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How to Judge an NFL Quarterback Competition
You’re at a job interview, and the usual nervous tics start. Your right leg keeps jittering as though you’re ready to take off. And there’s sweat. So much sweat...
bleacherreport.com
The Super Bowl-winning coach told him to do something simple as the team tried to pick its starting quarterback between Patrick Ramsey and veteran Mark Brunell during training camp.
He wanted Lazor to watch the quarterbacks closely, of course. Then he wanted him to watch so much more.
“I remember during one of the preseason games Coach Gibbs told me to stand on the sideline and just watch this one particular quarterback when it was his turn,” Lazor told Bleacher Report. “When he went out there on the field I watched, and I saw everyone in the huddle become a better player.”
“It’s funny, because sometimes you want to break it down with sports science and analytics. There are many other ways to look at how a guy is performing, even in practice," Lazor said. "But there’s also something to a veteran coach like Coach Gibbs watching the effect a quarterback has on the whole team. That’s something really hard to quantify.”
This is the eye test, a process that can be dangerous due to the land mines of bias and sample-size deception. But leaning on what you see becomes an ill-advised method only if everything else is ignored.
Balanced thinking leads to an informed decision
Each situation presents unique challenges. The recipe that produces a quality quarterback decision calls for informed watching, tape study and statistical analysis.
But another key ingredient can only come through time.
“The wisdom of coaching the position for a while helps you in a few ways,” Lazor said. “One of them is in the meeting room. As you get to know the guys, how do they answer questions? How quickly do they catch on to what you’re trying to teach? How quickly when we’re watching video do they notice what’s different, or what the triggers are that they have to see? I think over time when you sit in the room with a bunch of different guys you create an ability to sense how fast they’re thinking and developing.”
The evaluation process can be slanted toward what you don’t see at home.
Throughout the preseason you, the fan sitting and working your couch groove into mid-November form, see brief flashes of each quarterback competing for a job. They’re on the field for a handful of snaps at first, and then a quarter or so later in August. During the true dead-heat competitions each candidate gets time with the first-team offense.
The coaches, meanwhile, probably spend more time with those quarterbacks in late July and early August than they do with their significant others. They’re testing physical attributes and throwing mechanics and simulating different game situations on the practice field.
They’re also poking at the quarterback’s football mind. Mentally processing an offensive scheme can carry just as much weight as physically executing it.