The position of quarterback is one of the great debates which leads to rhetorical analysis rather than meaningful discussion on how to win games. According to most analyst Ryan Leaf was a can't miss talent with the "big arm". The San Diego Chargers were convinced that Leaf was far and away better than the four year starter and honor student Peyton Manning. Pocket Passers are equivalent to a really pretty woman that wears an outfit that shows to much cleavage. She along with her big arm quarterback attracts attention for all the wrong reasons.
Drop back Quarterbacks have been the flavor of the month in the NFL for so many years. The term scrambling Quarterback was applied to guys like Fran Tarkenton, Roger Staubach and Archie Manning. (In the case of Manning he had no choice) Tarkenton led his Vikings to multiple Superbowl appearances and who can forget the Superbowl victories engineered by the legendary Staubach.
Many fans and even some analyst aren't informed about how much the Quarterback position has really evolved. The early quarterbacks of the college game weren't great passers. In fact very few college or semipro leagues in the early twentieth century rarely had anyone that could throw a football more than twenty yards. The football in that era was much larger. Oh, did anybody ever tell you that the forward pass was once illegal!!!.
The invention of the forward pass left a mark on the psyche of how the position should be played. Amos Alonzo Stagg, Walter Camp and Glenn "Pop" Warner contributed very much to the invention of the forward pass. Camp invented the concept of four downs and the line of scrimmage which ultimately made the protection of the quarterback paramount. Early Stars of the forward pass like Sammy Baugh dazzled NFL crowds with his ability to throw it down the field.
If I were a GM I'd do my best to look at more of the intangible qualities of a player than his physical skills. The teams that equally evaluate the tangible and intangible attributes of a player are more likely to have success. Bill Walsh had the insight to pluck Steve Young from Tampa Bay because he knew that he could mold him into a dual threat at Quarterback. Walsh's gamble paid off when Young led the 49ers to a championship. What about the trade that brought Farve to Green Bay after being buried on the Atlanta Falcons bench.
What did coach Harvey Hide see in Randall Cunningham that the coaches of the SEC, ACC, Big East, and Big 12 (in those days the Big 8) didn't? According to an Sports illustrated article written by Roger Jackson in 1984, a pro scout from the Minnesota Vikings marvelled at all the throws that Cunningham could make. The comparison to Doug Williams who had been taken in the first round six years earlier was inevitable. However the scout thought that Cunningham had more touch on his passes than Williams. He also knew that Cunningham was more than a "running quarterback".
Mobile Quarterbacks have succeeded at the pro level for decades. So should "an NFL Quarterback" be reduced to the rants of sports analyst or should they be judged by the content of their unique abilities. Tim Tebow has been scrutinized unmercifully for being a dual threat in college. He has shown time and time again that he can throw the football but of course we still will have those doubters that want to further dissect his game to the bone reducing him to only a "running quarterback".
Winning teams are hard to construct in the NFL. The age old adage of the quarterback getting to much credit for wins and losses rings true in every facet of this argument but how many of us will reduce mobile quarterbacks to the same dumb categories. Quarterbacks that play in run oriented offenses are usually sold very short because they may never throw for 4000 yards in a season.
I bet Dan Marino would trade at least a few passing records and 15,000 of his yards for a superbowl ring. Ben Rothlisberger has never thrown for 4,000 yards in a season but he's won two superbowls before the age of thirty. Ultimately its about winning football games. Sadly most sports fans and "experts" lose focus on why the game is played.
In a recent ESPN poll, fans were asked to judge which quarterback from the 2006 class was better. Jay Cutler won in a landslide against the likes of Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Tavarius Jackson and Kellen Clemmens. Judging only by statistical numbers in the poll it seems pretty accurate to anoint Cutler but Vince Young and Tavarius Jackson are the only two guys in this draft class to lead their teams to the playoffs.
Jackson and Young have shown bright spots but they've also shown room for improvement. Cutler definitely passes the eyeball test. Cutler finished the 2008 season third in passing yards but his team still missed the playoffs. His play down the stretch wasn't horrible but he did make a few costly turnovers down the stretch that put his already weak defense in a bad position. In fairness much of Young and Jackson's limited success have been backed by a great running game and great defenses.
It takes a total team effort to develop a young quarterback. Does that mean every QB can play in the NFL? Of course not but Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan have a higher probability of making it because of the support they have. Micheal Turner is a stud at running back and the Falcons have a great defense. Roddy White as emerged as a number one reciever which ultimately helps a young guy with Ryan's talent. Flacco has one of the top defenses to support him as well. This is a huge benefit for him when he turns over the ball as young quarterbacks often do.
How many guys washed out because they didn't have the proper team support? This could be a chicken and egg argument but this is a very relevant question. The answer is really that the evaluation of talent isn't an exact science. Scouts can see all of the physical tools on film in a player only to have those tools handed back to him along with his head(his job) should that player not pan out to what the film showed.
Imagine Archie Manning's career with a team constructed with the proper support on both sides of the ball. Visualize the playoff success of the 90's if the Eagles would've invested in an offensive line to protect Randall Cunningham. Mobile Quarterbacks with great arms are here to stay. The jury is still out on how the Pat White's and Tim Tebow's will fair in the NFL. The concept of a microwaveable prototype at the quarterback postion is becoming more ridiculous by the minute.
Let's judge players on the combination of results on the field, their individual unique talents and their willingness to compete. Let's hope that our favorite teams will dump the mad scientist kits in the trash along with all of the proverbial terminology that doesn't win football games. The teams that are methodical in the total development of their players on both sides of the ball ultimately experience success.
What would the cowboys championship lineage look like had they drafted poorly in 1989, 1990 and 1991? Jerry Jones and his scouts were beyond brilliant with these draft classes. They didn't stop at the quarterback postion after going 1-15 in Aikman's first season. The exact science of trash talk and hype is what it is- HYPE. Winning football coupled with proper construction of a team piece by piece is the real culprit to the success of a quarterback. Not the buzz words of our analysis(paralysis in most cases)
The analysis of how well a college quarterback will adjust to the NFL is usually contingent on what offense he ran in college. Most analyst swear by this as a bench mark for success. In fact many of them try to make the position more "cerebral" than it really is. Let most of them tell it you almost have to be a rhodes scholar to play in the NFL.
Guys like David Klingler, Danny Wuerful, Gino Torretta, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, Andre Ware, Heath Shuler and Shane Matthews all played in pro style offenses and failed miserably at the next level. Examples of guys that didn't meet the eyeball test of certain prototypical skills are as follows. Warren Moon, Steve Mcnair, Chad Pennington, Drew Brees, Randall Cunningham, Steve Young, John Elway, and Brett Farve.
The Quarterback position has been reduced to him being able to control every aspect of a team game. It's becoming more ridiculous by the day. Young Quarterbacks are given less time to develop and to much credit when they make a splash. Cue up Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. A young quarterback can only be successful if he has the proper tools on both sides of the ball to aid him in his transition.
Sure people will wash out of this league. Everyone can't play at this level but let's learn to evaluate this position based on who can play this game. The spread offense has recently gotten unfairly categorized as not preparing players for the next level. I think that's more opinion than fact.
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