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'Intangibles' make the man

How college quarterbacks transition is hard to figure

By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 24, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington is sacked by John Henderson of the Jaguars. Harrington was released, then re-signed, by Atlanta.

Photo by Doug Benc / Getty Images/2007

Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington is sacked by John Henderson of the Jaguars. Harrington was released, then re-signed, by Atlanta.

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This is the story of what you see.

The story of arm strength and touchdowns, of campus victories and bowl-game glory.

The story of headlines and prime time.

"You watch a guy play, watch him perform," Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said. "You see what he does in a lot of different situations."

Ah, but this also is a story of what you cannot see.

The story of perseverance and confidence, of work ethic and professionalism. A story of luck, composure and the day-to-day wrestling with pressure.

The story of trying to find an NFL quarterback.

"You just don't know about the intangibles," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "How do people react under pressure? A lot of times, it has to do with the supporting cast, but can he handle the pressure? The way you get scrutinized on a day-to-day basis, how they interact with the team.

"There are just so many things about a quarterback you may not know until he's actually with you."

There is the rub. No position on an NFL draft board is scouted harder, none where more data are compiled, none where so many precautions are taken.

And perhaps none where the failures have been so spectacular and public.

In March alone, in the span of a week, David Carr, the No. 1 pick of the 2002 draft, was signed to a one-year deal as a backup for the New York Giants - his third team - and Joey Harrington, the third pick overall that same year, was released, then re-signed by the Falcons, his third team.

In the past decade alone, the names tick off: Ryan Leaf. Akili Smith. Tim Couch. All out of the league, all top-three picks.

"Our game is very difficult, from a scheme standpoint," said Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak, a former quarterback. "There's so many things that go with playing that position. You're a coach on the field. You're the face of the organization. You take on a lot of responsibility. There's a lot of pressure. There are so many things that go with it, as compared to other positions."

A poll of the league's coaches and general managers indicates that it is the off-the-field issues, the pressures, criticisms and constant evaluation inside and outside of the locker room in a modern 2 4/7 media cycle that have derailed some young quarterbacks.

The simple truth is, a quarterback picked in the top five is not usually going to a good team because those teams don't pick in the top five.

And in a case such as Carr's, there have always been rumblings that he never won his own locker room, never created that he-can- lead-us feeling among his teammates, a prerequisite for any quarterback to survive in a league where careers are so short.

Players want to win now because they don't know when they will have the chance again. Couple that with the barrage Carr faced from opposing defenses playing in struggling offenses - he has been sacked a staggering 262 times in 82 games - and that is the recipe for what has happened to him.

"It is often the things you can't see on the film," Shanahan said. "There are probably 10 examples in the last 15 years of guys people thought would have a chance to play but, for some reason, couldn't handle it all."

From a football standpoint, most people also point to the growing use of spread offenses in college football - quarterbacks working out of the shotgun behind five-man protections, throwing in almost every situation. It's an offense not used that often in the NFL because of the pass rush.

"The people who are coming after you today at quarterback are a lot more athletic - bigger, stronger, faster - than when I played," Kubiak said. "These guys see athletes across the board we didn't see.

"So, for those guys in the spread, you're looking at a little conversion when you study some of these players, so that may separate some of them. And just the jump, in general, to the league. The game is different. There have been a lot of guys who are maybe not so highly rated who have made a tremendous jump. And some guys who are highly rated who have not been able to make that jump well."

Of course, there is no way to definitively know what you have in a quarterback without playing him in game situations. At no position is it as important to see a player at full game speed against defensive starters and game plans - a situation that cannot be recreated in practice or in the preseason - than it is at quarterback.

"And if you don't see it on film, it's always going to be harder to project," Shanahan said.

So a player must fight through the inevitable rough spots that come with that developmental curve because there will be many. Peyton Manning, who has started every game of his career, has called it "learning to take your lumps - you hate that you get them, but they're coming anyway."

"I don't think you can put (enough of) a premium on those live snaps," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. "You can do everything you want in a red shirt. You can do everything in the offseason on air, the (offseason workouts), training camp where the quarterback's not live, (the) preseason. But when you get that flurry coming at you, that's the thing.

"You can go through quarterback, through quarterback, through quarterback. But you can't be an instant evaluator. And you know this, when you develop a quarterback, there is going to be peaks and valleys. But you have to find what you believe in and stay the course."

More misses than hits with No. 1 picks

Since Peyton Manning was the No. 1 pick of the 1998 draft, seven quarterbacks have been taken with the first pick with far more misses than hits.

Player Year And he is . . .

Tim Couch 1999 Out of the league

Michael Vick 2001 In prison

David Carr 2002 Backup with Giants, his third team

Carson Palmer 2003 Starter with Bengals; two Pro Bowls

Eli Manning 2004 Starter with Giants; won Super Bowl

Alex Smith 2005 With 49ers; 19 touchdowns, 31 interceptions

JaMarcus Russell 2007 Started one game as a rookie in 2007

Comments

  • April 24, 2008

    9:23 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    TONE writes:

    Raiders can kiss the Russel BUST GOOD BYE!!!!
    I like what they are doing and that is staying below the Bronco... They should just change their name to Bronco Floor mat....

  • April 24, 2008

    10:19 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    LarryB writes:

    Thanks for a good article, Jeff. Looking at the two extremes, Ryan Leaf and Tom Brady, one is impressed as to how uncertain, what a gamble it is to jump for a quarterback in the draft.

    The Broncos are so lucky with Cutler . . .

  • April 24, 2008

    10:39 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    tahosa writes:

    This is a pretty good explanation of the success of any young QB and the reasons why. Between the lines I'm reading that a QB is only as good as the protection you give him. All the more reason that Denver needs to take a great Left Tackle in the first round to protect Cutler. Honestly I'm tired of the "Best overall Athelete" draft philosophy. This only works when you have as many needs as KC this year. Denver is good enough to draft for need, and protecting Jay should be a priority. The other priiority has to be DT, but one way or another they need quality at both positions.