Excerpts from the article by Mike Beamish ...
The NFL book on Reilly was that he had all the attributes except arm strength.
"There was a game in college, when we played against Montana, where I got hit in the chest, and I threw a 65 or 70-yard post route off my back foot for a touchdown," Reilly explained. "Then I get labeled somehow, somewhere, by some guy watching some tape, that this guy doesn't have a very strong arm and he put it out there on the Web. That's the thing about the Web. Once it's out there, you can never take it back. It's funny because, at the NFL combine, they radar your throws. I threw it harder than anybody at the combine. Ron Jaworski made the comment, 'I've seen this guy throw 70 yards. I don't know where this [lack of arm strength rep] came from.'"
NFL evaluations at times are beyond stupid. They go crazy for big guys like Ryan Leaf and JaMarcus Russell, even though these guys have none of the more subtle attributes that make for a top QB.
As a four-year starter with the Central Washington Wildcats, Radar Reilly broke most of the school passing records previously held by Jon Kitna, the well-traveled quarterback who is still gainfully employed in the NFL, 13 years after graduating from the NCAA Division II school in Ellensburg, Wash.
Good college resume.
6-3, 215 pounds, quickness, good running ability.
"We wanted to bring him earlier," explained Lions player personnel coordinator Neil McEvoy. "But he wanted to explore other opportunities in the NFL first. We like him because he's from the state of Washington. It would be foolish not to look at a player with his resume from not very far away."
Nice that the Pacific Northwest has such an abundance of talent.
"My NFL career has been an interesting one," he says. "I haven't had a lot of downtime between teams. There's been a lot of moving around. I wanted to go somewhere where . . . I can maybe stick around a couple of years, make an impact and benefit a team instead of just trying to make an NFL practice squad. It's been a while since I've been on the field competitively. I was in two preseason games last year with the Steelers. But I haven't competed in a regular-season game since I was at Central. I don't want to lose the competitive spirit. When I got this opportunity, it kind of lit the flame again."
He sounds like a good one.
I gotta say: Wally always seems to find the QBs.
And Lulay also had that label in the NFL: arm not strong enough. Well we saw him throw 65 yards to Armstrong last game. So much for NFL judgment.
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