(04-06-2018, 07:53 AM)irontrooper83 Wrote: Apologies if this was already posted. I remember last year there was quite a bit of talk since Watson at the combine threw at 49mph and according to many that was a big concern in terms of ball velocity, so I thought about taking a look at this year's QBs at the combine just out of curiousity.

Allen set the record since they started tracking velocity (from 2008 I think):

Here's their performances at the combine.
Among the 4 guys who are usually rated as the top 4 prospects:

Josh Allen - Wyoming - 62 (left), 62 (right)

Sam Darnold didn't throw.


Baker Mayfield - Oklahoma - 59 (left), 60 (right)

Josh Rosen - UCLA - 57 (left), 59 (right)

Then the most notable names from the rest of the group:

[font=Roboto]Mike White - Western Kentucky - 53 (left), 55 (right)[/font]

[font=Roboto]Kyle Lauletta - Richmond - 52 (left), 52 (right)[/font]

[font=Roboto]Luke Falk - Washington State - 52 (left), 52 (right)[/font]

[font=Roboto]Mason Rudolph - Oklahoma State - 52 (left), 52 (right)[/font]

[font=Roboto]Lamar Jackson - Louisville - 49 (left), 49 (right) (same as D. Watson last year)[/font]

[font=Roboto]Here's the full list from this year's combine: [/font]
[font=Roboto]http://www.ourlads.com/story/default/Quarterback-Ball-Velocity-at-2018-NFL-Combine/10241/dh/[/font]

[font=Roboto]And here's the list that goes back to 2008:[/font]
[font=Roboto]http://blogs.ourlads.com/2017/03/16/quarterback-ball-velocity-at-nfl-combine-2008-2015/[/font]

It's always good to keep in mind...the goal of throwing the forward pass is to make sure the pass is caught. Velocity is nice, but not a substitute for accuracy and throwing with the right amount of touch necessary to complete the pass.

In Josh Allen's case, his outstanding arm strength means nothing if his throws aren't caught. In his case, velocity is a liability. His accuracy can be fantastic. He puts the ball in places that only some of the greatest QBs in NFL history could and he has an eye for those type of small windows. However, if he doesn't learn to throw with better touch and/or his accuracy goes way out of whack due to throwing something more likely to be caught, he will find himself among the hard throwers who never made it.

This isn't meant to knock the ability of the average NFL WR to catch whatever the QB throws at him. That prerequisite never changes. What does change is our ability to reconcile a drop with a QB throwing with so much velocity that the ball arrives out of time, or the QB is attempting to force a ball into a window so small that he would have been much wiser to not throw in that direction.

Weaker arms do succeed in the NFL. QBs that have average to below average arm strength can become respectable NFL pro quarterbacks. They work around the arm strength requirement by throwing slightly different - anticipating the WR cut or break. QBs with softer arms can do things that high velocity QBs can't typically do well. That is leading their WR the right way so that he completes the pass by catching the football out of harm's way. When a WR is looking into the pocket he usually has his back to the secondary and/or he is not paying attention to what's ahead of him. A poorly thrown pass or a pass thrown too hard to a specific spot can lead to the collision causing extensive injury, particularly bad considering that WRs, even with concussion rules in place, continue to be led into traffic by many less talented QBs. It would be interesting to see the concussion data for WRs and safeties.

One thing is true. A high velocity thrower can always learn to reserve his arm talent while a weaker arm likely will never add enough arm strength to compare to players like Josh Allen, who do have that aspect of elite QB talent.

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