Connor Cook could not satisfy NFL teams' questions about leadership

Connor Cook has rubbed a lot of NFL people the wrong way.

That’s a fact, no matter how many angry tweets I got from Michigan State fans (among others) since I wrote about the perception of him within the league before the draft.

Cook went on the offensive himself, telling the Lansing State Journal in a story published Monday that criticism of him from unnamed scouts and coaches – presumably in my story and others – is “just funny” and “comical” and implying we might be making the whole thing up.

I’m not writing this to kick Cook while he’s down. Falling through three rounds and not being selected until the top of the fourth round by the Oakland Raiders  doesn’t preclude you from becoming a good or even great NFL quarterback. Cook has won. He has produced. I didn’t think he’d fall this far. The story that got everyone so upset also reiterated some scouts think he could be the best QB in this class.

But now might be a good time for Cook to pay at least a little attention to what the people thinking about paying him to play football have to say.

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Those scouts and coaches don’t speak on condition of anonymity “because they’re afraid to or it’s just fake,” as Cook told his local paper. Some aren’t authorized by their teams to speak publicly. Most will speak the truth only when they know it won’t tip their hand.

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When is the last time a coach or GM went to the podium at the combine and said anything remotely negative about a player? If on-the-record comments were the one and only golden truth, the first round would need to last 200 picks to fit in all the worthy candidates.

Here’s the reality: The questions about Cook’s intangibles – personality, leadership, maturity, whatever – have existed for a while and they are widespread. They just got louder once Cook’s teammates didn’t elect him a team captain last fall. I know, because I heard the same thing last summer that I heard this spring.

Cook could have helped himself with at least some teams by walking into pre-draft interviews and saying, “You’re right, I wasn’t a captain. But you know what? I go out and win games. If that’s not leadership, everyone can go screw themselves.”

At least that would’ve come across as authentic. Instead, Cook reverted to his cue cards, rattled off his resume, said he really was a leader. Right or wrong, many people walked away thinking there was something missing, something off, something they didn’t trust about him, etc.

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If you still believe this was a giant conspiracy by the media and/or NFL teams to hurt his draft stock, take off your Spartans hoodie and explain how Cook – notwithstanding on-field concerns, such as his accuracy and command of the football – isn’t taken before North Carolina State’s Jacoby Brissett, USC’s Cody Kessler, even Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg.

This has to be a humbling experience for Cook, and maybe he can use that. I’ll repeat something else I wrote the first time: Nobody says he’s a bad kid. But the quarterback position is unique and so is the way teams scrutinize the makeup of anybody who wants to play it.

Cook can play. We’ve seen him do it, in a pro-style offense even. But his chances for getting to show it in the NFL anytime soon – and start proving people wrong, as he’s surely motivated to do now – may depend on his willingness to stop laughing, start listening and figure out if there are some things he can do better.

Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter@TomPelissero