OTish: NFL QB shortage in near future? Plus, Harbaugh tidbit - Warning: Bleacher Report
First off, this article is from Bleacher Report, so if you're averse to that, go ahead and skip or neg if you must. However, I found it somewhat interesting and a topic that I haven't seend discussed a whole lot lately. Plus it's the dead season in sports, so lighten up, Francis.
Bleacher Report is surmising the possibility of a shortage of quality NFL QBs in the coming years, which actually makes a lot of sense with guys like Brady, Manning, Roethlisberger, etc getting older and there seemingly not being a lot of good replacements coming in from college. This past draft saw the fewest QBs drafted in the last 60 (!) years, which is telling since it is the most important position on the field.
I think we can safely assume that this is in no small part because of the college world's shift to the spread, but how will the NFL respond going forward? Will their systems have to start incorporating more spread ideals, since typical pro-style QBs are now a rarity? Will quality of play in the league go down?
Also, there was this tidbit on Harbaugh:
The Bad Coaching Factor: Based on the ones I've talked to, if you polled every assistant coach in the NFL asking what football coach other than Bill Belichick they respect the most, it would be Jim Harbaugh, now at Michigan. The only criticism assistants I've spoken to have of Harbaugh is that he failed to develop Colin Kaepernick once the quarterback became a star. Kaepernick's evolution stopped—suddenly and violently—and that's on Harbaugh.
Link here.
and Jim Harbaugh should not be within 3 sentences of each other. Regardless of what is inbetween those sentences.
DISPROVED
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exceptions to every rule. If it involves the framing a story about how we won the Big Ten, NC or beating MSU or OSU I'm all for it.
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Extremely well reasoned.
Overall though this is in the top quarter of BR articles I've seen so well done.
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So Harbaugh developed Kapernick into a star, but then failed to develop him once he became a star?
Harbaugh gets no credit for making Kaepernick great, but still gets to take all the blame for not making him Peyton Manning once he got there. Science
Don't question it man, it's just science.
tedd cruz. the extra "d" is for douchebag
skills to answer. Harbaugh would have worked that out this year and arguably did last season. The right calls were made. Colin just didn't have the accuracy to deliver the deep and middle routes that would have hit the D where they sacrificed to cover Kaepernick's threats.
Kaepernick's slide is not on Harbaugh. The opportunity to succeed was there. The plan was a good one. Colin is far from washed up and will never be below average, but he is ridden with vulnerabliity until he ups his game.
Kaepernick. He's an excellent spread guy, but once the defenses pretty well shut that off, he was forced to have to make the accurate throws which he couldn't do well enough. It seems to me that Russell Wilson has done a better job adjusting to the defenses with more accurate passing.
I didn't read the article because "Bleacher Report".
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When Kaepernick makes the pro bowl, outduels Aaron Rodgers in the playoffs this year and leads the 49ers back to the Super Bowl, I'll believe Harbaugh was the problem.
Could be that Colin has been milked for all he's worth as a passer. Not every QB has it within him to be Brady or Manning.
The lack of pro style QBs is something I've thought about in the last few drafts. I think it's one of those issues that not enough people see yet but will be a big deal in a few years if spread QBs continue to disappoint in the NFL.
Although many spread QBs have had limited success in the pros I don't think it's enough yet to say clear cut that if you want to be an NFL QB then you need to learn a pro style system in college.
If it does get to that point though it will be interesting to see if it has an impact on recruiting or a shift back to more pro style offenses in college to attract QBs by saying "come to School X, we teach you how to be in the NFL"
will be sending 2 QB's to the draft every year. We'll become QB University, in addition to TE University.
There have been a few articles in various publications lately that highlight the growing disconnect between college QBs and what is expected of a QB typically in the NFL. Remember, for example, that Cam Newton - when once asked to name an audible he called - could not think of one, and Bryce Petty in the Senior Bowl looked like he'd never taken a snap under center before (because Baylor, of course).
I am guessing that we could really start looking back to high school at this point to see the start of this divergence - at least in the last several years, it seems like even at that level it is about half spread offenses. If is the case that an increasing number of prospective NFL QBs - now and down the road - are learning systems and skills that won't translate well to the prevailing offensive leanings of the NFL, the problem will get worse rather quickly, I think.
If only there were some other QB Harbaugh had coached that turned into an NFL star ... ... That would be fortunate. You know how like a horshoe brings good superstitious thing and drew upon good luck.
This seems like an odd thing to try to argue. Most teams most of the time don't have high-quality quarterbacks. 75% of teams don't have a QB who's in the top 25% of QBs. Not being able to immediately identify a QB replacement for Palmer last year wasn't an aberration for the Cardinals - it's normal. Very few teams have a 2nd string QB who can come in and win many games. It's why they're the 2nd string QB.
Maybe there will be a drought of quality pro QBs in five years. Maybe teams will switch back to more run-oriented offenses and we'll see a drop in passing yardage and scoring. It wouldn't be the first time the NFL has cycled like this.
maybe Art Schlichter can get back into the NFL?
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I'm a few years away from watching high school football now(Son graduated), but the spread was growing like wild fire. Some schools are still back in the wing T(also not a lot of passing). So the pool of training for pro style guys is shrinking.
I'm sure we will see Harbo give a scholarship to a spread kid that can also throw in the next few years. It will be interesting to see what the next big thing is.
Where did the veer offense and the 52 defense go? LOL
even though he made two mind-numbing throws every game, he more than made up for it.
If NFL means the game is evolving into more Denard'esque - sign me up! That said maybe Denard's QB skills don't necessarily translate well in the top echelons of football.
The other take is that he got the absolute most possible out of Kaepernick and he just wasn't going to progress much further due to limitations on his ability. There's only so much a coach can do. You just can't assume these guys can progress indefinitely.