Does a QB need to come from a pro system?

[X-Era]

I'm a big fan of Bryce Petty. In a write-up on Petty I found this interesting:

"Whitfield said the latter is sort of a silly case to prove. According to his research, 74 percent of NFL snaps in 2014-15 came with the quarterback in shotgun formation. Only the Baltimore Ravens (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/bal/baltimore-ravens)' Joe Flacco (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11252/joe-flacco), he said, took the bulk of his snaps under center."

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/164611/bryce-petty-targets-first-round-at-baylor-pro-day

Throwing from the shotgun is only one aspect. Going through progressions is another. Petty needs to be able to read defenses.

[swiper]

Does a QB need to come from a pro system?

YES

[Strongman]

Here's an article kind of related to this subject:

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/02/how_college_spread_offenses_ar.html

[YardRat]

Whitfield is obviously pimping his boy, I certainly hope he understands there is more to a 'pro system' then taking snaps from under center.

[Buckets]

I think if a QB can only thrive in a set environment I.E. under center or shotgun style, they are not elite. So if a OB is considered elite and has only played shotgun in college he should be able to adjust in the pros. Just saying.

[OpIv37]

Does a QB need to come from a pro system? No.

But two things:
1. QB's who come from pro systems are less of a gamble for the drafting team because they've already shown they can play in a pro system. Qb's who aren't from pro systems can show all the physical tools but teams don't k is if they have the brains for the pro system. It's a risky pick.
2. A qb who isn't from a pro system is going to have a steeper learning curve and take longer to develop.

[X-Era]

Does a QB need to come from a pro system? No.

But two things:
1. QB's who come from pro systems are less of a gamble for the drafting team because they've already shown they can play in a pro system. Qb's who aren't from pro systems can show all the physical tools but teams don't k is if they have the brains for the pro system. It's a risky pick.
2. A qb who isn't from a pro system is going to have a steeper learning curve and take longer to develop.Stating the obvious I realize, but, being from a pro-system is no guarantee of success.

I think there are lot's of factors. Some seem to carry more weight than others... Years of college experience in a big time conference reading defenses seems like a significant factor is being successful. But didn't EJ Manuel have that? 43 games in a big time program reading defenses?

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ej-manuel-1.html

It's a crapshoot. Really tough to get it right. There are very very few Lucks. After that you really struggle to find a sure fire qualification list.

Is it possible that if a player has all the physical skills... arm strength, accuracy, dexterity, athleticism... and has the desire and mental aptitude to quickly and effectively learn an all new method of quarterbacking that he could be successful? I think the key would be the ability to "get it". Manuel, with everything going in his favor, hasn't shown fully that he "gets it". Maybe he never will. Yet maybe Petty (for example), with having to learn to read defenses and with little experience doing it, can take his god given talent, hopefully show the aptitude and drive to learn and "get it".

On the surface it would seem to be a bigger climb. Or is it less about experience and more about ability to adapt and quickly excel? Especially considering the jump from college to the pro's is such a huge on in the first place...

To extend it further, is the jump from college to the pro's so great that no amount of prior experience in any setting makes it sure fire or even likely to succeed?

[Night Train]

He doesn't need to be... but it seems few can make the switch from 1 read and run, which is the norm at most colleges. They've never been contained to a pocket by a Defense.

Then comes the fine line of poise vs. panic. Most select the later. They never learn to read the Safety or short zone LB.

[Bill Cody]

for me the answer is...yes

I'm tired f these jokers coming out of spread offenses. We're from Western NY. We're not running a spread here. I'd like to see us start to build a real blueprint of what we want our team to be and draft players to fit it. At QB I'm looking for someone that's physically and mentally tough. I'd like us to look like a combo of the Bears and the Steelers when both were good. Does that scream "spread QB" to you? I'm thinking no.

[X-Era]

for me the answer is...yes

I'm tired f these jokers coming out of spread offenses. We're from Western NY. We're not running a spread here. I'd like to see us start to build a real blueprint of what we want our team to be and draft players to fit it. At QB I'm looking for someone that's physically and mentally tough. I'd like us to look like a combo of the Bears and the Steelers when both were good. Does that scream "spread QB" to you? I'm thinking no.
The Gailey offense here was mostly a spread. And 74% of the NFL snaps were from the shotgun last year? Very surprising if true.

Roman wont run a spread. Although he had success with Kap who came from a spread (Pistol) at Nevada.

[Buckets]

Does a QB need to come from a pro system? No.

But two things:
1. QB's who come from pro systems are less of a gamble for the drafting team because they've already shown they can play in a pro system. Qb's who aren't from pro systems can show all the physical tools but teams don't k is if they have the brains for the pro system. It's a risky pick.
2. A qb who isn't from a pro system is going to have a steeper learning curve and take longer to develop.

I guess that's what I'm saying, if they don't have the brains they're not elite.

[stuckincincy]

I think the key would be the ability to "get it".

Same here.

The changes in the college game, all the rule changes in the NFL make it difficult for me to evaluate QBs as before. Our poster Night Train puts it well - poise.

[X-Era]

Same here.

The changes in the college game, all the rule changes in the NFL make it difficult for me to evaluate QBs as before. Our poster Night Train puts it well - poise.Yeah, poise, mental markup, pocket presence, progressions, reading defenses, decision making... pick your term. It's really all in the ability to do what the QB should do and find and deliver the ball to the open guys or not throw it when it will result in an INT.

[Bill Cody]

The Gailey offense here was mostly a spread. And 74% of the NFL snaps were from the shotgun last year? Very surprising if true.

Roman wont run a spread. Although he had success with Kap who came from a spread (Pistol) at Nevada.

You're right. I guess I'm too old school. I don't like the game as much now as I used to. What I'd like to see probably won't happen, maybe wouldn't work any more.

[better days]

You're right. I guess I'm too old school. I don't like the game as much now as I used to. What I'd like to see probably won't happen, maybe wouldn't work any more.

Well, I am excited to see Romans offense.

The Bills will run the ball, but they will be creative with the run game as well as the pass game.

The offense will be nothing like last years SIMPLE offense.

[Mr. Pink]

There is no such thing as a pro system vs a college system.

The NFL utilizes majority of snaps in shotgun, read option and spread now.

This is no longer 1985 where this discussion even mattered.

[EricStratton]

Very few colleges run a true pro style system and going further very few high school quarterbacks have run a pro style system with the popularity of the 7on7 summer leagues

If you're only looking for pro style guys it may be a long wait

[swiper]

Why Greg Roman's Play-Calling Is Holding Back the San Francisco 49ers (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1858140-why-greg-romans-play-calling-is-holding-back-the-san-francisco-49ers)



Hard to fathom before the season that the San Francisco 49ers (http://bleacherreport.com/san-francisco-49ers)offense would look so inept, especially with the NFL (http://bleacherreport.com/nfl)’s best collection of offensive linemen, a superhuman tight end, one of the league’s last remaining feature backs and primo auxiliary weapons peppered all around.Minus Michael Crabtree (http://bleacherreport.com/michael-crabtree), the 49ers still have all those things on offense, but this bungling unit continues to struggle—far more than it rightfully should be, even when you extend it the leeway of not having its No. 1 wideout.

What Bleacher Report’s NFC West lead writer Tyson Langland (https://twitter.com/TysonNFL/status/402870084474920960) astutely pointed out is that after 10 games played, the Niners offense is averaging fewer yards per game than Kellen Clemens and the St. Louis Rams (http://bleacherreport.com/st-louis-rams). In fact, only Baltimore, Miami (http://bleacherreport.com/miami-dolphins) and Jacksonville (http://bleacherreport.com/jacksonville-jaguars) have worse numbers in that category, and they carry a combined record of 10-20 so far in 2013.

Narrowing down where it really gets mucky, look no further than their 32nd-ranked passing offense.

They remain dead last in that area, which has most influenced their inability to sustain drives and score points. So, with this bottom-dwelling standing and seeing other teams around the league do more with less, one has to call into question the direction the offense is under.

Why haven’t the 49ers been able to adjust and compensate, using what they do have? This has led many to point the finger at the team’s offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, who was originally Jim Harbaugh (http://bleacherreport.com/jim-harbaugh)’s right-hand man from Stanford.


All calls do go through head coach Jim Harbaugh, but it is incumbent upon Roman to develop and execute a proper game plan, while adjusting during the game. In a recent live chat, 49ers reporter MattMaiocco (http://www.csnbayarea.com/page/49ers-pulse) of CSN Bay Area provided some clarity on the chain of command:


Greg Roman talks to the other coaches between series and comes up with a list of plays. He gives Harbaugh the play call on the sideline. Then, Harbaugh sends the call into Kaepernick. Harbaugh is the gate-keeper.


While Harbaugh approves, he does not select.

Therefore, if the plays that are coming in are not working on the field, it still starts with Roman. If Harbaugh has to axe one of the calls and the Niners take a delay of game, it is still on Roman. If they don’t have enough clock to change the play and are forced to roll with a bad call, that’s on Roman.

At the end of the day, the onus is on him to make this unit work, and clearly it hasn’t been. Having said that, it is time to take a close look at the areas that Greg Roman has been exposed as the orchestrator of the San Francisco offense.


Ryan Riddle @Ryan_Riddle (https://twitter.com/Ryan_Riddle)Follow (https://twitter.com/Ryan_Riddle)
Greg Roman going from top HC candidate to thin ice as #49ers (https://twitter.com/hashtag/49ers?src=hash) OC.
6:23 PM - 17 Nov 2013 (https://twitter.com/Ryan_Riddle/status/402215518083354624)

[X-Era]

Why Greg Roman's Play-Calling Is Holding Back the San Francisco 49ers (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1858140-why-greg-romans-play-calling-is-holding-back-the-san-francisco-49ers)I don't get it. How does this have any impact on who we should look at as a QB?

[X-Era]

There is no such thing as a pro system vs a college system.

The NFL utilizes majority of snaps in shotgun, read option and spread now.

This is no longer 1985 where this discussion even mattered.The hit on a guy like Petty is that he hasn't run a pro style offense. Are you saying it doesn't matter?

Petty ran a 1 read offense. I like Petty but I can't ignore the importance of reading defenses.

[Mr. Pink]

The hit on a guy like Petty is that he hasn't run a pro style offense. Are you saying it doesn't matter?

Petty ran a 1 read offense. I like Petty but I can't ignore the importance of reading defenses.

No, it doesn't.

Why do you think players can step right in and look good right away? Because there is little to no difference on what is run at the NFL level and what is run at the collegiate level now.

It's also why you can tell if a guy is an outright bum or not quickly. There is no more growing period for the position. There is no oh sit the guy and wait on him a few years. You can either step in, adjust to the speed of the NFL and play or you're done.

RGIII came in to the NFL, doesn't read most of the field - still doesn't, and looked good while running what was once a college offense but is now a staple NFL read option pistol style offense.

Every team runs some variation of read option or pistol in their offensive package now, some less than others but if you draft a guy who fits that system, you just fine tune your playbook to include more of those looks and plays.