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.

 

Vick didn’t invent anything.

If you want to trace the roots of the “modern” running QB you gotta go turn on grainy tape of early Randall Cunningham and Steve Young.

Then for the roots of some of the stuff teams build into a rushing QB focused offense, you can actually look at SOME of the stuff teams were running in the 1940’s and 1950’s with the QB as lead rusher and passer. Not a direct correlation but the beginnings of many of the ideas are there. Bill Belicheck talked about looking at how defenses were accounting for the QB back then to inject into modern defense schemes.

There is very little new under the sun.

I argued vehemently against this for years, but I now strongly suspect we’re going to see a swing back to RB focused offense. Somebody is going to dust off the jumbo sized shoulder pads, draft a bunch of angry fat dudes, and just knock all these light sub package fronts out of the box.

Those of you here that know my opinion from previous Steelers locales can attest that this is not something I ever thought we’d see again. But why not?

wanna live in nickel with light LBers and DBs that don’t like to tackle? Stay in 2 high safety coverage shells? Ok. Good for you. Here comes a FB behind a pulling guard and a 250# RB. Good luck.

 

He played in 16 games in 5 straight season, though I know he was in and out of getting benched and playing in relief of other QB's who sucked worse, but he played in a lot of games as the starter under center.

I'm not remembering how he was when I was a kid. I've posted two videos (actual evidence, not just remembering) that show that I am correct in my assessment, but all you counter with is "well you just don't remember correctly". I've brought evidence and you haven't. Based off the facts brought to the table, you're the one who is misremembering. The reality is that he wasn't given a myriad of designed runs. Maybe 1-2 a game at most. The rest of them were just him scrambling and taking off. Regardless of how you remember it, it is a fact backed with evidence other than "that's how I remember it".

Mahomes, Herbert, and Trevor all run it 1 rush per game or less than Stewart did. How are the former pocket passers and the latter a guy that was getting designed runs drawn up left and right? Is 16 rushes a season or less really the difference between a guy who is a pocket passer and a guy who is a runner (one who you believe was somehow getting plenty of designed runs per game). You also have a MUCH lower threshold for what you constitute a "running" QB. Five rushes a game is not a lot. Especially with the prevalence of QB sneaks in short yardage situations and the modern QB being more athletic (and their legs intentionally utilized much more). A pocket QB can accidentally run it nearly 80 times a season.

Whether or not you believe it or not, the facts don't change. Stewart wasn't being designed a multitude of runs per game. Maybe a cheeky one or two here or there, but most of his runs were because he ran when he felt pressure in the pocket, and he ran when he couldn't get through his reads fast enough. Those are facts. It is why he got benched. We will never know how he would have developed today, but based off the way the QB is used (and more OC's being willing to base their offense around a QB that runs it 100+ times a season) it is at least reasonable to wonder if he wouldn't have had a better career.

 

He didn't "invent" it... but because Mike Vick played QB, the young athlete felt like it was cool for them to be QB and not RB or WR. There are a multitude of young kids (primarily young black kids) who grew up playing QB because of Mike Vick. His legacy is that guys like him became prevalent after he was around. Others scrambled and ran some, but Vick wasn't like Young or Cunningham. Those guys are more like Allen or Maye. Vick was electric.

 

Did you see Cunningham play? Electric would be the first word I’d use to describe him. I grew up in the Iggles media market. Everyone wanted to be Cunningham.

Maybe I’m remembering it wrong.

 

I only remember him later in his career when he ran less. I was too young for his pre-30-year old days. I maybe remember a year or two of Philly then his Minnesota days.