QuarterBack ~ Mitchell Leidner ~ Minnesota Golden Gophers ~ 6033/225
Regarding QuarterBacks
It has been fashionable, since Fran Tarkenton's time, to imagine that Scrambling QuarterBacks are the Wave of The Future and are going to revolutionize the Game, disrupt the competitive LandScape, and render Pocket Passers obsolete.
But I believe not only that Pocket Passing remains the Heart & Soul of successful QuarterBacking, but that the capacity of Speed QuarterBacks to master Pocket Passing can be and often is crippled by the Siren Song of Scrambling: A QuarterBack who has always had that "out" is far less likely to develop the skills that really matter.
Power QuarterBacks ~ The Men with the Golden Arms ~ are equally susceptible to falling Prey to the seductive allure of their own physical Talent: The more powerful their Cannons, the more likely I believe it is that they persistently depend upon that crutch as a Get Out Of Jail Card, and thus fail to develop a more comprehensive Skill Set.
And thus I perceive a Great Irony, one that continues, astonishingly, to elude most: The more explosive a Scrambler that a QuarterBack is, or the more powerful an Arm he boasts, the less likely that he is to achieve Greatness.
Conversely, it's the boring guys who consistently Move The Chains that give you the best Chance to win.
After New Year's Day, when The Only Games That Really Matter are played, History has been relentlessly savage to Power QuarterBacks and Speed QuarterBacks who failed to develop their Games: Once the weaker Teams have been eliminated, the PlayOff Defenses have invariably proven far too much for The Unprepared.
And if you're not prepared to compete after New Year's Day, why play at all??
In consideration of these thoughts, which, like many of my thoughts, fly in the face of what is amusingly considered to be Conventional Wisdom, this is how I break down the Criteria that I focus on, when evaluating QuarterBacks:
1 ~ Processing Speed
2 ~ Precision
3 ~ Pocket Presence
4 ~ FirePower
Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape. It's crucial at all 22 Positions, but utterly vital for a QuarterBack to succeed...or to even survive. Reading Coverages, working through Progressions, and selecting the best Receiving or Running Option.
Precision speaks above all to Mechanics: A QuarterBack's consistency with his Stance, his Set Up, and his Delivery. I refer to consistent Accuracy in the Short & Intermediate Zones, where the best Offenses all make their Bread & Butter. In breaking it down, I'm looking at Timing, Touch, and Trajectory: Leading Receivers to DayLight.
Pocket Presence & Poise Under Pressure is about Poise, or how one's Processing Speed and Precision stand up Under Pressure, and about one's Temporal & Spatial Instincts in navigating an often chaotic Pocket.
FirePower is a Category that I value, though not as much as others. I refer to Velocity and to DownField Precision, which I don't consider as crucial to Success as Short & Intermediate Precision. DownField Precision makes for tremendous HighLight Footage, but it's Short & Intermediate Precision that Moves The Chains and wins Championships.
Please note, if you will: I don't list 40 Speed among crucial Attributes at all.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Processing Speed
* Please Note: This is entirely about how rapidly the QuarterBack scans the Field and makes successful Decisions.
* Many College Offenses feature simple Offenses that make this challenging to evaluate.
* It is, nevertheless, far and away the most crucial Aspect of QuarterBacking.
Precision
* Accuracy ~ Placement that maximizes the Receiver's Advantage and minimizes that of the Defender.
* Timing ~ Being temporally In Sync with the Receiver. The Ball arriving precisely when the Receiver does.
* Touch ~ The right Speed for the right Play. Only throwing FastBalls when FastBalls are warranted.
* Trajectory ~ Being spatially In Sync with the Receiver ~ enabling him to catch the Ball In Stride.
Pocket Presence
* Processing Speed Under Pressure.
* Precision Under Pressure.
* Spatial & Temporal Instincts.
FirePower
* Velocity, irregardless of where he's throwing it: How fast is'is FastBall?
* DownField Precision ~ can he through the Bomb accurately?
But I believe not only that Pocket Passing remains the Heart & Soul of successful QuarterBacking, but that the capacity of Speed QuarterBacks to master Pocket Passing can be and often is crippled by the Siren Song of Scrambling: A QuarterBack who has always had that "out" is far less likely to develop the skills that really matter.
Power QuarterBacks ~ The Men with the Golden Arms ~ are equally susceptible to falling Prey to the seductive allure of their own physical Talent: The more powerful their Cannons, the more likely I believe it is that they persistently depend upon that crutch as a Get Out Of Jail Card, and thus fail to develop a more comprehensive Skill Set.
And thus I perceive a Great Irony, one that continues, astonishingly, to elude most: The more explosive a Scrambler that a QuarterBack is, or the more powerful an Arm he boasts, the less likely that he is to achieve Greatness.
Conversely, it's the boring guys who consistently Move The Chains that give you the best Chance to win.
After New Year's Day, when The Only Games That Really Matter are played, History has been relentlessly savage to Power QuarterBacks and Speed QuarterBacks who failed to develop their Games: Once the weaker Teams have been eliminated, the PlayOff Defenses have invariably proven far too much for The Unprepared.
And if you're not prepared to compete after New Year's Day, why play at all??
In consideration of these thoughts, which, like many of my thoughts, fly in the face of what is amusingly considered to be Conventional Wisdom, this is how I break down the Criteria that I focus on, when evaluating QuarterBacks:
1 ~ Processing Speed
2 ~ Precision
3 ~ Pocket Presence
4 ~ FirePower
Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape. It's crucial at all 22 Positions, but utterly vital for a QuarterBack to succeed...or to even survive. Reading Coverages, working through Progressions, and selecting the best Receiving or Running Option.
Precision speaks above all to Mechanics: A QuarterBack's consistency with his Stance, his Set Up, and his Delivery. I refer to consistent Accuracy in the Short & Intermediate Zones, where the best Offenses all make their Bread & Butter. In breaking it down, I'm looking at Timing, Touch, and Trajectory: Leading Receivers to DayLight.
Pocket Presence & Poise Under Pressure is about Poise, or how one's Processing Speed and Precision stand up Under Pressure, and about one's Temporal & Spatial Instincts in navigating an often chaotic Pocket.
FirePower is a Category that I value, though not as much as others. I refer to Velocity and to DownField Precision, which I don't consider as crucial to Success as Short & Intermediate Precision. DownField Precision makes for tremendous HighLight Footage, but it's Short & Intermediate Precision that Moves The Chains and wins Championships.
Please note, if you will: I don't list 40 Speed among crucial Attributes at all.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Processing Speed
* Please Note: This is entirely about how rapidly the QuarterBack scans the Field and makes successful Decisions.
* Many College Offenses feature simple Offenses that make this challenging to evaluate.
* It is, nevertheless, far and away the most crucial Aspect of QuarterBacking.
Precision
* Accuracy ~ Placement that maximizes the Receiver's Advantage and minimizes that of the Defender.
* Timing ~ Being temporally In Sync with the Receiver. The Ball arriving precisely when the Receiver does.
* Touch ~ The right Speed for the right Play. Only throwing FastBalls when FastBalls are warranted.
* Trajectory ~ Being spatially In Sync with the Receiver ~ enabling him to catch the Ball In Stride.
Pocket Presence
* Processing Speed Under Pressure.
* Precision Under Pressure.
* Spatial & Temporal Instincts.
FirePower
* Velocity, irregardless of where he's throwing it: How fast is'is FastBall?
* DownField Precision ~ can he through the Bomb accurately?
Mitchell Leidner ~ Scouting Report
Processing Speed: Awful. Impressive Diagnostic Acuity before the Snap, but terrible Diagnostic Velocity after the Snap. A poor Sense of Timing, he Locks Onto Targets, Stares'm Down, and Forces Passes into Coverage.
Precision: Awful. Bad Mechanics, bad Timing & Trajectory, and bad Touch!!
Pocket Presence & Poise Under Pressure: Tremendous. Yeah, that's not a Typo, and, no: I cannot account for it. But the fact of the matter is that ~ unlike virtually every QuarterBack Prospect that I've ever studied ~ Mitchell Leidner's efficacy actually seems to improve Under Pressure. In fact, ESPN did some Research after the 2015 Season that actually supports this inexplicable Idea with Numbers that showed a dramatic Improvement in'is QuarterBack Rating!!
And it held True through the 2016 Campaign, as well. Somehow, Leidner excels Under Pressure.
FirePower: Marginal. Mediocre raw Power and bad Mechanics.
Precision: Awful. Bad Mechanics, bad Timing & Trajectory, and bad Touch!!
Pocket Presence & Poise Under Pressure: Tremendous. Yeah, that's not a Typo, and, no: I cannot account for it. But the fact of the matter is that ~ unlike virtually every QuarterBack Prospect that I've ever studied ~ Mitchell Leidner's efficacy actually seems to improve Under Pressure. In fact, ESPN did some Research after the 2015 Season that actually supports this inexplicable Idea with Numbers that showed a dramatic Improvement in'is QuarterBack Rating!!
And it held True through the 2016 Campaign, as well. Somehow, Leidner excels Under Pressure.
FirePower: Marginal. Mediocre raw Power and bad Mechanics.
Mitchell Leidner ~ Prospectus
I'm obviously not an enormous Fan of Mitchell Leidner's Prospects, but I like to travel deeper into the Depths of the Ether in searching for QuarterBack Talent, and with Mel Kiper of ESPN Fame having last Year mentioned Leidner as a potential First Rounder, I felt that it behooved me to take a look and report my Impressions on young Leidner.
Unfortunately, his Game looks incredibly raw, and with'm having started for several Years at Minnesota, that does not bode well for my Expectations of his future Development. His Precision is pretty awful, and the Game just seems to fast for'm.
Even so, I can't write'm off, altogether: His remarkable Pocket Presence ~ especially considering that he is clearly a Scrambler, which is usually strongly correlative with bad Pocket Presence ~ is utterly mystifying.
However, I'm not going to make the same Mistake that I made when I wrote up Tyler Wilson a few Years ago ~ easily one of the worst Scouting Reports I've ever written!! ~ when I can only say, in defending the Indefensible, that I overrated the Importance of Wilson's Tenacity Under Pressure, extrapolating Toughness into good Decision Making.
I like Leidner, but he's gonna have a really tough Time making a Roster, I think.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually possible.
Unfortunately, his Game looks incredibly raw, and with'm having started for several Years at Minnesota, that does not bode well for my Expectations of his future Development. His Precision is pretty awful, and the Game just seems to fast for'm.
Even so, I can't write'm off, altogether: His remarkable Pocket Presence ~ especially considering that he is clearly a Scrambler, which is usually strongly correlative with bad Pocket Presence ~ is utterly mystifying.
However, I'm not going to make the same Mistake that I made when I wrote up Tyler Wilson a few Years ago ~ easily one of the worst Scouting Reports I've ever written!! ~ when I can only say, in defending the Indefensible, that I overrated the Importance of Wilson's Tenacity Under Pressure, extrapolating Toughness into good Decision Making.
I like Leidner, but he's gonna have a really tough Time making a Roster, I think.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually possible.
Yank Rank: Lunatic Fringe ~ Par Value!!
| Market Value UFA | Yankee Grade UFA!! |
Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!
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