The Definition Of A Mobile QB
I’m so tired of hearing the debate of pocket passer vs. mobile quarterback. Don’t get me wrong, it is a valid discussion. I just think everyone is missing the point.
Mobility for a quarterback has classically been defined by Mike Vick. Make plays with your feet...throwing is a secondary option. Simply force teams to respect your speed and elusiveness, and everything else will fall into place.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, pocket passers have been represented by a stone statue of Drew Bledsoe…put him in a spot and that’s where he will be until the whistle blows the play dead. If he's still standing, that means your protection worked and most likely you're dancing on the star in the end zone. If he is lying on the ground broken...well, your protection needs some work as soon as you finish chasing the opposing teams' cornerback to save the touchdown.
Parcells made a point of mentioning the fact that David Carr, a mobile quarterback in his opinion, holds the NFL record for most sacks taken by a QB in a season. Randall Cunningham, one of the original QB’s with wheels, held the record prior to Carr. So, as he contends, mobility is overrated when discussing ways to avoid sacks.
Others in the local media have hammered the less than brilliant point that the Giants blitzed Vick relentlessly last week recording 7 sacks in the process. Their point: if the G-Men could do that to the king of mobile quarterbacks, what do you think they will do to the likes of Drew Bledsoe anchored five steps behind his inconsistent offensive line?
Mobility, in my opinion, is important to avoiding sacks. But here is the point that most miss: mobility has little to do with running downfield (like Vick) and much more to do with pocket presence.
One must assume for the sake of this debate that the offensive line is, at least, average or the whole debate is irrelevant (more to the other point Bill was attempting to make with his Carr/Cunningham reference).
Great quarterbacks understand blitz and protection schemes prior to the snap, adjust inside or move outside the pocket after the snap, and buy themselves time to deliver the ball to the open receiver downfield. They don't have to be particularly fast or athletic; they do have to know how and when to take the proper step forward, back or to the side while keeping their sights on the receivers.
Patriots QB Tom Brady is neither a speed demon like Vick nor an immovable object like Bledsoe. What makes Brady special, though, is that he probably has the greatest pocket presence of any QB in the NFL. He never loses his cool while under duress. He simply moves away from the rush and delivers the throw.
Donovan McNabb became a legitimate NFL quarterback when he stopped relying on the tuck-n-run and began to move-n-throw. How many times have Cowboys fans seen him make his best plays by moving away from the rush to buy a few more seconds then throwing downfield for a big gain…remember the 14 second play at Texas Stadium in 2004 or the 87-yard TD to Hank Baskett this year in Philly?
The best quarterbacks have the whole package. They don’t beat you with just their legs or their arms but a combination of the two. Mobility in today’s NFL is about pocket presence. Those who have it can force teams to abandon the blitz and those who don’t will succumb to it….end of argument.