Blaine Gabbert: Missouri QB Is Memory Savant of 2011 NFL Draft.

Blaine Gabbert, Missouri QB slash memory savant in 2011 NFL Draft.

I knew there was a reason I liked the guy.

For much of the past few months, I?ve been wondering the following aloud:

What the heck is everyone seeing in Gabbert? Where is the production, where is the dominance of a top-10 pick? And if it?s all presumptive, what have you seen to indicate that it would suddenly materialize in the NFL?

Answer? His memory.

From Les Carpenter at Yahoo! Sports:

?He?s almost got a photographic memory,? [Blaine?s mom Bev] says over the phone from the family house just outside St. Louis.

This is the attribute that might just take Gabbert far in his pursuit to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. He already has those other things the NFL desires: standing 6-foot-5 with the ability to fling the ball three-quarters of the field in the air. But it is his mind that might push him farther, for in the complex world of football offenses little matters more than memory.

Editor?s note: ?little? includes leadership skill and overall passing acumen, but yeah, we get your point.

Let?s continue:

Few characteristics are greater for NFL quarterbacks than their mind. Offenses have become so complex, with so many different variations and adjustments made each week that a quarterback who can understand what is going on becomes invaluable. The 700-page playbook Al Saunders introduced to the Washington Redskins when he was hired as their offensive coordinator in 2006 immediately became legend around the league, until it was revealed that 700 pages was actually normal for an NFL team and that Saunders? book might really run closer to 1,000 pages with all the other options the plays demanded. Many others are similar in size.

I?m still not sold on Gabbert as anything more than a solid professional quarterback, but my irreverent musings aside, his John Nash-esque memory will indeed serve him well in the NFL for all the reasons aforementioned. It probably also lowers his bust-factor considerably, as picking up on the complexities of the game would have to be the number one reason college QBs struggle in transitioning to the pros. 

So all positivity for this entry. No Gabbert bashing here. In fact, just the opposite.

I?d like to submit a prospective nickname for our good friend from Missouri.

For your consideration:

Blaine ?The Elephant? Gabbert.

Never forget.

(Check out this week's St. Louis Rams Draft Blog.)

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