Red Zone
Defining the three elements that every good quarterback should have
T
he quarterback position is often one of the most debated positions in all of sports, when it comes to what makes a good one. As I’ve been developing
quarterbacks from head coach to coordinator to private skills coach, my personal belief on this topic has evolved from simply looking the part and having a strong arm. It boils down to three key observations. All great quarterbacks better be smart, better be tough and better be mechanically sound.
Toughness
There is a great responsibility playing the quarterback position that requires you to be mentally and physically tough. Since the ball is in your hands the majority of the time, the viewers, teammates and coaches give too much blame and too much credit to the quarterback. Are you able to stay true to yourself and handle the heightened criticism and praise that comes with the position?
A quarterback needs to be resilient. How do you respond after throwing an interception? Are you going to be like Brett Favre and know you’re going to throw a touchdown after throwing three interceptions? Or are you going to cave in and just have a bad day? Off the field, are you going to continue working on your mechanics and watch film after a great game? Or are you going to be complacent? If you want to play quarterback, you better be physically tough and be able to handle the punishment play after play. After a 250-pound defender gets a 20-yard running start at your defenseless rib cage, are you going to get back up and be fearless throwing the next pass or are you going to have happy feet? Every time you are down, your entire team is looking to see if you are going to get up; this is the essence of leadership.
Gridiron Lessons Roger Theder
Smarts I think a strong arm and good mechanics are important for a quarterback, but this doesn’t mean you are going to be a good quarterback. Before you ever throw a pass, do you know every receiver’s route, your offensive line’s protection, the coverage that the defense is running, and where you should look to go with the ball? All of the greats are able to quickly process their playbook and film work in a split second when they step on the field and properly react to pressure. It doesn’t matter how far or how accurate you can throw a pass if it doesn’t get thrown to the right guy wearing your team’s jersey.
Sound mechanics The final piece to putting together a great quarterback is the ability to throw the football. When you know who to throw the ball to, can you do so on time and accurately each and every single time? Strong quarterback mechanics enable you to translate the intangibles to the field and make plays under pressure. All of these skills combined are the foundation of what makes a great quarterback. Since the game of football has grown to be more complex everyday, it takes more than just the kid who can throw the hardest to be a quarterback. When we name some the current great quarterbacks, we look at Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rogers and describe their talents not for their physical gifts, but rather their smarts, intangibles and accuracy. This is what makes evaluating quarterback so difficult because there is no exact science to measuring all of these skills. But when you see a good one, chances are they are going be smart, tough, and mechanically sound individuals. ✪ Roger Theder was the head football coach at Cal from 1978 to 1981 and is widely recognized as one of the leading quarterback coaches on the West Coast. A former assistant at both Cal and Stanford, he has tutored dozens of top collegiate quarterbacks including Drew Olson (UCLA), Ken Dorsey (Miami) and Trent Edwards (Stanford).
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SportStars™
October 27, 2011
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