On Monday nights, ESPN’s Ron Jaworski mans a float in the Jon Gruden “Everyone Is Special” parade. The rest of the week, Jaws applies a lot more candor and criticism to his craft.
Case in point? Jaws had some strong words on Thursday regarding Cardinals rookie quarterback Max Hall.
“The one thing we’ve heard about Max is the moxie and the leadership,” Jaworski told The Gambo and Ash Show on 620 KTAR in Phoenix. “Those are all wonderful attributes for a quarterback but the attributes you have to have week in week out to be successful over a long period of time is the ability to throw the football accurately and with velocity. When I look at the tape I don’t see either of those.
“I don’t see the ball going down the field. You see the bubble screen, the bootleg thrown in the flat and nothing down the field. You just don’t see a skill set that projects to be a consistent NFL quarterback. Things don’t look good when you’re on the field with Max Hall. It’s that simple. I’m sure he’s a wonderful guy giving everything he’s got but the skill set just isn’t there.”
As a result, Jaworski thinks that Hall should be on the bench.
“The players want to win now,” Jaworski said. “You have the NFC West which is wide open. When I look at the skill set, Derek Anderson gives you the best chance to win right now.”
Jaws believes the situation eventually will impact the players who are paid to catch the passes.
“They’re just not getting the football and when it comes their way it’s inaccurate, it’s bouncing at their feet, it is high or it’s behind them,” Jaworski said. “Receivers begin to lose confidence in the quarterback. These aren’t things I’m making up. These are things I look at when I see the tape. The eye in the sky doesn’t lie.
“You’re going to see the receivers become disinterested. They don’t want to be out there lead blocking for power sweeps and stretch running plays. They want to catch some balls. It’s an outstanding group of receivers. But you can see when the balls aren’t coming down the field, when the explosive plays aren’t designed, you are going to lose the receiving corps.”
As a result, Jaworski also thinks the leader of the receiving corps won’t want to stick around once his contract expires after the 2011 season.
“I can’t see Larry Fitzgerald staying in Arizona with the present status of this football team,” he said. “I just can’t see it. . . . . Larry Fitzgerald with 29 catches is somewhat of an embarrassment for someone with that skill set. . . . In all likelihood I think Larry Fitzgerald is going to be gone.”
Wow. We like the candor. And we hope to hear more of it on Monday, November 29, when the Cardinals host the 49ers. Specifically, we want to hear it right after Gruden says something like, “Max Hall is special. He has all the skills to develop into a solid starting quarterback in the National Football League. I’d take him on my team. And I’d win football games with him. Because Max Hall is special.”