[BostonCard]

The other thing that I think might be worth challenging here is the idea of a “high ceiling” player.  Now, that is admittedly hard to define, but usually when I hear that,people are referring to athletic quarterbacks with a cannon of an arm.  But when I think the QB’s who are in the discussion for “greatest of all time”, many of them could move in the pocket but were not necessarily super athletic and had strong but not massive arm strength.  Here’s the scouting report on Tom Brady:

--Poor build
--Skinny
--Lacks great physical stature and strength
--Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush
--Lacks a really strong arm
--Can’t drive the ball downfield
--Does not throw a really tight spiral
--System-type player who can get exposed if forced to ad lib
--Gets knocked down easily

Doesn’t exactly scream “high ceiling” does it. By that metric, Joe Montana had a lower ceiling than Jack Thompson.

To me, the marks of a great quarterback are decision making ability, cool under pressure, pocket presence and ability to sense and elude the rush, anticipation, accuracy, leadership, grit, and some combination of strength, build, and luck that enables avoiding injury. Don’t get me wrong, arm strength and athleticism help, but I think too often GMs, coaches, and fans become enamored with them, thinking that they define a player’s ceiling, while ignoring all the attributes that determine whether the player will reach that proverbial ceiling.

BC

[BostonCard]

The other thing that I think might be worth challenging here is the idea of a “high ceiling” player.  Now, that is admittedly hard to define, but usually when I hear that,people are referring to athletic quarterbacks with a cannon of an arm.  But when I think the QB’s who are in the discussion for “greatest of all time”, many of them could move in the pocket but were not necessarily super athletic and had strong but not massive arm strength.  Here’s the scouting report on Tom Brady:

--Poor build
--Skinny
--Lacks great physical stature and strength
--Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush
--Lacks a really strong arm
--Can’t drive the ball downfield
--Does not throw a really tight spiral
--System-type player who can get exposed if forced to ad lib
--Gets knocked down easily

Doesn’t exactly scream “high ceiling” does it. By that metric, Joe Montana had a lower ceiling than Jack Thompson.

To me, the marks of a great quarterback are decision making ability, cool under pressure, pocket presence and ability to sense and elude the rush, anticipation, accuracy, leadership, grit, and some combination of strength, build, and luck that enables avoiding injury. Don’t get me wrong, arm strength and athleticism help, but I think too often GMs, coaches, and fans become enamored with them, thinking that they define a player’s ceiling, while ignoring all the attributes that determine whether the player will reach that proverbial ceiling.

BC