Did Kordell Stewart play in the wrong era?

I said nothing that was wrong. Not a single thing I typed was false?

Trevor Lawrence has played 5 seasons, but has one outlier where he was injured. In his 4 healthy seasons he averaged 72 rushes per season (69 per season if assuming 16 game season). Kordell had 5 healthy seasons where he appeared in 16 games. He averaged 80 rushes per 16 game season in those games. He averaged 0.5 rushes per game more than Lawrence in the healthy seasons.

You get mad at me for cherry picking 2025 where Herbert had his most rushing attempts, but then cherry pick averages against Kordell's highest rushing attempt years? Why is his 96 rush season the benchmark when he averaged 80 rushes per 16 games? Also, Herbert has rushed it a lot more the last three years. If you take his rushes per game and average it over a 16 game season (to make it apples to apples with Stewart) he would have rushed it 71 times a year the last three seasons (again roughly a half rush per game less than Stewart). Honestly, where I CAN give you credit is that its just so hard to classify what a "running QB" is today. Nowadays, starting QB's are expected to chip in with designed runs. A pocket passer in 1999 ran in 30 times a season. Today a pocket passer could easily run it 60-70 times a season simply because they can.

Mahomes averages exactly 62 rushes a year as a starter. Mahomes averages one less rush a game as a starter than dedicated designed "running QB" Stewart... the facts just don't add up to your argument.

I wouldn't consider Nix a running QB. He's just a good athlete so they use his legs. Same with Herbert and Lawrence. Pocket passers that are athletic enough to make plays, so they use it. Maye is definitely the dual threat like Allen, very similar playstyles. Dart is similar too, though he's a different type of athlete than those two. Hurts, Daniels, and Jackson are definite rushing QB's. Kyler is too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCjqUiK70DQ I don't have to rely on just memory. That is another video of Stewart (this time his 1997 highlights) he had exactly two designed runs in that 17 minute video of big plays that weren't QB sneaks (coincidentally both were old school, shotgun QB draws). He had two broken plays that went for big gains (a busted end around for a TD, and a busted shovel pass that he scampered outside on for a decent chunk). Nearly all of his big rushes came from simple drop backs that he felt pressure and took off, or didn't get through his reads and took off. I remember Kordell's days just fine. I also have video evidence that backs my claims.

They absolutely were TRYING to make him a passer. He got benched BECAUSE he ran... Not because we utilized his strengths and designed a bunch of runs for him. Basically he was told that his rushing was unacceptable because they didn't design enough runs for him to take off that much. He needed to keep his eyes downfield and get through his reads, or get benched. He kept taking off and that was that. His time as a starter was over. Also, he got to be 30-31 and that is the beginning of the expiration date for running QB's that can't also be pocket passers. Allen will survive into his mid 30's by just running less and being more like Ben. Hurts, Daniels, and Jackson might be done if they don't learn to be that type of guy eventually. Cam Newton fell off right at 32. That's not a coincidence IMO.

There were certainly roll outs utilized by us in the 90's, but in today's NFL he would get MORE opportunity to rollout in space, he wouldn't have been chided for making one/two reads and running, and he certainly would have been in the Lamar Jackson number of rushes. Over his career, Lamar has averaged over 10 rushes a start. In Stewart's league that's 160 a year (literally double what Stewart averaged per season). These rushes would have primarily been designed, though there would be a lot of rollout rush/pass options.

There is almost zero reason to believe that Stewart wouldn't have had a better shot at being successful in today's league because today's OC's have use for his play style. The OC's of his era didn't. That's just how it is. He may not have been a great QB still (I still don't think he would have been). But I think he would have been more successful than he was in the 90's. There's absolutely no evidence to believe otherwise.

 

He's not entirely wrong, but a bit inflated in his actual role in fostering the modern passer... I'd argue that Michael Vick fathered in the modern QB (and the reason why I think he should be a HOF player. He literally made it cool for the athlete to be QB). There's an argument that all sports are athletically optimized, and the modern passer developed organically through athletes just being better athletes over time... But I still think Vick played the main role. He was it. I know he did the dog fighting thing, but he paid his time and honestly improved himself afterwards. He belongs in the HOF IMO.

 

Vick is nowhere close to being worthy of the Hall of Fame, and his being a piece of **** who tortured animals for fun won't endear him to any voters.

Stewart would have been utilized better in this era, but he still wouldn't have been particularly good. He was far too flawed as a passer.

 

That's not saying much. Russell was also discarded quickly. For some odd reason the Steelers kept at it with Kordell : (

 

The fact that he couldn't read a defense, handle a playbook with more than 3 plays and couldn't hit the side of a barn, are pretty good pieces of evidence of why he would have failed today. Look at Justin Fields. He is a better passer than Kordell, but still a horrible passer.

Kordell should have stayed RB/WR. He would have had a great career.

 

LoL. Just because You write a lot doesn't make it correct.
I took the only 3 seasons he actually played 16 game. Why wouldn't I ? Of freaking course I'm not going to take the seasons he played 4, or 5 games. So I took the only 3 seasons he actually played the whole season as a Qb. You watching as a kid has distorted your memory of him. This is not a knock, it just is what it is.
Like I said running Qbs average running 80- over 100 times a year, then,and now, and nothing you've said yet has shown any difference. The guys you tried throwing in there like Mahomes, Trevor, Herbert, and such don't run that much on average because they aren't running Qbs. The ones that do are.

 

He wasn't great, and the Steelers probably gave him too many chances, but you act as if Stewart didn't have good seasons.