VACowboy
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Finding a franchise QB is the hardest thing NFL personnel people have to do. Some franchises go through years of mediocrity, and much worse, simply because they can't find their guys. During those times, a lot of these teams waste a lot of high draft picks reaching for quarterbacks instead of drafting impact players at other positions. While they're messing with QB prospects that they drafted way too high and who fail way more often than they don't, talent at other positions suffers.
The problem is that very few college QBs play in offenses where they have to read defenses, make quick decisions and accurate throws into tiny windows. Even fewer have the innate ability to do those things well. What there is a ton of coming out of college these days, though, is athletic quarterbacks who can run the ball like RBs and throw the ball ok too. The reasons we're given to explain why these QBs and the college offenses in which they thrive can't succeed at the NFL level are: 1) defensive players are too big and too fast for those offenses to work, and 2) quarterbacks who run are going to get hurt.
Although we haven't seen a full-blown zone option offense in the NFL, I think #1 has been disproved to some degree. They are pretty successful running zone read stuff in San Fran and Seattle, and when Griffin was healthy, the Washington zone read was devastating. As far as QBs getting injured, if they're as skinny and bull-headed as Robert Griffen, yeah, it's a matter of time. But why is a QB who runs the ball any more prone to injury than a back who runs the ball 25-30 times a game? If you have smart, stout players and manage their snaps, I don't see the issue. If you aren't depending on your QB to get in a passing rhythm, play a couple or a few.
With the run-blocking power of its OL, I think the Cowboys are uniquely positioned to do something like this, play an offense similar to the one we see in Auburn. Taysom Hill, Braxton Miller, Nick Marshall, Everett Golson, Jacoby Brissett and Trevone Boykin can all probably be had from the fourth round on. Prescott and Hundly prolly somewhere from 2-3. Draft a couple of these guys, pick up another similar player or two in UDFA to stash on the PS, activate Ryan Williams to the 53 and maul some teams. Done whole hog, with professional precision and the right personnel, I think something like this may work. Meanwhile, you can be building the defense and stocking depth everywhere else.
Of course, Romo's gonna be around a while longer. And maybe it's really not feasible. Maybe it won't work at the pro level, or maybe only for a while. Wouldn't you like to see somebody try it, though? With talented players tailored for that kind of game, it'd have to be better than years of Chad Hutchinson, Quincy Carter and a bunch of 55-year-old retreads, no?
The problem is that very few college QBs play in offenses where they have to read defenses, make quick decisions and accurate throws into tiny windows. Even fewer have the innate ability to do those things well. What there is a ton of coming out of college these days, though, is athletic quarterbacks who can run the ball like RBs and throw the ball ok too. The reasons we're given to explain why these QBs and the college offenses in which they thrive can't succeed at the NFL level are: 1) defensive players are too big and too fast for those offenses to work, and 2) quarterbacks who run are going to get hurt.
Although we haven't seen a full-blown zone option offense in the NFL, I think #1 has been disproved to some degree. They are pretty successful running zone read stuff in San Fran and Seattle, and when Griffin was healthy, the Washington zone read was devastating. As far as QBs getting injured, if they're as skinny and bull-headed as Robert Griffen, yeah, it's a matter of time. But why is a QB who runs the ball any more prone to injury than a back who runs the ball 25-30 times a game? If you have smart, stout players and manage their snaps, I don't see the issue. If you aren't depending on your QB to get in a passing rhythm, play a couple or a few.
With the run-blocking power of its OL, I think the Cowboys are uniquely positioned to do something like this, play an offense similar to the one we see in Auburn. Taysom Hill, Braxton Miller, Nick Marshall, Everett Golson, Jacoby Brissett and Trevone Boykin can all probably be had from the fourth round on. Prescott and Hundly prolly somewhere from 2-3. Draft a couple of these guys, pick up another similar player or two in UDFA to stash on the PS, activate Ryan Williams to the 53 and maul some teams. Done whole hog, with professional precision and the right personnel, I think something like this may work. Meanwhile, you can be building the defense and stocking depth everywhere else.
Of course, Romo's gonna be around a while longer. And maybe it's really not feasible. Maybe it won't work at the pro level, or maybe only for a while. Wouldn't you like to see somebody try it, though? With talented players tailored for that kind of game, it'd have to be better than years of Chad Hutchinson, Quincy Carter and a bunch of 55-year-old retreads, no?
