Kinda OT: Playing Quarterback is Really Hard

[kerouac9]

I know that games like Madden make it easy to think that the mental side of the quarterback position isn't that hard--all you need is the experience and the athletic ability.

Then I read this little bit on ESPN.com, and it kind of sent my mind awhirl about how awesomely difficult it must be to play quarterback in the NFL just above the shoulders:

There's a lot of buzz about Brady Quinn starting in Cleveland, but what people don't realize is just how hard it is for a quarterback to come in and play as a rookie. There have been a lot of quarterbacks that had tons of physical talent but couldn't handle the mental aspect of reading coverages and understanding their team's offensive philosophy.

For each passing play, there can be up to 10 options for the receivers' routes, based on what kind of defense the QB sees. And as complicated as the offensive playbook is, the ability of defenses to disguise their coverages is even more complicated in the NFL, as compared to college. Linebackers will show blitz only to drop into coverage. Cornerbacks appear to be locked up with the receiver only to come with a delayed blitz based on which side of the field the quarterback is looking at. The QB needs to be able to locate the safeties, which generally give him a clue as to what kind of coverage the defense is going to be in. Then he needs to watch the safeties after the ball is snapped, as their movement, plus the alignment of the corners, generally give a pretty good indication of what the coverage is going to be.

It's one thing to read that Tony Romo or someone has to digest an 1102 page playbook. It's quite another to really understand the mental prep that these guys have to go through in order to look merely adequate in the NFL game.

Matt and Kurt:

 

[football karma]

As a add on to the post above--

I watched a thing on ESPN or NFL network or somewhere on Rick Mirer. Great rookie campaign, disaster after that.

They had an interview with his coordinator. This guy said that as a rookie, Mirer was given two reads, almost regardless of coverage, and if both were covered, then dump it off to a RB. It worked pretty well, and Mirer put up solid numbers.

The problem came as more and more film of the offense became available, defensive coordinators quickly figured out what was going on. Meanwhile, Mirer was struggling mightily trying to manage a more complex offense.

Compounding his problem was that he had a serious issue with accuracy while throwing to his left. Poor footwork that just wouldnt go away. Coordinators quickly picked up on this as well and practically stopped covering guys along the far left quarter of the field.

The Seahawks offensive coordinator said that by midway through his sophomore season, he knew that Mirer was done.

What I found fascinating is that for all the emphasis on armstrength, size and the like in the draft evaluation of QBs -- it wasnt any of those that mattered for Mirer, it was his head and poor footwork that did him in.

 

[Mulli]

To think, someone traded a number one pick for Mirer....

 

[abomb]

Very good posts and observations. I think Quinn will be very good at the NFL level because of the coaching and playbook he had at ND. Not only is he an intelligent QB, he has the "workout warrior" mentatlity and obvious physical gifts.

 

[SuperSpck]

That is a lot to process and with some many different things that can happen on the field at any given point it just shows the skill those players have. The NFL is really the cream of the crop.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

All you have to do is get a seat near the field in one of the endzones to realize how ridiculously hard it is to play QB.

When I went to Texas to see the Cardinals play Houston, I got really good seats near the field looking out of the south endzone.

The first thing I noticed is during passing plays you can hardly see past the offensive line, and guys (WR & LB & DB) are just flying across the field in a blink of an eye.

It is complete madness, and I wouldn't even know where to start to figure that mess out.

 

[Second Deck]

All you have to do is get a seat near the field in one of the endzones to realize how ridiculously hard it is to play QB.

When I went to Texas to see the Cardinals play Houston, I got really good seats near the field looking out of the south endzone.

The first thing I noticed is during passing plays you can hardly see past the offensive line, and guys (WR & LB & DB) are just flying across the field in a blink of an eye.

It is complete madness, and I wouldn't even know where to start to figure that mess out.

Thats why you just throw the ball to Q. Makes things way easier.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

All you have to do is get a seat near the field in one of the endzones to realize how ridiculously hard it is to play QB.

When I went to Texas to see the Cardinals play Houston, I got really good seats near the field looking out of the south endzone.

The first thing I noticed is during passing plays you can hardly see past the offensive line, and guys (WR & LB & DB) are just flying across the field in a blink of an eye.

It is complete madness, and I wouldn't even know where to start to figure that mess out.

Another reason why you see quick 3 step drops to a designated receiver, or larger drops so your field of vision is improved.

 

[Pariah]

Mirer DID last 12 seasons in the NFL. He was a decent backup, just never lived up to his draft position.

JMHO

 

[Russ Smith]

One of the better analogies I ever heard was Bill Walsh saying playing Qb was similar to being an air traffic controller, but "they don't have someone trying to take their head off as they're telling pilots where to go."

 

[EuroCard]

I think that now the tape is in for Vince Young's first season he is going to find it more difficult to put up the stats he did last year, (and at the end of the day the stats were not that good). Matt is in a better position both because he come from a more pro orientated offense and because he has KW as mentor. It will be interesting to see how Jay Cutler performs as he is in a similar situation but ran a simple offense last year also. I do not know if there is analysis available on the rookie QBs of last season, but it will sure be interesting to see how they all do in their sophomore year.