The NFL is undergoing a drastic evolution. Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Tim Tebow, Robert
Griffin III: these players represent a widespread philosophical shift at the
game’s highest level. They are forces of nature. Players blessed with the size,
speed and athleticism to play any position on the field. So why put them at
quarterback?
Just ask any high school football coach what position his
best athlete plays. “Quarterback,” almost always, will be their answer. At least
at first.
It makes perfect sense. Any coach would want their best
athlete to handle the ball on every offensive snap. So why has it taken so long
for a crop of supremely athletic quarterbacks to burst onto the NFL scene?
Tradition mostly.
For years college coaches have made it their business to
convert athletically gifted quarterbacks into receivers and defensive backs,
believing that the athletic skills that made these players so dominant in high
school will no longer carry them at the quarterback position in college.
A quarterback is meant to be on the field at all times, to
stay in the pocket and vertically drive the offense down the field. Putting
such an instrumental offensive player in a position to be injured, by designing
an offense around their running ability, would present an unnecessary risk.
This notion is especially prevalent at the professional level, where even backup
quarterbacks are paid millions.
But this argument falls flat on its face when a truly superior athlete is put at the
quarterback position.
College teams were the first to figure this out. Just ask the
2005 Texas Longhorns (Vince Young), the 2008 Florida Gators (Tim Tebow) and the
2010 Auburn Tigers (Cam Newton), all national champions who were led by a supremely
athletic signal caller.
Sure, the NFL has had its share of athletic quarterbacks.
Names like Steve Young, Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb come to mind. But
none of these quarterbacks had an offense that was tailored to fit both their running and their passing ability.
But after years of trying to force these athletic phenoms
into the mold of the prototypical “pocket-passer,” players like Michael Vick
(before prison) and Vince Young, NFL coaches have come to realize that the risk
of injury is far outweighed by such an athlete’s ability to wreak havoc upon
unprepared defenses.
It started with the 2008 Miami Dolphins and the Wildcat
formation, an offensive wrinkle involving direct snaps to tailback Ronnie Brown,
that turned a 1-15 team into an 11-5 division champion. The league took notice.
Within the next two seasons, almost every NFL team had some variation of the
Wildcat, until finally, the Philadelphia Eagles figured out that a permanent
Wildcat quarterback, a player whose throwing ability was a real threat, transformed their pedestrian offense into a juggernaut.
It was the perfect storm. Vick, the post-prison version, was
shredding NFL defenses, while Newton was establishing himself as the NCAA’s
most dominant player.
The following NFL draft marked a true departure from the widespread
obsession with acquiring the prototypical pocket-passer. Heading into the draft,
pundits like Mike Mayock argued that the raw abilities of prospects like Newton
and Locker were not worth risking a top-10 pick, suggesting that teams would be
more attracted to the immobile but strong-armed Blaine Gabbert.
You probably know how that story played itself out.
Now, going into the 2012 season, the league has been infused
with a fresh crop of ultra-athletic quarterbacks. While Griffin III grabs the
headlines with his world-class sprinters speed, many fans don’t realize that
both Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill are exceptional athletes at the position, running
4.67 and 4.58 in the 40, respectively.
You see, the
overplayed comment that “the NFL has become a passing league” is about twenty
years overdue. The NFL has been a
passing league for years. We’re living in the era of the dual-threat.
Just hold on and enjoy the ride.
