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The key to the futures of Andy Dalton, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick
I've posted just the Kaepernick excerpt because Kurt Warner makes such a great point (and one that's been discussed here on and off for years) about the College spread offense and struggles young QBs have adjusting to the pro game. This is a good article on pro quarterbacking in general and the worth the time to read IMO.
Not long ago, with a slingshot arm and a deerlike stride, Kap seemed to be football's future. He had beaten Brady in Foxborough, Drew Brees in New Orleans, Matt Ryan in Atlanta, Newton in Carolina and Aaron Rodgers twice in the playoffs. Ron Jaworski predicted he could be the greatest ever. He was the ultimate sandlot quarterback, led by the ultimate sandlot coach in Jim Harbaugh. But the cracks in his performance that began to form last year, hidden by the drama surrounding Harbaugh's job status, are fixed in sharp relief now that the coach is gone. Kap has become a football version of Chuck Knoblauch, high and low and unable to execute something that once came naturally. His QBR of 47.6 is more than 20 points lower than it was in 2012, his first year starting. New coach Jim Tomsula finally benched Kap for Blaine Gabbert after Week 8, saying he wanted "Colin to step back and breathe," a move the coach hopes will serve as a reset, not a permanent solution.
This past offseason, Kap spent three days a week for six weeks in Phoenix under the tutelage of Warner. Unlike the other quarterback gurus, Warner is one of the few who perfected the craft himself. He possessed the rare mix of quickness, accuracy, heart, brains, work ethic and ruthlessness to become a Hall of Fame -- worthy passer. His unlikely story -- from stocking shelves in a grocery store to winning a Super Bowl -- proved just how undetectable and unpredictable that skill set is. He made for an interesting pair with Kap, whose dazzling running has led to many kissed biceps but also allowed him to avoid learning the position traditionally. Warner's challenge was to teach Kap how he thinks in an incredibly short amount of time, knowing that only a handful of quarterbacks each generation can process the way he did. Says Warner, "I told him, 'The hardest part of this process will be that you don't think like me, and I've never been able to think like you.' When do I stop being a quarterback and become an athlete? I never had to worry about that."
Over a cranberry juice, Warner leans on the table and watches video of a play from Week 4. Fourth quarter, 49ers down 17-3 to Green Bay, trying to rally. On second-and-5 from the Packers' 15-yard line, Kaepernick takes the shotgun snap, sees running back Reggie Bush wide open over the middle for what should be a walk-in touchdown. "A layup," Warner says. Kap fires it in the dirt. Warner rewinds the clip, then freezes the frame as Kap is throwing. "The biggest thing that I see with Kap quite often -- and it's frustrating -- are his feet." As Kap releases the ball, his feet are parallel to the line of scrimmage, rather than perpendicular. He's throwing with all arm, rather than with his body. The result is a pass both late -- Bush was open by three steps before Kap even noticed -- and inaccurate. "Normally good quarterbacks don't throw like that," Warner says.
Warner leans back, disheartened. They had focused on footwork in the offseason. He was even more disheartened when Kap told reporters that he was "not huge" on mechanics. "That tells a big story right there," Warner says. He isn't faulting Kap's work ethic. "He worked his butt off" in their time together, Warner says. He is saying that Kap isn't really a fifth-year quarterback. He's a fifth-year player, 28 years old, but developmentally behind the curve. Warner faults the way football is trending, with youth and college coaches putting their best athletes at quarterback and deploying them in the spread, exactly what happened to Kap at the University of Nevada. "So now," Warner says, "we're saying -- at the highest level, against the best talent -- you have to learn how to play quarterback. To me, it sounds impossible."
This past offseason, Kap spent three days a week for six weeks in Phoenix under the tutelage of Warner. Unlike the other quarterback gurus, Warner is one of the few who perfected the craft himself. He possessed the rare mix of quickness, accuracy, heart, brains, work ethic and ruthlessness to become a Hall of Fame -- worthy passer. His unlikely story -- from stocking shelves in a grocery store to winning a Super Bowl -- proved just how undetectable and unpredictable that skill set is. He made for an interesting pair with Kap, whose dazzling running has led to many kissed biceps but also allowed him to avoid learning the position traditionally. Warner's challenge was to teach Kap how he thinks in an incredibly short amount of time, knowing that only a handful of quarterbacks each generation can process the way he did. Says Warner, "I told him, 'The hardest part of this process will be that you don't think like me, and I've never been able to think like you.' When do I stop being a quarterback and become an athlete? I never had to worry about that."
Over a cranberry juice, Warner leans on the table and watches video of a play from Week 4. Fourth quarter, 49ers down 17-3 to Green Bay, trying to rally. On second-and-5 from the Packers' 15-yard line, Kaepernick takes the shotgun snap, sees running back Reggie Bush wide open over the middle for what should be a walk-in touchdown. "A layup," Warner says. Kap fires it in the dirt. Warner rewinds the clip, then freezes the frame as Kap is throwing. "The biggest thing that I see with Kap quite often -- and it's frustrating -- are his feet." As Kap releases the ball, his feet are parallel to the line of scrimmage, rather than perpendicular. He's throwing with all arm, rather than with his body. The result is a pass both late -- Bush was open by three steps before Kap even noticed -- and inaccurate. "Normally good quarterbacks don't throw like that," Warner says.
Warner leans back, disheartened. They had focused on footwork in the offseason. He was even more disheartened when Kap told reporters that he was "not huge" on mechanics. "That tells a big story right there," Warner says. He isn't faulting Kap's work ethic. "He worked his butt off" in their time together, Warner says. He is saying that Kap isn't really a fifth-year quarterback. He's a fifth-year player, 28 years old, but developmentally behind the curve. Warner faults the way football is trending, with youth and college coaches putting their best athletes at quarterback and deploying them in the spread, exactly what happened to Kap at the University of Nevada. "So now," Warner says, "we're saying -- at the highest level, against the best talent -- you have to learn how to play quarterback. To me, it sounds impossible."
FULL STORY: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14067004/the-key-futures-bengals-qb-andy-dalton-panthers-qb-cam-newton-49ers-qb-colin-kaepernick
1 replies
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Not if Blaine Gabbert has anything to say about it! 
