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Patriots QB
Tom Brady
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In true man-bites-dog news, I give you the following …
The University of Michigan can stake claim to the title of Quarterback U. when it comes
to providing talent for the National Football League.
A dinosaur just rolled over in its grave.
While Michigan is no longer three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust, it is not exactly a
wild-and-crazy, wide-open offense. Thus, it is truly astonishing how much QB talent it is
pumping into the pro game.
Look at last season’s Pro Bowl. Two of the nine quarterbacks (Brian Griese and
Elvis Grbac) named to the game were former Wolverines. That’s more than 20 percent of
the quarterbacks named to the game. Somebody give Bo Schembechler CPR.
Look at this season’s starting lineups. Three of the league’s starting
quarterbacks are former Wolverines (Griese, Grbac and Tom Brady). That’s almost 10
percent of the league’s starters.
Plus, Jim Harbaugh (doesn’t he qualify for Social Security benefits any day now?),
Todd Collins and Scott Dreisbach (who couldn’t even hang on to a starting position at
Michigan) are backups for NFL teams.
When you consider the fact that one of these players went undrafted, two more went in
the sixth round or later, two more went in the third round and only one was taken in Round
One (Harbaugh late in the round), their success is nothing short of amazing.
So how does a school that doesn’t exactly have a cutting-edge passing game and
doesn’t produce early first-round picks (although Drew Henson would have done so had
he not picked baseball over football) become Quarterback U. for the NFL? Here are my
theories.
Michigan really stresses to its quarterbacks that they avoid mistakes. And while the
Michigan attack is conservative, it is not so conservative that the quarterbacks never get
to make plays.
These philosophies may seem to be at odds with one another, but they are not. Michigan
plays very conservatively with a lead. It opens up the attack when it falls behind. What
this usually adds up to are close games that are almost always competitive down to the
final ticks on the clock. Thus, Michigan quarterbacks arrive in the NFL battle-tested by a
ton of experience in crunch time of big-time games.
That’s another thing. Big-time games. Michigan usually plays a very competitive
non-conference schedule. Add that to a Big Ten slate that, while often lacking in games
against clubs ranked in the top five, has very few terrible clubs. Michigan quarterbacks
are constantly challenged by respectable to very good opponents. You don’t get
prepared for the NFL while steamrolling patsies.
Next on the list is the fact that Michigan quarterbacks are used to throwing to
NFL-caliber talent. In particular, Michigan has been churning out NFL talent at wide
receiver (Derrick Alexander, Amani Toomer, Tai Streets, David Terrell and, coming to an
NFL stadium near you very soon, Marquise Walker). The Wolverines also have been producing
quite a few tight ends and running backs for the NFL during this time frame, so Michigan
quarterbacks don’t experience major culture shock when they get to the NFL and find
themselves surrounded by so much talent.
Competition is another big factor. To win the starting job at Michigan means you have
to beat out several other high school All-Americans. To keep the starting job is not
assured because of all the competition. Dreisbach lost his job. Brady had to fight tooth
and nail for his playing time because of the presence of the extraordinarily talented
Henson.
Michigan quarterbacks tend to be smart. They may not always be amazing physical
specimens, but they tend to understand the nuances of the position.
If you are looking for something in common about all of the qualities mentioned here,
it is the fact that they are the qualities that typically lead to success in the NFL.
Maybe not the qualities that make scouts’ eyes pop out of their heads at the Combine,
but subtle qualities that are necessary to go from thrower to passer, from kid to man.
"I don’t disagree," said an NFL player personnel director to whom I
explained this theory. "You know what, someone up there at Michigan has a plan.
Exactly what you’re saying. There’s a blueprint for what they’re looking
for at quarterback. You look at the guys that they have that come through there; these are
all high-character guys. Smart guys. They are bringing in high-quality leaders and putting
them in a position where they know there is going to be a ton of pressure on them, and
they’re developing leaders. They’re bringing in leaders and guys that have that
element. Whatever the blueprint is, they’ve got it. You can see what some of those
elements are. There’s a lot of similar traits and characteristics to the
players."
The other similarity that the Michigan quarterbacks have is a lack of pro hype. As
stated earlier, only Harbaugh went in the first round, and that was very late. The
Michigan quarterbacks get a luxury that young quarterbacks taken in the first dozen or so
picks of the first round do not get to enjoy — patience from their organization.
If a quarterback is the first pick or the fifth pick or the 10th pick in the first
round, he is expected to play early in this salary-cap era. Earlier than he is probably
ready for. The result is that a lot of these quarterbacks are busts. The Michigan
quarterbacks get to take their time, learn the system, develop the finer points of their
game, and then they have gotten their shot when they are ready for it.
Somehow, the University of Michigan and the NFL have become an ideal marriage when it
comes to quarterbacks.
I grew up watching Michigan football in an era when the Wolverines viewed the forward
pass as a nutty, radical, dangerous concept to be avoided. Now the school is a QB factory.
It’s almost enough to make me get my eyes checked. |
