Bullaholic
01-06-2006, 03:32 PM
There has been a lot of discussion lately about talented players such as Vince Young and Matt Lineart entering the NFL as QB's. I submit that the college system has been sending some of the most athletically talented QB prospects in history to the NFL draft in recent years. However, the other, and perhaps equally important quality that a "great" NFL quarterback must possess is intelligence. The defenses that most of these gifted future QB's faced in college are not nearly as physically talented and "smart" as the ones they will face in the NFL. The average NFL playbook is probably about 1/2 inch thick and has literally hundreds of formations and plays. In addition to that, a great NFL QB knows his opponent's defense nearly as well as he does his own team's offense. Therefore, perhaps the collegiate system is not doing some future NFL QB's a favor by not insuring that they are at least literate and able to assimilate knowledge at a basic level before they are required to handle the NFL playing situation. All of the "great" NFL QB's seem to possess great physical skills, but the one quality which sets them "apart" from their "peers" is their knowledge of the opponent before, and during, a game. This thread is not directed at any specific player or institution.