How to Judge an NFL Quarterback Competition

You’re at a job interview, and the usual nervous ticks start. Your right leg keeps jittering and bouncing as though you’re ready to take off. And there’s sweat. So much sweat.

But this isn’t a normal job interview. The sweat is dripping partly because of nerves, sure, but it’s mostly due to the sweltering midsummer heat. You’re outside in full gear sprinting, dropping back, throwing and do it all again as critical eyes watch.

You’re an NFL quarterback, and in the early days of training camp a competition for the starting job has begun. The winner gets a shot at weekly glory. The loser gets to watch while he hears the play call through his earpiece. Plays he won’t execute.

Training camps usually start in late July with that scene for at least a handful of teams. This year may be the rare exception, with only the San Francisco 49ers holding a true competition at football’s most important position.

It feels like Blaine Gabbert remarkably has a solid lead there, and in Cleveland Robert Griffin III would have to bury himself in a sand pit to lose his grasp on the Browns’ starting job. Mark Sanchez of the Denver Broncos is in a similar situation, though his grip on the starting gig may be a little more tenuous.

But let’s not allow our memories to be so short.

Please recall that it was only a few years ago when a certain Seattle Seahawks quarterback who’s appeared in two Super Bowls had to secure his starting job against (big gulp) Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson. We can all laugh heartily now at the mere thought of Russell Wilson having to hold off Flynn. So please also recall that Wilson was a third-round rookie, and Flynn had just been given $10 million guaranteed. It was Flynn’s job to lose, and he promptly did just that.

Wilson’s growth since 2012 is just one example of how quarterback decisions made during training camp can either shape a franchise’s upward trajectory, or lead to a job search for coaches and members of the front office.

There is a method behind the training-camp chaos as the quarterback depth chart is assembled. One that features well-seasoned eyes hovering closely while the bullets fly.

But what, exactly, are those eyes looking at? How does the process of laying down the quarterback dominoes start when the intensity of training camp arrives? And what’s the tipping point during a quarterback competition when a group of coaches looks around collectively, nods, then points to their guy?

It turns out coaches and coordinators are watching more than just those one or two arms in action. They’re watching how they shape a team, and an offense.

Finding the hidden intangibles

We live in an age of advanced stats. All of them—every number, and every morsel of information—should be embraced by coaches who are faced with a quarterback decision. Doing anything else is intentionally shunning another tool and choosing to whither away in the darkness.

But something gets lost as we talk about metrics like passer rating, total yards through the air and completion percentage under pressure. We tend to scoff at the notion that intangibles exist, and they matter.

We do that because intangibles can’t be measured. They can’t be quantified, or put into a tidy box. In fact, essential traits like leadership or confidence are even difficult to describe. Bill Lazor discovered that in 2004 when legendary Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs shared some wisdom with him.

Lazor has been a quarterbacks coach at several stops and an offensive coordinator once during an NFL coaching career that started 13 years ago. In 2004, he was on the same sideline with Gibbs. The Super Bowl-winning coach told him to do something simple as the team tried to pick its starting quarterback between Patrick Ramsey and veteran Mark Brunell during training camp.

He wanted Lazor to watch the quarterbacks closely, of course. Then he wanted him to watch so much more.

“I remember during one of the preseason games coach Gibbs told me to stand on the sideline and just watch this one particular quarterback when it was his turn,” Lazor told Bleacher Report. “When he went out there on the field I watched, and I saw everyone in the huddle become a better player.”

“It’s funny, because sometimes you want to break it down with sports science and analytics. There are many other ways to look at how a guy is performing, even in practice,” Lazor said. “But there’s also something to a veteran coach like coach Gibbs watching the effect a …

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