Is the pocket passer going extinct?
doubledragon
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NFL Hall of Famer and Raiders legend Tim Brown doesn't want Tom Brady to play for his old team, says quarterbacks have to be mobile in today's NFL.
"I don’t think Tom Brady should be in the plans at all,” Brown said for CBS Sports Radio. “But, because of that relationship, I think that’s a possibility. I think he’s starting to show that he’s 45-46 years old. His inability to move — when you look at the quarterbacks in the league today you have very few who are pocket quarterbacks. Joe Burrow is probably the closest thing you get, but God knows when it’s time to run, he can get out of the pocket and make it happen.
“Tom Brady is never gonna do that. I just don’t believe in this league, and yeah, Tom has won all these Super Bowls, but I just think the league is moving to a point where you have to have a quarterback that’s able to move around and get some things done with his feet every once in awhile.”
Comments
Guys like Brady, Manning, Marino, my heroes, this can't be happening, no, I won't let it happen.
I don't believe it's going away at all but what I also think is the pocket passer will not automatically get higher pre draft grades than guys that a bigger part of their game is running.
I certainly hope the pocket passer doesn't go extinct, I happen to be very fond of the species, guys that just straight-up break down the defense with their mind and deliver the football. Times sure have changed, and I don't like it!
nope, not going away. Because, simply, ALL QBs will eventually become pocket passers.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
pocket passers may be dead, but pocket pool is very much alive
(tried to find evidence of Aaron Rodgers scratching, but alas)
Here you go Theo.
Right back at you.
The original pocket passer..........
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Call it want you want, I call it a pocket-passer, but the days of a QB who isn't mobile and able to roll or run out of the pocket are pretty much gone.
Basically the NFL has adopted the running QB game plan right out of the College Football playbook. Why? More excitment in the game? Higher scores?
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
The primary reason for the demise of the immobile pocket passer is the continuing rise of the defensive end in college and the pros who is virtually impossible to stop. There are some stud D ends and very few tackles and tight ends that can slow them down or rarely stop these guys.
You always put the best athletes on D and the current crop of defensive ends are the cream of that crop. If the QB can't move then he is a sitting duck.
Balderdash, balderdash and poppycock, I refuse to believe that the pocket passer is going extinct, long live the statue quarterback!
A guy who has a cool head and can pass well is still in style.
I am not a big fan of these quarterbacks who put a lot of planned running plays for themselves, They are going to get hurt eventually, and chances are won't last a full season. Even Mahomes, who is the best of them all, is questionable for this week's big game.
Sam Francisco was dumping Garoppolo for a quarterback / runner until he got hurt in the first game. Baltimore has one of these guys, and he's been hurt for the post season two years running.
Is a mobile quarterback a plus? Sure if he can pass well. But if he is one of these warriors who is running all the time, you are asking for trouble.
I think there's a difference between today's QB's who run and the "scrambler" of the past such as Fran Tarkenton, and mentioning a few who have been injured doesn't really sum up all who employ that style. Consider that it took Patrick Mahomes until the playoffs of his 5th season to get hurt, yet a pretty stationary passer like Joe Burrow was injured badly in his 4th or 5th game as a pro. Also, QB's that will take off like Joe Montana and John Elway in the past quite certainly avoided injury because they could do just that, move away from trouble.
I don't think QB's that use the style of play like Lamar Jackson will be the next big thing in the NFL, but I think the style of immobility practiced by Tom Brady is a thing of the past. The NCAA is the test-tube for the NFL, that's as far as you need to look to see what's coming. I don't see many pocket-passers in college and I don't think NFL Head Coaches can "teach" them that technique(or want to).
The reason Brady was a success as a PP is because he has the quickest release in football. If you are gonna hold onto the ball in the pocket, you are gonna have a lotta bad plays so you better learn to move out to get out of that.. It seems that either most qb's just can't release quick for whatever reason or the plays are now too complicated for QR. Watching qb's these days go through their progressions, it could be either of these things, so when the pocket breaks down, scramble or be scrambled.
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In my opinion nobody has better pocket presence than Brady, he is slow as can be but has the dink and dunk move to avoid a sack while staying in the pocket for the most part in my opinion
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i see a lot of Brady slander on this site and in general, so thank you @perkdog for mentioning the GOAT. @2dueces mentioned not too long ago that when Brady goes into the HOF the highlights will just be TD throws. But as I said then, I will repeat now. Brady is the GOAT for many reasons.
One of them is his ability to be the greatest pocket passer ever. I am sure some of you have other favorites. For me it's Brady. As mentioned above, his release is the quickest. There's a lot that goes into this. One is the off season work he put in every year. Even when he was already considered the greatest ever, he kept working. He can throw with the same technique from any angle. Forget about the other QBs throwing off platform and sidearm. Brady throws with a perfect base. The second factor is his decision making. He knows where he wants to go presnap. Then he goes through his reads lightning quick.
Brady can avoid outside pressure by stepping up. He also has that duck move, as well as a great instinct for where the pressure is.
Of course, it is known around the league that you can only have a good chance to beat him in the biggest games by bringing pressure up the middle.
I have never really been impressed with anything Tom Brady does from a physical standpoint, he's slow-footed, looks ungainly and his arm is only slightly above average. What he does excel at is the things that can't be seen or measured, the mental side of the game. He reads defenses better than anyone, probably has a photographic type memory, knows(and demands) where everyone should be at any given time during a play, has an internal mental clock with a loud alarm and is able to go through "progressions" faster than anyone. In short, he seems to process information better than anyone else and that gives him a huge edge on the field.
I don't know if he has the personality to coach and teach other men, but that should be his choice over the announcing booth if he can handle the job.
@Maywood - unfortunately many of those things you just listed, photographic-type memory, internal mental clock and ability to process info better than anyone and not things you can learn. What Brady does naturally cannot necessarily be done by even the most athletically gifted players, which is part of why he has risen above the others. That makes me think he'd be better off as an announcer than coach, because you can't teach a lot of what makes him great.