Break… Break.. down

For my first installment of “Playing With The Boys” Football podcast, blog and book, I am breaking down the QBs from last season. If you want to watch the Reels I posted here are the 2 links for Zach Wilson and Daniel Jones.

The First Podcast edition will be April 27th, the day before the draft. Subscribe Here.

Now the break down of Zach Wilson and Daniel Jones. Here are a few observations to note: 1) Daniel Jones’ OC is better at showcasing his strengths than Zach’s OC and 2) Zach needs to work on the slant and short passes more while Jones needs to work on ball security ( it’s the complete opposite for each QB)

Observations On Zach Wilson:

Everyone was saying that he had a tendency to hold the ball too long before throwing.

His ball placement at the short, intermediate and deep levels was all over the place. In other words, many of the passes he threw were too high, too low or not easily catchable.

My observations were that the OC was not showcasing his strengths and also creating schemes that could work (as highlighted in the film)

Zach Wilson also did not have great pass protection on many occasions therefore could not have executed plays and therefore held on the ball trying to execute something when in fact he could have thrown more slants, more quick passes and had a few QB power/naked/ sweep and in/out instead of a lot of rollout throwbacks.

His ceiling is high and he has a great chance at jumping up as a premier QB in 2022 as long as everything falls into place.

Observations for Daniel Jones:

Daniel Jones can throw receivers open, can push the ball downfield, throws a good deep ball and has more mobility than many realize. He did pretty damn well with no real offensive line, no consistent receivers and he did go down in his total of fumbles from 18 to 11. He also stands his ground in the pocket and beats the blitz with the slant route/post skinny. He needs pass protection and add an elite WR / TE- Give him a full year with Barkley who is more than just a RB and the rookie WR Toney- he can make his mark as a good QB.

Mistakes NFL Teams Make When Drafting A QB

With the NFL Draft about 43 days away, you can bet that there will be some quarterbacks that will be drafted on day one. It’s definitely exciting when a team drafts a QB – simply because it is a brand new start for your team/ organization. Looking back as to some quarterbacks that have been drafted in year’s past; it is definitely smart to say that teams make mistakes when they draft a quarterback.

1- If I was an offensive coordinator in the NFL and I drafted a QB, I am making sure that I pay a visit to his college head coach to learn his playbook and the schemes that I can then use in the NFL to have my new QB ready as a rookie. So many teams ignore the college playbook and have the quarterback start from scratch with a completely new offense his first year.

2- Some NFL teams appear to be making an obvious mistake by taking quarterbacks who have good physical traits — like size, speed, and arm strength — but who struggle with the mental and mechanical skills — like accuracy, reading defenses, and making sound decisions when it comes to throwing the football.

3- Scouting is an inexact science; which means that experts disagree on the seemingly simple question of whether or not a quarterback is accurate. The decision to draft any player begins with the decision to have a scout evaluate that player in college. But the methods used for quarterbacks haven’t changed much in the past thirty to forty years, even as the NFL has changed drastically. This means that when a scout is sent to evaluate a quarterback, they mostly emphasize height, weight, and speed. Teams assume they can fix any mental problems and throwing mechanics to a greater extent than is possible.

4- There is a HUGE drop off in stats from college to the pros. Fans mostly see how a QB played in college and think those stats will occur in the NFL. The factors that are never considered as to how a QB coming out of college will play in the NFL are the offensive line play, production of receivers, opposing defenses, or coaches. People tend to forget that a quarterback needs to be developed in the NFL. College and the Pros are two different beasts and each player has their ow timeline as to when they will be “fully developed.” It’s also important to note, that the above, ( Offensive line play, talent of the receivers, and coaching play a big part in how well the drafted quarterback will play in the NFL.)

Coming on Friday, I will start the blog / podcast part of “Playing With The Boys” and breakdown Zach Wilson. ( There will be a video posted too)

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