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Quarterbacks: Evolution and Future Of

            Much has been said recently about young quarterbacks. Without question, they are the future of football. The NFL – like it or not – is no longer becoming a passing league. It already is a passing league. In spite of all this, there are a few peculiarities that I have noticed and become fixated on in recent years.

            What we have witnessed in recent season is perhaps the most covert QB revolution that we have ever seen. Covert, only because most do not seem to pay attention to it. The question here being, why are numbers amongst young quarterbacks at all levels seemingly down? It seems like it is becoming the new norm that quarterbacks finish a game under 300 yards even when they do play well and lead their team to a victory. So why is that?

            I do not believe that this any sort of anomaly and this trend is unlikely to be reversed any time soon.

            The reason for all of this being the way young quarterbacks are now. Watch most collegiate and high school games and you will see the differences from what we have seen in the past out of the position. Offenses – and by extension. Quarterback play – are almost entirely ran and orchestrated by the coaching staffs.

            It has become common place that the offense is centered around one thing – percentages.

            High percentage plays result in helping keep drives going, scoring points and, most importantly, winning games. These high percentage plays consist of short to medium, range throws and the ability to run the football. Understandably, this limits the attractive yardage factor that people want to go wild over.

            To call a spade a spade, Mitchell Trubisky, Drew Lock, Justin Herbert, etc. are the new age of quarterback. Sure, Patrick Mahomes is also still very young in his career, as is another big arm quarterback in Josh Allen, but they may actually prove to be the exceptions in this instance.

            I would rather have a quarterback going 20-30 with 230-250 yards and a touchdown and with 30 rushing yards is that is what my team’s system called for. I would still take that over 320 yards per game and also tends to risk turning the ball over multiple times.

             So why are quarterback numbers down against amongst this new generation?

            Because you cannot completely re-teach these guys. It is far better and more practical to build off of their already existing skillset. Young QBs are far less susceptible to throw that face-palming interception than what those who preceded them were. While they are not true dual-threats, this kind of quarterback is going to become even more effective.

            I get that people like the big, flashy plays. We all love explosive offensive football. But we all love winning above all else. I genuinely believe that this new style of quarterback, when properly developed (I cannot stress that enough) can win a lot of games and, yes, they can win championships.

            Do not change your quarterback’s DNA. Play to their strengths and build the team around them. Winning defines the quarterback, not mind-boggling stats.

 

 

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