Former UCLA football quarterback Josh Rosen is once again getting negative press about his injuries which show a lack of research in scouting by several analysts for the NFL Combine.
With the NFL combine starting, many analysts and scouts are giving their takes on several different college football players, both positive and negative. It goes with the territory. Although, when it comes to UCLA football’s Josh Rosen, it seems the negative critiques are emphasized more than the positive ones, especially his injuries.
”His injuries are a concern.” “Can he stay healthy?” “I don’t like how long he has been out due to injuries.” “Rosen holds on to the ball too long, leaving him open to hits.”
With all of this “analysis”, one would think the former Bruin that threw for 3,756 yards last season was hobbling into the NFL Combine (currently taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis) with several fractures, tendon/ligament issues and bruises up and down his susceptible little body.
RELATED: UCLA Football Spring Practice Previews – QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DL
By the way, when it comes to people pointing out his “small frame”, Rosen weighed in at 226 lbs., second highest among all combine QBs.
Anyway, let us get back to his injuries. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems as if injuries are only a concern if they are chronic and on-going. Injuries such as tears in soft tissue, lacerations and concussions, which is what Rosen sustained the last two seasons, are caused and not an inherant issue.
Did people think New England Patriots quarterbacks Tom Brady was plagued with injury problems when he had 12 stitches put in his hand during the last NFL Playoffs after he “ran into” a teammate? No because it was caused and was not foreseen as an on-going issue. Yet somehow Rosen’s injuries are caused for alarm.
Here is the play were Rosen got hurt in 2016 against Arizona State. As you can see, three defenders were in pursuit of the Bruin QB and laid a big hit on him, resulting in him to land awkwardly, causing his injury. Yes, the injury was serious, but why is it such an issue for scouts to put so much weight on injuries like these that are part of the game and not part of the player?
The injury excuses about UCLA’s Josh Rosen need to stop (cont.)
This season, Rosen took several big hits. It was a particularly rough game for Rosen against Washington, causing him to suffer his first concussion in his UCLA career. In the video above you can see the Washington defense swallowing up the UCLA offensive line on multiple plays. Rosen was sacked on the first play of the game and on the third play of the game, one of the Huskies’ defenders made an illegal hit on Rosen’s leg.
You cannot get on Washington for being aggressive and doing their job (sans the illegal hit). Rosen was running for his life in that game (which also debunks the myth that he has the inability to escape the pocket). He was just a victim of bad blocking and a really good pass rush.
Yet that seemed to be a problem. If you remember, this was the game that ESPN commentator Brock Huard questioned Rosen’s toughness. “I’ve been watching him down on the sidelines, and I gotta say I did not like how he responded as things went south.”
Huard made these comments after Rosen was taken out of the game in the third quarter, unaware of the total amount of injuries he sustained. For the record, Rosen cut his finger and had a concussion in that game and still returned to the game.
Josh Rosen out here finishing scoring drives eating blood say something bout his toughness @BrockESPN #UCLA #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/XfLLt7YO8u
— LeSeano Ball (@BruinIsLife) November 12, 2017
Speaking of toughness, Rosen displayed some of that as he was bleeding all over himself on a scoring drive against Arizona State a few games later. Is this a chronic problem? Is Rosen plagued with “bleeding”?
No. He is plagued with misinformation from others.
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.