TheElectricCompany Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) With a surge of scouting reports and NFL draft chatter this time of year, are there any negative traits in a prospect that you think are overblown? On the flipside, are there strengths prospects have that aren't appreciated enough? For QBs: Overhyped = "ability to take snaps under center". John Dorsey, the Chiefs GM, stated this was a big concern with the top 3 2017 QB prospects. I really don't see how this as a concern. First, tell me one QB that was a bust because he couldn't take a snap from center. Next, the most effective passing attacks in the league spread the field, put the QB in the gun, and look for mismatch opportunities. With QBs coming from spread & option attacks in the NCAA, teams should avoid a "square peg in a round hole" scenario and develop an offense where the QB has familiarity and comfort. I'd like to think that an NFL caliber athlete could learn to take a snap from center and an associated 3/5/7 step drop with reasonable time and coaching. Undervalued = "Functional scrambler". This is not the same as a improviser or "tuck and run" guy Specifically, a QB who could be very effective in a bootleg based offense and has proven success keeping eyes down field and making a passing play first. There are many NCAA players that are more of the "tuck and run" type. When combined with pocket presence, a functional scrambler could be pretty deadly. Edited March 6, 2017 by TheElectricCompany Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) With a surge of scouting reports and NFL draft chatter this time of year, are there any negative traits in a prospect that you think are overblown? On the flipside, are there strengths prospects have that aren't appreciated enough? For QBs: Overhyped = "ability to take snaps under center". John Dorsey, the Chiefs GM, stated this was a big concern with the top 3 2017 QB prospects. I really don't see how this as a concern. First, tell me one QB that was a bust because he couldn't take a snap from center. Next, the most effective passing attacks in the league spread the field, put the QB in the gun, and look for mismatch opportunities. With QBs coming from spread & option attacks in the NCAA, teams should avoid a "square peg in a round hole" scenario and develop an offense where the QB has familiarity and comfort. I'd like to think that an NFL caliber athlete could learn to take a snap from center and an associated 3/5/7 step drop with reasonable time and coaching. Undervalued = "Functional scrambler". This is not the same as a improviser or "tuck and run" guy Specifically, a QB who could be very effective in a bootleg based offense and has proven success keeping eyes down field and making a passing play first. There are many NCAA players that are more of the "tuck and run" type. When combined with pocket presence, a functional scrambler could be pretty deadly. What?? It's a HUGE Deal because taking a snap under center means he will have to drop back. Dropping back means he will have to have proper footwork or everything goes haywire from there. Standing in a shotgun and taking snaps means there is no footwork to get down, you are standing flatfooted when you catch the ball. That footwork takes a long time to get down, its not easy...3 step, 5 step and 7 step drops...the same way every time, time after time. Throwing when your back foot hits the top of the drop. It's one thing to do it in practice when you are focusing on it all the time. It's quite another thing to do in a game where its the last thing you are focused on and it has to be automatic. That's where the problem comes in---being consistent without having to think about it. Bad footwork leads to throwing off your back foot, throwing off balance, short arming the ball to the receivers, overthrowing the receivers, etc...there are QBs that have been dropback passers in college that STILL have bad footwork after years of training in the NFL and are still making the same mistakes in games. Edited March 6, 2017 by matter2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheElectricCompany Posted March 6, 2017 Author Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) What?? It's a HUGE Deal because taking a snap under center means he will have to drop back. Dropping back means he will have to have proper footwork or everything goes haywire from there. Standing in a shotgun and taking snaps means there is no footwork to get down, you are standing flatfooted when you catch the ball. That footwork takes a long time to get down, its not easy...3 step, 5 step and 7 step drops...the same way every time, time after time. Throwing when your back foot hits the top of the drop. It's one thing to do it in practice when you are focusing on it all the time. It's quite another thing to do in a game where its the last thing you are focused on and it has to be automatic. That's where the problem comes in---being consistent without having to think about it. Bad footwork leads to throwing off your back foot, throwing off balance, short arming the ball to the receivers, overthrowing the receivers, etc...there are QBs that have been dropback passers in college that STILL have bad footwork after years of training in the NFL and are still making the same mistakes in games. I'd love to see some examples of NFL QBs that have busted because they couldn't specifically take a snap from center. It's not like QBs are falling over trying to do a 3/5/7 drop. It's usually the first thing they work on training for the NFL. Even then, who's failed because of footwork? Guys have failed due to issues with accuracy, but very few casual fans could identify the root cause of those errors (could be mechanics, footwork, hand/eye coordination, ability to read the field, etc. etc. ) Edited March 6, 2017 by TheElectricCompany Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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