* Updated 04/29/17 *
QuarterBack ~ DeShone Kizer ~ Notre Dame Fighting Irish ~ 6042/234
Regarding QuarterBacks
It has been fashionable, since Fran Tarkenton's time, to imagine that Scrambling QuarterBacks are the Wave of The Future and are going to revolutionize the Game, disrupt the competitive LandScape, and render Pocket Passers obsolete.
But I believe not only that Pocket Passing remains the Heart & Soul of successful QuarterBacking, but that the capacity of Speed QuarterBacks to master Pocket Passing can be and often is crippled by the Siren Song of Scrambling: A QuarterBack who has always had that "out" is far less likely to develop the skills that really matter.
Power QuarterBacks ~ The Men with the Golden Arms ~ are equally susceptible to falling Prey to the seductive allure of their own physical Talent: The more powerful their Cannons, the more likely I believe it is that they persistently depend upon that crutch as a Get Out Of Jail Card, and thus fail to develop a more comprehensive Skill Set.
And thus I perceive a Great Irony, one that continues, astonishingly, to elude most: The more explosive a Scrambler that a QuarterBack is, or the more powerful an Arm he boasts, the less likely that he is to achieve Greatness.
Conversely, it's the boring guys who consistently Move The Chains that give you the best Chance to win.
After New Year's Day, when The Only Games That Really Matter are played, History has been relentlessly savage to Power QuarterBacks and Speed QuarterBacks who failed to develop their Games: Once the weaker Teams have been eliminated, the PlayOff Defenses have invariably proven far too much for the Unprepared.
And if you're not prepared to compete after New Year's Day, why play at all??
In consideration of these thoughts, which, like many of my thoughts, fly in the face of what is amusingly considered to be Conventional Wisdom, this is how I break down the Criteria that I focus on, when evaluating QuarterBacks:
1 ~ Processing Speed
2 ~ Precision
3 ~ Pocket Presence
4 ~ FirePower
Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape. It's crucial at all 22 Positions, but utterly vital for a QuarterBack to succeed...or to even survive. Reading Coverages, working through Progressions, and selecting the best Receiving or Running Option.
Precision speaks above all to Mechanics: A QuarterBack's consistency with his Stance, his Set Up, and his Delivery. I refer to consistent Accuracy in the Short & Intermediate Zones, where the best Offenses all make their Bread & Butter. In breaking it down, I'm looking at Timing, Touch, and Trajectory: Leading Receivers to DayLight.
Pocket Presence & Poise Under Pressure is about Poise, or how one's Processing Speed and Precision stand up Under Pressure, and about one's Temporal & Spatial Instincts in navigating an often chaotic Pocket.
FirePower is a Category that I value, though not as much as others. I refer to Velocity and to DownField Precision, which I don't consider as crucial to Success as Short & Intermediate Precision. DownField Precision makes for tremendous HighLight Footage, but it's Short & Intermediate Precision that Moves The Chains and wins Championships.
Please note, if you will: I don't list 40 Speed among crucial Attributes at all.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Processing Speed
* Please Note: This is entirely about how rapidly the QuarterBack scans the Field and makes successful Decisions.
* Many College Offenses feature simple Offenses that make this challenging to evaluate.
* It is, nevertheless, far and away the most crucial Aspect of QuarterBacking.
Precision
* Accuracy ~ Placement that maximizes the Receiver's Advantage and minimizes that of the Defender.
* Timing ~ Being temporally In Sync with the Receiver. The Ball arriving precisely when the Receiver does.
* Touch ~ The right Speed for the right Play. Only throwing FastBalls when FastBalls are warranted.
* Trajectory ~ Being spatially In Sync with the Receiver ~ enabling him to catch the Ball In Stride.
Pocket Presence
* Processing Speed Under Pressure.
* Precision Under Pressure.
* Spatial & Temporal Instincts.
FirePower
* Velocity, irregardless of where he's throwing it: How fast is'is FastBall?
* DownField Precision ~ can he through the Bomb accurately?
But I believe not only that Pocket Passing remains the Heart & Soul of successful QuarterBacking, but that the capacity of Speed QuarterBacks to master Pocket Passing can be and often is crippled by the Siren Song of Scrambling: A QuarterBack who has always had that "out" is far less likely to develop the skills that really matter.
Power QuarterBacks ~ The Men with the Golden Arms ~ are equally susceptible to falling Prey to the seductive allure of their own physical Talent: The more powerful their Cannons, the more likely I believe it is that they persistently depend upon that crutch as a Get Out Of Jail Card, and thus fail to develop a more comprehensive Skill Set.
And thus I perceive a Great Irony, one that continues, astonishingly, to elude most: The more explosive a Scrambler that a QuarterBack is, or the more powerful an Arm he boasts, the less likely that he is to achieve Greatness.
Conversely, it's the boring guys who consistently Move The Chains that give you the best Chance to win.
After New Year's Day, when The Only Games That Really Matter are played, History has been relentlessly savage to Power QuarterBacks and Speed QuarterBacks who failed to develop their Games: Once the weaker Teams have been eliminated, the PlayOff Defenses have invariably proven far too much for the Unprepared.
And if you're not prepared to compete after New Year's Day, why play at all??
In consideration of these thoughts, which, like many of my thoughts, fly in the face of what is amusingly considered to be Conventional Wisdom, this is how I break down the Criteria that I focus on, when evaluating QuarterBacks:
1 ~ Processing Speed
2 ~ Precision
3 ~ Pocket Presence
4 ~ FirePower
Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape. It's crucial at all 22 Positions, but utterly vital for a QuarterBack to succeed...or to even survive. Reading Coverages, working through Progressions, and selecting the best Receiving or Running Option.
Precision speaks above all to Mechanics: A QuarterBack's consistency with his Stance, his Set Up, and his Delivery. I refer to consistent Accuracy in the Short & Intermediate Zones, where the best Offenses all make their Bread & Butter. In breaking it down, I'm looking at Timing, Touch, and Trajectory: Leading Receivers to DayLight.
Pocket Presence & Poise Under Pressure is about Poise, or how one's Processing Speed and Precision stand up Under Pressure, and about one's Temporal & Spatial Instincts in navigating an often chaotic Pocket.
FirePower is a Category that I value, though not as much as others. I refer to Velocity and to DownField Precision, which I don't consider as crucial to Success as Short & Intermediate Precision. DownField Precision makes for tremendous HighLight Footage, but it's Short & Intermediate Precision that Moves The Chains and wins Championships.
Please note, if you will: I don't list 40 Speed among crucial Attributes at all.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Processing Speed
* Please Note: This is entirely about how rapidly the QuarterBack scans the Field and makes successful Decisions.
* Many College Offenses feature simple Offenses that make this challenging to evaluate.
* It is, nevertheless, far and away the most crucial Aspect of QuarterBacking.
Precision
* Accuracy ~ Placement that maximizes the Receiver's Advantage and minimizes that of the Defender.
* Timing ~ Being temporally In Sync with the Receiver. The Ball arriving precisely when the Receiver does.
* Touch ~ The right Speed for the right Play. Only throwing FastBalls when FastBalls are warranted.
* Trajectory ~ Being spatially In Sync with the Receiver ~ enabling him to catch the Ball In Stride.
Pocket Presence
* Processing Speed Under Pressure.
* Precision Under Pressure.
* Spatial & Temporal Instincts.
FirePower
* Velocity, irregardless of where he's throwing it: How fast is'is FastBall?
* DownField Precision ~ can he through the Bomb accurately?
DeShone Kizer ~ Scouting Report
Processing Speed: Marginal. In Fairness, Kizer's started only the better parts of 2 Seasons, and it should also be pointed out that on neither occasion was he expected to be the Starter, as he started off the 2015 Campaign as the 3rd Stringer, and the 2016 in a Platoon, so he's had far less Time & Training with Coach Brian Kelly's complex Offense than'd be sufficient to expect'm to master it. And he is by all Accounts very Intelligent, so this could improve considerably.
Precision: Marginal. His Mechanics are a Work in Progress and his Timing, Touch, and Trajectory are inconsistent.
Pocket Presence & Poise Under Pressure: Marginal. He's pretty tough, but his current level of Processing Speed works of course to'is detriment when Improvisation is called for. But there's definite Potential in this Aspect.
FirePower: Impressive, and with Outstanding Potential if he develops his Mechanics. Plenty of Power and Velocity.
Precision: Marginal. His Mechanics are a Work in Progress and his Timing, Touch, and Trajectory are inconsistent.
Pocket Presence & Poise Under Pressure: Marginal. He's pretty tough, but his current level of Processing Speed works of course to'is detriment when Improvisation is called for. But there's definite Potential in this Aspect.
FirePower: Impressive, and with Outstanding Potential if he develops his Mechanics. Plenty of Power and Velocity.
DeShone Kizer ~ Prospectus
Obviously, I'm not going to be grading DeShone Kizer very generously, based on what I've written above. But that's by no means to suggest that I'm down on the kid. I am very wary of QuarterBacks with great Arms such as Kizer, has, yes, because such Prospects all too often neglect the Mental & Mechanical Aspects of their Game.
And those are indeed currently Liabilities with Kizer, as I see things.
But the fact of the matter is that he hasn't had a single Off Season wherein he received an undisputed Starter's intensive Coaching, and Time & Training are all the more crucial in an Offense as complex as that of Coach Kelly.
My Unsolicited Advice to Kizer would be to strongly encourage him to go back to School for at least one more Campaign. He badly needs the Time & Training. And if he does, he could very well develop into the kind of Prospect who would warrant his current Market Value, despite its being based not on QuarterBacking but on Power & Height.
* April Update: I have in no way, shape, or form changed my mind on any'f that!! The Market has somewhat eased up on its Evaluation of Kizer's Prospects ~ though to avoid confusion I will with this and all such Scouting Reports leave on display the original Market Value, to reflect my estimate of what it was on the Dates on which these Reports were originally published ~ and he has indeed declared for the 2017 Draft and gotten picked in the 2nd Round.
May God have Mercy on his Soul.
NFL Defenses...will not.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually possible.
And those are indeed currently Liabilities with Kizer, as I see things.
But the fact of the matter is that he hasn't had a single Off Season wherein he received an undisputed Starter's intensive Coaching, and Time & Training are all the more crucial in an Offense as complex as that of Coach Kelly.
My Unsolicited Advice to Kizer would be to strongly encourage him to go back to School for at least one more Campaign. He badly needs the Time & Training. And if he does, he could very well develop into the kind of Prospect who would warrant his current Market Value, despite its being based not on QuarterBacking but on Power & Height.
* April Update: I have in no way, shape, or form changed my mind on any'f that!! The Market has somewhat eased up on its Evaluation of Kizer's Prospects ~ though to avoid confusion I will with this and all such Scouting Reports leave on display the original Market Value, to reflect my estimate of what it was on the Dates on which these Reports were originally published ~ and he has indeed declared for the 2017 Draft and gotten picked in the 2nd Round.
May God have Mercy on his Soul.
NFL Defenses...will not.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually possible.
Yank Rank ~ Auxiliary ~ Colossally
OverRated!!
OverRated!!
| Market Value Top 3!! | Yankee Grade 6th/7th Round |
Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!
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