NFL Combine: The injury excuses about UCLA’s Josh Rosen need to stop

The injury excuses about UCLA’s Josh Rosen need to stop (cont.)

Unfortunately, Josh Rosen suffered another concussion in the last game of the regular season when he took a hit from a California defender. He was pulled before halftime and did not finish the game. This, combined with his previous concussion, has scouts worried that Rosen is injury prone. Unbelievable.

If anything, his injuries are caused by lack of efficient blocking, which had plagued the Bruins’ offense the last two seasons. If Rosen was behind the O-line that Stanford, Washington and even USC put out on the field in 2017, there is a good chance Rosen does not suffer as many injuries, if any.

If teams are worried about Rosen’s injuries, then they need to reassess how they obtain their information on the young man. Instead, focus on how he can help your program. Last season, Rosen, along with the help of former UCLA offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch did an amazing job turning the offense around last season. They had their growing pains, but for the most part UCLA’s offense thrived with Rosen at the helm… yet you don’t hear about  that.

A different way to look at Rosen’s injuries is to look at the time he was not on the field due to said injuries. In 11 games, Rosen’s 3,756 passing yards was 14th best in the nation. So what do those numbers breakdown to per game? 341.5 yards, second in the nation behind Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph who had 377.2 ypg (Rudolph threw for 4,904 yards in 13 games). Rosen also had 26 touchdowns to go with those yards (21sr in the nation). And this is with the criticism that the Bruin receivers have an issue with dropping balls.

For a quarterback that did not have a strong offensive line and receivers that apparently can’t catch, he did a bang up collecting yards and points. Yet somehow that is not the focus of Rosen’s development.

“But what about his attitude?” What about it? Do you want a leader or not? Has he been in trouble with the program, school or the law? Not that we know of

Next: The Top 10 UCLA Quarterbacks of All-Time

Rosen has been outspoken about several topics (a presidential nominee, the NCAA) and it may be a concern for some that he questions authority, but has anything he said really harmed the subject of his speech? No, and scouts with the negative takes need to figure that out. If a team wants a solid QB who is “the most NFL-ready entering the draft”, then pick Josh Rosen. If a team does not want that, do not pick Josh Rosen. Simple.