At least Rich Gannon understands the importance of superior QB development.
The way former NFL quarterback and most valuable player Rich Gannon sees it, the development of quarterbacks in the league is seriously lacking. Says Gannon:
I don't think we're doing a good enough job developing the quarterback position. Some teams do a much better job, with the Green Bay Packers being one of the best.
There are situations in the league where the quarterback is struggling, and you say, "Who's coaching him?" It's, "Well, it's the guy who was the receivers coach two years ago, but we elevated him to the quarterback coach." Well, did he ever play the position? No. Did he ever coach the position? No. And that's part of the problem.
I remember when I played in Kansas City in the off-season we had eight-page quarterback tests. First page would be an essay; second page: multiple choice; third page: fill in the blank; fourth, fifth, sixth pages would be protections, where you had to draw up a protection versus eight different fronts. Then there would be short-answer questions. Honestly, it was about a 45-minute test. It was unbelievable.
There was some peer pressure to get a good score, because there were other quarterbacks in that room, and you didn't want to be the one to miss five or six questions on that test. Second, it allowed the coach to know who knew what and who didn't know what. What were your areas of strength, and what were the areas where you needed more work?
Packers Coach Mike McCarthy coached the quarterbacks in Kansas City at the time, and he took those tests to another level.
The first question on one test: Describe in 250 words or less our version of the West Coast offense and the Kansas City Chiefs' philosophy as it relates to playing the quarterback position. That was the question.
Another of the questions was "Describe 24 and 25 Protection — solid seven-man protection — and draw it up against these eight different fronts."
I can go into some teams right now and I can ask the quarterback, "Tell me everything you know about protection." And you'd be blown away at the guys' responses, what they don't know. You'd be just stunned.
You'd think you could ask about everything they know about protections and the guy would say, "OK, let's talk about five-man protections, then six-man protections, then seven-man protections, eight-man protections. Let's talk about slide protections. Let's talk about quarterback movement, the boots, the nakeds, the keys. Let's talk about the quick reads."
But I go in and ask some quarterbacks, "Who makes the calls at the line of scrimmage?" and it's like, "Oh, the center does that." I'm thinking, the center? He's in a three-point stance and he's got some nose tackle in front of him. He's bent over and can't even see the safeties.
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan...annon-20120129