major contributors at PITT. But we have seen many non-drafted players who really helped the team also.
Upitt
I actually agree on two things today. Lol. The baseball stadium itself is decent but that field…ugh. If Little League parents can maintain dirt on their fields why can’t Pitt pay one groundskeeper. Grass is actually cheaper over the long haul to maintain than turf. There is a reason Heinz field is grass.
The maturation process for Tom became evident the first time at Navy. That was the FIRST GAME where he finally showed ability to operate the Chryst Offense as it’s intended… throwing Screens and underneath Crossing Routes.
Until Navy, Savage was purely focused making Big Plays with his ARM… primarily to Boyd.
That said, I just can’t get excited about Savage’s prospects in the NFL. He is what he is, a Big QB with an EVEN BIGGER ARM who is SLOW to react and SLOW on his feet. Not exactly a combination that projects success for QBs in today’s NFL.
I hope he gets drafted HIGH in the Second Round as some are predicting… and I would love to see Tom prove me wrong and be more than a DECENT BACKUP QB. But just don’t see it.
Predicting too that out of this class of QBs… if any turns out to be a Super Bowl Winner… it’ll be Manziel.
His STRENGTHS are exactly the areas where Savage is WEAK.
I think you may be the only other person on this Blog besides myself who believes in Trey Anderson as a Quarterback.
More than just giving Voytik competition, I believe Anderson will get his opportunity to show his DOUBTERS… and goodness knows there are many… that he’s not the same Quarterback he was when thrown to the wolves by Graham as an Freshman Walk-on and asked to guide an Offense that was in total disarray.
Still, as BIG of a Trey Anderson fan as I am… without question Voytik deserves to be the FRONTRUNNER going into the Season.
A “1 and 0” record makes you a STARTER… until you prove otherwise.
Actually, quite the opposite, QUITE the opposite.
I’m not pro or con Tom Savage, I think he came in a did a good job to help Pitt for a year.
However, I do remember a couple people saying last year, I won’t mention any names, you know them, the usual suspects who just like to bash anything Pitt, just for bashings sake I guess,
anyhow, I remember a couple of these people saying “Savage won’t even get a look from the NFL!”” Then it was “he won’t even get drafted”, then next was “he’ll be a late round if anything”.
The reason this shows me it’s bashing for the sake of bashing, is because anyone that has ever watched or followed college football knows that
6’5″ with a cannon is going to get a shot with an NFL team.
I say this not with any venom, but simply the truth. You either have to be a moron to think Savage wouldn’t get a shot in the NFL, or you are using him as yet another way to take some bashes at Pitt.
That’s the only two answers. A 14 year old knows 6’5″ and a cannon gets a shot.
Everyone knows this. So, it’s only one of the above two scenario’s.
Nothing to do with Pitt. 6’5″ and a cannon get’s a shot if he played for S.E. Missouri St..
So, to rag on him, is just to rag on Pitt.
Yep, he’d even beat out Fraud for the top spot as most maligned.
People were saying he was going to the NFL???
My top 3 for most maligned.
1. Tino Sunseri
2. Smug Smilin’ Steve
3. Fraud Graham
The critics regarding Savage prior to the ’13 season were not so much saying that he sucked – much more like saying he wasn’t going to be a savior for PITT football last year – and there were a ton of PITT fans that thought he would do just that. He wasn’t and he didn’t. Compared to other recent PITT QBs? I’d put him at or near the top but that is not a small target to hit. However, compared to the majority of FBS QBs he was average at best.
Here’s how it shook out for Savage in relation to other FBS QBs when the season’s dust settled.
37th in Passing yards
49th in completion %
39th in TD thrown
49th in Passing Efficiency
… and this next one is very surprisingly given that it was his one historical strength he was…
49th (!) in yards per completion @ 12.43. His previous yards per completion at RU was 14.22 – he dropped off almost 2 yards per completion which is a big loss over the course of the season. Had he matched that former production last year he’d have been 13th ahead of highly touted QBs like Bortles, Manziel, Tajh Boyd and AJ McCarron. THAT would probably have guaranteed him a place in the upper two rounds.
His RU yards per completion rate is what got us PITT fans excited about Savage being under center for us last year. It didn’t happen and that was a blow to the passing offense. It could have been the gameplans but Chryst gave Savage a big green light from the opening game onward so I doubt that was the cause.
FUN WITH STATS!!!
Don’t even make me list Sunseri’s 2012 numbers and rankings next to Savage’s – that will start another argument that would last until the Blue Hens come to town. Seriously, let’s not go there and just let sleeping, albeit more productive, QBs lie.
The men themselves I’m talking about. People question their coaching, but I don’t think they get the same vitriol and hatred that the above three got.
I also think with those three, it was much more spread out amongst the hundreds of Blatherites, many more people.
With Dixon, seems like it’s the same 5 or 6 people calling for his head every year.
I was one of the ones calling for Wanny, but I clearly remember stating numerous times, “I’m not talking about DW the person or DW the ‘Pitt’ guy”.
I actually thought DW should have been the AD and the ambassador for Pitt.
In any case, yes they’ve received their share of flack.
Playing the majority of the Spring Game with the Second Offense.
One of the STANDOUTS.
In the first half made a tough “Over-the-Shoulder” catch that was VERY BOYD LIKE.
Despite rumors to the contrary, looks VERY SETTLED IN at ‘BAMA. Foster could be seen regularly congratulating other Receivers who made plays.
Getting a bit of a late start thanks to a Redshirt, but the time may have helped him mature.
Going to make a name for himself… likely beginning this year.
Fraud and Smug. Probably have to give it to Fraud as #1, even Smug get’s a few defenders every now and then.
Then, if you threw JoePa in there, a whole ‘nother ball game. LOL
By the way… 4.97 forty time. Closer to the BOTTOM than the TOP of this year’s Combine Quarterbacks.
Flacco played behind Palko in 04, and left after spring in 05 when he was still 2nd on depth chart. I believe he thought he would be 2nd team until his senior eligible year in 07.
I never said Tino would make an NFL roster… I stopped buying season tickets after 10 years because I couldn’t put the time & effort into watching him play another year. It was just to painful.
I was back in my seats last season and I all wanted was one long pass for a touchdown (Tino had not tossed one in 3 years) and we got plenty from Savage. Best of luck to Tom! He gave Pitt all he had while he was here and no one can say they felt like the team wasn’t more exciting with him under center.
For those that think they know what’s going to happen and doubt Mr. Savage, there were plenty of us that watched Joe Flacco in clean up duty and few of us thought he was a big loss when he left. I think things worked well for that young man.
Almost a whole yard per attempt more is a telling stat anyway you look at it, Then Sunseri also beat Savage’s yards per completion rate. Yes – Sunseri had major flaws at QB but passing the ball wasn’t one of them wasn’t one of them.
I read 100+ times on here that Sunseri couldn’t throw for decent yardage and that just wasn’t true. He didn’t have that great deep ball Savage did, and Savage was a pleasure to watch throwing those, but here is something that jumps out also…
in 2013, under Savage, we had a lackluster 38% 3rd down conversion rate… yet in 2012, with Sunseri, we had a pretty decent 45% conversion rate. As for 4th down tries Sunseri had a 61% conversion rate to Savage’s 37%. Another big gap.
Some fans will poo-poo all this by IMO a real indicator of a QBs PRODUCTION is how well he converts plays when needed. Sunseri made 150 1st downs passing while Savage made 141.
I’m doing this to put some things in perspective here – We are all glad to see the QB change last year and again this coming year. Say what we will about these two QBs and their NFL prospects but the truth is that we didn’t get the full production from that QB position last season than we did in 2012… and that’s not even factoring in the 3 vs 9 INTs they had (which I also think is very important).
More fun to watch and more confidence giving to the fans? Savage, hands down. I used to hold my breath when Sunseri dropped back to pass, so I’m glad we turned that page but I also like to give credit where it is due.
The kid has the tools maybe in the right situation he can succeed, I wish him all the best.
Hope all of you that hold a Christian persuasion enjoy a happy Easter.
Last known location: Circling Lexington at 1000 ft.
After the initial shock and disappointment, I think JD will get a capable replacement and life will go on
And Happy Easter to all who observe it.
Anyway, this is from the PG about Savage’s sudden rise up the draft board
Yes, Savage is a much better NFL prospect than Sunseri is and… yes, it was great to see comeback wins.
On that second note there is also value in being up at halftime by a large enough margin as to not to need a comeback to win. Either way one indicator of a QB’s all around skills is his W/L record (even if it isn’t really that telling) and both kids were at .500 in their last season.
My post wasn’t who was the better QB – just which QB had better pure statistical production out of that position and that would be Sunseri hands down. Personally, I liked watching Savage a lot more than I did Sunseri and think that he certainly gave us a better chance to win overall.
On a different track but still with QBs, what is going to be the most interesting thing to watch out for, to me, is Anderson in a backup role. I have confidence in the kid even given his lack of experience. I truly don’t think Chryst will throw Bertke to the wolves unless he’s the last man standing.
What will be different from our 2104 QBs than their predecessors is their energy and animation when taking QB1 snaps. What we saw from Voytik was tampered by his nervousness in playing for the first time, when behind and in a bowl game. This season we’ll see not only our QBs be more involved in the offense emotionally but also physically – Anderson can run as well as Voytik.
Might not be a bad idea to get our walk-on QB Repischak some time under center in the summer camp. I like this kid, he’s got the size at 6’3″ & 210 and showed he could pass the ball in a 11-1 senior HS season. With all that, I don’t want to see him play much over the next three years.
It looks like the possible weak links still include Middle linebacker. How much have Galambos and Caprara improved? If they fail, I wonder if we could see Thomas or Gonzalez move to the inside, since Grigsby and Bradley seem to be capable of starting.
Pass rush is still a big question mark. Will Price and Soto stay healthy? Will Durham get a sack? Will any of the young guns step up?
I think we are in pretty good shape at QB, as long as we stay healthy.
Hopefully a few of the freshmen will push for playing time. Jennings looks like a man, he was on the “Field Pass” video on TV yesterday, nicely done by the way. And of course we all want James to be the second coming of Shady McCoy.
There are some guys, on the two deep we hope we don’t see this year, but other than that we look pretty set with few position battles.
Hopefully with the added depth of the incoming freshmen class our special teams will improve this year.
With the arm strength, accuracy and size of Savage he will get at least two years in the NFL to overcome his deficiencies. Time will tell. He needs to get on a team like Flacco early on when he had to hand off, throw deep a few times and let the defense do the rest.
No interest in the rehashing of the other TS.
The Field Pass video showed the wall of pictures of Pitt’s first round draft choices, mighty impressive. I hope Donald gets added.
I am over the Slice debacle. Maybe Pitt should announce his replacement before he resigns.
However, I never said he would be playing on Sundays.
After all, Savage was not sacrificed to play QB for RichRod’s offense at Arizona.
Hard to tell without watching recent practices but last year I’d say they were evenly talented but Anderson still had that tendinitis in his wrist in the 2013 summer camp. With Voytik getting all the QB2 snaps last year I’d say that he’s the front runner by a large margin.
That isn’t to say that Chryst might not give him the hook if he’s not playing well. BTW PITT fans – there is a big difference between not playing well and hurting the team with your play. The HC will use the hook much quicker in the latter instance.
I think Galambos is going to be just fine at MLB. We’ll see but underclassmen take over vacant positions all the time, every season on every team actually, and do well – some even produce at the ‘star’ level.
Unless “My Man” BLEWITT is able to dramatically improve his distance, Huddleston looks like he could be a nice complement on Kickoffs.
The STRANGE THING is that if you watch Huddleston closely, it seems a lot of the time he doesn’t get much of a “follow through” on his kicks… but the Ball still goes.
A little unique.
If you haven’t seen it… here’s Johnny Manziel showcasing his DUNKING ABILITY in his “SIZE 15” Shoes.
Something you just can’t teach.
Flacco has a BIG EDGE in the INSTINCT and MOBILITY Departments.
Hail to Pitt