(09-17-2020, 07:05 AM)The Real Marty Wrote:

(09-16-2020, 06:19 PM)jagibelieve Wrote: I think the most important thing for a QB to have is what could be called the "it" factor.  Mainly mental skills along with a few physical skills.

Take Blake Bortles as an example.  I do think that he has the mental skill, but he lacked the accuracy and consistency.  I remember a particular "miked up" episode where he knew that the receiver was going to get a TD, he called it and it happened.  He was "football smart" but lacked the physical skill to go along with it.  His passes were often wobbly or not entirely accurate.

I think some people often mistake "arm strength" for the ability to throw a deep pass.  To me "arm strength" has more to do with how a pass is thrown.  Can a 15 or so yard pass be thrown accurately "on a wire" rather than a "rainbow" in the air with some touch?  Another example is Byron Leftwich.  He could throw those shorter-to-medium passes on a wire, but sometimes would put too much on them to where the receiver couldn't catch it.

I would call it "arm control" more so than "arm strength".

The 15-20 yard accurate passes with touch are going to win a lot more games than the deep pass.

"The it factor" is just another way of saying, "I don't know, he just seems to be getting it done."  It's a cop-out. 

This is really the thing:  

The most important attribute for a successful NFL quarterback is the ability to process data quickly.  The ball is snapped, and 21 other guys are in motion in every direction.  For a quarterback, that is all data that has to be processed almost instantly.  That is the thing.  The thing.  That is a massive amount of data that goes into a quarterback's brain and has to be processed into a decision within about 2 seconds.  

And that is why it is so hard for scouts to project a QB into the NFL.  You can't tell for sure who has that ability from watching college tape.  

There are a lot of other factors, of course, but that is the main factor.  When the ball is snapped, who has the ability to process a massive data input and make a decision in about 2 seconds total.

And I would say that Minshew might have this ability because so far in his very short career he has thrown 24 TDs and only 6 INTs.  He's making good decisions and minimizing bad decisions.

I wouldn't really call the "it" factor a "cop out".  I agree with you about the ability to process data quickly, and that kind of goes along with the mental skills that I talked about.  Another part of the mental skills is also pre-snap reads.  Peyton Manning was a master at it.

(09-17-2020, 10:20 AM)The Real Marty Wrote:

(09-17-2020, 09:17 AM)hb1148 Wrote: Yeah that's something that comes with experience and I think he's currently learning to strike the balance between staying in the pocket (rather than taking off on a scramble) and holding the ball to long. It's a skill that usually takes a lot of experience and finesse and the fact that he's already seeking that balance this early is sensational. Some QBs takes years to get it down.

Throwing the ball away sounds nice, but how many times have we seen a QB try to throw the ball away because he is under pressure and it gets swatted out for a turnover?  I'm kind of glad Gardner held onto the ball and just took the sack.  If he had pulled his arm back to throw the ball away, who knows what would have happened?

I disagree.  I was specifically referring to the sack that Gardner took after moving out of the pocket to his right and just stood there holding the ball waiting for someone to come open.  If it's not there throw it away and don't give up 6 or 8 yards.

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