Throw Short=1-9 yards
Throw Intermediate=10-19 yards
Throw Deep=20+ yards
Throwing Short is about being able to put a nice, soft touch pass on screens, throw the swing pass out into the flat smooth and accurate a la Joe Montana, and being able to deliver a fast, tight, accurate ball underneath on third and short. It?s also, and most importantly, perhaps, about being able to hit receivers in stride on shallow crosses and slants.
Throwing Intermediate is about being able to rope the 15-20 yard routes. It?s about being able to hit a receiver in stride on deeper crosses. It?s also about being able to zip it to guys who are headed towards the sidelines with more muscle on it.
Throwing deep is on deep bombs, soft touch passes on deep outs or ins, and very long crossing routes where the ball really has to sail.
^ Player has potential to rise a level or more in future seasons
v Player has declined a level or more in recent years
Kerry Collins
-Nobody throws a prettier ball. No one. He has a strong arm, a perfect tight spiral and can throw absolutely ALL OF THE PASSES. He can throw the soft touch passes which will absolutely take your breath away, then come out and fire a dart. He throws the best deep ball I?ve ever seen. He doesn?t have the best, crispest accuracy on the shorter routes such as slants or crosses-sometimes the balls are behind the receiver-but he?s certainly more accurate than most. In terms of pure passing, he?s ahead of Drew Bledsoe. He doesn?t quite have as much natural ability, but I am just in AWE of the beauty and perfection of his passes. He has a tad less arm strength, but his balls are crisper and more accurate. In terms of athletic ability, he?s a tad more mobile than Bledsoe. Bledsoe is an absolute statue in the pocket while this man can roll out a little bit and occasionally avoid a rusher and shows occasional ?escapeability?. The guy made some mistakes in his past and came off as an absolute jerk afterwards, but the surprising thing is how he is the quintessential ?winner.? When things are going well, he?s the guy you want taking you to the Super Bowl. He led the Panthers to the NFC Championship game and almost upset a seemingly invincible 1996 Green Bay Packers team. Then two years ago, he led the New York Giants all the way with his beautiful, picture-perfect crisp, tightly-wound passes. He can be a very smart player who goes through his reads as well as anyone you?ve ever seen. It?s absolutely stunning to watch. I was awestruck the year he took the Giants to the Super Bowl. He can be a terrific leader and play with passion when ?his heart?s in it.? However, when things aren?t going well, he can be a main detractor. He won?t make everyone around him worse or anything, but he won?t exactly step up and settle everything down either. Then again, that takes a special personality to do. He needs to continue to improve his decision making to live up to this rating, but WHO DOESN?T? He won?t carry a team all by his lonesome, but get some great players around him, and he?s the best there is. Get a lot of great players around him, and he?s one of the best ever.
Set Up-6+
Delivery-5
Read Coverage-6-
Throw Short-6
Throw Intermediate-7
Throw Deep-8
Mobility-5
Leadership-7
Overall Rating-7.1
Brett Favre
-He was the greatest quarterback in NFL history. Now, I mean seven or eight years ago, not this goof you see today. The original Brett Favre was brilliant. He would light a fire under everyone?s ass just on sheer greatness. He?d throw 110 MPH fastballs that sailed through coverage and accelerated into the receiver?s chest so that people upstairs could hear a loud THUMP. He?d fire darts all over the field, across the middle into triple coverage and put it into an impossible place, knocking the receiver backwards so that he?d actually GET YARDS AFTER THE CATCH BECAUSE OF THE INERTIA OF THE PASS!!! His ball would knock the receiver towards the freak?n endzone! The Favre we see today, however, doesn?t seem to be a championship-caliber quarterback. He has all of these reservations about him now. He can?t play in domes, he can?t play at Raymond James stadium, he has no weapons, etc. While he?s still a very good quarterback, he?s gonna need a phenomenal team around him and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs to even GET his team to the Super Bowl, much less win it. He?s gonna need some unfathomable things to happen around him to be successful.
Set Up-7
Delivery-7-
Read Coverage-6
Throw Short-7
Throw Intermediate Routes-8
Throw Deep-7-
Mobility-6-
Leadership-7-
Overall Rating-6.9v
Kurt Warner
-He has marginal arm strength, very little mobility. However, he has two things going for him. One, he has played at many different levels of football, in particular in Arena Football. He?s a junk-ball thrower. His balls wobble. Two, he has short arms and thus can unload pretty quickly if necessary. Being that he?s seen so much junk and that he?s played in a fast-paced league with lots of hitting, he can concentrate out there and feels right at home in Mike Martz?s fast-paced offense. He is patient, yet he prefers to play at a rapid pace. His delivery is kinda ugly. The ball comes out wobbly, but it usually gets to its destination. He doesn?t have pinpoint accuracy, but he usually puts the ball where it needs to go when somebody is open. Is he a great starter? No. He?s a mediocre NFL quarterback and if he?s starting for you, you?re not where you need to be. He?s a product of a system, or at least was. Last year, he couldn?t keep his hand in one piece nor his wife from blabbering to the media. He throws the worst deep ball in the game. It?s ugly, it wobbles, it comes up short, it gets a lot of air under it and drops in the middle of nowhere. It?s a complete joke. He can probably still be pretty productive in that offense, especially if he gets healthy. However, I?m not here to evaluate him based on a production and personal standpoint. I?m a talent-evaluator, that?s all.
Set Up-6
Delivery-5-
Read Coverage-4+
Throw Short-6
Throw Intermediate-6-
Throw Deep-4
Mobility-4+
Leadership-5-
Overall Rating-5.2
Marc Bulger
-He?s a big, strong kid. He has a strong arm, delivers a beautiful tight spiral. The only problems I see with him are one, his long arms, and two, his lack of footspeed. Because his arm is so long, he?s going to take a little longer to unload the football. However, because of the system he?s in, his lack of footspeed is absolutely no problem. He has great agility for someone of his stature and athletic ability (or lack thereof). He senses rushers extremely well, shows great confidence, poise, and patience, will step up in the pocket, step laterally, constantly looking downfield, and when he?s got his feet set, he?ll throw the ball to the open man downfield. You give him time, he can pick you apart. He can fire missiles. He?s pretty darn close to the prototype for the position. He?s up there with Collins with some minor differences. I?ll give Bulger room to grow in terms of recognizing coverages, even though he already has a good sense. But in terms of fitting Martz?s system, he is the quintessence of what he?s looking for, way moreso than Warner ever was. This kid has a jet propelled arm.
Set Up-7
Delivery-6+
Read Coverage-6-
Throw Short-7+
Throw Intermediate-8
Throw Deep-7+
Mobility-6-
Leadership-7
Overall Rating-7.1
Throw Intermediate=10-19 yards
Throw Deep=20+ yards
Throwing Short is about being able to put a nice, soft touch pass on screens, throw the swing pass out into the flat smooth and accurate a la Joe Montana, and being able to deliver a fast, tight, accurate ball underneath on third and short. It?s also, and most importantly, perhaps, about being able to hit receivers in stride on shallow crosses and slants.
Throwing Intermediate is about being able to rope the 15-20 yard routes. It?s about being able to hit a receiver in stride on deeper crosses. It?s also about being able to zip it to guys who are headed towards the sidelines with more muscle on it.
Throwing deep is on deep bombs, soft touch passes on deep outs or ins, and very long crossing routes where the ball really has to sail.
^ Player has potential to rise a level or more in future seasons
v Player has declined a level or more in recent years
Kerry Collins
-Nobody throws a prettier ball. No one. He has a strong arm, a perfect tight spiral and can throw absolutely ALL OF THE PASSES. He can throw the soft touch passes which will absolutely take your breath away, then come out and fire a dart. He throws the best deep ball I?ve ever seen. He doesn?t have the best, crispest accuracy on the shorter routes such as slants or crosses-sometimes the balls are behind the receiver-but he?s certainly more accurate than most. In terms of pure passing, he?s ahead of Drew Bledsoe. He doesn?t quite have as much natural ability, but I am just in AWE of the beauty and perfection of his passes. He has a tad less arm strength, but his balls are crisper and more accurate. In terms of athletic ability, he?s a tad more mobile than Bledsoe. Bledsoe is an absolute statue in the pocket while this man can roll out a little bit and occasionally avoid a rusher and shows occasional ?escapeability?. The guy made some mistakes in his past and came off as an absolute jerk afterwards, but the surprising thing is how he is the quintessential ?winner.? When things are going well, he?s the guy you want taking you to the Super Bowl. He led the Panthers to the NFC Championship game and almost upset a seemingly invincible 1996 Green Bay Packers team. Then two years ago, he led the New York Giants all the way with his beautiful, picture-perfect crisp, tightly-wound passes. He can be a very smart player who goes through his reads as well as anyone you?ve ever seen. It?s absolutely stunning to watch. I was awestruck the year he took the Giants to the Super Bowl. He can be a terrific leader and play with passion when ?his heart?s in it.? However, when things aren?t going well, he can be a main detractor. He won?t make everyone around him worse or anything, but he won?t exactly step up and settle everything down either. Then again, that takes a special personality to do. He needs to continue to improve his decision making to live up to this rating, but WHO DOESN?T? He won?t carry a team all by his lonesome, but get some great players around him, and he?s the best there is. Get a lot of great players around him, and he?s one of the best ever.
Set Up-6+
Delivery-5
Read Coverage-6-
Throw Short-6
Throw Intermediate-7
Throw Deep-8
Mobility-5
Leadership-7
Overall Rating-7.1
Brett Favre
-He was the greatest quarterback in NFL history. Now, I mean seven or eight years ago, not this goof you see today. The original Brett Favre was brilliant. He would light a fire under everyone?s ass just on sheer greatness. He?d throw 110 MPH fastballs that sailed through coverage and accelerated into the receiver?s chest so that people upstairs could hear a loud THUMP. He?d fire darts all over the field, across the middle into triple coverage and put it into an impossible place, knocking the receiver backwards so that he?d actually GET YARDS AFTER THE CATCH BECAUSE OF THE INERTIA OF THE PASS!!! His ball would knock the receiver towards the freak?n endzone! The Favre we see today, however, doesn?t seem to be a championship-caliber quarterback. He has all of these reservations about him now. He can?t play in domes, he can?t play at Raymond James stadium, he has no weapons, etc. While he?s still a very good quarterback, he?s gonna need a phenomenal team around him and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs to even GET his team to the Super Bowl, much less win it. He?s gonna need some unfathomable things to happen around him to be successful.
Set Up-7
Delivery-7-
Read Coverage-6
Throw Short-7
Throw Intermediate Routes-8
Throw Deep-7-
Mobility-6-
Leadership-7-
Overall Rating-6.9v
Kurt Warner
-He has marginal arm strength, very little mobility. However, he has two things going for him. One, he has played at many different levels of football, in particular in Arena Football. He?s a junk-ball thrower. His balls wobble. Two, he has short arms and thus can unload pretty quickly if necessary. Being that he?s seen so much junk and that he?s played in a fast-paced league with lots of hitting, he can concentrate out there and feels right at home in Mike Martz?s fast-paced offense. He is patient, yet he prefers to play at a rapid pace. His delivery is kinda ugly. The ball comes out wobbly, but it usually gets to its destination. He doesn?t have pinpoint accuracy, but he usually puts the ball where it needs to go when somebody is open. Is he a great starter? No. He?s a mediocre NFL quarterback and if he?s starting for you, you?re not where you need to be. He?s a product of a system, or at least was. Last year, he couldn?t keep his hand in one piece nor his wife from blabbering to the media. He throws the worst deep ball in the game. It?s ugly, it wobbles, it comes up short, it gets a lot of air under it and drops in the middle of nowhere. It?s a complete joke. He can probably still be pretty productive in that offense, especially if he gets healthy. However, I?m not here to evaluate him based on a production and personal standpoint. I?m a talent-evaluator, that?s all.
Set Up-6
Delivery-5-
Read Coverage-4+
Throw Short-6
Throw Intermediate-6-
Throw Deep-4
Mobility-4+
Leadership-5-
Overall Rating-5.2
Marc Bulger
-He?s a big, strong kid. He has a strong arm, delivers a beautiful tight spiral. The only problems I see with him are one, his long arms, and two, his lack of footspeed. Because his arm is so long, he?s going to take a little longer to unload the football. However, because of the system he?s in, his lack of footspeed is absolutely no problem. He has great agility for someone of his stature and athletic ability (or lack thereof). He senses rushers extremely well, shows great confidence, poise, and patience, will step up in the pocket, step laterally, constantly looking downfield, and when he?s got his feet set, he?ll throw the ball to the open man downfield. You give him time, he can pick you apart. He can fire missiles. He?s pretty darn close to the prototype for the position. He?s up there with Collins with some minor differences. I?ll give Bulger room to grow in terms of recognizing coverages, even though he already has a good sense. But in terms of fitting Martz?s system, he is the quintessence of what he?s looking for, way moreso than Warner ever was. This kid has a jet propelled arm.
Set Up-7
Delivery-6+
Read Coverage-6-
Throw Short-7+
Throw Intermediate-8
Throw Deep-7+
Mobility-6-
Leadership-7
Overall Rating-7.1
