Article: Wilson affecting QB evaluations

drdiags

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Found this article which speaks about NFL teams asking their scouts to look deeper into any intangibles they can for the upcoming class of QBs to see if there are any Russell Wilson's in their evaluations

NFL teams aren’t looking for the next great short quarterback. But they are looking for a quarterback with intangibles so powerful that he can overcome whatever he may lack physically, ala the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks.

In that regard, Wilson is having an impact on how teams are evaluating quarterbacks. Front office men from two teams told me they have been asked to be more in tune to a quarterback’s intangibles this year. "Our front office wants to know who the Russell Wilson is in this group," one high ranking scout said. "Intangibles have become more important because they can overcome everything else."
- See more at: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFP ... Mo0MS.dpuf
 

FlyingGreg

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"But really, there is no Russell Wilson in this class of QBs. His intangibles make most quarterbacks look like something is missing."

:th2thumbs:
 

chris98251

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Having watched Wilson play many teams, experts, scouts, gurus are having to do a double take on what they look at in a QB again, Brees and Wilson now both successful currently and having made everyone wipe egg off their face.

I think Pete and John used the same philosophy that Walsh used when getting Joe Montana, who somehow lasted to the 3rd round as well. They seen what he brought during games, the IT factor and the ability to win, coupled with a study habit and intelligence along with a nobody outworks them and the natural leadership.
 

SalishHawkFan

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Yeah, I think the whole height thing can be finally laid to rest. 40 years too late for Sonny Sixkiller. IMO, racism is what started the whole Myth of Height thing in the first place. I remember thinking that nobody had the IT factor more than Sonny Sixkiller. Be he was a native american and those were different times back then. So there had to be some "excuse" why he couldn't be a starting QB in the whites only QB job of the NFL. From that time forward, height was a factor in evaluating QB's. Then came Warren Moon and they couldn't have a black QB. So the great Warren Moon ended up in the CFL where he lit it up until finally someone was willing to give him a shot in the NFL because the color barrier had finally been broken.

QB Height is a legacy of those times.
 

HUGGY

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SalishHawkFan":2xt7tpez said:
Yeah, I think the whole height thing can be finally laid to rest. 40 years too late for Sonny Sixkiller.

Sonny was amazing. Some of the most entertaining college football I've ever seen in person. I do believe HE was too short for the pros though. As athletic as he was...especially in tight spots... I don't remember him being all that fast. He made some incredible passes while in the arms of a tackler... I don't know if he could have pulled off his magic in the arms of NFL DE's and linebackers.
 

chris98251

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SalishHawkFan":bz3105dd said:
Yeah, I think the whole height thing can be finally laid to rest. 40 years too late for Sonny Sixkiller. IMO, racism is what started the whole Myth of Height thing in the first place. I remember thinking that nobody had the IT factor more than Sonny Sixkiller. Be he was a native american and those were different times back then. So there had to be some "excuse" why he couldn't be a starting QB in the whites only QB job of the NFL. From that time forward, height was a factor in evaluating QB's. Then came Warren Moon and they couldn't have a black QB. So the great Warren Moon ended up in the CFL where he lit it up until finally someone was willing to give him a shot in the NFL because the color barrier had finally been broken.

QB Height is a legacy of those times.

Yeah, if he would have went to a team that passed in that era he had all those qualitys also. Rams was all about the run.
 

SalishHawkFan

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HUGGY":3t740dl4 said:
SalishHawkFan":3t740dl4 said:
Yeah, I think the whole height thing can be finally laid to rest. 40 years too late for Sonny Sixkiller.

Sonny was amazing. Some of the most entertaining college football I've ever seen in person. I do believe HE was too short for the pros though. .

5'11"

That would be taller than RW.

He took over a 1-9 Husky team and turned them into winners, 6-4, 8-3, 8-3. Jim Plunkett, Joe Theismann and Archie Manning were playing college ball and it was Sonny Sixkiller who appeared on Sports Illustrated cover and led the nation in passing yards.
 

chris98251

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He would have been in the same ball park as Tarkenton as well, Knox I think was coaching then and we saw how he handled a QB situation here. Sonny was a magnetic personality and a sort of Farve type player as well. Not a Knox kinda guy. That year they also had Hadl as a QB and drafted Jaworski in the second round. Sonny was not drafted but came in as a UDFA. He also happened to play in a time when you had Manning,Plunkett, and Thiesman getting a lot of attention.

Here's something that should make Husky fans smile.

1004_large.jpg
 

theENGLISHseahawk

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I hope the other teams are concentrating too much on 'intangibles'. Because as much as an incredible attitude and work rate have aided Wilson, it's not what makes him truly effective. He makes up for a lack of size with a fantastic release point, superb poise in and out of the pocket. He's got great arm talent and big hands. He's incredibly elusive and an underrated runner in the open field. He carries the ball like a running back and knows when to get out of a play by dipping out of bounds or sliding. He still overthrows at times but he also has great touch and feel for the football. We could list more things. Wilson gets the fact he needs to find throwing lanes, exploit opportunities.

So by all means look for intangibles, NFL. But the reason Wilson succeeds is because he's pretty damn exceptional in every way apart from height. That includes work rate and preparation, sure. But he's also immense in terms of physical talent and natural skill.
 

FlyingGreg

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theENGLISHseahawk":251ps7vk said:
I hope the other teams are concentrating too much on 'intangibles'. Because as much as an incredible attitude and work rate have aided Wilson, it's not what makes him truly effective. He makes up for a lack of size with a fantastic release point, superb poise in and out of the pocket. He's got great arm talent and big hands. He's incredibly elusive and an underrated runner in the open field. He carries the ball like a running back and knows when to get out of a play by dipping out of bounds or sliding. He still overthrows at times but he also has great touch and feel for the football. We could list more things. Wilson gets the fact he needs to find throwing lanes, exploit opportunities.

So by all means look for intangibles, NFL. But the reason Wilson succeeds is because he's pretty damn exceptional in every way apart from height. That includes work rate and preparation, sure. But he's also immense in terms of physical talent and natural skill.

Agreed. Wilson is not just an "intangibles" QB, they are just so refined it's getting all the attention now.
 

chris98251

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The article does say you need physical gifts, but that the intangibles on a gifted athlete lacking elite arm strength or speed lets say should not disqualify them. Where the overall physical freak not having them can be complete failures at the NFL level.
 

HUGGY

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SalishHawkFan":2uoh40sg said:
HUGGY":2uoh40sg said:
SalishHawkFan":2uoh40sg said:
Yeah, I think the whole height thing can be finally laid to rest. 40 years too late for Sonny Sixkiller.

Sonny was amazing. Some of the most entertaining college football I've ever seen in person. I do believe HE was too short for the pros though. .

5'11"

That would be taller than RW.

He took over a 1-9 Husky team and turned them into winners, 6-4, 8-3, 8-3. Jim Plunkett, Joe Theismann and Archie Manning were playing college ball and it was Sonny Sixkiller who appeared on Sports Illustrated cover and led the nation in passing yards.

Sixkiller is certainly not 5' 11". I've stood next to him on several occasions. He's 5' 9" tops.
 

Blitzer88

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FlyingGreg":34fxa8kl said:
"But really, there is no Russell Wilson in this class of QBs. His intangibles make most quarterbacks look like something is missing."

:th2thumbs:

And boom goes the dynamite! :thirishdrinkers:
 

BBHawks

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SalishHawkFan":2ys8s1ey said:
Yeah, I think the whole height thing can be finally laid to rest. 40 years too late for Sonny Sixkiller. IMO, racism is what started the whole Myth of Height thing in the first place. I remember thinking that nobody had the IT factor more than Sonny Sixkiller. Be he was a native american and those were different times back then. So there had to be some "excuse" why he couldn't be a starting QB in the whites only QB job of the NFL. From that time forward, height was a factor in evaluating QB's. Then came Warren Moon and they couldn't have a black QB. So the great Warren Moon ended up in the CFL where he lit it up until finally someone was willing to give him a shot in the NFL because the color barrier had finally been broken.

QB Height is a legacy of those times.

What could racism possibly have to do with the height thing. Fran Tarkenton was six feet and he's in the Hall of Fame. And, the shortest guy to have any success as a QB lately has been another white guy - Flutie. No, it's not racism. It's history. The reason NFL scouts are hesitant to back shorter QB's is because very few of them excel in the NFL. Here's a quote from a Fox Sports story questioning the decision to go with Wilson before last season:

"Since 1952, only two quarterbacks as short or shorter than Wilson have excelled in the NFL: Eddie LeBaron, a 5-7 quarterback who played in Washington and Dallas from 1952-63; and Doug Flutie, the 5-9 3/4-inch sparkplug who played for four NFL teams between 1986 and 2005."

This is part of what makes Russell Wilson so amazing and I think it's why the sports media is so into him and he's such a popular figure. America loves to see someone overcome the odds.
 

Bakergirl

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I hate to break it to the NFL, but there is only one Russell Wilson and Seattle has him. Eat your hear out!
 

rideaducati

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Maybe teams should use the Lewin forecast for future reference. Russell Wilson scored higher than any QB by their measures. Little did they know that their "projection model" would prove to be correct. Russell Wilson's "absurdly high" forecast will only be dwarfed by Russell Wilson's actual career. They put an asterisk by him only because he was too short and not expected to be drafted in the first three rounds of the draft.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/nfl-dr ... ecast-2012
 
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