53 replies to this topic

[Chris in Syracuse]

Seeing that every QB in free agency and the draft has flaws. Let's put on our GM hats and as Whaley says decide what flaws we can tolerate.  I will give you five categories and let you all rank them.  Accuracy, Arm Strength, Football Intelligence, Athleticism, and Mental Confidence

I was trying to find a category for a players ability to forget the last interception and come back and remain confident  so he can lead his team to victory instead of sulking.  Mental confidence is the best I could come up with ( I am open for suggestions).

My Five are:

#1 Accuracy  (as Bill Parcells says you can't teach accuracy)
#2 Football Intelligence (You got to know where to throw the ball)
#3 Mental Confidence (Difference between Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning)
#4 Arm Strength (You need to make all the nfl throws)
#5 Athleticism (Highly overrated look at Manning and Brady two of the best you just need pocket awareness)

I honestly don't know if any of the current crop of qb's has real accuracy.  Smith can throw a great 10 yard pass behind the LOS and Barkeley looked really bad this year.  I hate to say it but I don't see one qb worth taking in rounds 1 or 2.  I would definitely avoid round 1. The read option is just a gimmick like the wildcat. Defenses will catch up to it this year and a lot of QB's will get hurt.  That is why athleticism is last.  Arm strength is important to a degree. You just need to make all the throws.  I would focus on the top 3.

I am curious what you people think.

[Maddog69]

is it really a given that 'you cannot teach accuracy"?
It seems to me that accuracy should be able to be improved with improved mechanics,  added strength and repeated practice.  This should be true especially in younger players.  The older a player gets, the more difficult it might be to make drastic improvements. Just my opinions.

[Fig Newtons]

1.  A last name that is not Fitzpatrick.

The End

[RealityCheck]

What every football fan wants in a QB is so irrelevant because you draft a person, not a collection of attributes. Said player will lead a team to a Super Bowl win or he will not. No one actually knows who that is until it happens.

[purple haze]

Accuracy and Arm strength.  

Confidence is earned through work and results.  Athleticism would be great because it would add to play calling possibilities, but a QB can be a winner without this trait.  Mental capacity can be taught.

Arm strength can't be taught.  Accuracy can get better potentially, but I don't believe, to a big enough level. For examples of these two issues see: J.P. Losman, Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick.  J.P. and Fitz are inaccurate.  Edwards has a middling arm as does Fitz.  The lack of results produced by their arms created voids in confidence.  And these two issues also handicapped the Bills play calling and caused talented WR's to not be as productive as they would have been with better QB play.

Edited by purple haze, 07 March 2013 - 03:44 PM.

[VADC Bills]

In addition to your points

-The ability to not turn the ball over in high pressure situations.
- Would like a QB that can run a two minute offense.
- Arm strength, arm strength, arm strength and touch when needed.
- Some one that is not personal friends with the head coach initially.
- A winner on prior levels.
- Vision ala Tom Brady

[Lincoln Osiris]

Fig Newtons, on 07 March 2013 - 03:30 PM, said:

1.  A last name that is not Fitzpatrick.

The End

Ditto

[Nanker]

He has to be good looking.
That's a must.

[yungmack]

To my eye, there are four interlinked qualities that a top QB must have, and they're all so important that you can't put one above the other:

Leadership (teammates must trust you)  -- Ability to quickly read the defense (tied to the ability to make the correct changes if necessary) -- Ability to act quickly and correctly after the snap -- Accuracy Accuracy Accuracy

Strong arm, running ability, durability, media savvy, etc. are all excellent qualities.  But if you don't have the other ones first, it doesn't matter how shifty you are in the open field.

[Snorom]

a QB who can throw for more then 3000 yds in a season.

Who throws more then 20 TD's in a season and more TD's then INT's.

Who can show to be capable of a 60% season completion rate.

Must be at least 6' 2" tall

Who is durable enough to play all 16 games

[LittleJoeCartwright]

Snorom, on 07 March 2013 - 04:29 PM, said:

a QB who can throw for more then 3000 yds in a season.

Who throws more then 20 TD's in a season and more TD's then INT's.

Who can show to be capable of a 60% season completion rate.

Must be at least 6' 2" tall

Who is durable enough to play all 16 games

You do know that Ryan Fitzpatrick meets all of your requirements.

[Bangarang]

So basically, everyone is looking for a quarterback that only comes around maybe once every decade?

[KollegeStudnet]

a winner

[sodbuster]

Bangarang, on 07 March 2013 - 04:42 PM, said:

So basically, everyone is looking for a quarterback that only comes around maybe once every decade?

Not me. I'm looking for a qb that comes around once. Ever.

My five are:

1. 6'3", 240 lbs
2. early to mid 20s
3. A history of great leadership
4. Playoff and big game experience
5. God on his sideline

Hmm...

[It's in My Blood]

Accuracy, Arm Strength, and Pocket Awareness.

[KeisterHollow]

RealityCheck, on 07 March 2013 - 03:34 PM, said:

What every football fan wants in a QB is so irrelevant because you draft a person, not a collection of attributes. Said player will lead a team to a Super Bowl win or he will not. No one actually knows who that is until it happens.

True enough - yet, QB's can often be described by certain dominant features; Bledsoe was strong armed, accurate. Favre was wild, but strong armed and fast. I could go on, but one feature that almost always has to be present when discussing a good QB is Accuracy. How many inaccurate QB's end up good? All the other features - toughness, speed, athleticism, leadership, intelligence - are all secondary.

Therefore, you start at accurate, and from there its a matter of preference and luck.

[Maddog69]

Snorom, on 07 March 2013 - 04:29 PM, said:

a QB who can throw for more then 3000 yds in a season.

Who throws more then 20 TD's in a season and more TD's then INT's.

Who can show to be capable of a 60% season completion rate.

Must be at least 6' 2" tall

Who is durable enough to play all 16 games

LittleJoeCartwright, on 07 March 2013 - 04:40 PM, said:

You do know that Ryan Fitzpatrick meets all of your requirements.

Was thinking the same thing.   He described 2011 and 2012 Fitzpatrick

[marauderswr80]

Smart accurate tough

[K-9]

GMs and other pro personnel evaluators have been polled on this question for decades now. ALWAYS and without fail, the top two most desirable traits, IN ORDER, are

Accuracy
Football intelligence (this includes pre/post snap reads) but a QB must be able to absorb a lot of information FAST.

Leadership is always desirable as well. When it comes to arm strength, they talk about getting the ball where it needs to be ON TIME. This can be accomplished when you combine accuracy, intelligence, and a quick release. A cannon is nice but not necessary to get the ball where it needs to be ON TIME. The oldest test in the book is still the best benchmark; the ability to throw the far out from the opposite hash off 3, 5, and 7 step drops ON TIME.

GO BILLS!!!

Edited by K-9, 07 March 2013 - 06:57 PM.

[rayray808]

1)  His first name is Geno, if not
2)  His last name is Barkley, if not
3)  His last name is Glennon, if not
4)  His last name is Nassib, if not
5)  His first name is EJ

worse case scenario
6)  I don't even mind if his first name is Carson