Quote (msteph @ Nov 30 2012 07:17pm)
What does a great quarterback look like?
When I'm constructing my Quarterback Big Board, I consider both past and current performance, but in doing so I'm really looking through a kind of QB prism. There are lots of aspects to a quarterback's game, must-have traits that I find to be a requirement to succeed in the NFL. Add them all up and you start to get a picture of what the perfect quarterback would look like.
On the wall of my office is a list of 10 characteristics that I believe make a successful QB: leadership, arm strength, accuracy, toughness, touch, mechanics, pocket awareness, size, mobility and character.
Now, in how many of those categories do you need to be above average to be truly great? With a small caveat for size, the answer is all of them.
These traits are all critical to my definition of NFL success. Over the years I've spoken to a number of GMs, coaches and personnel guys in the league, and sometimes they'll tell me that I'm a little tough on guys with my evaluations. That may be true, but I'm honest. When I look at a QB, I don't want to be able to say, "Yeah, we can go 8-8 with him." I want to see a QB who has what it takes to be a championship quarterback. That's why we all play this game. I want to see a quarterback who aspires to be the best in the league, and it's on that basis that I evaluate them.
While you need to be above average in these 10 characteristics, there are varying degrees of talent within each of them. And there's a sliding scale of importance that teams and front offices attach to each one. For instance, a characteristic like arm strength may depend on a team's offensive scheme. A trait like character might be more accentuated in some franchises than others.
As I get ready to make the latest changes to my Quarterback Big Board next week, let's examine the traits that make these quarterbacks so great. What follows are what I call my Attribute Rankings. We'll go inside six of the 10 traits -- leadership, arm strength, accuracy, toughness, pocket awareness and mobility -- to see which three quarterbacks lead their peers in those categories.
Leadership
Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees
It's difficult to be an outsider and understand the dynamic of a team's locker room. To properly evaluate a QB's leadership, you really need to be around him consistently. But based on what I know from meetings, interviews and other conversations with those in and around the league, this trio leads the way.
In addition to their reputations around the league and my own interactions with them, I've occasionally been able to listen to them in action due to NFL Films wiring them for sound. These three are all field generals.
What really sets these guys apart is that not only are they great at their own position, they understand everyone else's position as well. From the offensive line to the receivers, Brady, Manning and Brees know exactly what any player is supposed to do on a given play. And when they see a mistake, they make immediate corrections on the field and in the huddle. They don't need to go to the sideline, get on a phone and talk to a coach to make a correction. They're completely self-sufficient. And that is critical to being a leader.
Arm strength
Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler
These three can make any throw. Majestic high-arcing bombs down the field, lasers to the sidelines -- neither is an issue. In today's NFL we're seeing more and more defenses feature five, six and sometimes even eight defensive backs in their schemes. With that many athletic defenders in the secondary, passing windows are small and can close quickly. You need to be able to drive the ball through those windows before they close. Flacco, Rodgers and Cutler can all do that.
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Mitch Stringer/US PRESSWIREMr. Flacco can sling it.
Flacco has the strongest arm in the NFL, and he likes to air it out. It gives the Ravens a tremendous weapon to stretch the field and keep the defensive backs from crowding the line and clogging things up for Ray Rice. And when Rice does get the attention, Flacco can make defenses pay with play-action passes over the top to Jacoby Jones and Torrey Smith.
Flacco's been criticized for his deep-ball accuracy, but to me it's not an issue. A 60-yard pass is a low-percentage play. When you throw the ball that far, you're going to miss some. But even the misses have value.
The offenses that really scare defensive coordinators are the ones that have every dimension -- including a QB who can make every throw. If you can tell your defense, "Hey, they're not going more than 20 yards in the air," you know your coverage area will be much more defined and can counterattack accordingly.
The debate in San Francisco perfectly illustrates this. I'm certain that the deciding factor for Jim Harbaugh in his decision to start Colin Kaepernick over Alex Smith is Kaepernick's ability to attack the field vertically. That ability makes the Niners offense significantly more deadly.
Accuracy
Peyton Manning, Brady, Brees
The most overlooked aspect of the game. Week in and week out, these three make very few inaccurate throws. And I'm not talking about completion percentage. I'm talking about the little things, like throwing it in the flat so the running back can catch the ball in front of him, maintain stride and turn up field. And on third-and-short situations, those are the subtle things that move the chains.
It's comical sometimes. When we're watching film, we'll see a receiver wide open, but he'll have to stop in his tracks because the ball is high or wide, and he gets tackled by a safety almost immediately. Yards after the catch are critical in the modern NFL. You need to keep the receiver moving and throw to him open, throw to an area and allow him to get those extra yards.
Some might be surprised not to see Aaron Rodgers here, but he's been very uneven with accuracy this season. A lot has to do with pressure from the pass rush, but results are results, and the accuracy isn't there right now.
Toughness
Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Matthew Stafford
This is mandatory in the NFL; if you don't have it, just move on with your life. You need courage to hang in the pocket, knowing that the defense wants to rip your face off.
This isn't to say that the Bradys and Mannings of the NFL aren't tough, but what makes Rivers, Romo and Stafford stand out are the massive hits they've taken this season. They're getting absolutely shredded, but they just get up and move on. That's toughness.
Pocket awareness
Brees, Brady, Romo
When I talk about pocket awareness, I think of Dan Marino. Dan might have run a 5.3 40-yard dash, but in the pocket he could buy all sorts of time. You wouldn't say that he was mobile, but his subtle movements would keep him away from pressure and allow him to deliver the football.
These three share that trait. They all have an uncanny ability to sense pressure, step up, slide a half step to the right, shift their weight and find their man downfield.
Romo may move a little too much for my liking, but he makes this cut because he's so natural with his movements and has a tremendous ability to deliver the ball while in motion.
Mobility
Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck
Mobility is slightly different from pocket awareness in that mobility is the term I use to evaluate movement in that five-yard area outside the pocket. This isn't scrambling, this isn't running -- where guys like Michael Vick, Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III would excel -- this is about moving outside when the pocket breaks down and waiting for receivers to uncover.
Luck makes this trio as a rookie, which is both a testament to his natural ability and his underrated ability to make things happen with his legs.
Rodgers is a little bit of a tweener in that I think he's a pretty good runner as well. He's exceptional at reading man coverages and then breaking from the pocket to run for a first down. But he's even better when he can dance a little bit to buy some time and then throw a strike to his receivers. Unfortunately for him, due to a lackluster offensive line, he's had to do this a little more than he'd like this season.