Greg Cosell’s NFL Classroom: Evaluating quarterbacks with ‘Jaws’

This summer, NFL Films’ Greg Cosell will be doing a series of posts for Shutdown Corner taking a deeper look into the finer points of football, explaining how fans can look for the subtle nuances that make the game so interesting beneath the surface.

Nothing is more important and gets more attention in the NFL than evaluating quarterbacks. And it’s one of the hardest aspects of the game.

Evaluating quarterbacks coming out of college is becoming tougher because of the number of schools that run spread offenses. Even evaluating quarterbacks already in the NFL can be difficult. That’s why you see so many misses at the position.

My views on quarterbacks are pretty well known if you’re read my pieces on Shutdown Corner. In this post, I discussed the issue in great detail. There are many components, but basically I believe that quarterback play starts with strong pocket skills such as progression reading and proper mechanics.

Because I’ve given my views on the issue here before, I wanted to bring in my friend Ron Jaworski to describe what he looks for in a quarterback, and perhaps his ideas can help you when you’re establishing your opinions on quarterbacks. Jaworski played quarterback for 15 NFL seasons and in retirement he has worked with an evaluated quarterback play extensively for ESPN and NFL Films. His annual ranking of NFL quarterbacks on ESPN has been a popular summer feature.

So I figured I’d ask “Jaws” to share how he evaluates quarterbacks. Here are his words:

I have a framed checklist I keep near my desk at NFL Films that I look at often, because it’s a reminder of what I think is most important when we talk about quarterbacks.

The 10 attributes I look for in a quarterback, in no particular order:
– Wins/Leadership
– Arm Strength
– Accuracy
– Toughness
– Touch
– Mechanics (Release)
– Pocket Awareness
– Size
– Mobility
– Character

All of them matter, and again, I don’t think there’s a specific order when you evaluate a quarterback.

I take everything into consideration. There’s a lot that goes into it, but to me the eyeball test is very important. We’ve gotten so good covering the National Football League from every angle, we have more stats – and they’re great. People like stats. But I like the eyeball test. What do I see?

Here’s an example of a play that is easy to forget among the dozens of plays that happen in a game, but it incorporates the eyeball test.

Last season, in a game between the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints, Cam Newton should have had a touchdown to Jerricho Cotchery (Greg also reviewed this play last season, and we have talked about it plenty). The pass was late and it got broken up. If you saw it live, maybe you thought, “Cotchery needs to take that ball away.” But if you watch from snap to throw, you see the things Newton didn’t do correctly during that play. Like falling backwards and the ball losing energy down the field. That should be a touchdown, but he never planted and didn’t throw it properly. I don’t need someone to tell me a stat on his passes over 20 yards. That play loses you games right there, and I can see why it happened. If you’re an NFL quarterback, you have to make that play. Plain and simple. And that, to me, is the eyeball test.

I said my list doesn’t have any order, but I’d like to go in depth into a few of them. And I’ll admit I’m kind of wonk when it comes to mechanics. It’s a major part of how the game is played. I think you have to be consistent in your mechanics (and we saw what happened on that Newton throw when they’re not). If you have a clean pocket, your throwing slot has to be consistent, your hips have to open up throwing to your left – all those things have to be perfect. If you have a clean pocket, you better be correct in what you’re doing. I’m not saying mechanics can’t be corrected, but when I evaluate a quarterback that’s a key thing I look at.

When you plant, you have to have your weight on your back foot, so when you begin your throw and open your hips, it’s coming with velocity. You need your weight behind you, not an open base where you can’t deliver the ball with energy. That’s what I look for with college quarterbacks. The sample of college quarterbacks throwing deep balls is really small now. So when I see those throws, I critically evaluate them. I don’t want to see a ball losing energy at the end. I watch feet and hips closely.

You’re throwing a skinny post, and you have 2.1 seconds on a five-step drop, and the weight is on the back foot and, bang, the hips open, and boom, the ball is right there when the receiver makes his break at 19 yards. You drop back 100 times, you have to do that 100 times properly. Not 50 or 75. The mechanics have to be perfect every single time. Weight on back foot, snap the hips open, drive, consistent throwing slot.

Now, that’s the perfect world. In a muddied pocket all bets are off. But I start with the perfect situation and in a clean pocket, if a quarterback reads the defense correctly, I think he should complete 100 percent of his passes. I’m not kidding. That’s what I believe. It’s not always a perfect pocket, of course. But if a quarterback doesn’t have correct mechanics in a perfect situation, how will he manage when the rush is closing in?

The mental preparation is so important to playing quarterback, and that plays in the character side of things. Being around the league as long as I have, I know we all talk about, “This guy is the first guy in and the last guy out!” for every guy. I’ll tell you right now, that’s not true. Everyone tells you that, but if you drill down and talk to people — what time does the quarterback get in and leave? — you’ll get to the truth. There are guys who are the first ones in. Peyton Manning is one. Rich Gannon used to race to beat Jon Gruden into the building. If you want to be great at the position, that’s the commitment it takes. I’m convinced of that.

Danny Kanell, a former NFL quarterback who I see a lot now and is a great guy, we were on the radio talking about it and he said, “I wish I could do it over again. I was not the guy that was in there at 6 a.m. I’d come in 15 minutes before the meeting. I didn’t get it at the time.” I respected his honesty to say it. I like that he opened up and said he did do it over again, and maybe he needed someone in his face to tell him to be there at 6 a.m. every day.

Character is the hardest thing to judge though. Whenever I talk about these guys before the draft or for the shows we do, I try to stay away from too much talk of character because I’m not in the locker room. It’s tough to evaluate unless you’re there, or if someone is there that I can trust. But it’s important. Not just the football part, but the quarterback defines your organization. If your quarterback is a jerk, your organization will follow. I want my quarterback to come to work. I want a lunch bucket in his hand. I don’t like the sideshow.

Pocket awareness is big, too. And you need to not just recognize but execute too. Here’s a story about the difference between understanding concepts vs. applying them. I’m doing a “Monday Night Football” broadcast years ago, and during the production meetings I’d spend a lot of time with quarterbacks, because they’d tell me things and I understand how they think. Joey Harrington was talking about the system, and says “I love this system, I have total control at the line of scrimmage, if I see something I can audible to it. ‘Two strong,’ I audible to this route adjustment. ‘Two weak’ I can adjust to this.” He’s standing up in front of us and showing us. It was beautiful. Joey knew the offense in and out. That’s recall.

Then first play of the game, there’s two defenders to his right, they came with a blitz, he dropped back, held the ball and got smashed. You sit in a film room and put your feet up and say “When this guy comes here, I’ll hit that guy there.” But Harrington couldn’t apply it. There are a lot of guys who are great at the chalkboard, can tell you where to go, but they need to execute it.

I think a quarterback’s size matters in evaluation as well. In a perfect world I like my quarterback 6-foot-4 or 6-5, so he can stand tall in the pocket and throw over people. I know Russell Wilson and Drew Brees have been successful at about 6-feet tall, but if you’re designing a quarterback I want him big. I think size is an attribute. I also don’t like quarterbacks who throw the ball sidearm. 6-foot-4 quarterbacks become 6-1 because they’re throwing sidearm. Or if they long stride on their release, 6-4 might become 6-3. That comes into play. It’s easy to know a quarterback’s height, but watch how he throws as well. That matters.

Another attribute that is really important is toughness. When you watch college guys, notice if they waver in the pocket. If they do, they go way down in my evaluation. No. 1, you have to have a feel for the rush. You have to feel the rush, not see it. Your eyes need to be downfield. Guys start reading the rush with their eyes, and you better learn to get out of that or you can’t play in the NFL. You have to feel someone coming up the middle, and that’s the only way I can explain it. And then you have to stand in, knowing just as the ball comes out of your hand you’re going to get smacked.

When I consider Jameis Winston, a major strength he has is he won’t waver in the pocket. He’s big, he’s strong, he’ll rip throws, he’ll weight transfer, and he’s oblivious to the rush. He’s tough in the pocket. There are other guys who say, “Here comes the rush,” and they’re breaking down before the rush gets there, or fall back to avoid it and the passes lose energy. You might as well hang in there, because you’re going to get hit anyway. I think that sends a strong message too. The quarterback is the face of the team. If you have a meek quarterback, if you have a quarterback who will go down, everyone knows it.

Just watch how Winston stands in against the rush on this touchdown pass against Virginia:

It’s really hard to do that, however. Nobody likes to get hit. It hurts! During my career my worst injury I played through was a broken thumb. I couldn’t hold a cup of coffee but I had to take a snap from center. You have to play hurt. There’s pain involved. But toughness is an attribute. The NFL is about availability. You have 16 games, and preseason games, and your team is relying on you to be there. If it’s a different quarterback every three weeks, you’re in trouble as a team. So the quarterback has to be there. Think about a player’s toughness, not just playing through injury but also his willingness to stand in against the rush, when you evaluate.

A quarterback can improve his accuracy, I don’t care what anybody says. I’m with the L.A. Rams in 1973 or 1974, and I missed Harold Jackson running a dig route. Chuck Knox, our head coach, was behind me, asks “Where were you aiming?” I said I was throwing to Jackson on a dig route, and I don’t know what he was yelling at me for – I figured I just missed him. And he says, “No, where were you throwing?” I repeat that I was throwing to Harold Jackson. He says, “That’s not how you play quarterback. If Harold Jackson, No. 29, is running and this is his wingspan and you’re a foot outside his wingspan, you missed him. You pick out a finite object on Harold to throw to – his right shoulder, his left shoulder, wherever.” I remember deciding, “Right between the ‘2’ and the ‘9.’” You need to be finely focused on where to throw. Then if you miss by a bit, it’s still catchable. I learned to train my eyes. It’s not necessarily the mechanics, it’s combining it with the vision.

Accuracy can be improved, and it’s important. Don’t underestimate how much accuracy can affect a quarterback’s overall play when you evaluate them.

I have a big board of quarterbacks in my office that I update every three months. I take quarterback evaluation seriously, but the good thing is I don’t have to make those picks like NFL general managers do. I have great respect for those who play the position, and those who draft those quarterbacks as well. It’s awfully tough.

Previous “NFL Classroom” posts
What to watch before the snap
Sometimes, the defense wins
Understanding why INTs happen (Part 1)
Understanding why INTs happen (Part 2)

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.