Most of this article is about how QBs are injured more than they used to be and aren’t as good as they used to be. And that’s funny, because both are wrong.
In 1997, the league passer rating was 77.2. In 2002, it was 80.4. In 2007, it was 82.6. In 2012, it was 85.6. In 2017, it was 86.9. In 2022, it was 89.1.
Objectively, QB play is better than it’s ever been. So why is the perception that QBs are getting worse? I think it’s a few reasons. The biggest is that people outside just don’t remember the shit QBs of yesteryear. Yeah, if you compare Daniel Jones to Eli Manning, maybe he comes off looking bad. But then you go back to 2012 and you see guys like Sam Bradford, Josh Freeman, Christian Ponder, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, Brandon Weeden, and Mark Sanchez all being primary starters and it’s easier to remember there’s always been shit QBs. The other thing is that people tend to remember past QBs at their best, but most of the time, they were not at their best. I could talk about Matt Stafford, Andrew Luck, and Ryan Tannehill playing in 2012, but they all sucked in 2012.
Basically, QBs are objectively better than they used to be. If you think QBs used to be better, your memory is simply playing tricks on you and you need to take off the nostalgia goggles. I know how much people hate when this is brought up, but I also think that for some people, there’s a race component. 8 of the top 15 QBs by passer rating this season right now are black, and while it’s not everybody, there is definitely a subset of people who consciously or unconsciously rate those QBs lower than the white QBs of the past.
In 1997, 16 QBs started 14+ games. In 2002, 18 QBs started 14+ games. In 2007, 15 QBs started 14+ games. In 2012, 25 QBs started 14+ games. In 2017, 23 QBs started 14+ games. In 2022, 15 QBs started 15+ games.
This one’s a little trickier. First of all, I want to point out that this article quotes Trent Dilfer and Rich Gannon, who played during the era when QBs got injured/were benched at the same rate QBs are today. 2022 was also an outlier. 2020 had 21 QBs and 2021 had 19 QBs. 2023 has 23 QBs who have started 10-12 games so far. I don’t have the reasons for every QB missing every game, and I’m sure you could use other metrics, but generally speaking, this again appears to be a case where people simply forget the past. It’s a lot easier to remember the seasons where QBs played. It’s more difficult to remember the seasons they missed. It’s even more difficult to remember the seasons where they missed 4 games or whatever. I’d also point out that citing 8 QBs being out this week is a little weird. Tannehill and Garoppolo are healthy, their teams have just already packed it in for this season and they want to take a long look at their young QBs. 3 of the other 6 (Rodgers, Cousins, Jones) were injured on non-contact injuries. Dilfer saying these QBs are “soft” or “more hurt than ever” just isn’t supported by anything. QBs missing games appears to be directly in line with the past.
The reason it’s trickier is that there clearly was a period from 2008-2017 where there was slightly less QB attrition. 2012, 2016, and 2017 were especially good years for QBs playing a lot, but the average throughout that period was a little higher overall. What’s the reason for that? No idea. Probably a variety of factors.
Anyway, this ended up getting longer than I intended. This is all just a really long way of saying people will always yearn for the better days of the past but the better days of the past were rarely better, and this is no exception.
I am in no way an expert in this, but could that also be because the explosion of skilled WRs? They’re faster than ever, getting a ton of separation. I remember the early 00s patriots with patton (rip) and givens. Those were Super Bowl winning wrs. It seems like now, if you don’t have an ultra skilled WR1, you’re toast. Even Mahomes, who doesn’t NEED one, is having a tougher go at it with a weakened WR group. And Josh Allen didn’t explode until he got his WR1. Game is played further away from the LOS nowadays. And I also think that teams trying to fit the run and gun mold of the new NFL without QBs who have that skill set it showing.
There’s always been QBs in the league that looked like trash…maybe its a testament to how good defenses are lol
For what it’s worth I think the niners are the only team averaging more run plays than pass this season.
- QBs athleticism and arm strength is more valued than their decision making skills and ability to read the defense. So when defenses force the QB to stay in the pocket, they miss all their reads and settle for a screen. 2) The run game isn’t used as much as it used to be. So instead of 2nd and 7, it’s 2nd and 10 a lot more which is a passing down and defenses are better prepared
Right now there’s only two real elite guy (a first ballout HOF), Rodgers and Mahomes, and Rodgers is probably at end of his career. If you look at past decade or two, there was probably 4 or 5 at least.
There’s a bunch of players with a lot of potential but that don’t consistent perform at regular season, much less at playoffs. Right now there isn’t a manning/brady in sight. Maybe burrow was supposed to be that guy, but it’s the second time with a major injury in 4 years.
Of the 8 backups currently starting that article focuses on, only 2 of them have won the job from a former starter that is now healthy: Levis and O’Connell.
Interesting to read Gannon’s comments on those two, especially in the context about his non-player-specific comments that the article featured, which are mostly about the importance of understanding protections:
Levis: “He’s one of these guys that when you’re the youngest kid in the neighborhood he wants to challenge all the kids to see how far he can throw it, he’s that guy. The accuracy and the decision-making and the lack of experience is a problem.”
O’Connell: “He’s got a lot of the intangibles you like — he’s poised, he’s comfortable in the pocket, he’s got good feet, good mechanics, he makes all the throws, he doesn’t get rattled, when he makes a mistake he’s able to quickly turn the page and come back. I think that kid’s got a chance.”
This is the popularity and politics catching up. The best guy doesn’t always get the job. It’s the guy who is a “name” or who has an agent who can work a room.
Bad QB play is almost always caused first by bad line play. There are way too many offensive linemen that suck.
What we’re really talking about are the elite QBs of the league. Coming into the season, people would’ve said that’s Mahomes, Allen, Herbert and Burrow. Mahomes and Allen are having down years, Herbert is good but his team doesn’t win much, and Burrow is out.
Next year, all these guys could have stellar seasons, and then you have guys like Hurts, Lamar, Purdy and Stroud as well. It’s not as bad as it seems right now.
It’s not been as horrendous as people claim. It’s just that the best guys this year aren’t the usual suspects ad media is refusing to give any of them credit.
I haven’t heard the term “System QB” as often in previous seasons as I’ve heard it this year
This is an oline problem, again, still always. Two ways. Teams with bad o lines give QBs less time, requiring QBs to process faster, duh. Teams with bad olines increase the importance of a top QB by weakening the running game.
Why has this happened? Because the guys that should be top tier o linemen all play dline. Dline men get sexy stats, recognition, and giant contracts; most o linemen hope their name isnt called by the announcer on Sunday.
Additionally, olinemen probably suffer the most from the reduction in padded practices in the last couple of CBAs.
it’s not the qbs it’s the sorry state of play calling most cases. Wr screen on 3rd and 12? Inside zone on 2nd and 17? that’s the real epidemic here
WR screen on 3rd and 12?
Ah so you’ve been watching the Eagles
O-line’s hung out to dry by pass happy OC’s.
Owners not understanding that you need a line before a QB.
O-line play in the trash can.
RB’s devalued.
Why is the highest QBR of last week shown in this picture? He’s also a 5th round pick who was 3rd string and got zero first or second team snaps until a few weeks ago.
Is QB play across the league bad, or are we, as a wise man once said, just regressing to the mean? I say that seriously.
When Brady, Brees, Manning, and Rodgers were all playing their best football at the same time, I remember fans and commentators alike saying we were seeing a once in a generation (or more) amount of incredible talent at QB. Have we forgotten those comments, or did we all begin to expect for someone at the level of some of the greatest QBs ever, including the indisputable GOAT, to just magically appear and take their place?
I’ve been an NFL fan since the mid 90s and done my fair share of looking back on historic seasons from across the NFL’s history, and generally speaking, there being just one or two elite, guaranteed first ballot Hall of Fame QBs at a time and then a few very good, but not historically elite QBs below them is the norm. If you made a list of the 10 best QBs in history, 4 of them played within the last 15 years, while being at their peaks at the same time. Brady, Manning, Rodgers, and Brees. On top of those 4, you had other QBs playing their peak football at the same time that would make a lot of top-20 lists like Roethlisberger, Warner, Eli Manning, and Rivers. So arguably half of the greatest QBs in the 60 year history of the league, played their best football in the same 10-15 year period as one another. It may seem normal to a lot of us because it was the norm for almost 2 decades, but statistically speaking it’s very unlikely to happen again, and I don’t think it’s because the league has gone soft. I just think we had a lot of generational talent in the league at the same time.
The early 2000s to the mid/late 2010s was and will likely remain an unprecedented period for QB talent. It may happen again, but I could also see it never happening again, at least not for a very, very long time.
i was so excited for this season but it’s been so boring that i don’t care when it ends