Big4Dawg
08-31-2017, 05:03 PM
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/8/31/16231484/quarterback-problem-evaluation-spread-dak-prescott-derek-carr
Scott Linehan was uniquely qualified to give his blessing for the Prescott selection. Now the offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, Linehan is one of the godfathers of the modern spread offense who thrived as an assistant at Louisville from 1999 to 2001. Around that time, Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen stopped by to learn some of his schemes. Mullen, of course, was later Prescott?s head coach at Mississippi State.
With Prescott?s college film, Linehan saw none of the stereotypical problems with a spread quarterback: ?I watched the end zone copy of the tape and saw him go through the progression with his eyes and feet, and I?m saying, ?I don?t see a difference with what the other guys are doing.??
Linehan also saw NFL-style routes: ?True NFL high-lows and drive reads. I was convinced he was doing the same things that the higher-rated, classic dropback passers were running.?
Many smart people in the NFL say the spread vs. pro-style question should not be a debate about scheme; it should be a debate about responsibility. Spread coaches have become famous for calling plays from the sideline with signboards held by student assistants. But in the NFL, so much of the pre-snap play-calling onus falls on the quarterback.
But not all spread offenses take the pre-snap responsibility away from the quarterback?and that?s a crucial part of all of this and why evaluators are wrong to dismiss spread signal-callers. Derek Carr?s college offensive coordinator, Dave Schramm, told me that Carr was allowed near-limitless freedom to change into plays at Fresno State despite their spread principles.
Mullen, too, tried to keep Prescott from simply looking at the sideline every play. ?That?s not quarterback play,? Mullen said. He built audibles for Prescott, and occasionally, if both options for the play didn?t work, Prescott would look at the sideline. But that got rarer as his college career went on. Mullen would also have Prescott call two possible offensive line protections.
?With Deshaun [Watson], he had to handle a lot of things on his own at Clemson, a lot of credit goes to them. They put a lot on their plate?that?s what the NFL is, every quarterback has a lot on their plate.?
?Bill O?Brien, Texans head coach
The Mississippi State coach gave Prescott freedom and then would interrogate his quarterback?s decisions. ?I?d just ask ?why? to everything and he?d always have an answer,? Mullen said. ?[He?d say,] ??Cause I saw that; I wanted to take the pitch and walk for the first down.? That meant he knew what he was doing.?
Mullen thinks the stigma of the spread quarterback is gradually fading, but still exists. He, like the progressive minds in the league, says that the system pales in comparison to what the quarterback is being asked to do.
Teams are learning this lesson slowly, as the Texans showed with the 12th-overall pick.
?With Deshaun [Watson], he had to handle a lot of things on his own at Clemson, a lot of credit goes to them,? said Texans coach Bill O?Brien. ?They put a lot on their plate?that?s what the NFL is, every quarterback has a lot on their plate. It?s hard to predict what the defense is going to do from down to down, this is a multiple-defense league. I think Deshaun is prepared for that. That?s where he came from.?
Scott Linehan was uniquely qualified to give his blessing for the Prescott selection. Now the offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, Linehan is one of the godfathers of the modern spread offense who thrived as an assistant at Louisville from 1999 to 2001. Around that time, Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen stopped by to learn some of his schemes. Mullen, of course, was later Prescott?s head coach at Mississippi State.
With Prescott?s college film, Linehan saw none of the stereotypical problems with a spread quarterback: ?I watched the end zone copy of the tape and saw him go through the progression with his eyes and feet, and I?m saying, ?I don?t see a difference with what the other guys are doing.??
Linehan also saw NFL-style routes: ?True NFL high-lows and drive reads. I was convinced he was doing the same things that the higher-rated, classic dropback passers were running.?
Many smart people in the NFL say the spread vs. pro-style question should not be a debate about scheme; it should be a debate about responsibility. Spread coaches have become famous for calling plays from the sideline with signboards held by student assistants. But in the NFL, so much of the pre-snap play-calling onus falls on the quarterback.
But not all spread offenses take the pre-snap responsibility away from the quarterback?and that?s a crucial part of all of this and why evaluators are wrong to dismiss spread signal-callers. Derek Carr?s college offensive coordinator, Dave Schramm, told me that Carr was allowed near-limitless freedom to change into plays at Fresno State despite their spread principles.
Mullen, too, tried to keep Prescott from simply looking at the sideline every play. ?That?s not quarterback play,? Mullen said. He built audibles for Prescott, and occasionally, if both options for the play didn?t work, Prescott would look at the sideline. But that got rarer as his college career went on. Mullen would also have Prescott call two possible offensive line protections.
?With Deshaun [Watson], he had to handle a lot of things on his own at Clemson, a lot of credit goes to them. They put a lot on their plate?that?s what the NFL is, every quarterback has a lot on their plate.?
?Bill O?Brien, Texans head coach
The Mississippi State coach gave Prescott freedom and then would interrogate his quarterback?s decisions. ?I?d just ask ?why? to everything and he?d always have an answer,? Mullen said. ?[He?d say,] ??Cause I saw that; I wanted to take the pitch and walk for the first down.? That meant he knew what he was doing.?
Mullen thinks the stigma of the spread quarterback is gradually fading, but still exists. He, like the progressive minds in the league, says that the system pales in comparison to what the quarterback is being asked to do.
Teams are learning this lesson slowly, as the Texans showed with the 12th-overall pick.
?With Deshaun [Watson], he had to handle a lot of things on his own at Clemson, a lot of credit goes to them,? said Texans coach Bill O?Brien. ?They put a lot on their plate?that?s what the NFL is, every quarterback has a lot on their plate. It?s hard to predict what the defense is going to do from down to down, this is a multiple-defense league. I think Deshaun is prepared for that. That?s where he came from.?