The Quarterback - A Fundamental Issue

Pro Football is forever evolving and with that teams should as well, right?

We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘it’s a copy-cat league’, so here is the fundamental problem! It’s time to “STEP OUTSIDE THE BOX”!! Out of all the colleges (approximately 884 schools with a varsity football team) in the United States, the National Football League still has an issue finding 32 elite level quarterbacks for every team. Even though it’s regarded as the most important position in all of sports, confused, well you should be.

Problem #1 – Lack of Appropriate Evaluation 

Each school must provide a listing to NFL teams scouting departments with their evaluation of their best players. From this listing it is revised and dissected to provide a ranking system to set these players apart (we see this typically done for the NFL Draft). However, why are certain players being left off these lists and being picked up as UDFA (undrafted free agents), or left out of the league all together? The vast list of players that have made an impact in the NFL not being drafted in the first round is staggering and I put into question why are these NFL professionals constantly missing the boat?

The NFL relies on the NCAA programs to filter players during the evaluation process and provide smaller lists for pro scouts, making it less daunting. I realize out of 884 schools in the USA that house football programs, evaluating nearly 50,000 players per year is a near impossible task. The perception is that if an individual doesn’t play for a Division 1 program they don’t deserve as much attention from the pro level. This is where I believe NFL teams; especially QB hungry teams are missing out.

Problem #2 – Neglecting the Numbers Game

One major aspect we love about football is the numbers. Every year we compile statistics to evaluate how players perform, evaluate if they can improve, or if it’s a potential decline. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe there is a pure ‘gut talent evaluation’ ability that some people possess. However the evaluation process doesn’t seem to be viewed and understood with sheer numbers. Teams employ a tactic when it comes to the NFL draft of drafting a quarterback every year hoping one will pan out, sounds like dart board logic to me. Let’s review simple logic;

·         128 division-one programs in the USA, that’s 128 potential quarterbacks divided by 32 NFL teams, roughly 4 quarterbacks per team. Obviously some will have more talent than others, which increases competition for teams to over draft these players thus not receiving the optimal value for their draft picks.

·         884 football programs in the US, that’s 884 potential quarterbacks divided by 32 NFL teams. That increases your evaluation to roughly 27.6 quarterbacks per team! By sheer numbers alone you have increased the chances of finding an elite quarterback by 7 times in one year, that’s not something that should be overlooked.

I realize the accuracy of the total numbers will fluctuate based on player declaration willing to leave school, but I wanted to paint a very bias picture to how these players aren’t getting a fair shake. The value of potentially finding a franchise QB is there.

Problem #3 – Unwillingness to Adapt

Like finding the right partner, the same can be said with finding a quarterback. The NFL is very impatient and once you choose your signal caller the Coach and GM are married to that decision for better or worse. The issue like any relationship is accepting that person for what they are. If you chose player X to lead your team why are you making him change the way he does things? Unless the talent level is elite, he probably possesses a certain skill-set that will work in certain systems. Changing the way you deal with problems (or your offensive system in this case) would benefit both parties rather than forcing them to act the way you want.

We see this copy-cat attempt to mirror the mighty New England Patriots with laughable failure. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were the Pats. Bill Belichick realized after hitting the lotto with Tom Brady that adapting the offensive system every year would not only keep teams guessing, but would enable him to bring single skill-set players at lower salaries to perform at the highest levels. I hear all the time “how can they keep doing this”, “they don’t stop winning”, rest assured it’s no fluke, ADAPT & CHANGE!

·         Draft a quarterback for what he is and make your system work for him.

·         Don’t draft a quarterback in hopes to develop him to something he will never be.

·         As an evaluator, understand the difference between the two.

Problem #4 – Lack of Experience & Repetition 

Once drafted, the second part of the evaluation becomes just as important. Quarterbacks will take time to develop simply because the pro game vs the college game is vastly different. In life how does one develop their craft to reach their full potential? “Practice makes perfect”. As stated above, the NFL is very impatient, and follow the coined the phrase ‘what have you done for me lately’.  Quarterbacks that don’t show instant progress get pushed down the depth chart and seemingly left to wither away like a piece of fruit on the counter.

The realization is that there are only so many reps to go around and training camp time is extremely valuable. Teams can afford to hire extra coaches to provide that training and commitment to develop a young talent without affecting the first string preparation for the upcoming season, so why don’t they? Young quarterbacks low on the depth chart need those reps to perfect their skills and learn how to play the pro game. Third stringers will receive the lowest snap count in camp and only see four to five quarters of live game action, how can anyone develop an opinion based on that? Invest in the players and the returns should follow.

Problem #5 – Understand the Person  

So far it sounds like I am fully against how the leadership of NFL teams handle the players. There is one aspect of this circle that is 100% on the players. Let’s review;

·         Ambition

·         Heart

·         Motivation

·         Character

·         Intelligence

·         Confidence

Players can have all the ability in the world but if these traits are not identified it’s a recipe for disaster. Should any person growing up in extreme conditions that aren’t conducive to positive development, get a pass for losing ambition once their lucrative salary enters their bank account? It happens all the time! For every Tom Brady there will be five Jamarcus Russell’s or Johnny Manziel’s. These leadership groups need to develop a system where spontaneous answers differ from the scripted ones during the draft combine process, and provides the appropriate evaluation needed on one’s entire character.

Until then if you’re one of the unlucky fans that don’t have an elite level quarterback on your roster, I wish you luck in your search! If luck has anything to do with it…  

Twitter: @chris_ADF1