"Coaches see more QB prospects entering the league without the skill sets to excel; Will the classic NFL passer go extinct?"
Great read from the WSJ.
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Because there is only one Aaron Rodgers?
âYou do not want to be in the top five pickers in the draft, you really donât,â Haley said. âGuys are going to get fired. General managers, coaches, theyâre going to go because itâs just guessing. Itâs harder than ever to find a quarterback.â
Quarterback. OL. DL. OLB. ILB. CB. Safety.
They are all gambles. The only positions not requiring brains are WR and RB in most offenses. In GB the WR and RB are required to read defenses. Tallant is trumped by intelligence.
There are some real dum wide outs in the league.
After retiring from the Packers with 5 rings: Thompson IDs them, McCarthy gets them ready, the rest of the league is rewarded.
There is a certain amount of luck that is involved when it comes to getting a great QB. We should all be thankful that the Vikings didn't tank the 2011 season badly enough to get the 1st pick of the 2012 draft. Even they could not have screwed up picking Andrew Luck.
Ron Wolf definitely had a keen eye for the position that was well above average. I think the only QBs I remember him really whiffing on were Jay Barker and Ronnie McAda which were later round picks. He got the Packers Favre, Brunell, and Hasselbeck. That was a pretty incredible job he did in getting those 3 guys during a 7 year period.
The concept is simple. A QB coach.
I'll tell you why there is a QB problem.
Because James Jones is old and slow, that's why
The Gruden QB camp isn't helping. Name a QB Chucky developed.
Ron Wolf definitely had a keen eye for the position that was well above average. I think the only QBs I remember him really whiffing on were Jay Barker and Ronnie McAda which were later round picks. He got the Packers Favre, Brunell, and Hasselbeck. That was a pretty incredible job he did in getting those 3 guys during a 7 year period.
Good post
Don't forget Ty Detmer and Aaron Brooks... two more NFL- caliber QBs drafted by Wolf who went on to start for other teams. Wolf also played a role in drafting Ken Stabler for the Raiders and Doug Williams for the Bucs
There are some real dum wide outs in the league.
There are some real dum wide outs in the league.
He may come to your mind and a few others but only because there is no mind of his own to come home two.
There is a certain amount of luck that is involved when it comes to getting a great QB. We should all be thankful that the Vikings didn't tank the 2011 season badly enough to get the 1st pick of the 2012 draft. Even they could not have screwed up picking Andrew Luck.
Minny wouldn't have screwed up on picking Luck, but they would have screwed up Luck. Chances are good that Luck would have been labeled a bust in Minny.
It's too bad Cleveland's owner is an idiot or the Vikings would be dealing with Johnny Rehab instead fo Teddy Bridgewater.
No QB crisis in GB. Probably have to go back to Favre, Brunell, Detmer and Warner to find 4 QBs on the same team with similar talent at that point in their careers, 1-4.
Remarkable. That's on Ted, Mike McCarthy and Tom Clements. We are spoiled. Rotten. What a phenomenal job they have done developing the talent at QB. We all know what Tolzien was. He's not that anymore. We saw Hundley in his UCLA film. He's far better after one offseason program in the system, as a rookie. Blanchard showed he can compete at this level. Sure, he was our #4, but barely, and he handled himself well.
And then there's Rodgers.
What was Chicago thinking, passing 5 times on Brett Hundley, with their POS QB Cutler delivering them to Football Hades year after year?
Ted knew, then traded up to snap him for his staff to develop. The rich get richer.
A cloning machine aside, if the NFL thinks they have a QB problem now, then they have always had one. A lot of QBs required a period of development since I can remember. Bart Starr took 4 years (and a coach) to come around. But even then he wasn't an immediate hit. Bradshaw had talent, but it needed corralling and he needed knowledge. But the results are there. There have been only a few that just showed up and immediately lite it up.
Are the coaches & owners wanting them to come ready made? It will never happen. Colleges will always coach kids who don't play full time in a way that allows those coaches to retain their jobs. It will never be as sophisticated as the full time & highly prepared NFL environment. NFL coaches will always be required to take these "kids" and mold them into what they need.
1961.
It was a very good year (Thanks Mr. Sinatra)
I've posted this before---it proudly hangs in my sports room.
I count 6 HOF'ers.
Never realized Unitas had such a slow release.
And the Packers eventually had 2 of the 14 pictured.
The last guy on the viewer's right is Zeke?
Yeppers!!
That is a hell of a group of players. Nice photo.
The truth of the matter is that most young QBs that have any talent are picked by teams that are in disarray. They are expected to start immediately, never have a chance to develop, and it's often compounded by weak OLs and/or no talent at WR.
It's more realistic to expect an 'average' QB will do better on an otherwise solid team. So if teams could better manage their rosters, they wouldn't be looking for the next ARod, Manning, or others, and there wouldn't be a perceived shortage of NFL-ready QBs.
Rodgers was definitely an exception to the rule. AMOF, I can't think of another QB drafted in the last 10-15-20 years who actually had a 2 or 3 year period to learn and develop.
The truth of the matter is that most young QBs that have any talent are picked by teams that are in disarray. They are expected to start immediately, never have a chance to develop, and it's often compounded by weak OLs and/or no talent at WR.
It's more realistic to expect an 'average' QB will do better on an otherwise solid team. So if teams could better manage their rosters, they wouldn't be looking for the next ARod, Manning, or others, and there wouldn't be a perceived shortage of NFL-ready QBs.
Rodgers was definitely an exception to the rule. AMOF, I can't think of another QB drafted in the last 10-15-20 years who actually had a 2 or 3 year period to learn and develop.
Agreed. I also remember that Hundly was called a "football nerd" due to his studying of the game. I see a better future in him than in the two top picks of this years draft.
So very true that the best QB's out of college go to teams that have recently been a dumpster fire and may have little or not talent to compliment them. So it is a perfect storm that the fan base wants the "next big QB" to start right away when in fact historically most of them are not ready. Regardless of the era the great majority of college QB's struggle in the NFL. The game is 100 times more complex, the players are for the most part all good, and the game is much faster.
But, with that being said I think now more than ever the guys coming out of college are so much less prepared to play in the NFL. I read that article and Petty didn't even know what a "mike" linebacker is. Guys don't know what cover 2 or 3, have never been in a huddle, and don't read defenses past their first read. So no NFL coaching staffs have to not only deal with a rookie QB but QB's who have never even done the most fundamental elements of the game.
One issue I consistently see is the number of athletic QB's that are so highly touted. JeMarcus Russell, Vince Young, RGIII (likely). And there are more.
I only want to know one thing regarding such QB's. To what level can you do the mental part of the game? Primarily: read the defense, audible to different plays, be able to progress from receiver to receiver.
If a QB made it big in college primarily because of his legs and realizing the college game is much less complex, how in the world is a JeMarcus Russell chosen so high?
Along with what a guy can do with his arm, the mental aspect is everything and the data shows me to be extremely skeptical regarding these supposed incredible QB's that succeeded with other abilities than the cerebral component.
I seem to recall that Favre didn't know the meaning of "nickle" and "dime" when he first got to the Packers. But then I don't think he knows the meaning of "patience", "humility", or "self-restraint" either.
Actually, that's a pretty good point, Yoop'.
The same could be said for Brunell, Brooks, and even Detmer, I suppose.
Maybe my g&g glasses are too focused, but still can't think of another team that can claim the same.
Watch the Bucs this year, and we'll see how much they can coach him up.
While I may think Winston is likely a popular feminine hygiene product I do think he has more of a desire to be and understanding of what it takes to be a good NFL QB.
We'll see?????? I'm going to get some crab legs and watch
This is obvious, but the reason Russell, Pryor, RGIII, Young, Manziel, even Cam, is that those guys were so much better athletes than anyone in College, that they don't have to work on QB skills. Their athletic ability takes over, and they kick ass. The problem is, when they get to the NFL, they aren't faster/stronger/quicker than 90% of the people they play, so they need skills and a brain to succeed. Most of them didn't learn that in College, and the NFL isn't a place to learn how to read defenses, it's a place to improve that skill, but not learn it on the fly.
"I like this young guy Jameis Winston. He's like a young Russell Wilson." - Jon Gruden
Actually, that's a pretty good point, Yoop'.
The same could be said for Brunell, Brooks, and even Detmer, I suppose.
Maybe my g&g glasses are too focused, but still can't think of another team that can claim the same.
I heard Bill Pollian say just the other day that the NFL only gets what the colleges send them. Until the colleges start developing drop back passers instead of run/read option types the NFL will need the patience to teach and the wisdom to choose the right guys.
