As the draft approaches the Chicago Tribune has had numerous articles on the draft and who the Bears might take. Today they looked at quarterbacks. One of the quarterbacks under consideration is Ian Book. Here is the Tribune's take on Book based on what they have been told by NFL scouts:
Book is almost certain to be on the board deep into Day 3 and would be in a mid- to late-round category of developmental quarterbacks.....Book has intriguing qualities. His mobility and ability to make plays off script are notable. He has upside as a rhythm passer and has shown the footwork and ballhandling skills to handle a substantial diet of run-pass option plays. Book can also be a scrambling threat.....
Book will be a gamble for whatever team drafts him. For starters, his arm strength is significantly limited and his ability to be a consistent deep threat is in question. He’s also on the shorter side and lacks pinpoint precision with his passing. At times, his pocket poise can become erratic.
There’s a lot of Ian’s talent that you like. But there’s concern where you say, ‘Why, with some really good athletes on that (Notre Dame) offense did their pass game not excel? Was that a little bit of his player limitation?’ With his size, is he big enough to be a guy who can stick in a fringe starter/backup role?
Athletically and arm-talent wise, he has the chance to become a guy who at least raises your eyebrows at the position. I honestly look for him to be a guy who a team points to as saying, ‘OK we’re comfortable with him as a backup.’ Really smart. A ton of starts in big-time college football. And he has some traits that are transferrable. But physically, there’s nothing that stands out about him.”
Pretty damn good scouting report on Book in my opinion.
Book is almost certain to be on the board deep into Day 3 and would be in a mid- to late-round category of developmental quarterbacks.....Book has intriguing qualities. His mobility and ability to make plays off script are notable. He has upside as a rhythm passer and has shown the footwork and ballhandling skills to handle a substantial diet of run-pass option plays. Book can also be a scrambling threat.....
Book will be a gamble for whatever team drafts him. For starters, his arm strength is significantly limited and his ability to be a consistent deep threat is in question. He’s also on the shorter side and lacks pinpoint precision with his passing. At times, his pocket poise can become erratic.
There’s a lot of Ian’s talent that you like. But there’s concern where you say, ‘Why, with some really good athletes on that (Notre Dame) offense did their pass game not excel? Was that a little bit of his player limitation?’ With his size, is he big enough to be a guy who can stick in a fringe starter/backup role?
Athletically and arm-talent wise, he has the chance to become a guy who at least raises your eyebrows at the position. I honestly look for him to be a guy who a team points to as saying, ‘OK we’re comfortable with him as a backup.’ Really smart. A ton of starts in big-time college football. And he has some traits that are transferrable. But physically, there’s nothing that stands out about him.”
Pretty damn good scouting report on Book in my opinion.
