LOOK: Josh Rosen responds to Jim Mora's criticism with one perfect question
The drama continues as Rosen crafts a perfect tweet to respond to his former coach's comments
The NFL Draft machine is fully operational and nothing will stop it until it crushes every single prospect for the most irrelevant character traits. Look no further than the recent evaluation that former UCLA coach Jim Mora gave his former quarterback Josh Rosen, who will enter the draft as one of the most hyped prospects.
During an interview with Peter King of The MMQB, Mora -- who already said he believes former USC quarterback Sam Darnold would be a better fit for the Browns at No. 1 overall -- blamed Rosen for being a millennial who "wants to know why" before questioning his "concentration level" and "focus" on football.
"He needs to be challenged intellectually so he doesn't get bored. He's a millennial. He wants to know why. Millennials, once they know why, they're good. Josh has a lot of interests in life. If you can hold his concentration level and focus only on football for a few years, he will set the world on fire. He has so much ability, and he's a really good kid."
It didn't take Rosen long to respond. In the perfect millennial move, Rosen responded on Twitter with one simple question along with a hashtag and an emoji (he is a millennial, remember). Fittingly, Rosen just wants to know "Why?"
Why? 🤷🏻♂️ #why
— Josh Rosen (@josh3rosen) April 2, 2018
It's a fair question. A coach criticizing his former player isn't a one-off event -- Pete Carroll once questioned Mark Sanchez's NFL readiness while Brian Kelly admitted last year that DeShone Kizer wasn't a "finished product" -- and they shouldn't be criticized for their honesty, but a coach criticizing his former player for asking "why" and having other interests outside of football seems unnecessary.
You know who has interests outside of football? Future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, who can be seen golfing in the offseason, can be heard telling UFO stories on podcasts, and has been spotted watching college basketball with a celebrity girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend).
You know who was known for asking lots of questions during team meetings? Peyton Manning.
"His questions are always productive and great questions," Dolphins coach Adam Gase once said of Manning, via ESPN. "When he asks questions, you're sitting there going, 'Gosh, that's a great question.' You're sitting there thinking, you almost want to say to yourself, 'Why didn't I think of that? That's a great question to ask.' You've got to find answers. If you don't know the answers that second, you better go investigate and find out what the answers are."
"The way he looked at the game makes you look at the game different as a coach," Gase also said, via the Chicago Tribune. "You talk about going into a meeting room and preparing for the fact that he may ask you a question. Are you prepared for it or not? Are you going to have an answer for him? He doesn't do it just to do it. He has legitimately thought through things — 'Hey, what if they do this?' You've got to be on it."
Rosen wasn't the only one who responded negatively to Mora's comments. Pretty much all of Twitter did too.
Jim Mora Jr is the same guy who tried to fit prime Michael Vick into a traditional West Coast offense, threw Olindo Mare under the bus to pass the buck in Seattle, and now blames Josh Rosen for not being sufficiently engaged. Darn millennials not taking responsibility
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) April 2, 2018
I think I’m rooting more for Josh Rosen to succeed after reading quotes like this. Supremely talented kid and the coaches are too lazy or stubborn to adapt to him https://t.co/vF05yXyS4I
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) April 2, 2018
I wonder if Josh Rosen asked Mora why they had a new OC each season Rosen was there? Maybe he asked why UCLA had some of the worst defenses in his 3 seasons. Or he could have questioned why UCLA had all these high ranked recruits and didn’t ever win. All possible.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) April 2, 2018
That Jim Mora quote in @SI_PeterKing’s MMQB today tells me a lot more about Jim Mora than it does Josh Rosen.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) April 2, 2018
How will Josh Rosen ever be successful in his day job if he has interests outside of his day job, just like every other person in the history of the planet? https://t.co/P2Ic3keud5
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) April 2, 2018
Rosen has been smeared the entire time. Sad but this happens every year to someone
— Joe Banner (@JoeBanner13) April 2, 2018
And Josh Rosen isn’t even a damn millennial!
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) April 2, 2018
Before we sign off, it's worth noting that Mora did compliment Rosen, saying the words, "he will set the world on fire." And as some have pointed out, the way Mora worded his comments made them seem more like an honest evaluation and less of a criticism. Oh and by the way, he also said this:
"Josh, I think, without a doubt, is the number one quarterback in the draft. He's a franchise-changer. He's got the ability to have an immediate impact. His arm talent, intelligence, and his ability to see the game and diagnose the game is rare. He'd come to the sidelines after a play and it was uncanny—he could right away say exactly why he made every decision."
But Mora had to know that bringing up Rosen's "millennial" instinct of always asking "why" in addition to questioning his focus on football would be construed as criticism. After all, this isn't the first time that Rosen has been docked draft points for having outside interests. By now, this seems like the most common critique when it comes to Rosen.
Anyway, the NFL Draft is thankfully being held later this month, which means Rosen is only a few weeks away from officially entering the NFL, which means he's only five or so months away from stepping out onto a field and throwing a football for an NFL team in a real NFL game, the results of which will tell us way more about Rosen the football player than anything else that happens during this never-ending pre-draft process.
















