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Ryan Leaf: a victim
of the times?
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Three quarterbacks who had once been first-round picks were again in the news the week
before the NFL season opened, but this time, the news was negative: Ryan Leaf failed a
physical for the Cowboys, who would have been his third team in three years; Cade McNown
was traded by the Bears; and Rick Mirer was released by the 49ers.
None of these moves was any particular surprise because Leaf, McNown and Mirer were all
damaged goods. But it was the latest reminder of how frequently highly rated young
quarterbacks fail in the NFL these days.
Why? Bill Walsh, now a consultant for the 49ers and still the leading NFL authority on
quarterbacks, sees three main reasons:
"Most of these quarterbacks have skills that were very well-suited for the college
game," he said, "but the pro game is much faster with much better athletes. It
takes time for quarterbacks to learn the pro game. It’s not just a matter of
adjusting to the defenses, but also learning receivers. Because these quarterbacks are No.
1 picks, they’re expected to produce immediately, but they’re not ready to do
that. As a result, they fail in their first attempts, and they lose their confidence. Some
never regain it.
"Then, there’s the matter of coaching. Many times, these quarterbacks are
dealing with coaches who don’t understand that you have to fit your system to what
your quarterback can do, rather than the other way around. These coaches eventually get
fired, but by that time, the quarterback has failed.
"Finally, with the emphasis on blitzing by defenses, a quarterback has to be able
to escape the pressure and throw quickly and accurately on the run. Often you have the two
extremes. A quarterback may have a great arm but not be able to escape the pressure and
get his pass off, or he may be able to get away from the pressure but not be able to throw
accurately," Walsh said.
And so, there is a dearth of good quarterbacking in the NFL. Even the Super Bowl
champion Ravens had a weak quarterback, Trent Dilfer — another of those first-round
picks who did not get a chance to develop gradually. He’s been replaced by Elvis
Grbac. Not coincidentally, Grbac was only an eighth-round draft pick and, because little
was expected of him, learned from the sidelines before he was thrown into action.
The NFL has not always been QB-poor. In the 1950s, NFL teams not only had solid
quarterbacking, but often had more than one solid quarterback. The Los Angeles Rams, for
instance, had Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin, the Lions had Bobby Layne and Tobin
Rote, the Giants had Charlie Conerly and Don Heinrich, the Browns had Otto Graham and
George Ratterman, the 49ers had Frankie Albert and Y.A. Tittle, and then Tittle and John
Brodie.
Of course, there were fewer teams then, only 12 in the NFL. But even after the AFL
added eight teams to the mix, there were still teams with two good quarterbacks. The
Chargers had Rote and John Hadl, the Raiders had Daryle Lamonica and Ken Stabler, and
George Blanda as relief. Earl Morrall took over in Baltimore when Johnny Unitas had a bad
arm and led the Colts to the Super Bowl. Morrall did the same for the Dolphins when Bob
Griese was injured. The Cowboys had Don Meredith and Craig Morton, and then Morton and
Roger Staubach. As late as the early ’90s, the 49ers had Joe Montana, Steve Young and
Steve Bono on the same roster.
But in almost all these cases, the quarterbacks had time to learn the pace of the NFL
game and how to attack opposing defenses by watching the veteran quarterbacks ahead of
them. It was a given that it took at least three years for a quarterback to be ready to
start in the NFL.
In those days, though, quarterbacks usually called the plays. It was very important
that the quarterback be the leader, directing the offense, making the decisions.
Obviously, players would follow only quarterbacks who had some experience. The idea of a
rookie playing quarterback and calling the plays wasn’t even a consideration.
Paul Brown started the system of coaches calling plays with a messenger system using
offensive linemen to shuttle plays in. But it was Walsh who really popularized it when he
took over the 49ers in ’79. Now, coaches call plays on every level. When quarterbacks
arrive in the NFL, they’ve already come from systems where they did nothing but call
an occasional audible.
Since quarterbacks no longer have play-calling responsibilities, it's possible to start
them as NFL rookies. But even without that responsibility, quarterbacks have to make
instant decisions after the ball is snapped because opposing defenses are much more
complex and better at disguising their intentions than they were in the ’80s, let
alone the ’50s.
In most cases, it’s asking too much of a rookie quarterback to be able to make
those decisions. Peyton Manning did, but Manning had an unusual background, four years of
top-flight collegiate competition and a father who had been an NFL quarterback himself.
Economics also play an important role. Quarterbacks who are first-round picks get huge
contracts before they’ve even played a game, and that increases the pressure for them
to show something immediately to justify their contracts.
And with free agency, it’s difficult to let a quarterback learn the NFL game
slowly. By the time he really learns what he’s doing, he will be eligible to leave as
a free agent, and the team that drafted him may not be able to afford to keep him and stay
under the salary cap.
That’s why you see so much shuttling of veteran quarterbacks as teams try to pick
up a QB who knows the NFL game, as the Ravens did with Grbac, as the Raiders did with Rich
Gannon. The Chargers made an even more interesting move in the offseason, picking up Doug
Flutie to start while grooming rookie Drew Brees.
Quarterbacking is still the name of the game in the NFL, but the rules for developing
quarterbacks definitely have changed.
Glenn Dickey is a columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle who has covered pro
football since 1967. E-mail him at Gdickey@sfchronicle.com. |
