QuarterBack ~ Lamar Jackson ~ LouisVille Cardinals ~ 6021/216
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?
Lamar Jackson ~ Scouting Report
Processing Speed ~ 20. Jackson appeared to substantially improved the speed and efficacy of his reading and reacting of the tactical landscape over the course of the 2017 season, but still has a long ways to go. He all too often appeared to be out’f sync with routes and the Defense’s reactions to them, and often seemed a tick behind the play.
Precision ~ 20. His Mechanics are horrible, and his Touch, Timing, and Trajectory are woefully inconsistent. The theoretical potential is there, but Mechanics tend to be difficult to change at this advanced stage.
Pocket Presence ~ 20. Here, too, there is potential for improvement. Jackson consistently displays extraordinary spatial and temporal instincts in avoiding the Pass Rush. And he’s not afraid to stand in there, either. Mind you, he’s shown an enormous historical propensity for ducking and running, but he improved in that aspect, last year. The largest variable is of course his Processing Speed, which must improve enormously if he’s ever going to develop into an effective NFL QuarterBack, even as a Hybrid Michael Vick/Cam Newton type in a Read Option Offense.
FirePower ~ 60. Potentially 100, if only he can develop those horrible Mechanics.
Precision ~ 20. His Mechanics are horrible, and his Touch, Timing, and Trajectory are woefully inconsistent. The theoretical potential is there, but Mechanics tend to be difficult to change at this advanced stage.
Pocket Presence ~ 20. Here, too, there is potential for improvement. Jackson consistently displays extraordinary spatial and temporal instincts in avoiding the Pass Rush. And he’s not afraid to stand in there, either. Mind you, he’s shown an enormous historical propensity for ducking and running, but he improved in that aspect, last year. The largest variable is of course his Processing Speed, which must improve enormously if he’s ever going to develop into an effective NFL QuarterBack, even as a Hybrid Michael Vick/Cam Newton type in a Read Option Offense.
FirePower ~ 60. Potentially 100, if only he can develop those horrible Mechanics.
Lamar Jackson ~ Prospectus
I believe that Lamar Jackson, like Sam Darnold, would’ve been wiser to stay in College and continue to develop. Better yet, he may’ve done better to transfer to a College with a guru of a QuarterBack Coach because ~ no disrespect to the Cardinals’ Coaches ~ his Mechanics don’t seem to’ve improved at all at LouisVille.
I could be wrong about’m. He wouldn’t be my first miss in this High Stakes Game of Poker that is CyberScouting!!
But I see an horrifically raw QuarterBack.
Despite my loudly and repeatedly stated preference for QuarterBacks who display superior Pocket skills, I’m not actually a Dinosaur who’s addicted to Pocket QuarterBacks, In fact, I’m a huge proponent of developing an Offense built around a Hybrid QuarterBack and the Zone Option. The problem is that just about every genuine Hybrid QuarterBack who’s come down the pike has exhibited limited Pocket skills, and Lamar Jackson, it seems to me, is another such case.
I read the comparisons to Michael Vick, which sounds about right, but I don’t hold that high an opinion of Michael Vick the QuarterBack, nor of Cam Newton the QuarterBack. They’re exciting and fun, but their impacts on their Offenses were explosive only in their first campaigns, after which their Offenses settled into the middle of the pack.
For my money, Michael Vick and Cam Newton’s resumes aren’t those of the SuperStars that they’re generally held to be.
For my money, they were and are average Hybrid QuarterBacks.
Frankly, I’ve never seen what I’d call a great one.
And I don’t Grade On The Curve.
Lamar Jackson, as I see it, is an extremely raw QuarterBack who should’ve either gone back to College for another year, or, yes, listened to those who’ve been saying that he should make the switch to Split End, because his combination of Fluidity, Speed, and Field Vision ~ not be confused with a QuarterBack’s Processing Speed!! Context!! ~ would render’m a potentially magnificent threat. Even as a raw talent, I’d probably give’m a much higher grade as a WideOut.
But as a QuarterBack? Poor Field Vision, poor Processing Speed ~ from the Pocket’s Perspective!! ~ poor Precision, and horrible Mechanics, counteracted only by a great Gun and tremendous improvisational potential?
I think you know where I’m going with this…
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
I could be wrong about’m. He wouldn’t be my first miss in this High Stakes Game of Poker that is CyberScouting!!
But I see an horrifically raw QuarterBack.
Despite my loudly and repeatedly stated preference for QuarterBacks who display superior Pocket skills, I’m not actually a Dinosaur who’s addicted to Pocket QuarterBacks, In fact, I’m a huge proponent of developing an Offense built around a Hybrid QuarterBack and the Zone Option. The problem is that just about every genuine Hybrid QuarterBack who’s come down the pike has exhibited limited Pocket skills, and Lamar Jackson, it seems to me, is another such case.
I read the comparisons to Michael Vick, which sounds about right, but I don’t hold that high an opinion of Michael Vick the QuarterBack, nor of Cam Newton the QuarterBack. They’re exciting and fun, but their impacts on their Offenses were explosive only in their first campaigns, after which their Offenses settled into the middle of the pack.
For my money, Michael Vick and Cam Newton’s resumes aren’t those of the SuperStars that they’re generally held to be.
For my money, they were and are average Hybrid QuarterBacks.
Frankly, I’ve never seen what I’d call a great one.
And I don’t Grade On The Curve.
Lamar Jackson, as I see it, is an extremely raw QuarterBack who should’ve either gone back to College for another year, or, yes, listened to those who’ve been saying that he should make the switch to Split End, because his combination of Fluidity, Speed, and Field Vision ~ not be confused with a QuarterBack’s Processing Speed!! Context!! ~ would render’m a potentially magnificent threat. Even as a raw talent, I’d probably give’m a much higher grade as a WideOut.
But as a QuarterBack? Poor Field Vision, poor Processing Speed ~ from the Pocket’s Perspective!! ~ poor Precision, and horrible Mechanics, counteracted only by a great Gun and tremendous improvisational potential?
I think you know where I’m going with this…
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
Yank Rank: Long Shot ~ Colossally
OverRated!!
OverRated!!
| Market Value 1st Round | Yankee Grade 6th/7th Round!! |
Please do Note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: This and all CyberScouting Reports 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 with even reasonable levels of intelligence or Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and Intelligence and Drive, 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 making Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!
Please also note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: These CyberScouting Reports are not intended as predictions of success or failure, but as assessments ~ ludicrously amateurish assessments ~ of potential success. FootBall is a rough and often unfair business, and many a worthy Prospect has fallen far short of his potential, sometimes not because of his own failings, but because of those of coaching, scheme, timing...or because huge investments were made on other Prospects.
In other words: If any of my Super Dooper Deeper Sleepers ever fail to fulfill their vast potential, I’m confident that it goes without saying that it wasn’t their fault…or mine!!...Yes, I think that I'm being funny.
In other words: Caveat Emptor, Fellow FootBall Fiends!!
Enter at your own risk!!
Please also note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: These CyberScouting Reports are not intended as predictions of success or failure, but as assessments ~ ludicrously amateurish assessments ~ of potential success. FootBall is a rough and often unfair business, and many a worthy Prospect has fallen far short of his potential, sometimes not because of his own failings, but because of those of coaching, scheme, timing...or because huge investments were made on other Prospects.
In other words: If any of my Super Dooper Deeper Sleepers ever fail to fulfill their vast potential, I’m confident that it goes without saying that it wasn’t their fault…or mine!!...Yes, I think that I'm being funny.
In other words: Caveat Emptor, Fellow FootBall Fiends!!
Enter at your own risk!!
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