Tyrod's Wonderlic: Can he run an NFL offense?

[NoSaint]

Dan Marino got a 16, what's your point? There is NO correlation between Wonderlic scores and QB ability...Fitzpatrick got a 48...want him back? Grasping at straws here

No one is saying you MUST score a 40 to be good or that a 40 means you are good.

 

Likewise no one is saying a 15 would totally disqualify a guy.

 

But especially in modern NFL schemes I'd venture smarts do correlate at least a bit. Just like a receiver can run a 4.55 and be good or a 4.3 and be terrible, but you still have a preference for obvious reasons

[Reed83HOF]

 

I'm not sure it has anything to do with his brain not working fast enough, but I think you're spot on with your second thought. He became so used to breaking the pocket and using his athleticism whenever his first read wasn't there that it's now engrained in him like muscle memory. It takes years and years of working hard to undo years and years of bad training. The Bills don't have years and years for him to try and work it out.

 

Human brains will naturally take the path of least resistance. His entire career and growth was based on him being more athletic than almost anyone else and being able to scramble and make plays; until the pros he never needed to learn to read defenses and to stay in the pocket. Steve Young didn't become "great" until he stopped running all the time and started to be a pocket passer. TT is a bit long in the tooth to develop those skills now.

[Gugny]

No one is saying you MUST score a 40 to be good or that a 40 means you are good.

 

Likewise no one is saying a 15 would totally disqualify a guy.

 

But especially in modern NFL schemes I'd venture smarts do correlate at least a bit. Just like a receiver can run a 4.55 and be good or a 4.3 and be terrible, but you still have a preference for obvious reasons

 

I'm actually saying that if I was a GM looking for a QB, I'd have a minimum score of 20 as a requirement.

[The Frankish Reich]

Dan Marino got a 16, what's your point? There is NO correlation between Wonderlic scores and QB ability...Fitzpatrick got a 48...want him back? Grasping at straws here

I put far more faith in that hand size thing that EJ dominated. But seriously: I wouldn't say there's "no correlation." How many guys that test in the sub-Tyrod range are in the NFL? Maybe that's because they aren't given a fair chance. More likely it's because the ability to quickly process information and make decisions is at least somewhat related to the ability to perform at QB at the NFL level.

[Bookie Man]

Wunderlic seems a bit inconsistent. I can't believe there's not yet a VR program at the combine. Some kind of simulated defense that pre-determines where you SHOULD go with the ball and where your eyes go when there is pressure. Any computer guys out there?? Let's make this happen and get paid!!!

[BringBackFergy]

Wunderlic seems a bit inconsistent. I can't believe there's not yet a VR program at the combine. Some kind of simulated defense that pre-determines where you SHOULD go with the ball and where your eyes go when there is pressure. Any computer guys out there?? Let's make this happen and get paid!!!

Not just for the combine but for free agent visits as well.

 

That way, when Tyrod visited OBD and they put the VR goggles on him, they would have seen him start sprinting on the little VR treadmill after two seconds in the pocket.

[DriveFor1Outta5]

Not just for the combine but for free agent visits as well.

 

That way, when Tyrod visited OBD and they put the VR goggles on him, they would have seen him start sprinting on the little VR treadmill after two seconds in the pocket.

That's funny. The scary thing is that our FO probably would have loved it, and signed him citing his "mobility".

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

I'm actually saying that if I was a GM looking for a QB, I'd have a minimum score of 20 as a requirement.

If Derrick Carr had scored a 19 would that be the minimum!

[MAJBobby]

Jim Kelly scored 15. Thread/

Different era

[Fadingpain]

No one is saying you MUST score a 40 to be good or that a 40 means you are good.

 

Likewise no one is saying a 15 would totally disqualify a guy.

 

But especially in modern NFL schemes I'd venture smarts do correlate at least a bit. Just like a receiver can run a 4.55 and be good or a 4.3 and be terrible, but you still have a preference for obvious reasons

Agree 100%.

[QB Bills]

Come on now...it's Bills RUN deep...not Bills think deep.

[K-9]

Different era

Same test.

[MAJBobby]

Same test.

Yep so maybe they need a new processing speed test for QBs

[K-9]

Yep so maybe they need a new processing speed test for QBs

Sounds like a good idea although teams put QBs through the wringer during their 15 minute interviews at the combine. Each team has it's own way of doing that and it's not standardized, but it's gonna give teams a snapshot in time of a player's ability to diagnose a defense, etc.

[MAJBobby]

Sounds like a good idea although teams put QBs through the wringer during their 15 minute interviews at the combine. Each team has it's own way of doing that and it's not standardized, but it's gonna give teams a snapshot in time of a player's ability to diagnose a defense, etc.

On a board, not the same.

 

I see Soldiers freeze when bullets were flying but on the board they are fine.

 

Put these QBs in a VR system and really check their processing speeds

[K-9]

On a board, not the same.

 

I see Soldiers freeze when bullets were flying but on the board they are fine.

 

Put these QBs in a VR system and really check their processing speeds

Why do I get the sense you like to argue for the sake of arguing?

 

VR sounds like a logical evolution and I'd bet it goes there eventually, while other methodology is retained.

[MAJBobby]

Why do I get the sense you like to argue for the sake of arguing?

 

VR sounds like a logical evolution and I'd bet it goes there eventually, while other methodology is retained.

Nah don't like the argue for the most part, however I do have issue with the NFL in terms of how resistant to technology and change they are.

[Norwood for Wall of Fame]

Tyrod scored a 15

By this reasoning, we should probably go get Ryan Fitzpatrick. He's pretty smart.

[Gugny]

By this reasoning, we should probably go get Ryan Fitzpatrick. He's pretty smart.

 

Other than being completely wrong, you're absolutely right!

 

You should read the previous four pages.

[BringBackFergy]

By this reasoning, we should probably go get Ryan Fitzpatrick. He's pretty smart.

A Wonderlic score above 15 is by no means the sole attribute we should look for in a QB...arm strength, height, speed, footwork are all important when taken together with a decent Wonderlic score (or as others have said...the ability to recognize a defense pre and post snap). Fitzy was trained at Harvard (not sure you knew that) and has been a backup his whole life. So while he does have the intellectual criteria, he always lacked the arm strength and the QB coaching that a younger "franchise QB" will get on a team. Carr, Prescott, Wilson, etc have all been trained from Day 1 by their respective teams (Prescott more of a trial by fire given Romo's injuries). A good example is Matt Ryan or Matt Stafford...tall, nice arm, quick release, decent intelligence and have been trained to recognize defensive looks for their teams from day one.

 

Tyrod, on the other hand, is a gym rat, fast as lightning and has a strong arm...but he has never been the starter so he relies what has gotten him this far (scrambling and looking for "throwing lanes"). His ability to read defenses is suspect. He literally has to roll out (mostly to the right) to find a throwing lane because he can't throw over a 6' 6" lineman unless the O line makes a lane for him to throw through. He plays smaller than Russ Wilson or Drew Brees. Add the Wonderlic score to all this and you can make the argument that he can't process certain scenarios as quick as other QB's.