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Former Bills OC has Final Exam grades for top 6 QBs


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Thanks for posting this. These are pretty interesting and thorough. Just like Jordan Palmer sucked as a QB but seems great working with them, maybe whole Fairchild sucked working with QBs as an OC it seems he evaluates them well, or at least thoughtfully.

 

I particularly think the 15 categories he uses for all the QBs is an awesome detailed little comparative measure.

 

Fairchild's 15 categories:

 

Size & Athletic Ability

 

Statistics & Production

 

Arm Ability & Throwing Mechanics

 

Drop/Setup/Alignment

 

Quick Game Performance/Accuracy (Three-Step)

 

Quick Game Performance/Accuracy (Five-Step)

 

Intermediate Throw Performance/Accuracy (Seven-Step)

 

Deep Ball Performance/Accuracy (35+ Yards)

 

Timing/Vision-Processing/Anticipation

 

Designed Movement Throws

 

Pocket Demeanor & Movement

 

Unique Throws

 

Poise & Performance In Critical Situations

 

Decision-Making

 

Ability To Scramble/Extend Plays

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On ‎4‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 3:56 AM, Sky Diver said:

So is the difference between 117.5 to 120.5 statistically significant? I hardly think so.

 

Well it might be a statistically significant difference in relation to a the most important position in sports.  It might be the difference between being one of those 10-15 Franchise QBs in the NFL there are just about every year vs. the JAGs of the NFL.

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On 4/19/2018 at 3:03 PM, aceman_16 said:

Another hall of famer coach (Levy)  and one of the best coordinators ever (Phillips).  My larger point was and IS that Fairchild is just a guy with NFL experience.  IF you think the miracle work he pulled while coaching JP Losman, Marc Bulger, and Dan McGwire paving their "HOF careers" makes him a QB genius....  I am unsure there is help for you.

 

Jordan Palmer is now apparently an incredibly highly respected "QB Guru" despite not being able to play the position worth a damn.

 

At the very least, Fairchild has probably seen enough bad QB play to know what good QB play should look like.

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On 5/16/2018 at 5:16 AM, HappyDays said:

I'm bumping this thread because there wasn't much discussion about his Josh Allen report. He had Allen as his #1 QB.

http://nfldraftbible.com/josh-allen-final-exam-with-steve-fairchild/
 

 

 


The report goes more in depth on each of his traits. Fairchild has been coaching QBs for years so I'd like to think he knows what he's talking about.

 

 

What I think is interesting are the categories below because they are the 2 he's deemed the weakest in. The first he's graded tied for #1 with Rosen and the 2nd he's tied for #2 with a couple of the other guys behind Rosen.

 

Arm Ability & Throwing Mechanics

Allen has elite arm strength. He can put great velocity on the ball and does so with an effortless throwing motion. His release is quick and he can make throws without using his lower body. In addition, he can throw off a variety of platforms—his feet match his eyes and he can get aligned multiple times if necessary. At times, he can be a long strider in the pocket but only appears to do this when there is room. He can make every throw necessary to play quarterback in the NFL and he can do all these throws with defenders around him and with limited space in the pocket. GRADE: 9.0

 

Drop/Setup/Alignment

He shows the ability to play under center and in shotgun. His drop mechanics are smooth and balanced, as he does not over extend despite his height. Allen has a very compact and efficient drop for being 6-5. He does an excellent job of opening his hips up when dropping from under center and seeing the entire field. He sets up with a balanced and aligned throwing position. GRADE: 8.0

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On 5/16/2018 at 6:10 AM, John from Riverside said:

This is where I get confused on Josh Allen's evalutation

 

I have seen people all over the place on evaluation of his mechanics

 

This guy says he has excellent mechanics

 

but then I see lots of reports that he need to clean up his fundamentals....and he is doing all this strictly from arm talent alone

 

I mean which is it.....or a combonation of both?

 

This was discussed a bit in another thread and I believe it was Shaw and another poster who brought up the distinction between upper body vs lower body mechanics where, ultimately, upper body mechanics aren't a significant worry, lower mechanics are:

 

Upper Body Mechanics = how you throw... it's something you've been doing since you picked up a football when you were very young so it's nearly impossible to change. See Phillip Rivers or Byron Leftwich... and I'm assuming the Jets will just deal with Darnold's weird windup because he's still effective with it. Allen looks like a natural thrower of the football--so not as big a worry, I think.

 

Lower Body Mechanics/ Footwork = what you're probably taught in terms of dropping back from a snap under center at earliest, in middle school (I played QB in pop warner and don't think there was much more than a "don't trip over yourself" conversation), but probably more like JV or Varsity ball. At this point, you're fine-tuning, but there's very little hope to change your actual throwing motion.

 

 

EJ had (among other things) some serious upper body mechanics issues--he just didn't look like a natural passer of the football, and I think it's that simple.

 

Allen looks like a natural passer of the football, so I'm not overly concerned.

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On 4/12/2018 at 7:21 PM, C.Biscuit97 said:

This is a great breakdown.  I trust this information a lot more than Kiper or McShay.  

 

Also, hot take:  Fairchild was one of the better OCs of the drought. The fact he made JP Losman look like something like a nfl qb for a year is amazing.

None of these all matter...Eventually, it is going to come to how they play  at 1 PM on Sunday!   I am sure if people put QBs in the 2000s through the same thing, they would have found that Brady would have been top rated...and yet he went in the 6th round...So there are no guarantees

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