Sports Illustrated: Pupils' NFL struggles prove Tedford's worth as coach

Appearances can be deceiving

Michael Silver – Sports Illustrated

Cal coach Jeff Tedford, the man who sends quarterbacks to the NFL like Dr. Dre places rappers on the Billboard charts, was sitting in his Berkeley office on draft day last April while his latest pro offering, Aaron Rodgers, fidgeted nervously in New York City's Javits Center and awaited his fate. Projected weeks earlier as the likely No. 1 overall pick, Rodgers had been passed over by the San Francisco 49ers and three other teams. Now, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the clock, Tedford focused on the TV screen in front of him and waited for Paul Tagliabue to deliver some good news.

Alas, the Bucs selected Auburn halfback Carnell (Cadillac) Williams, leaving Rodgers to squirm conspicuously for the next several hours while Tedford turned his attention to presiding over Cal's annual Blue and Gold intrasquad spring scrimmage. "Once Tampa didn't pick him, I figured he'd probably slip all the way to Green Bay at 24," Tedford recalled on Sept. 30, a day before his Golden Bears defeated Arizona 28-0. "I thought, Oh, man. That's going to make for a long day for Aaron."

It was a long day for Tedford as well. As various ESPN analysts attempted to explain Rodgers' free-fall to the Packers, they began brutalizing the coach who'd been heralded as one of football's great young offensive minds. Ron Jaworski cited Rodgers' habit of holding the football at shoulder level before beginning his throwing motion, and other commentators harped upon his supposed lack of proficiency with the deep pass. They also offered the trendiest explanation of all: That Tedford's former passers at Fresno State, Oregon and Cal -- a group that has included six first-round picks in the last 12 drafts and counts seven current NFL quarterbacks among its members -- aren't equipped to transfer their collegiate success to the pro game.

It's a theory that has gained popularity this NFL season as three Tedford-trained starters, the Detroit Lions' Joey Harrington, the Houston Texans' David Carr and the Baltimore Ravens' Kyle Boller, have struggled for franchises that may be running out of patience. "The thing that kind of cracks me up," Tedford said, "is that NFL teams put these players on their boards and do their own evaluations -- they don't even ask me about them -- and then they draft them No. 1. Now, all of a sudden, they were no good? All I know is that these guys were all competitive and skilled and smart when I had them, and they all have the potential to succeed in the NFL. To say that the reason that they haven't been successful is because of what they did in college, I don't think that's right."

Known for turning out passers with impeccable footwork and a grasp of his multi-layered offensive scheme, Tedford isn't sure why some of his former pupils have struggled. He doesn't watch much pro football and is quick to point out that he lacks NFL coaching experience. That said, Tedford believes that having to start as rookies for teams that had yet to establish productive offenses may have negatively impacted Harrington, Carr and Boller. "In a perfect world, you'd let them go through a [one-year] cycle before throwing them in," Tedford said. "That way they could observe it all -- How do we travel? How do we gameplan? How do we respond to victories, and how do we respond to defeats? -- and be a lot more comfortable once they were asked to take over."

Alas, most teams in position to spend high draft picks on quarterbacks live in worlds that are far from perfect. The pressure to play the would-be savior at an early stage is intense. Think of an NFL coach or GM as an alcoholic, and the hot young QB as a fifth of Jack stashed in the pantry. It only took four games for 49ers coach Mike Nolan to hit the juice -- No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith will start Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts at Monster Park, where a quarterback-eating monster named Dwight Freeney, the NFL's best pass rusher, will be looking to make a not-so-friendly introduction. Even Rodgers, safely stashed away as Brett Favre's backup in Green Bay, is in jeopardy of being thrust into action should the 0-4 Pack's free-fall continue -- though my gut tells me it would take every bouncer in Wisconsin to drag Favre off the frozen tundra.

As much as I like to believe that the Niners are making a huge mistake by rushing Smith into action -- and that Carr, Harrington and Boller each would have been better served in the long run by sitting his entire first season -- there is a compelling counter-argument. It's Manning, as in Peyton, the quarterback who will go up against Smith in San Francisco on Sunday, and as in Eli, the kid brother who is beginning to shine in his second season with the New York Giants.

When I spoke with Peyton in Indy earlier this week, he stopped short of giving the play-right-away strategy his unqualified endorsement. "You've got to have the right support system," he said. "You've got to have a plan in place. Jim Mora was very clear with [offensive coordinator] Tom Moore: 'We're going to play him, we're going to stick with him, and we're going to do some things to give him protection.' All of that gave me a real sense of security. "Every situation's unique. Playing, for me, was definitely the best thing. There's no way I would've been the player I was in my second year if I hadn't played my first year. I had a lot of rough games, but you have to have some of those to help you grow. The key is how you deal with it. Can you learn from the experience and use it to your advantage? Eli did that last year, and now you're starting to see the results." Despite the breathless proclamations of so many others in my business, I think it's still too early to tell whether Eli is headed for stardom. Similarly -- and I know I may be in the minority here -- I'm not ready to declare that Harrington, Carr or Boller is a definite dud. For what it's worth, Tedford retains faith in all three players, citing Harrington's analytical skills, Carr's physical toughness and Boller's ability to fight through adversity. He remains convinced that each embattled passer has a perfectly able right arm, even as the left-handed compliments to his offensive system keep flying. As one AFC head coach marveled recently, "That guy must be one hell of a coach. Other than [Cleveland Browns QB Trent] Dilfer, I don't think any of his guys are any good as starters in this league. But they sure looked good when they played for him."