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Quarterback is the most insignificant position in team sports because no other position in any other sport requires the same reliance on teammates as a QB. All other individual sports, and all other positions in football, require a talent level that places the individual's ability to perform or succeed entirely on that individual's shoulders, and theirs alone.
QB's can't achieve any level of success without the assistance of others. They need help from the offensive line, the WR's, the RB, even the defense and the coaching staff. Without this help they are worthless. All other positions on a football team place the individual player in situations where their success depends solely on their skills and their ability to 'beat' the person opposite them. WR's succeed when they beat the d-back trying to cover them. Once the ball is in the air, if it's tight coverage or a poorly thrown ball, the responsibility becomes solely that receiver's to use his skills to make the play work. Even if he's wide open, once the ball is thrown it's completely his talents that determine whether the play is a success or not.
An offensive lineman can succeed by dominating his opponent. A running back can succeed by out-running, out-maneuvering, or out-muscling the defender...one-on-one. Individual defensive players can succeed by shutting down the player opposite them.
Hell, even in baseball and hockey the success of the team depends on the combined successes of the individuals. Fielders are all alone when the ball is hit to them, and it's on their own shoulders whether or not they field the ball cleanly and make the play. While in the batting box, it's one-on-one...the hitter's skills versus the pitcher's. In hockey, it's one man's slap shot against another man's ability to stop the puck.
Quarterbacks can't complete a pass without relying on the talent level of the offensive linemen blocking for him or the receiver he's throwing the ball to being able to catch it. They're completely at the mercy of those around them and rely on their support to get by. If the players on a football team were redefined by socio-economic standards, the other ten players would be classified as part of the working class....QB's would be third-generation welfare recipients.
Too much is made of a QB's skill level, physical abilities, or contributions to the success of a football team...all that really means very little...it's actually the players surrounding the QB that determine the team's success. The QB is just along for the ride. All they have to do is not screw up or consistently make mistakes and let the rest of the player's talents carry him along to wins.
Leadership is the only quality that a QB must have in order to have any significant impact on the success of the team...and that has little to do with any of that individual's physical skills. Even the outcome of the QB's leadership ability still depends on the talents of those around him. A QB can 'rally the troops' all he likes, but if the other players don't succeed, neither does he.
No position in any sport is more over-valued, over-rated, and over-paid than a football QB.
QB's can't achieve any level of success without the assistance of others. They need help from the offensive line, the WR's, the RB, even the defense and the coaching staff. Without this help they are worthless. All other positions on a football team place the individual player in situations where their success depends solely on their skills and their ability to 'beat' the person opposite them. WR's succeed when they beat the d-back trying to cover them. Once the ball is in the air, if it's tight coverage or a poorly thrown ball, the responsibility becomes solely that receiver's to use his skills to make the play work. Even if he's wide open, once the ball is thrown it's completely his talents that determine whether the play is a success or not.
An offensive lineman can succeed by dominating his opponent. A running back can succeed by out-running, out-maneuvering, or out-muscling the defender...one-on-one. Individual defensive players can succeed by shutting down the player opposite them.
Hell, even in baseball and hockey the success of the team depends on the combined successes of the individuals. Fielders are all alone when the ball is hit to them, and it's on their own shoulders whether or not they field the ball cleanly and make the play. While in the batting box, it's one-on-one...the hitter's skills versus the pitcher's. In hockey, it's one man's slap shot against another man's ability to stop the puck.
Quarterbacks can't complete a pass without relying on the talent level of the offensive linemen blocking for him or the receiver he's throwing the ball to being able to catch it. They're completely at the mercy of those around them and rely on their support to get by. If the players on a football team were redefined by socio-economic standards, the other ten players would be classified as part of the working class....QB's would be third-generation welfare recipients.
Too much is made of a QB's skill level, physical abilities, or contributions to the success of a football team...all that really means very little...it's actually the players surrounding the QB that determine the team's success. The QB is just along for the ride. All they have to do is not screw up or consistently make mistakes and let the rest of the player's talents carry him along to wins.
Leadership is the only quality that a QB must have in order to have any significant impact on the success of the team...and that has little to do with any of that individual's physical skills. Even the outcome of the QB's leadership ability still depends on the talents of those around him. A QB can 'rally the troops' all he likes, but if the other players don't succeed, neither does he.
No position in any sport is more over-valued, over-rated, and over-paid than a football QB.
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