Biography Landry Jones Quarterback Oklahoma #12 Junior Redshirt
Pros
Arm Strength: Landry Jones has a cannon for an arm. Jones has the cannon arm, arm strength, flamethrower arm, the throwing power, and the ability to wing it 70 yards downfield like a gunslinger. Jones is a quarterback prospect with a deadly arm.
Quick Release: Landry Jones has a very quick release. Even though playing a shotgun spread offense benefits Jones he manages to get rid of the football in quick and effective fashion when you watch him on film.
Durability: Landry Jones manages to have success staying healthy. Landry Jones is more durable then his predecessor Sam Bradford who ended up being the #1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Size: Landry Jones has that prototypical size to be an NFL quarterback weighing in at 6 foot 4 229 pounds.
Awareness: Landry Jones has good field vision and understanding for a quarterback in a shotgun spread no huddle offense.
Pinpoint Accuracy: Landry Jones has the pinpoint accuracy of an NFL quarterback. Landry Jones completion percentage improves each year. Jones can fire a short, medium, or deep pass in accurate fashion just like PAC 12 signal callers Andrew Luck or Matt Barkley.
Pocket Passer: Landry Jones is able to sit back in the pocket and read his progressions if no one is open then he will take off and run.
Play Action Passer: He cannot sell the play action as well as Andrew Luck. He does sell play action passes better than Matt Barkley.
Scrambler: Landry Jones has the speed, scrambling, and dual threat ability to take off and scramble on each play.
Throws on the Run: Like Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley, Landry Jones is also effective when throwing on the run.
1 Step Drop: Landry Jones: Landry Jones has a very effective one step drop. Where he can take 1 step and fire the football.
Makes Proper Progression Reads With the 1 Step Drop: Landry Jones can fire short, medium, or deep passes when making a 1 Step Drop. If Landry Jones played in a pro style offense he would be rivaling Andrew Luck when it came to making proper progressions on the 1 Step Drop.
Landry Jones mainly threw medium passes when executing the 1 step drop. Most NFL quarterbacks throw short passes when executing the 1 step drop. Landry Jones threw a deep pass through a 1 step drop in Oklahoma’s 23 to 13 win over Florida State. This shows that Jones can execute a short, medium, or deep pass while making the proper progressions when dropping back to perform a 1 step drop.
3 Step Drop: Landry Jones can execute a 3 step drop pass in very effective fashion when dropping back in the pocket. The 3 step drop is Landry Jones specialty. I watched a 4 minute highlight segment on youtube featuring Landry Jones. Jones called 18 plays. 11 of those 18 plays were 3 step drops out of shotgun spread offense.
Jones fired 10 deep passes, 7 medium passes, and 1 short pass when watching him on film. The one short pass was a 3 step drop. Landry Jones has mastered the progressions for the 3 step drop along with the 1 step drop throwing short, medium, and deep passes. Jones can read defenses and executing a short, medium, or deep progression when firing from a one step or 3 step drop.
Makes Proper Progression Reads With the 3 Step Drop: Landry Jones can fire a short, medium, or deep pass with the 3 step drops. Like I said with the 1 step drop progressions, Landry Jones would rival Andrew Luck in this department if he played in a pro style offense that’s how good Landry Jones 3 step progressions are.
5 Step Drop: Landry Jones knows how to execute a 5 Step Drop. I watched Jones fire passes while dropping back to perform a 5 step drop.
7 Step Drop: Landry Jones can to execute a 7 step drop. He has to move outside the pocket and throw on the run to execute his 7 step drops. He does not get enough time from his offensive line to drop back into a 7 step drop while maintaining his presence in the pocket.
Mechanics: Landry Jones mechanics on are better than Andrew Luck’s in terms of throwing motion. When ranking Landry Jones mechanics against Luck and Barkley I go Matt Barkley #1, Landry Jones #2, and Andrew Luck #3.
The reason I have Matt Barkley at #1 is because he drops back and releases the football using the proper throwing motion on the short, medium, and deep passing game in a complex pro style offense. Barkley’s ability to make progressions need some tuning, but he has better mechanics then Luck or Jones.
Landry Jones has those same qualities as Barkley. Jones plays in a shotgun spread while Barkley plays in a pro style offense which is why Jones is at #2. Jones progressions on the 1 step and 3 step drop are better than Matt Barkley.
Andrew Luck has outstanding ability to make the proper progressions with the 1 step, 3 step, and 5 step drop. He has the ability to make short, and medium passes when executing a 1 step, 3 step, or a 5 step drop. Luck has outstanding mechanics with the short and medium passing game. Luck’s deep passing game mechanics need to get more consistent plus Luck needs to improve his progressions on 7 Step Drops. Luck can make any kind of short or medium throw out of a pro style offense he is that good of a prospect. Every 15 years there is that once in a generation prospect that is the consensus clear cut #1 pick in a respective sport. Luck is that prospect for the 2012 NFL Draft.
Clutch Factor: Landry Jones also has that clutch factor that Andrew Luck possesses. Matt Barkley has not managed to respond in the clutch. Landry Jones had thrown 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions against a legit Florida State secondary. The game is tied at 13 after Oklahoma led Florida State 13 to 3 at halftime midway through the 4th quarter. Landry Jones fires a touchdown to Kenny Stillis in a clutch situation to shift the momentum of the football game taking the FSU crowd out of the game in a critical situation.
Landry Jones responded in a clutch situation against a top 5 opponent on the road. That has to impress you to a certain degree and it may even impress you to a tremendous degree. Andrew Luck only played 1 top 5 opponent on the road in Oregon and there was some bad tape of Luck against Oregon last year even though Luck played well in the first half against Oregon.
Production: Landry Jones threw 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2010 after posting a 66 completion percentage. Landry Jones currently 1-0 in BCS Bowl games. Sam Bradford 0-2 in BCS Bowls with losses to West Virginia and Florida in the 2009 BCS National Title Game. Jones has gotten the W when it mattered. That is something that Bradford didn’t do at Oklahoma.
Cons
Learning Rate: I am not sold on Landry Jones learning rate. Jones runs a shotgun spread no huddle offense. His team runs a gimmick shotgun offense rather than a west coast pro style offense. His play calling is more predictable than one would think.
When Jones executes a 5 Step Drop he always fires a deep pass. Its minor details like this that scouts and NFL GM’s always try to pick up on because its so hard to game plan against a legit quarterback prospect.
Jones has yet to fire a short pass or medium pass when I have watched him on film. Secondaries can play man to man at first before the play develops and when Jones takes a 5 step drop they can shift their focus to zone coverage forcing him to read the short and medium passing game progressions. Jones will have little time to react and throw the football with pressure from pass rushers staring him in the face.
Landry Jones has major work to do when making progressions out of a 7 step drop. Landry Jones only called 1 7 step drop play when I watched the 18 plays of Jones on film. That 7 step drop was a play where Jones ran outside the pocket to the right and threw a medium pass to the right side.
Jones has to stay in the pocket, drop back, execute a 7 step drop, get enough time from his offensive lineman to make a proper progression by reading the defense, and attempt to throw a deep pass if a man is open or beginning to separate himself from coverage.
Landry Jones learning rate is very low. He probably will never learn every single play in your teams playbook down the road because there are already some predictable things that you can pick up when watching him on film at the collegiate level like the patterns of throws he makes when attempting the 5 step drop or the 7 step drop. Its only going to get harder for Landry Jones once he turns pro.
Football IQ: Landry Jones does not have the football IQ or the mental discipline to be a successful quarterback in the NFL. Most Oklahoma quarterbacks bust because they cannot translate their collegiate skill set in a shotgun spread gimmick offense to a pro style offense. Former Sooner’s like Sam Bradford and Oklahoma quarterback who transferred to UCLA Troy Aikman succeeded because of their determination to adapt to the NFL.
Intangibles: Landry Jones lacks the intangibles of an NFL quarterback. A lot of the plays he calls can be very predictable if you prepare for him properly by watching him on film.
Sam Bradford succeeded in the NFL so far because of his pinpoint accuracy, touchdown to interception ratio at Oklahoma, his mental discipline, his leadership, and his determination to prove the critics wrong. Landry Jones does not appear to have that mental discipline that Bradford had at this point in his collegiate career. Jones just hasn’t shown me that he has the will of a warrior, the heart of of a champion, or the drive to succeed at the next level like Bradford had.
Bradford returned to school as a sophomore redshirt even though he probably should have left in 2009. Jones will jump ship the first chance he knows he has a shot of getting in the first round.
Bob Stoops already has Landry Jones successor 2010 5 star recruit Blake Bell in place. Blake Bell was 6 foot 6 215 pounds coming out of high school. Bell redshirted in 2010 and added 30 pounds as he now weighs 245 pounds. Bell has the football IQ and mental discipline that Bradford had plus he gets a year to sit behind Landry Jones and hold the clipboard. Stoops will not keep Jones from playing in the NFL because he already has another signal caller in Blake Bell who will be ready to start for Oklahoma in 2012. Whether Blake Bell remains in the Big 12 or moves to the PAC 12 remains to be seen.
If Blake Bell has to sit out again in 2012 there may be a chance that he transfers to a different school so he can be the starter. Bell already redshirted so he would not have to sit out another year.
Bob Stoops knows he cannot take that risk with Blake Bell which is why Landry Jones will probably declare for the 2012 NFL Draft at the end of this season.
Makes Progressions With The 5 Step Drop: Landry Jones has to make better progressions with his 5 step drop. He has a tendency to always fire the deep ball when dropping back to execute a 5 step drop. If Jones cannot make this adjustment in the pro’s then defensive coordinators will exploit and counter this weakness that Landry Jones has by playing zone coverage unleashing a cover 4 coverage shell which has everyone on secondary playing zone.
Makes Progressions With The 7 Step Drop: Most college quarterbacks cannot make a proper progression with a 7 step drop. Its so difficult to drop back 7 steps in the pocket, get time from your offensive line, and find enough time to heave a deep pass while making the proper progression without taking a sack.
Character: I am not saying Landry Jones has low character. He just gives me the wrong impression about him sometimes. He did two interviews with ESPN and I did not like the way he conducted himself in either interview.
Whenever you see Jones in an interview you get mixed signals. When Oklahoma has a huge game coming up or has a post game press conference then Jones is humble and focused like a leader. Other times Jones appears too shy or too cocky in front of the camera and sometimes that’s all it takes for a GM to want to avoid a prospect in general.
He dodged questions from ESPN reporters like Urban Meyer and Erin Andrews when I saw Jones conduct an interview with ESPN. He seemed shy and out of it with Urban. When being interviewed by Andrews he appeared cocky and was constantly goofing around with teammate Ryan Broyles.
I’ll admit the quarterback deserves to have some fun because you cannot take life too seriously. I just wish Jones was a little more professional on a consistent basis.
Composure: Sam Bradford had that composure that you could not coach. Landry Jones has not convinced me that he has that poise in the pocket yet.
Gets Rattled Under Pressure: Landry Jones can get rattled under pressure which is another reason why his composure can become an issue at times.
4 Star Recruit Out of High School: Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez, Jake Locker, Josh Freeman, Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, Ryan Mallett, Terrell Pryor, Andrew Luck, and Matt Barkley? What do all of these signal callers have in common? They were all labeled 5 Star Recruits by one mainstream media or another coming out of high school. Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert were both 4 star recruits coming out of high school and both were in the conversation to go #1 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft after Jake Locker’s drop off senior campaign.
I am not saying being a 4 Star Recruit is a disadvantage, but athletes who are labeled 5 star recruits straight out of high school generally have a greater chance of being a future 1st round pick who succeeds in the NFL.
Field General: There are 4 NFL offenses that a college quarterback must learn before they are considered a field general in my eyes. There is the balanced offense which uses I formation plays and ace packages using the run to set up the pass. This is one of 2 pro style offenses.
You have the West Coast offense which uses the short and medium passing game to set up the running game. This has become the norm for most NFL quarterbacks to learn. If you cannot learn this type of offense you have a good chance of being a bust.
The other two offenses are a shotgun spread gimmick offense and a vertical offense.
Jones needs 2 years to learn a balanced offensive philosophy playbook and he needs 5 years to learn a west coast offense based on how he is performing right now when watching him on film. Teams cannot wait that long for Landry Jones to develop.
Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III has learned all 4 of these offenses while Jones has yet to comprehend a west coast offense at this point. It may sound crazy to state at this point, but I think Griffin III not Jones is the best Big 12 quarterback and Big 12 NFL prospect even though most scouts would bark at me and call me out completely in general.
Potential: Landry Jones has the physical tools to be a star in this league. He has the production and the basic skill set to be in this league. I do not believe that Landry Jones has the intangibles, mental discipline, or psyche to translate his game to a complex west coast pro style offense thus elevating his game to the next level. Landry Jones has the potential of a 3rd string quarterback. That is not the quarterback I want to draft in the first round.
My thoughts on Landry Jones
If you expect Jones to come in and take the league by storm the same way Bradford did you may want to rethink your thought process. Sam Bradford had monster numbers at Oklahoma.
Bradford had 36 touchdowns and 8 picks as a redshirt freshman. He topped that with 50 touchdowns and 8 interceptions during his sophomore redshirt campaign.
Jones threw 14 interceptions as a redshirt freshman and 12 as a redshirt sophomore. Jones has thrown 2 picks during 2 games as a junior redshirt so if he throws 1 pick a game he is on pace to match his interception total from 2010. Landry Jones threw 38 touchdowns as a sophomore redshirt. Bradford nearly matched Jones total of 38 TD’s in 2010 as a freshman redshirt. Bradford threw 16 career interceptions during his career at Oklahoma to Jones’s 28 career interceptions so there should be no debate as to who the better quarterback is.
Landry Jones has all the personality traits of a future bust. You may not like hearing this OU fans, but Landry Jones is not making it rain in the NFL on secondaries the same way Sam Bradford did.
People doubted Bradford and he proved his critics wrong. I am not saying that Jones cannot accomplish the same feat. I just really believe the odds of Landry Jones pulling this off are stacked heavily against him because I have seen Landry Jones look like an average quarterback with predictable play calling against defenses with pass rushers and shutdown coverage corners like the Florida State defense that he played on September 17th, 2011.
Performing average against a potential NFL defense one day at the collegiate level shows that you may not be able to translate your skill set to the next level. I did not see he will not translate his skill set I said Jones may not be able to translate his skill set. The words will not and may not have two completely different definitions of context. Those are the reasons why I am convinced that Landry Jones will be a bust.
Honestly I believe that Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley are the clear cut #1 and #2 prospects. Jones has not convinced me he deserves to be in the same class as Luck or Barkley.
If he gets the undeserved hype that he is Luck’s rival for the top pick in the draft than were going to see a reincarnation of the 1998 NFL Draft where Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf went #1 and #2 overall. Luck has gotten numerous comparisons to Peyton Manning.
Who does that mean Landry Jones will be compared to among the 1998 quarterback prospects if the 2012 NFL Draft plays out exactly like the 1998 NFL Draft? We already compared Luck to Manning so that leaves Landry Jones to be compared with the other quarterback who got drafted behind Peyton by process of elimination.
At the end of the day Landry Jones probably will be a first rounder in 2012 unless he returns for his senior year and tries to establish himself as the top pick in 2013. Does this change my opinion on Jones? Absolutely not, I think Jones is dooming himself if he declares this year.
I could see Jones succeeding in the NFL if he returns for his senior year because he would have more time to correct his game, address new areas, and potentially develop into a Matt Schaub type quarterback down the road.
Stoops didn’t talk Bradford out of leaving as a junior redshirt after he returned when he could have left because Landry Jones established himself as the guy during Jones redshirt freshman campaign when Bradford got injured as a junior redshirt.
Plus Bradford decided it was time to move on once Landry Jones steps in. We could see the very same thing with Landry Jones if he thinks that Blake Bell is ready to be the guy next season.
I doubt Stoops talks Landry Jones into returning to school even though it could influence a lot of underclassmen to return for their senior year.
Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops stated it best on the Dan Patrick Show. Sam Bradford and Landry Jones are two completely different quarterbacks. They both have similar skill sets and similar supporting casts, but both quarterbacks have different skill sets which make their game unique.
Stoops said this because he knows their are some corrections that he needs to make. Stoops wants to mask these weaknesses because he has the #1 team in the country. As Oklahoma’s head coach he knows any potential blueprint weaknesses in Jones. He does not want to expose those weaknesses because it will be a detriment to Oklahoma’s ability to win on Saturdays.
My final thoughts on Landry Jones are brief and simple. If he declares like I expect him to in 2012. I expect him to be a colossal bust. He may win a 3rd string job like Matt Leinart down the road, but his career as a starter will only last for a brief period because their are so many complex NFL schemes that Landry Jones hasn’t grasped at this point in his collegiate career.
