It's Feb and that means it time to hear all about Athletic and Mobile QBs. WTF

[Taur]

If you repeat a lie long enough, it will become a fact!

I just don't get it. Every January I watch the battle of 2 pocket passing QBs going head to head for the Title. Then. a month later I listen to how you have to have a quick, mobile QB to compete in the NFL.

How about a little history on these so called can't miss Mobile QBs. 7 years ago everybody was jumping on Kordell Stewarts bandwagon. A couple of years later it was Jeff Blake who grabbed the #2 QB preseason ranking. Lets follow that up with Akilli Smith as the next can't miss. Last year all eyes and endorsement contracts were on NO's Aaron Brooks. This year I wonder how many Fantasy GM's will bet the house once again on the latest Running QB Michael Vick.

Changing lanes now; Lets look at 2 Running QBs that made it Big. Both Elway and Gannon came into the league feet first. The best years of their Careers came at the end of their playing days. After 8 or 9 operations and a couple of pounds of bracing; gone were the days of mobility and mediocrity and on were the days of hall of fame stats and MVP titles.

As offenses get more complicated and timing patterns become the norm do you really want a QB that has his backside facing downfield as he tries to buy more time, or do you want a standup guy facing his opponent head on looking downfield as the play develops?

If you repeat a lie long enough, it will become a fact!

[andy m]

If you repeat a lie long enough, it will become a fact!

you said this twice. if you repeat it some more, will it become a fact?

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by andy m
you said this twice. if you repeat it some more, will it become a fact?

Regrettably, this needs too much context to be QotM material...

[TroyF]

Taur,

First off, you need to get your facts straight. Lets look at the QB's you brought up:

Interestingly enough, only one ever had a 400 yard season. Gannon in 2000, a year in which he completed over 60% of his passes for 28TD's and 11INT's. (he rushed for over 500 that year)

Elway averaged 48 carries for 212 yards per season in his 16 years in the league. His first Super Bowl winning season? 50 carries for 218 yards.

Blake was never really considered a bigtime scrambler and Brooks is usuallly looking to throw the ball as well.

There is a point to be made about running QB's not ever winning Super Bowls. Sadly, by ranting without checking your facts you failed to make a case for even an interesting debate.

I personally appreciate both types (I can watch the Steve McNair vs. Kurt Warner Super Bowl all day and find great things about both QB's. To each his/her own. . .

TroyF

[Taur]

Looking at Elways rushing stats. I get this

"Starting" career with 250+ rushing yards in a season.

1984-1991 seasons - 5 out of 8 seasons over 250yds= 62%

1992-1998 seasons - 0 out of 7 seasons over 250yds = 0%

It sure look like something has changed to me in his game play. Shame on you for even being from Colorado and all.

[Barkeep49]

While your mobile arugment might hold up with the Super Bowl teams if you look back at the Confrence Championship matchups, on other words the four best teams instead of the two best, you suddenly find two athletic quarterbacks (McNair and McNabb). Now obviously they didn't get to the Super Bowl, but neither did a lot of pocket passers (like Brett Farve). I don't think the argument is nearly as strong as you make it out to be.

[oykib]

Originally posted by Taur
Looking at Elways rushing stats. I get this

"Starting" career with 250+ rushing yards in a season.

1984-1991 seasons - 5 out of 8 seasons over 250yds= 62%

1992-1998 seasons - 0 out of 7 seasons over 250yds = 0%

It sure look like something has changed to me in his game play. Shame on you for even being from Colorado and all.

Well 250 yards seems like an arbitrary cutoff when his average per season was 212. We might be talking about thirty yards. Thats less than two yards a game. That could be explained away by the fact that his team was better in his later seasons.

If your team is ahead, you're gonna have three kneel down plays. If his team is clearly ahead in two more games thats ten of those yards right there.

That doesn't even take into account that in his later years his whole recieving corps ( Sharpe, Smith, McCaffery ) was better than his best guy in his early years ( Pritchard or Johnson ). That means that at least once a game one of them is gonna get open in a situation that would have been a scrambling situation.

Not that this doesn't mean his mentality was less about scrambling. But your 'evidence' isn't particularly solid.

[Ryche]

I would say Steve Young would be the exception to running QBs winning a Super Bowl. He was the leading rusher and Super Bowl MVP of SB 29.

Running QBs are a bit overrated though, I would say it is just one more asset, like arm strength and reading defenses. If a QB has to run a lot, it is usually because their offensive line is bad or their receivers can't get open. Or they can't find the open receivers.

[Swaggs]

Where does Donavon McNabb fit into the equation?

[Taur]

Originally posted by Swaggs
Where does Donavon McNabb fit into the equation?

LOL----The best game I saw him play last year He WAS strictly a pocket passer(Broken foot and all).



I wonder how much Fantasy Football has influenced how we judge QB's. Sure is nice to have a fantasy QB that can take it in himself for a rushing TD.

[kcchief19]

Bashers of "athletic/mobile" QBs are stuck in the 1980s. There have always been a handful of QBs who ran more frequently than others, but it wasn't until the last five years or so that running QBs took on a new dimension.

Saying that Kordell Stewart sucks and therefore all athletic QBs suck is the same as me saying that Ryan Leaf sucked and therefore all pocket passers sucked. I would take McNair, Vick or McNabb over 95 almost any other starting QBs in the league, and so would anybody with any football sense whatsoever.

The fact is that you are going to get more of this in the future. Success breeds imitators, and mobile/athletic QBs are now having success at all levels of football. You're going to get more of them.

If you think that you are not going to McNabb, Vick, McNair and some guys in college who are coming up in the Super Bowl in the next five years, then fire up a game of TCY and run the wishbone. That's probably more your speed.

[mckerney]

Originally posted by Taur
Lets follow that up with Akilli Smith as the next can't miss.

And we remember how great that years draft was for pocket passers. Cade McNown had such a smooth throwing motion, he was a can't miss.

Though if I do remember correctly, Smith was much more well know for his throwing ability in college than anything else.