Are quarterbacks overrated?

I was thinking about all the incessant quarterback hype every week. What do they actually do?

They listen to plays sent in by the OC.

On running plays, they take a snap and hand the responsibility to someone else.

On pass plays, they:
Rely on people bigger and stronger to keep them safe
Rely on faster and more athletic people to run routes and catch a ball
The QB's responsibility is to take a few steps backwards, stand there and throw a ball. The essential skill is deciding who to throw it to - the rest of a successful play is up to others.

I know this is oversimplified, but I sometimes get tired of the hype and the lack of realization that this is the ultimate team game. There would be no great QBs without great surrounding casts.

 

All i know is teams with average qbs are just that average. An example is this years colts. Look what they were with peyton and look at last year anf now with luck this year

 

maybe it's the rest of their guys that are bad. tebow took denver to the playoffs, peyton hasen't even done that.

 

This is a good post! However, I believe there is a much different team with a franchise QB like the main ones always discussed (plus Ben.) With regards to Ben, from the first time I saw him play in his opening game here in Baltimore, I just knew that he had something that other QBs just didn't. He plain out wins. I know that others would argue that average QBs like Joe Sacci also win, but he has a reputation here (Baltimore/ Washington, DC area) of making dumb decisions when the game is on the line than winning drives. (Yes, I realize he did have the one winning drive vs. us last year.) Ben seems different to me. There are so many average QBs and some others who are having good years, I jus tthink a franchise QB is more consistent and play out wins.

 

How many super bowls did we win with maddox, stewart, tomzak, miller, odonnell, brister, and malone. I know i missed some but you get the point. All had great defenses

 

Sorry it had to be done.

 

This is downright ridiculous.

Lets just start with a running play. The call comes in from the OC, the QB delivers that call to the rest of the team. That's the easy part. Now the QB needs to ensure that everyone is where they should be and realign them if necessary. Next, the QB needs to read the defence to determine whether the play called is going to be successful against that particular defensive play. The QB will change the protection scheme or change the direct of the run if he feels it necessary. He may need to do this several times pre-snap. Peyton Manning and Jeff Saturday used to be able to work together to change the protection scheme with 1 second left on the play clock. If the QB doesn't feel that particular play will be successful against that defensive play, he'll audible into a different play altogether and will start all over again with changing the protection. Assuming he stays with the play called from the OC, he then has the center snap the ball. Seems easy enough for us, but it's actually quite difficult to cleanly take the snap. Many QB's coming out of college struggle with this early on in practice. Then the QB needs to know exactly where his RB is before he ever looks back so that the instant he does turn around he can immediately place the ball into the hands of the RB. That's just on a running play.

Passing plays is where QB's truly earn their money.

Same with running plays, QB's will change the protection if necessary. They need to ensure all pass rushers are accounted for in the blocking scheme. Then will then read the defence to determine the success rate of each and every route that the receivers are running. The QB will then change one or more of the routes if he feels it's necessary. Once that's done, they need to read the defence to determine how much time they have available. If they see a lot of pressure coming, they'll likely execute a 3 or 5 step drop. If the defence isn't bringing heat, he may drop back 7 steps. Many times an OC will determine this for a QB beforehand based on the playcall, but the great QB's decide this on their own based on reading the defence. The WR's run different routes in a 3 step drop than they do in a 7 step drop, so the QB needs to ensure his WR's know exactly the play being run so that they know which route to run. Not only that, but the QB needs to know the exact route his WR's, TE's and RB's will be running, all of them. He needs to know where every receiver will be 1, 2 and 3 seconds after the snap. He needs to know the exact spot on the field his receivers will be at and when they'll be there. On top of that, there are small variations in every route, so the QB needs to ensure him and the WR are on the same page. So now it's time to snap the ball, again, not easy. I won't even get into the difficulty of selling play action. So the QB will drop back x number of steps. The QB then sets his feet and goes through his reads. In the case of only 2 receivers, it's less complicated. He has only 2 reads to go through, and he can quickly determine which one is open, if any. In other cases, there may be 3 WR's, 1 TE and 1 RB coming out of the backfield. So now he has 3.5 seconds to quickly scan all 5 receivers to determine if they will be open. That's right, he's not looking to see if they are open, because chances are they aren't as they're still running their route. He needs to determine if they'll be open when the route breaks, as that's when he wants to throw the ball to him. Too early, and it may get picked. Too late and it may get picked. So the QB needs to know every route and the instant when every route breaks so that he can get the ball to the WR at that specific moment. Then the easy part, the QB throws the ball. Ask any QB, throwing the ball is the easy part. Any QB can throw a ball to a specific spot. Hell, Blaine Gabbert can probably stand on a field and throw to a spot just as well as Brady or Manning can. It's all the other stuff that makes the QB position difficult.

That's a very simple and brief synopsis of what a QB goes through. I promise you it's more difficult than that.

You should really get Pat Kirwans book, "Take your eye off the ball." You'll learn a thing or two

 

Chicago will prove this theory wrong.

With that outstanding opportunistic defense they will blast their way to the playoffs, where they face the best of the NFC and their QB will hold them back.

The teams with marquee QB's will square off in the big dance once again.

 

Thanks for picking up that I wasn't entirely serious. QBs have lots to read, decide on, and then execute. But it is still quite the team game, and all 11 (or 22 or 53) have to be performing well to make good things happen. I still get irritated at all the hype QBs get. A really good offensive line will make a running back and a QB look pretty good.

 

For the sake of argument, you could say that the Colts were heading to averagness anyway. Having Peyton hid some cracks in the brickwork - someone like Steve Smith at Carolina has done a similar job in years past.

I don't particularly buy the "you need a great QB to get the the superbowl", simply because of the number of "great" QBs who never won one, or even got there. And the number of QBs we remember as great, because they did win the superbowl, but if one or two variables change in that season then they don't. And, finally, I don't buy it because of Trent Dilfer.

However, on the subject of the original post - basically, Shaner has said everything that needs to be said!

 

Sure, if one or two variables change many great QB's wouldn't have gotten to the Superbowl, but you can argue those great QB's have been responsible for those 1 or 2 variables than ensured they did in fact get to the Superbowl.

I mean, it speaks for itself. Look at all the QB's that have won the SB the last 10-20 years. Sure, you get the odd exception, but there's exceptions to every rule. This doesn't even need debating, the list of QB's that won the SB speaks for itself. There's a common theme, they're almost all elite QB's.

 

I bet all those QBs considered "elite" had some pretty darn good talent surrounding them. Montana without Rice? Bradshaw without Swan & Stallworth (and Franco)? Brady without Welker? Ben without Ward, Holmes, Bettis? Not that the QB is not an important and key role, and there have been some great ones for sure, but it is a TEAM that wins championships and TEAMS that are "elite". I just get tired of all the indivual accolades.

 

yea they do have to make the decision, but the routes are practiced over and over and over ok and over. the qb has a good idea where each receiver should be on any given play. qb's that can pass their receivers open is the big difference. this aspect is what makes the difference in qb's and that decision of who to throw it to. the better one's know when to throw it and do that well.

i also don't think those other qb's we had really had this kind of offensive weapons to use. we are loaded with playmakers on that side of the ball. cowher liked defense. he could have cared less about the qb spot. it showed for alot of years. that alone should say something about the importance of the position for a team. all those guys could do the minimum as qb's as was stated by to OP. touch , zip, accuracy and timing is the difference of completing that pass or not. the good ones proccess this quickly and have the physical gifts that take it from brain to body consistantly.

 

Yeah, in a way - but by 'variables' I was talking more about an RB fumble, a missed holding call - hell, even 17 points on Special Teams or whatever that meant Kordell Stewart wasn't a superbowl QB.

I suppose my point is: the perception of an elite QB can often go hand in hand with their superbowl wins, but it's not necessarily straightforward cause and effect in every case.

 

Really, what has Welker ever done without Brady? What about Randy Moss? The guy sets records with Brady, then the very next year he basically sucks with Matt Cassell. Same system, same WR, very, very different results. You seem to think WR's make QB's elite when it's usually the other way around.

A QB can make an ordinary WR elite. A top WR won't help a mediocre QB, just ask Dwayne Bowe.