BuffaloBill Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Arguably, Andrew Luck was the last QB to come out of college as a consensus "NFL ready" QB. This overall dearth of talent is hurting the league. Should the NFL do anything different to try to address this situation? I think the answer is yes. I have two ideas to do so. The first one is insane and not likely to be considered. The second is realistic. Option one - have a special draft that I'd for QB's only. Every team has to select one. this action is then combined with the second option. Option two - Every team should be required to carry a developmental QB in a designated additional roster spot that is paid at a fixed salary. Teams would be free in the offseason to treat all of these individuals as eligible Free Agents unless they are moved to the active roster by the team that has their rights and they are signed to a contract beyond the minimum. The above would give more players at the position time to develop. Colleges are not preparing players at this position for the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallskiWallski83 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 It's not the lack of talent that is killing the league, it's the rule changes that emphasize the passing game. Having an elite QB is far and away the most important thing to success these days. Having a great defense, rb, and special teams have far less importance than they used to. So of course this has led to a greater discrepancy between the haves and have nots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Killing the game in what way? The NFL is more popular than ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 (edited) I agree there is a shortage, roughly only half the teams have legit QB's. Makes me laugh when posters here say TT will never be a franchise QB and the Bill's need to replace him. Yeah great idea, there's a good chance they are correct, but with who? If it were that easy all the teams would have good QB's. As to your solutions, wouldn't say no, but maybe there are better alternatives. For years I've been stating the best option are Stepford QB's I don't think it's the rules as much as it is defensive players are getting too big, too fast, and too god for the QB to be able to mentally and physically compete with them. Couple that with coaching and schemes getting even more complicated as teams coaching staffs now spend 12 months coming up with new concepts to further confuse the QB It's not the lack of talent that is killing the league, it's the rule changes that emphasize the passing game. Having an elite QB is far and away the most important thing to success these days. Having a great defense, rb, and special teams have far less importance than they used to. So of course this has led to a greater discrepancy between the haves and have nots Edited March 14, 2016 by Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Yeah because Peyton Manning single-handedly willed his team to victory in the Super Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 I don't think there are fewer talented players at the QB position, it is more likely, they lack of QB talent is the result of the way QB's are developed in the modern era of football...there was a time, up through the mid-80's, where it was not uncommon for a first round draft pick QB to sit for 2 or 3 years before ever being given a shot at the starting job. Now, they just have to play... some are ready, most are not. Who knows how many talented QB's the NFL has missed out on, because of this. The relative decency of Tyrod Taylor only goes to show that time studying can pay off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 Killing the game in what way? The NFL is more popular than ever. Killing it because teams are perpetually cycling in mediocrity because of the lack of talent at the most critical position. I don't think there are fewer talented players at the QB position, it is more likely, they lack of QB talent is the result of the way QB's are developed in the modern era of football...there was a time, up through the mid-80's, where it was not uncommon for a first round draft pick QB to sit for 2 or 3 years before ever being given a shot at the starting job. Now, they just have to play... some are ready, most are not. Who knows how many talented QB's the NFL has missed out on, because of this. The relative decency of Tyrod Taylor only goes to show that time studying can pay off... This is the problem though - what QB's have the time to sit as an understudy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Killing it because teams are perpetually cycling in mediocrity because of the lack of talent at the most critical position. This is the problem though - what QB's have the time to sit as an understudy? You make time. Manziel was not ready to play and shouldn't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 You make time. Manziel was not ready to play and shouldn't have. Sow in today's play now NFL how does a team " make time?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Yep and most of the good and great ones are in the mid to late 30s so probably retiring in the next 3 years or so. Tom, Brees, Big ben, Eli, Rivers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Here is one obvious change. Exclude Quarterbacks from the CBA rules on off-season training. Mike McCarthy basically rebuilt Aaron Rodgers before putting him on the field. That time to work with and develop NFL fundamentals is vastly reduced now. Allow QBs additional off-season practice time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddaryl Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 League is definitely QB deficient, and those with slightly above average QBs pretty much lay all their eggs in the same basket when it comes time to pay that QB. its a recipe for continued and future pains for the league IMO. 25 years ago medicore QB's were very functional with a solid D strong OL/ running game, but these days just fining a solid above average QB is tough, and even then it more times then not.. not enough to put a team over the top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Sow in today's play now NFL how does a team " make time?" Play McCown and Fitz until Manziel and Smith are ready....That was the plan for EJ before Kolb was injured Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 It's killing the Bills. And the Bills have had a designated roster spot for developmental QBs since Kelly left. They call it, "Starting QB." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garranimal Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 (edited) I am not sure the amount of talent today is any different than it was 30 or 40 years ago. As Bills fans we were (eventually) lucky to get to participate in the QB class of '83. But a look around the league at that time and there were a lot of teams suffering with pretty poor QB play. Time and distance has resulted in a romanticizing of the quality of some of those average-at-best QBs. We are talking about guys like Chris Chandler, Toy Eason, Wade Wilson, Chris Miller, Bubby Brister........ Even Joe Montana was average at that point (32 yo) with 18 TDs and 10 Ints compared with maybe Dan Marino who had 28 TDs and 20 ints (Kelly had 15 TDs and 17ints and went 12-4!!!). Today, so many factors are impacting QB transition from college to pro. There are a lot of very creative offensive minds and schemes being run in college that either won't work in the NFL or aren't being embraced by the 40-50 coaching retreads we see float around the league every year. Notably, Alabama, Stanford, Notre Dame and FSU all run pro-style offenses and are all powerhouse programs and they haven't turned out pro QBs at any noticeably better rate than anywhere else. The Chip Kelly circus aside, there just hasn't been enough crossover of college systems into the NFL to really make a determination as to whether they will ultimately gain a foothold. Meanwhile, those dirty no-good cheatin' Patriots* have incorporated a hybrid college spread and are making it work with seemingly underwhelming talent. I mean, Teddy Marchibroda should be considered the father of all college schemes.....hell of modern football offense in general. The run and shoot (Mouse Davis) in houston lead to the K-gun in Buffalo which directly lead to Peyton Manning. The abject failure of guys like Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban and Chip Kelly (maybe) seem to indicate that there is no translation of those offenses to the NFL but i would also point out that neither Spurrier or Saban had any real talent and certainly didn't hang around long enough to really impose any changes. Chip Kelly is an outlier right now and if he succeeds it may trigger guys like Urban Meyer and Jimbo Fisher to shop their wares in the NFL. Ultimately, i think the major gap between college offenses and the NFL coupled with the reduced window for acceptable success has the appearance that the Pro game is churning through QBs, but I'd bet if you did the math, the numbers are relatively stagnant. Edited March 14, 2016 by Garranimal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
....lybob Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 The problem is going to be self correcting - Peyton is gone, big Ben and Brees are fading, that leaves Brady and Rodgers skewing the curve just like those damn Asian kids in your math class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 I don't know about 'killing' the NFL... There have always been 'haves' and 'have nots'. Patriots were in QB purgatory forever until Bledsoe and then Brady. Steelers before pig Ben. Bills since Kelly. Bengals after boomer, until dalton. Dolphins since Marino. Tampa... franchise history. Minnesota. In Cleveland Bernie Kosar is seriously a franchise bright spot. How sad is that?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 It's not the lack of talent that is killing the league, it's the rule changes that emphasize the passing game. Having an elite QB is far and away the most important thing to success these days. Having a great defense, rb, and special teams have far less importance than they used to. So of course this has led to a greater discrepancy between the haves and have nots That's it for my money. When tugging a jersey on 3rd and 30 gives you an instant first down, it rewards you to throw, even if you couldn't have made the pass anyway. Why not throw that jump ball? Odds are disproportionate that the defense will get called for PI if both players fight for it. We saw the Phantom PI calls constantly last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinnearlysghost88 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 You're right. Let's make some projections about top QBs in three years time: -cam newton -russell wilson -rodgers (35) -big ben (37) -bridgewater? -marcus mariota? -Jameis? -some rookie?... god this list is depressing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 (edited) Nothing is killing the game. It's been a passing game for years. P Manning proved the rare instance where crappy QB play doesn't prevent a SB winning season. First round QBs are drafted to start as rookies--this has been true for decades--why pretend otherwise? Some have done well, some have busted out--this has always been the way. Newton, Wilson came right out of college ready to go. MAriota looked pretty good on an awful team. Even Wisnton looked OK by season's end. The game is fine.. Edited March 14, 2016 by Mr. WEO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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