Chicago Sun-Times: 5th graders showing up Grossman

[Angus]

Oh, snap!

EXCHANGE TRAITS | Youth-league quarterbacks and centers suggest ways Grossman can avoid frustrating fumbles

August 22, 2007
BY ROMAN MODROWSKI rmodrowski@suntimes.com

Handling a snap is so easy, a fifth-grader could do it.

In fact, Rex Grossman might do well to heed the advice of the Widget-level players we contacted Tuesday. The Bears quarterback dropped two more exchanges from center Olin Kreutz on Monday during a preseason game in Indianapolis, leaving many to wonder how an NFL veteran could struggle with something mastered at the lowest levels.

''It's very easy to take snaps,'' said fifth-grader Jimmy Smolik, 10, a quarterback for the St. Linus Hawks in Oak Lawn. ''Just open your hands and wait for the ball, and then you close your hands.''

Smolik and the Hawks' other quarterback and centers show up 30 minutes before practice to work on snaps. It seems to be helping.

''They usually pick it up real quickly,'' said Hawks coach Scott Smolik, Jimmy's father. ''Sometimes a young quarterback likes to pull his hands away too quickly, and that causes an exchange problem.

''So we have all of our centers and quarterbacks take extra snaps. And after a couple of days, you see improvement and then virtually no missed snaps.''

Perhaps Grossman’s problem is the positioning of his hands.

"We tell our quarterback to make sure he gets his hands under the center’s butt," said Daniel Terrini, who helps coach 8- and 9-year-olds on the Wheaton Rams. "Kids can get funny at this age, and sometimes they have a tendency to crouch down low. But they usually pick it up within a week."

Brian Barry, 10, another Hawks quarterback, empathizes with Grossman.

"It seems easy, but it’s harder than it looks," Barry said. "You have to keep your hands open and wait for the ball. I’ve been taking snaps for two weeks — I get about 25 in practice and about 40 before practice — and I drop three or four of those.

"I’d tell Rex to try and not have so many turnovers and to get lower — he’s high a little bit — and to practice more."

Maybe the problem lies with Kreutz. Hawks center Dan Markunas, 11, said experience is a key factor.

"It depends on how long you’ve been snapping," Markunas said. "This is my first year snapping, and it gets easier as I go on. After a while, it becomes automatic.

"Try to get the ball to the quarterback and practice together a lot more."

Mike Ruane, 10, another Hawks center, offered some advice many Bears fans likely shouted at their television Monday.

"Tell them to keep their eyes open," he said.

Many believe the size of Grossman’s hands is a factor.

"A hand problem is a possibility," said Myles Coleman, who coaches 8-year-olds on the Glen Ellyn Eagles. "But I would think that problem would have surfaced before now, like in high school or college.

"We’ve gone for a year without a snap problem. It’s not a difficult skill."

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/519859,CST-SPT-snap22.article

 

[joseephuss]

Grossman's problem is not the positioning of his hands. His problems are all mental. He is not mentally strong enough to handle the pressure. When his mind falters his body follows. His poor hand positioning is just a symptom of his true problem which is a lack of mental fortitude.

Grossman knows how to take a snap and probably could probably handle 100s of snaps in practice without incident. Put him in a game and especially a tight game and he loses his mental focus and that causes him to make mistakes. What is normally and ordinary task becomes difficult. What should be second nature takes more concentration, which takes away focus from what the defense is doing. He loses his mechanics on passes or separates his hands too much on a snap. He may not even realize he is doing those things.

The good QBs and easily the great QBs don't have those problems. The have the mental make up to keep their focus and not let snaps, drop backs and arm mechanics interfere them from making their reads and avoiding defenders.