The greatest QB that never was

Take a look at these impressive stats:

He completed 16 of 18 passes, 88.9 percent, for 170 yards and four touchdowns. His passer rating was 145.6. Counting his stint in Washington, he was 22 of 27 for 323 yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions and a 156.1 passer rating, almost the 158.3 ceiling or “perfect” passer rating. (He) often said he could play quarterback in the NFL and when he got his chance, he proved it.
Ed Bouchette. PG+

These stats were put up by Antwaan Randle El. I often wondered what he'd be able to do as a full time QB in the NFL, but his size dissuaded any team from even considering Randle El as a QB. But with the success that Russell Wilson is having and with the growing popularity of the Pistol and other unorthodox offenses it makes me wonder whether or not Randle El could have success in today's league under the right circumstances. He's virtually the same height as Russell Wilson although he's about 15-20 pounds lighter. Randle El, like Russell Wilson, was an extremely cerebral football player whose leadership ability was off the charts. And when he had the football in his hands, like Wilson, he just flat out knew what to do with it.

I realize it would have been tough for Randle El to have had sustained success at QB, but it's an intriguing thought given the success of Wilson and the read option systems creeping into today's game.

 

Well most of the time when he was playing qb though wasn't he throwing to REALLY wide open guys because the defense had fallen for the trick play that was being ran? Did he ever take any NFL snaps from under center?

 

I agree. There might be some Punters that have similar completion percentages. The sample size (18 attempts) is waaaaay too small to tell if he would have made a good full time QB.

 

Nearing halftime of SB XLV, Ben Roethlisberger had played in almost 2-1/2 Super Bowls and had thrown 1 career Super Bowl TD pass. This tied him for the team lead amoung active Steelers with Antoine Randle El, who also has one.

El was a QB in college, but when he came out, he was auditioning as a WR, I guess it was obvious to him and the scouts that he wasn't an NFL QB.

 

On the one hand, I would have liked to have seen El used more for the versatility he offered, both in his first and second stint here.

On the other hand, the whole point of gadget plays is that you don't use them a lot. I still think he could have been utilised more effectivly when he came back, though, other than all those dramatic 1 yard punt returns.

I think there's a case that he should have been SB40 MVP, not Ward. Controversial, but a case nonetheless.

 

I'm not convinced the read-option is going to stick around. I think once DCs have a chance to diagnose it it wont be quite the weapon it was. However, I am more than willing to admit I am wrong on this one if I am wrong!

 

totally agree.................... btw, when I initially read the title of the thread, I thought it might be a kordell stewart post

 

While I don't necessarily disagree with you, I think we are going to see an evolution in the QB position. The read option may be flavor of the month, but mobile, athletic college QBs are not, they are everywhere and the NFL will have access to lots of talent with skills that were not available before. Someone will figure out have to get the most out of these guys in the NFL, and when that happens everyone will copy it. In the '30s/'40s into the early '60s it was common for teams to carry 2 or 3 QBs that threw a lot of passes, maybe we're head back to that.

 

LOL! Nope. Kordell was the greatest WR that never was.

 

I agree, but don't you think it's interesting that Shanahan used a high draft pick on another quality QB in Kirk Cousins who isn't known to be that mobile? I don't think they look at RG3 as a read option guy, but as a very good pocket passer who has exceptional mobility.

 

I think the read-option is going to stick around longer than the wildcat did. The reason it works so well is because one player on defense, the DE, has to make a choice and from what I've seen, either way he's screwed. It's going to take the DCs a little bit to figure out how to give that guy some help without taking a defender away from his original assignment.

Randle El was one of my favorites to watch. We had a year where I thought he was going to have to go in if nothing else to at least finish a game. I would have enjoyed watching that for sure.

 

I do believe your are correct about this sticking around longer than the Wildcat. Too, much potential in this system for it to sputter out like that but I don't see this as being as effective as it was this year. Time will tell. It is fun to watch a QB that can run it, though!

 

I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon, either. The game has changed way too much. We're starting to see a massive shift to an emphasis on youth. By age 30, a player is considered a vet and may be deemed too old to play, and so we will start seeing more and more turnover in personnel, and I think this hurts the D more than the O. I think we all agree that Belichick is one of the great defensive minds around, but notice how his defenses are struggling, mostly because of constant turnover.