Quarterbacks Are Being Severely Overvalued
6/8/16
Over the last ten to fifteen years, the mainstream media has created the narrative that a good quarterback can cover up most of the flaws within a football team when it is actually not the case. This is because quarterbacks rely upon the entire offensive unit in order to successfully complete their job of winning football games. For instance, a quarterback needs an offensive line who is strong and quick enough to hold their blocks which gives the quarterback ample time to set their feet in the pocket and go thru their reads to make a good throw. Once the offensive line has shown that they are capable of protecting the quarterback, the offensive coordinator and quarterback need to feature a steady diet of the running game in order to make the opposing team put more players in the box or freeze for a couple seconds after the ball is snapped. Which gives the quarterback more open space on the field to lead his receivers to the ball which would have increased the likelihood of the pass being completed. After they have successfully integrated the running game into the offense, the quarterback must rely on the wide receivers to catch the ball which enables the offense to keep the drive going.
However, if one aspect of the offensive unit isn't able to successfully do their job that means that the quarterback will not be able to do his job. For instance, if the offensive line isn’t strong and/or quick enough to hold their blocks. As a result of this, the quarterback will not have enough time to sit in the pocket and go thru his reads to make a good throw. Which will result in him getting sacked or throwing the football before he wants which leads to an incompletion or interception. A perfect example of this was Matthew Stafford in 2015 as the Lions offensive line was not been able to hold their blocks for enough time so that Stafford had time to make proper reads and a good throw to the wide receiver. As a result, Stafford was constantly feeling pressure from opposing defensive lines, which caused him to throw the ball up in the air before he wanted to because he wanted to give his wide receivers an opportunity to go up and make a play. Even though that was his thought process there were some plays where he didn't get a chance to do that because the wide receivers weren't able to give him the small window to throw the ball or he felt immediate pressure from the opposing team which resulted in him getting sacked 2.8 times per game according to team rankings. The only time Stafford has a clean pocket was when the receivers are running crossing routes and slants where he can get rid of the ball quickly.
As a result, it is unfair for the mainstream media to give all the credit and/or blame on the quarterback for the team performance considering the fact that they are the second most dependent position on offense behind wide receivers. Due to this, it is also unwise for front offices to give quarterbacks big contracts because it puts organizations in a position where they may not be able to get the quarterback all the help he needs due to financial restrictions. Which hurts the quarterbacks’ ability to successfully do his job of winning football games.
