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NFL1000 Week 3 Scouting Notebook: Why Are Rookie Quarterbacks Succeeding?
- Updated: September 29, 2016
Welcome to Bleacher Report’s NFL1000 Scouting Notebook, a weekly series where we’ll use the power of the 16-man NFL1000 scouting department to bring you fresh insights into the game and explain some of the more interesting (and potentially controversial) grades we give players every week.
Let’s start this week with a little film study and conceptual analysis on this class of young quarterbacks and why they’re doing so well despite their lack of professional experience.
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The All-22: Wentz, Brissett Set Up for Success
“I’d argue that a good offensive coordinator is more important [than a quarterback] nowadays. We’ve got plenty of guys with smarts and arm talent in the league today. We don’t need more ‘franchise quarterbacks.’ We need guys who can actually coach them.”
My B/R colleague (and former NFL quarterback) Chris Simms said that this week, and given the current landscape of young quarterbacks in the NFL, I couldn’t agree more. The marriage between quarterback and play-caller has always been important, but I’d posit that at no time in the league’s history can a team do more to help a rookie quarterback succeed in a hurry.
The evidence is clear. Not only are Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz succeeding efficiently in their systems, but there’s Jacoby Brissett—a third-round rookie from North Carolina State—who helped the Patriots beat the Texans in Week 3. Moreover, this is no fluke. The game’s smartest game-planners are finding creative ways to maximize the talents of their young quarterbacks.
It seems like the most obvious possible idea, but the best coaches don’t try to force their young quarterbacks to do things they’re not ready to do.
Think about the amazing quarterback class of 2012: Bruce Arians fit a vertical passing attack perfectly to Andrew Luck’s mobility, deep arm and processing speed. Mike Shanahan merged his preferred zone-running system with option concepts to take advantage of Robert Griffin III’s mobility and ability to throw on the run.
I remember asking Russell Wilson in his rookie season about the offenses he ran in college and how they fit with Seattle’s. Wilson ran a West Coast offense passing game at NC State, and the run game at Wisconsin was heavy two-back power. And he landed with an NFL team that had a WCO passing game with heavy two-back zone power. Wilson told me that many of the play designs were the same, and even some of the terminology matched up.
It’s up to NFL coaches to make sure their young quarterbacks have the conceptual edge. Let’s look at how it’s happening this season.
Carson Wentz
Before the Eagles took him with the second overall pick, it was a common mistake to assume that because Wentz played at a smaller school, he’d have trouble moving from a simplistic offense to the complexities of the NFL.
Not true at all—in fact, the North Dakota State offense was one of the more multiple I saw in college football last season. The Bison ran everything from pure WCO routes to full-house backfields in which there were heavy option concepts. Wentz had stages of play where he’d stand in the pocket and throw but just as many where he’d roll out on designed scrambles. And there were times when he’d stress the defense with the option mesh point and read the defenders to decide the best course of action.
New Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, a former NFL quarterback himself, came from Kansas City, where he had a mobile quarterback in Alex Smith and some interesting formation ideas.
Here, we’re at 14:13 left in the second quarter of Philadelphia’s 34-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, and I just love the design. Pre-snap, running back Darren Sproles motions left to right, and when nobody follows him, Wentz knows he’s facing zone defense. Pederson has drawn up a double zone-beater to the right side.
Watch how after the motion, the Eagles have a stack formation to the right, with Sproles behind tight end Brent Celek. Linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who moved over a bit to match Sproles’ positioning and cover the stack, is about to guess wrong whichever way he goes.
Timmons is stuck in the middle between Celek, who takes the deeper route, and Sproles, who sits underneath. Wentz has his choice. Safety Mike Mitchell, who makes the tackle, pauses at the snap to see what running back Wendell Smallwood is doing out of the backfield—he’s going to run a quick out, but he’s not the target. He’s the decoy to draw coverage from the front side, and it works like a charm. The result: an easy 15-yard completion to Celek.
Here’s Wentz’s 73-yard touchdown pass to Sproles with 13:08 left in the third quarter. This is a great example of Wentz’s command of mechanics and field vision within improvisation. I compared Wentz to Ben Roethlisberger before the draft, and standing on the sideline watching this play, Big Ben might have seen himself to a point. Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt beats left guard Allen Barbre on a great stunt for the pressure, and Wentz has to get rolling.
Wentz finds the gap between linebacker Jarvis Jones and end Cameron Heyward, and that’s where he really bears watching. He’s not running just to run here—right from his escape point, he has it in mind to complete a pass. He rolls away from the front pressure, waits for Sproles to clear linebacker Ryan Shazier’s coverage and turns his shoulders to the target to make the accurate throw. The touch he puts on this pass as he’s running? That’s something quite a few veteran quarterbacks can’t do consistently.
Wentz’s physical tools are obvious and impressive. His coaches have praised his preparation and decision-making to the hilt on Brett Favre’s SiriusXM radio show (h/t Matt Lombardo for NJ Advance Media). But Pederson and his staff also deserve a ton of credit for playing to Wentz’s strengths and avoiding the trap of trying to make him something he’s not.
Jacoby Brissett
In New England’s 27-0 thrashing of the Texans last Thursday night, Brissett completed 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards and no touchdowns. Most of his passing yards were gained after the catch; it was the standard operating system for a relatively inexperienced quarterback who’s directed to play mistake-free football.
What was more interesting was the quarterback-run concepts the Patriots put in place for Brissett, who gained 899 yards and scored nine touchdowns on the ground in two seasons for the Wolfpack. Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels and the Patriots coaching staff installed the kind of things you’d see more from the 49ers under Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman than anything ever run with Tom Brady (or even Jimmy Garoppolo) under center.
The Texans were dealing with front-side cut blocks, pulling guards and quarterbacks getting out to the numbers far too quickly for their taste, as happened on this 13-yard run with 5:46 left in the first quarter.
When cornerback …
