Category Quarterback

Why Ryan Tannehill is a First-Round Prospect

March 12, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Navin75 — Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman says Ryan Tannehill is a lot like Andy Dalton, but with a better arm. Some evaluators think Tannehill will get a GM fired. I'm on Sherman's side of the fence.

What do you call 9/22, 156 yards, TD, INT in a half of football? If the execution behind the stats isn’t studied then I call it meaningless. These stats belong to Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill’s performance in a blowout loss to Oklahoma in 2011. After studying his performance in this game and others, my conclusion is that Tannehill exhibits starter potential for the NFL.

Oftentimes the worst statistical games reveal strong positives in a player’s skill and potential. I’d rather see how a player deals with adversity than study games where he only has success. There are more situations that test a player’s skill to its limit and the absence of good stats doesn’t mean an absence of skills to watch. It’s why I had strong marks for players like Ahmad Bradshaw, Joseph Addai, Matt Forte, and several other prospects whose opponents over-matched their teams. If you’re watching technique, effort, and physical skill then stats fade into the background.

I’ve written about Tannehill here recently and with the Redskins’ exchange of three first-round picks for the second spot in the NFL Draft, there is a lot of debate among draftniks about Tannehill’s value as a top-10 overall pick. I’ve read one former scout write on Twitter that he’s the most likely player to get a GM fired. I read another say he’s overrated. On the other hand, Tannehill’s former coach Mike Sherman compares his A&M starter favorably to Bengals QB Andy Dalton – with a better arm. Continue reading →

RGIII Counter Point

March 10, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

RGIII Mike Davis — RGIII is certain to be the No.2 overall player in this draft. Here's some good counter point to my analysis of a player from his versus Oklahoma State.

Jim Urbano is a former college quarterback who I compete with in a fantasy league. He was kind enough to allow me to share his point of view that he also shared with the Footballguys Shark Pool forums when reading my take on a play I analyzed of RGIII’s versus Oklahoma State. I think Jim underscores some good points about the spread formation and the inherent difficulty of evaluating quarterbacks operating from it.

Jim’s Take:

I haven’t watched a great deal of OSU football recently but I’d be inclined to believe that them staying in this man coverage in the face of the trips formation was rare. I say that because it simply is for almost any college team I’ve ever seen. There may have been a pre-snap indication that the blitz was coming and that OSU would roll the dice with man coverage but we can’t put this play into context with out knowing the full season and schematic tendencies of OSU heading into this game. Continue reading →

QB Kirk Cousins: Footwork and Pocket Management

March 8, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

FBC vs. FAU — Spartan's QB Kirk Cousins has to refine his footwork and feel for the pocket or his arm will fail him. Photo by Matt Radick.

[Author’s Note: I tag this post and others like it as “scouting reports,” because readers seeking this type of information search the Internet with this terminology. This post and others like it are not scouting reports. It’s a few plays used as talking points to discuss technique. For a complete assessment of a player for my annual RSP publication, I examine multiple games and every snap.]

Bill Walsh was a big proponent of studying a quarterback’s footwork and building on a prospect’s coordination to develop an accurate and efficient passer. Good footwork helps a passer generate good timing, accuracy, and velocity. There are some quarterbacks with great arm talent that have thrived despite poor footwork.

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins will not be one of them. I have colleagues with NFL scouting experience that think highly of Cousins’ pro prospects. He has a quick release, experience in a pro-style offense, and he can make some difficult throws down field into coverage with accuracy. According to the Twitterverse, Cousins also looks and talks the part of an NFL quarterback.

But the feet tell the immediate story. And presently, Continue reading →

QB Russell Wilson: Undersized-Underrated

March 7, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Author’s Note: For a far more intricate analysis of Wilson at N.C. State throwing under pressure that also features analysis of Drew Brees in comparison, read my Football Outsider’s Future’s Column “Studying The Asterisk”

One of the bigger questions about Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson will be his height. Measured at 5107, 204 lbs., Wilson will be one of the smaller quarterbacks in the NFL. Journeyman Doug Flutie was a legit 5’9″, fellow journeyman Jeff Blake might have been 6’0″. The common knock on quarterbacks under 6’2″ is that they will have difficulty playing from the pocket because they won’t be able to see over the line of scrimmage and they’ll have a higher rate of deflected passes.

Certainly a quarterback under 6’2″ has to bring an extra dimension to the table. Michael Vick brings speed, agility, and a fantastic arm. Drew Brees brings uncanny accuracy, anticipation, and athleticism. Height doesn’t worry me, but the corresponding weight does. You don’t see any sub-6’2″ quarterbacks packing 225-230 lbs. and as QB-friendly the NFL rules have become, it’s still a punishing sport.

However, Wilson’s athleticism makes him an intriguing prospect. Continue reading →

Creating Bad Luck

March 6, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Note: The posts of 2012 Draft Prospects this month are brief examples of plays that highlight specific skills and/or deficiencies of a player. They are not meant to draw overall conclusions of that player’s pro potential. For a thorough analysis of these prospects – and over 150 others – purchase the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio, available through a link at this site on April, 1.

Yesterday, I featured a play where Robert Griffin III reacts poorly to pressure. Today, Andrew Luck gets the same treatment. However, I believe there’s a difference between the types of mistakes that I showed with Griffin and the two I’ll show today with Luck. Griffin’s opponent tipped its hand before the snap and the Baylor quarterback missed a relatively easy read. In contrast, Luck’s opponent uses a more complex scheme and hides it before the snap like a stone-faced killer. Luck still makes mistakes, but the errors are against a more advanced concept with stronger execution. Continue reading →

RGIII: Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick . . .

March 5, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Explosive (– noun): a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. Examples include TNT, C-4, and RGIII.

Not that I’m an expert at explosives, but it only takes a childhood of movies to know that the difference between them working for you or against you is timing. There’s a reason why quarterbacks are known as trigger men. They hold the detonator in the passing game. The quarterback’s internal clock is often the difference between an explosive offensive play and an explosive defensive play.

Another integral factor is how a quarterback cares for that explosive material. There’s a line as thin as a fuse when it comes to managing pressure in the pocket, but the differences are dramatic: Quick-thinking and harried. Aggressive and reckless. Tough and masochistic.

Robert Griffin III is fast in mind and body. His speed makes him capable of feats that put jaws on the floor – teammates, opponents, and fans alike. However Continue reading →

Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden: Less Tarrantino, More Gump

February 19, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Forrest Gump by Loren Javier — Forrest Gump doesn't inspire people to think "great quarterbacking," but 18 years wiser, I'm beginning to think every passer needs some Gump. Brandon Weeden against Baylor shows why. Photo by Loren Javier.

Jason Bailey of Flavorpill wrote a piece this month in Atlantic Online that bemoans the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selection of Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction for its Best Picture award in 1994. He characterizes the choice as one of the worst decisions in the history of the Academy Awards. I love Pulp Fiction, it’s a stylish and cooler story than Forrest Gump. But calling the decision a slam dunk injustice is foolish.

Pulp Fiction’s fragmented plot line, hip soundtrack, sparkling dialogue, and self-ware winks and nods to the audience elevates a specific genre of film making to postmodern art. Forrest Gump is a simple story of a tall tale. However, a great theme of Forrest Gump is that in life, wisdom trumps intelligence. Everything Gump accomplishes in life comes from a common sense deeply ingrained by his momma’s lessons and what I would call a genetic capacity for profound wisdom.

Many of you probably won’t agree with me about what I see in Gump, but I don’t blame you. We live in an a highly intellectualized society that values the bells and whistles of technique, theory, and gamesmanship over common sense, simplicity, and unadorned truth. The fact that an Internet writer from this generation would see Pulp Fiction as the vastly superior movie to Forrest Gump comes as no surprise.

Its symptomatic of how we value intellect over wisdom. Think I’m wrong? Atomic weapons, Continue reading →

Managing the Pocket Part II: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill

February 11, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Dan Marino by Jacob Childrey — Dolphins great Dan Marino holds two pocket management skills in high regard when evaluating players at the position. Ryan Tannehill demonstrates facility with both.

Note: The analysis you’ll find in blog posts on RB David Wilson, WR Kendall Wright, and my first post about Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill are merely snapshots of plays I have compiled from game study. These spotlights focus on a subset of the individual’s talents or deficiencies and are not an overall report on the player. My comprehensive analysis of the player will be available April 1 in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio – now in its seventh year of publication.

“If I worked out a quarterback for an NFL team, he’d have to show me 100 throws off his back foot.”

-Dan Marino

This is one of two statements about quarterbacking from Marino that football analyst Pat Kirwan shared in his book Take Your Eye Off The Ball that demonstrates the difference between the theory and practice of the NFL game for a pro passer. The second statement is about having a good internal clock – the awareness of the length of time a play should take, how long its actually taking, and what the defense is doing to add or subtract from that amount of time. Marino says a good internal clock “can be a quarterback’s most important asset.”

A player I’d like to watch with Dan Marino – alright, ONE of ANY player I’d like to watch with Dan Marino – is Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The 2012 NFL Draft prospect has good pocket presence for a college quarterback. In fact, against Oklahoma State in September, Tannehill put on a clinic of what defines good pocket presence. In the previous post of Managing the Pocket, I analyzed two plays of Tannehill’s that involved the subtleties of avoiding pressure. Today I’m featuring three plays that demonstrate two of Marino’s preferred traits of a quarterback and likely a third that I don’t have a quote from him about: managing adversity. Continue reading →

Managing the Pocket Part I: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill

February 9, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Tannehill By SD Dirk — When it comes to managing the pocket, Texas A&M Ryan Tannehill put on a clinic in the first half versus Oklahoma State in September ’11. Photo by SD Dirk.

Note: The analysis you’ll find in blog posts on RB David Wilson, WR Kendall Wright, and today, Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill are merely snapshots of plays I have compiled from game study. These spotlights focus on a subset of the individual’s talents or deficiencies and are not an overall report on the player. My comprehensive analysis of the player will be available April 1 in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio – now in its seventh year of publication.

Former Jets coach and personnel manager Pat Kirwan noted in his book Take Your Eye Off The Ball, that the only scrambling quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl was Steve Young. Some may infer from that fact that scramblers are not the ideal style of quarterback for an NFL team. I think it’s probably more accurate to take this statement as a historic reflection, but not a basic truth about today’s NFL.

I’m nitpicking the point because Fran Tarkenton, Steve McNair, John Elway, Brett Favre, and Donovan McNabb could all scramble and they led their teams to the Super Bowl. I believe the spirit of Kirwan’s statement is Continue reading →

A Bait and Switch Fiesta: How Oklahoma State’s defense revealed chinks in Andrew Luck’s armor.

January 13, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Apple Pie by Bucklava — Apple pie, (Chevrolet), con men, and football. Its all America unfiltered. Photo by Bucklava

I’ve always loved movies about con men. I think con men are as American as apple pie.

-Bill Paxton, American actor and director.

Good football is about successfully perpetrating a con. Almost every element of the game is designed to persuade the opponent to fall for a bait and switch. The most basic techniques of head fakes, dead legs, spin moves, and swim moves are used to execute strategies like play action passes, trap blocks, shotgun draws, and fire zone blitzes to trick opponents into a vulnerable position and ultimately earn a team an advantage.

One of the best football games I saw last week was a seesaw affair in the Fiesta Bowl where Oklahoma State edged Stanford 41-38 in overtime. The most fascinating moments of the game came when OSU’s defense faced Stanford’s offense. Both units excel at the art of the bait and switch and the game’s first quarter was a display of strategic and technical savvy that makes football a riveting contest of trickery thinly disguised as a battle of brute force.

If the Cardinals offense is a road gang of con men, Continue reading →