The blame lies solely on the shoulders of the college and high school coaches who misguide their student-athletes. Are these coaches doing their due diligence or are they just trying to be progressive in their respective sports at the expense of their athletes?
Naturally, every sports fan will fire back at me with shots like "what's wrong with being progressive?" or "Isn't a dual threat QB a good thing?". My response is that there's nothing wrong with being progressive and yes, a dual threat QB is a great thing...when they happen to be a pocket passer with wheels and can score in the double digits of a Wonderlic test and by being progressive, it actually means improving an already functional system.
Let me ask you this: Can you name more than one dual threat QB to win a Super Bowl or a National Championship? There are three names that come to mind: Former Texas QB, Vince Young in 2005, current University Florida QB, Tim Tebow, and former 49er great, Steve Young, have been the most successful dual threat quarterbacks in football. Tebow and Vince Young have electrified fans with their play-making ability and carried their respective teams to NCAA titles. Steve Young didn't exactly electrify with his feet as much as he did with his laser-guided left arm, but he did rack up 4,239 career rushing yards.
Now, let me ask you this: How many athletic quarterbacks were highly regarded in college, but failed to win championships, and were high draft picks in the NFL and yet again, failed to win Super Bowls? I can name at least eight: Michael Vick (1st Overall Pick), Donovan McNabb (2nd Overall), Alex Smith (1st Overall), Charlie Ward (played in the NBA), Eric Crouch (Played 1 season as WR in the NFL), Randall Cunningham (2nd Round), Kordell Stewart (Played WR/RB/QB/P in the NFL), and Steve McNair (lost in the Super Bowl).
Suppose you were a coach and a statistician came up to you with a breakdown of the previous two paragraphs that looked like this -
Probability that your "dual threat" quarterback will win an NCAA championship - 1/20 (There have been four to six that have ever done this by my count, and Eric Crouch is a stretch)
Probability that your "athletic" quarterback will win a Super Bowl in the NFL - 1/43 (only one Super Bowl win by Steve Young)
No coach in their right mind would set up their own players for failure in their future professions for the sake of padding their own coaching resume, right? One would like to think so, but then there's Urban Meyer. He's at the head of the class when it comes to coaching quarterbacks with "upside" that eventually crumble in the NFL. Meyer's list includes the aforementioned Tebow, Josh Harris, Chris Leak, and Alex Smith. Each were utilized in his "progressive" spread offense that has won Meyer two national championships, two Mountain West Conference championships, and two Southeastern Conference championships. (Honorable mention for the coach who's most likely to kill a quarterback's chances in the NFL would have to be Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech - Michael Vick, Marcus Vick, Bryan Randall, and Tyrod Taylor to name a few)
Not surprisingly, Meyer's version of the spread has produced some of the most prolific individual rushing and passing seasons by a college quarterback in the history of college football. This is great for Meyer and even better for his quarterbacks...while they're still in school anyways. What is surprising is the lack of translation those numbers have when it comes to the NFL.
Meyer's spread offense demands athleticism and a strong arm. His quarterbacks rely on the scheme and their instincts. The occasional Cover 2 read or blitz read is needed, but for the most part, the plays are designed so well that it doesn't matter what defense they're facing. This may win his quarterbacks a Heisman Trophy or two, but it does them no justice when it comes to preparation for the NFL. My fear is that as long as sports fans and the media are obsessed with statistics, Meyer will always be judged as one of the best coaches in our era and continue to ruin the professional-potential of his quarterbacks.
The very thought of college football turning into nothing more than a high scoring track meet doesn't interest me one bit. There's a reason why track-and-field is only televised once every four years and that the Arena Football League quit for a season to "reorganize". I'll take a 20-17 chess match of field position, defensive adjustments, and a handful of play-action passes any day of the week. The day college football returns to it's glory of decades past, I'll consider myself a fan.
Side Note: While writing this, I was watching the SEC Championship game between Florida and Alabama. Here's what I came away with about Tebow and Alabama's pocket-passer, Greg McElroy:
- Perhaps this was Tebow's only game of his career against an NFL type defense...he didn't look comfortable at all. He still holds the football too low during his drop backs and his accuracy leaves a lot to be desired.
- Greg McElroy (Southlake Carroll HS, Texas), looked like Joe Montana in this game. He made every subtle play that a pocket-passer is expected to make to lead his team to a victory. His decision making was sharp and the execution of his throws was phenomenal.
Check back tomorrow for my NFL picks!
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