Astrobot Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Quarterbacks For those of you with time, this is a wonderful source that Eugene Stasak, DraftTek's Big Board guru, just posted. This one deals with QB's, which he has divided into 5 tiers. Astro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Good read, thanks Astro... I enjoy reading all the projection type articles and blogs, but I'm even more interested in analyses of past drafts and if any correlations were found among variables that were identified at the time of the draft. I've seen things like the Parcell's QB drafting criteria, but that doesn't seem to hold a lot of water in terms of real world application. I'm just curious if anything is ever gleaned from all this pre-draft analysis and the way these kids actually develop 3, 5, 10 years after the draft, you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Nobody can give me a real explanation of why Andy Dalton is projected to just be a career backup..... - Leader - Winner - Mobile - I see nothing on him to indicate lack of NFL arm strength - Smart - Fundamentally sound People seem to hold it against him that he played on a winning team with a great defense.....so what? He still had to run the offense which was extremely efficient. People just get to wrapped up in cannons on QB's....if the QB is accurate and smart and able to dissect info quickly then he does not need a cannon as a matter of fact sometimes QB's rely too much on their arm strenght in college and dont develop other areas of their game....one of the things that people knocked Tom Brady about coming out of college was lack of arm strength Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Nobody can give me a real explanation of why Andy Dalton is projected to just be a career backup..... - Leader - Winner - Mobile - I see nothing on him to indicate lack of NFL arm strength - Smart - Fundamentally sound People seem to hold it against him that he played on a winning team with a great defense.....so what? He still had to run the offense which was extremely efficient. People just get to wrapped up in cannons on QB's....if the QB is accurate and smart and able to dissect info quickly then he does not need a cannon as a matter of fact sometimes QB's rely too much on their arm strenght in college and dont develop other areas of their game....one of the things that people knocked Tom Brady about coming out of college was lack of arm strength I have to admit, I have often become enamored with rocket arms. As I've matured in my evaluation of the game, however, I've largely come off of this notion. There was an interesting piece on NFL Network yesterday called "Top 10 Myths of the NFL" or something like that, and one of the myths they were debunking was the need for a QB to have a huge arm. They touched on many of the same points we've discussed on this board ad nauseum, but they had a Joe Montana quote that I thought was very interesting. He said, "In this game I don't throw darts at balloons...I throw balloons at darts." It got me thinking back to when Joe was signed by KC at the end of his career. I still remember thinking, 'wow, this guy doesn't get much on his balls, but somehow they always land where they need to land." And that's the truth of the matter...it's much more about vision, anticipation, and ball placement than it is a rocket arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMan Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I have to admit, I have often become enamored with rocket arms. As I've matured in my evaluation of the game, however, I've largely come off of this notion. There was an interesting piece on NFL Network yesterday called "Top 10 Myths of the NFL" or something like that, and one of the myths they were debunking was the need for a QB to have a huge arm. They touched on many of the same points we've discussed on this board ad nauseum, but they had a Joe Montana quote that I thought was very interesting. He said, "In this game I don't throw darts at balloons...I throw balloons at darts." It got me thinking back to when Joe was signed by KC at the end of his career. I still remember thinking, 'wow, this guy doesn't get much on his balls, but somehow they always land where they need to land." And that's the truth of the matter...it's much more about vision, anticipation, and ball placement than it is a rocket arm. It's been my opinion for ages that the "cannon arm" thing is incredibly overrated in the NFL game. Break it down and ask yourself "how often during the course of game is it necessary to have that cannon arm?". Seems to me that that aspect of the game is most often employed by loser teams desperately attempting to gain ground quickly after getting down by more than a couple of TDs. I don't know statistically how often the long ball is thrown, but I'll bet it's less than 10% of the offensive plays. In place of Joe Athlete who can wing the ball 80 yards, I'll take a smart field general who can read defenses (and call audibles), inspire confidence in his teammates, has good instincts (can sense backside pressure), and has a good understanding of the pro game. If the offense is managed properly and most efficiently, the QB and offense should be able to grind it out, eat up the clock, and ultimately get points on the board while keeping the other team's offense off the the field. Other than the occasional "keeping 'em honest" long bomb, there should be very little need for throwing it great distances. Sure, it's impressive - probably the coolest play in football. But the grind it out approach serves the dual purpose of getting first downs and resting your team's defense. Obviously, the QB has to be able to throw with some velocity and accuracy, but what QB that was high school star, came through the Div I college ranks, and made it on an NFL roster can't throw a football? If anyone need further proof, all you need to do is think back to our one-time hope for the future - the rocket armed Rob Johnson. Case closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 It's been my opinion for ages that the "cannon arm" thing is incredibly overrated in the NFL game. Break it down and ask yourself "how often during the course of game is it necessary to have that cannon arm?". Seems to me that that aspect of the game is most often employed by loser teams desperately attempting to gain ground quickly after getting down by more than a couple of TDs. I don't know statistically how often the long ball is thrown, but I'll bet it's less than 10% of the offensive plays. In place of Joe Athlete who can wing the ball 80 yards, I'll take a smart field general who can read defenses (and call audibles), inspire confidence in his teammates, has good instincts (can sense backside pressure), and has a good understanding of the pro game. If the offense is managed properly and most efficiently, the QB and offense should be able to grind it out, eat up the clock, and ultimately get points on the board while keeping the other team's offense off the the field. Other than the occasional "keeping 'em honest" long bomb, there should be very little need for throwing it great distances. Sure, it's impressive - probably the coolest play in football. But the grind it out approach serves the dual purpose of getting first downs and resting your team's defense. Obviously, the QB has to be able to throw with some velocity and accuracy, but what QB that was high school star, came through the Div I college ranks, and made it on an NFL roster can't throw a football? If anyone need further proof, all you need to do is think back to our one-time hope for the future - the rocket armed Rob Johnson. Case closed. Yep, you hit it right on the head about how the bomb is the most exciting play in football. Heck, I still remember that pass Randall Cunningham made out of his own endzone against our Bills back in the early 90s...the dude winged it like 60 yds in the air for a sick completion. Or how bout Brett Favre running around all over the place against the Lions in the Silverdome, all of a sudden reaching back and LAUNCHING a massive bomb to Sharpe for a TD. Or how about when Fitzy reached back and launched with all his might a perfect bomb strike to Stevie in the endzone against the Steelers this past...err...wait, scratch that...But yeah, these plays tend to be the ones that stay in our minds and they are exciting as hell when they happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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