I'll also add a contrarian view. What if Glennon isn't as bad as predicted? He has the physical tools, what if he starts to get the mental aspects of the game? He's sitting on the wire in my dynasty league and I think, "Hmmmm, he's a rookie QB given the reins to an offense with a pretty good set of weapons. I heard he doesn't have the mental aspects of the game down, but has physical attributes which may help him excel. He's cheap (only cost is dropping another guy), so why not take a shot?"
THey ALL have the physical tools. 90% of the game is from the neck up, as they say. Rookie QB success like RG III and Luck and Wilson are exceptions, not norms, especially when we aren't talking baout Glennon like he was a top QB prospect.
Not all QB's who play in the NFL legitimately have an arm.
Not true at all... they all have arms. It'd be fairly impressive if a amputee could play QB in the NFL.
Kidding aside, the gap between elite talent and 3rd string talent usually isn't that big. Sometimes it's a difference of decimal points on measurements and skillsets. Think of it this way, elite RB speed is about 4.3 40 speed. And plodding RB speed is about 4.6 40 speed. A difference of .3, you or me would be lucky to run a 6.0 40...
I'll be sure to remember that when the topic turns to Alex Smith's arm strength, or QB's like Ponder, or Caleb Hanie, or any of the QB's started by Arizona next year.
I think the gap between them and Manning/Brees/Rodgers/Brady is pretty big.
Alex Smith isn't the same type of QB as those others though. He's more of a Chad Pennington type, he doesn't have a big arm but he's extremely accurate under 20 yards. Probably more accurate than those other QBs you mention. Either way, you can try to argue the point but anyone who has enough talent to make it into the NFL at all is above the curve in terms of physical ability. When you consider the typical human vs these guys the gaps are extremely small. Which is the point I'm trying to make...
When it comes to effectiveness in the NFL, the difference between 4.3 and 4.6 on a 40 time is usually massive. But when it comes to just basic human gaps, that's extremely small. The actual talent gaps aren't that big in the NFL. Someone like Alex Smith could go play in college right now for any unranked team and probably immediately make them one of the top offenses in the country. Just because he has a weak arm doesn't make him bad. We're talking about the difference between being accurate throwing the ball 40 yards vs throwing the ball 50 yards. Either way, they're all WELL ahead of the average human curve.
Same thing goes for every sport, there's a large difference between a 95 mph fastball and a 89 mph fastball. One is considered elite the other is considered average. But in the grand scheme of things, only 1-2% of the general population can probably come anywhere close to a 89 mph fastball.
