Has anyone seen Parcells rules for drafting a QB? (1 Viewer)

[goldfinger]

I remember reading somewhere that Bill Parcells had specific criteria for drafting a QB. It was something like they had to have graduated, been a multi-year starter, etc. Has anyone seen these? If so, how does this year's class measure up?

 

[comfortably numb]

I remember reading somewhere that Bill Parcells had specific criteria for drafting a QB. It was something like they had to have graduated, been a multi-year starter, etc. Has anyone seen these? If so, how does this year's class measure up?

\Heard on the radio, somethingWas very interesting.4 year starter in college i thought was one.

 

[Yellow Line is Unoffcial]

Its not four year starter, its must be a senior and must have started x games. I want to sat the number is 27.

The other factor is comp %. I think that number is 62.

 

[Marino13]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback. 2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously. 3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time. 4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

 

[=Smackdown=]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback. 2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously. 3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time. 4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

Chad Henne.Thanks for your concern

 

[Sweet Love]

Its not four year starter, its must be a senior and must have started x games. I want to sat the number is 27.The other factor is comp %. I think that number is 62.

This rings familiar to me too, and FWIW Henne fits this criteria (stayed as a Sr. and had more than 27+ career starts). Not a bad criteria when thinking about Manning(s), Rivers and Brady (25 starts).

 

[Sweet Love]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.

2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.

3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.

4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

I believe that he typically strives to get at least 3.Also- of the seven quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl in the 2000s, five -- Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning and Trent Dilfer -- met all four requirements when drafted.

For those to start the "what about Tom" posts, I did some digging for my post above and I believe he had 22 wins with 2 years as a starter...pretty darn close and makes you think Parcells is not pulling all of this out of his tail.

 

[goldfinger]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.

2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.

3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.

4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

I believe that he typically strives to get at least 3.Also- of the seven quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl in the 2000s, five -- Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning and Trent Dilfer -- met all four requirements when drafted.

For those to start the "what about Tom" posts, I did some digging for my post above and I believe he had 22 wins with 2 years as a starter...pretty darn close and makes you think Parcells is not pulling all of this out of his tail.

So out of this class, that would leave McCoy, Tebow, and who else meeting those criteria?

 

[skillz]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.

2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.

3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.

4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

I believe that he typically strives to get at least 3.Also- of the seven quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl in the 2000s, five -- Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning and Trent Dilfer -- met all four requirements when drafted.

For those to start the "what about Tom" posts, I did some digging for my post above and I believe he had 22 wins with 2 years as a starter...pretty darn close and makes you think Parcells is not pulling all of this out of his tail.

So out of this class, that would leave McCoy, Tebow, and who else meeting those criteria?

I believe LeFevre from Central Michigan meets them as well

 

[Yenrub]

Its not four year starter, its must be a senior and must have started x games. I want to sat the number is 27.The other factor is comp %. I think that number is 62.

This rings familiar to me too, and FWIW Henne fits this criteria (stayed as a Sr. and had more than 27+ career starts). Not a bad criteria when thinking about Manning(s), Rivers and Brady (25 starts).

I think Rivers set the NCAA record with 51 starts

 

[Bull Dozier]

I believe one of his qualifications is that they play in a major football conference as well, correct?

 

[Eraser]

 

[EBF]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.

2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.

3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.

4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

I believe that he typically strives to get at least 3.Also- of the seven quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl in the 2000s, five -- Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning and Trent Dilfer -- met all four requirements when drafted.

Wasn't Roethlisberger a junior entry?I like the basic idea. He wants proven winners with a lot of game experience. Nothing wrong with that. I think he'll have to be more receptive to early entries in this day and age. It's not that reasonable to expect a top 10 pick QB to return to school, although Locker, Bradford, and Leinart have done it.

 

[Sabertooth]

Does Aaron Rodgers fit this criteria?

 

[goldfinger]

Does Aaron Rodgers fit this criteria?

I think both Rodgers and Roethlisberger came out as juniors.

 

[Steed]

Its not four year starter, its must be a senior and must have started x games. I want to sat the number is 27.The other factor is comp %. I think that number is 62.

This is the Lewin Career Forecast that was published by FootballOutsiders and made famous when Gil Brandt plagiarized it.

 

[Kev4029]

Does Aaron Rodgers fit this criteria?

I think both Rodgers and Roethlisberger came out as juniors.

Rodgers transferred from a juco after two years and then started two years at Cal.I wonder what Parcell's system would think of him...ETA: He may have transferred after one year.

 

[FUBAR]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.

2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.

3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.

4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

--------------

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

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I believe that he typically strives to get at least 3.

Also- of the seven quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl in the 2000s, five -- Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning and Trent Dilfer -- met all four requirements when drafted.

----------------

For those to start the "what about Tom" posts, I did some digging for my post above and I believe he had 22 wins with 2 years as a starter...pretty darn close and makes you think Parcells is not pulling all of this out of his tail.

-------------

So out of this class, that would leave McCoy, Tebow, and who else meeting those criteria?

-----------

I believe LeFevre from Central Michigan meets them as well

Pretty sure Todd Reesing and Zac Robinson do too.

 

[azgroover]

Does this mean the Tuna felt burned by drafting Bledsoe as a junior?

 

[netnalp]

Who met Parcell's criteria more Bledsoe or Mirer?

I couldn't find Bledsoe's college stats. Mirer's are

4yr totals

698 att, 377 comp, 5,997 pyrds, 41 PTDs, 23 INT, 17 RTDs

 

[Adebisi]

Who met Parcell's criteria more Bledsoe or Mirer?

I think Mirer hit all 4 points, and Bledsoe hit only the second two. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, then this whole thing is a load of BS.

 

[Matt Waldman]

Who met Parcell's criteria more Bledsoe or Mirer?

I think Mirer hit all 4 points, and Bledsoe hit only the second two. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, then this whole thing is a load of BS.

I think it's time to start looking for QBs who played in the NFL and don't fit this criteria. I don't have time to check, but someone might want to look into these guys: Tony EasonBrowning NagleJim HarbaughKerry CollinsVinny TestaverdeJake PlummerTodd BlackledgeChuck LongAndre WareCade McNownTim CouchDavid CarrAndre WoodsonByron LeftwichRob JohnsonJeff George

 

[Tanner9919]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback. 2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously. 3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time. 4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

um, yeah, he's got his QB of the future in Chad Henne...he also drafted or had his hand in drafting, Phil Simms, Bledsoe, molded Vinny Testeverde into a very good,very efficient passer with the Jets , helped develop Romo ( at Payton's request), had a hand in drafting Jeff Hostetler in 3rd round of '84 draft - dude was a Rhodes Scholar -who won a SB and went on to have good success with Raiders.

 

[Reaper]

Is this why Parcells never committed to Peyton Manning when he contemplated coming out as a Jr?

 

[Jerry Lawler]

Not surprisingly, I think both Chad Henne and Pat White fit those criteria. In fact, it seems that a number of the highly drafted seniors over the last decade would fit these criteria.

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback. 2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously. 3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time. 4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

Who met Parcell's criteria more Bledsoe or Mirer?

I think Mirer hit all 4 points, and Bledsoe hit only the second two. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, then this whole thing is a load of BS.

Based on those two you're going to call it a crock of BS?I'm guessing every GM has some criteria. That criteria doesn't guarantee anything. After all, these are still young guys, and you don't really know how they'll handle the big stage. I think it's interesting if true.

 

[candymanvandyfan]

Until someone proposes a better name for these, I am going to refer to these as the Leinart-Harrington Success Indicators.

 

[phillyphan07]

you would think fantasy football players would understand how difficult drafting is.... on average, how many first round QBs pan out? 1 in 5? less? if someone told you that you could improve your success on first round players to 1 in 4... or get that same 1 in 5 success in the 2nd or 3rd round wouldn't you jump at it?

 

[The_Man]

I'm pretty sure that as stated above, the rules for drafting a QB are actually the Football Outsiders projection criteria for successful QBs.

Parcells had 11 commandments for a QB that he gave to Tony Romo that people might be confusing. Those commandments were:

Quarterback commandments:

1. Ignore other opinions – Press or TV, agents or advisors, family or wives, friends or relatives, fans or hangers on – ignore them on matters of football, they don’t know what’s happening here.

2. Clowns can’t run a huddle – don’t forget to have fun but don’t be the class clown. Clowns and leaders don’t mix. Clowns can’t run a huddle.

3. Fat QBs can’t avoid the rush – A quarterback throws with his legs more than his arm. Squat and run.

4. Know your job cold – this is not a game without errors. Keep yours to a minimum. Study.

5. Know your own players – Who’s fast? Who can catch? Who needs encouragement? Be precise. Know your opponent.

6. Be the same guy every day – in condition. Preparing to lead. Studying your plan. A coach can’t prepare you for every eventuality. Prepare yourself and remember, impulse decisions usually equal mistakes.

7. Throwing the ball away is a good play – sacks, interceptions and fumbles are bad plays. Protect against those.

8. Learn to manage the game – personnel, play call, motions, ball handling, proper reads, accurate throws, play fakes. Clock. Clock. Clock. Don’t you ever lose track of the clock.

9. Get your team in the end zone – passing stats and TD passes are not how you’re going to be judged. Your job is to get your team in the end zone and that is how you will be judged.

10. Don’t panic – when all around you is in chaos, you must be the hand that steers the ship. If you have a panic button so will everyone else. Our ship can’t have a panic button.

11. Don’t be a celebrity QB – we don’t need any of those. We need battlefield commanders that are willing to fight it out, every day, every week and every season and lead their team to win after win after win.

 

[netnalp]

Who met Parcell's criteria more Bledsoe or Mirer?

I think Mirer hit all 4 points, and Bledsoe hit only the second two. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, then this whole thing is a load of BS.

Based on those two you're going to call it a crock of BS?I'm guessing every GM has some criteria. That criteria doesn't guarantee anything. After all, these are still young guys, and you don't really know how they'll handle the big stage. I think it's interesting if true.

My view is that he must have really liked Bledsoe over Mirer and/or his QB rules are more guidelines and not a strict cut-off.I've heard of Parcells commandments and I caught part of a clip of Parcells going over his rules for what he looks for in QBs to draft on ESPN a few years ago. I just haven't been able to find online an article quoting him on what his draft rules are.

 

[goldfinger]

Who met Parcell's criteria more Bledsoe or Mirer?

I think Mirer hit all 4 points, and Bledsoe hit only the second two. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, then this whole thing is a load of BS.

Based on those two you're going to call it a crock of BS?I'm guessing every GM has some criteria. That criteria doesn't guarantee anything. After all, these are still young guys, and you don't really know how they'll handle the big stage. I think it's interesting if true.

My view is that he must have really liked Bledsoe over Mirer and/or his QB rules are more guidelines and not a strict cut-off.I've heard of Parcells commandments and I caught part of a clip of Parcells going over his rules for what he looks for in QBs to draft on ESPN a few years ago.

Or he hadn't developed the guidelines yet.

 

[gregjcross]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback. 2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously. 3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time. 4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

I guess Akili smith didn't meet Bills criteria. Duh Bengals

 

[netnalp]

Perhaps, but I recall the announcers talking about all kinds of criteria he had for other positions when he coached the Giants. Like, he likes big LBs over smaller speed guys, and he likes intelligent OLinemen, like Bart Oates and Jumbo Elliot, so he looks at their grades and GPA. He had similar lists for TE and RB that led to the drafting of Bavaro and signing the aging Otis Anderson but I forget what those criteria were.

If he had his QB criteria when he was with the Giants, it led him to choosing Simms over Montana. But I can't criticize him for that. If the info on Wiki is true, Walsh had planned to take Simms over Montana if he was there for the 49ers pick as well. For Walsh, I've heard him say that footwork is a major thing he looked at.

 

[Chase Stuart]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback. 2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously. 3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time. 4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

um, yeah, he's got his QB of the future in Chad Henne...he also drafted or had his hand in drafting, Phil Simms, Bledsoe, molded Vinny Testeverde into a very good,very efficient passer with the Jets , helped develop Romo ( at Payton's request), had a hand in drafting Jeff Hostetler in 3rd round of '84 draft - dude was a Rhodes Scholar -who won a SB and went on to have good success with Raiders.

Parcells' QB track record isn't impressive.-- He didn't draft Simms.-- Bledsoe played for a very long time, but he was far from great. I'll give Parcells credit for taking Bledsoe over Mirer, but drafting a QB with the #1 pick isn't successful if the guy doesn't become very good. Bledsoe was never a first-team All-Pro QB, and never came close to that. He never ranked in the top 5 of the league in any season in Y/A, ANY/A , AY/A, or NY/A. Or QB rating if you like that.-- Molded Vinny Testaverde? C'mon. Testaverde had his best year under Parcells, no doubt, but it also was the only season he was surrounded by studs in the lineup. And Parcells had little to do with the Jets offense, it was mostly Weis.-- Hostetler was solid for a 3rd round pick.-- Romo -- not sure how much "developing" Parcells did there, either. I'll give him credit for spotting him, though.Then look on the other side:-- With the Giants, he also drafted Craig Kupp, Mike Perez and Dave Walter. None of them ever threw a TD in the NFL.-- With the Jets he took Chuck Clements out of Houston. Never threw a pass in the NFL. He traded for Rick Mirer, he stunk up the joint.-- With Dallas, he went through the utterly miserable Quincy Carter/Chad Hutchinson/Drew Henson merry-go-round. He also brought back Testaverde and Bledsoe, with limited success.His best work at QB might have been with Ray Lucas. But I don't see how Parcells is an authority on QBs. It's Bill Parcells, not Don Coryell, Joe Gibbs or Mike Martz.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Perhaps, but I recall the announcers talking about all kinds of criteria he had for other positions when he coached the Giants. Like, he likes big LBs over smaller speed guys, and he likes intelligent OLinemen, like Bart Oates and Jumbo Elliot, so he looks at their grades and GPA. He had similar lists for TE and RB that led to the drafting of Bavaro and signing the aging Otis Anderson but I forget what those criteria were.

If he had his QB criteria when he was with the Giants, it led him to choosing Simms over Montana. But I can't criticize him for that. If the info on Wiki is true, Walsh had planned to take Simms over Montana if he was there for the 49ers pick as well. For Walsh, I've heard him say that footwork is a major thing he looked at.

In The Genius, a biography on Walsh, it's written that Walsh did like Simms when he met with him, but understood that he probably wouldn't be around when the 49ers picked (San Francisco was the worst in the league when Walsh arrived, but the prior GM, Joe Thomas, traded a boatload of picks for O.J. Simpson. One of those picks was the 49ers future first round pick in 1979.)Walsh had already liked Montana (the only college game of him he had seen was where Montana led a huge ND comeback), and sent Sam Wyche to scout WR James Owens (who SF would take with the first pick in the 2nd round) and had Montana throw to him. Wyche fell in love with Montana; him and Walsh came out again to see Montana and Owens catch, and Walsh fell in love with him then, too. He thought Montana would fall the to the 4th or 5th round, but didn't want to take any chances after the 3rd round.

Tough to say whether Walsh would have taken Simms over Montana based on what I remember from the book.

 

[netnalp]

I wouldn't consider Parcells an authority on QBs. LB, RB, OL, TE might be his best areas or perhaps he it's finding assistants and position coaches where he does best.

 

[Adebisi]

Who met Parcell's criteria more Bledsoe or Mirer?

I think Mirer hit all 4 points, and Bledsoe hit only the second two. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, then this whole thing is a load of BS.

Based on those two you're going to call it a crock of BS?I'm guessing every GM has some criteria. That criteria doesn't guarantee anything. After all, these are still young guys, and you don't really know how they'll handle the big stage. I think it's interesting if true.

Sure. He had the first pick in the draft, and therefore had his choice at QB. If I'm right about Bledsoe hitting only 2 points and Mirer hitting all 4, then he threw his own so-called "rules" out the window when he took Bledsoe.

 

[Adebisi]

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback. 2. He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously. 3. He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time. 4. He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of guys that fit this criteria.... good luck Bill.

um, yeah, he's got his QB of the future in Chad Henne...he also drafted or had his hand in drafting, Phil Simms, Bledsoe, molded Vinny Testeverde into a very good,very efficient passer with the Jets , helped develop Romo ( at Payton's request), had a hand in drafting Jeff Hostetler in 3rd round of '84 draft - dude was a Rhodes Scholar -who won a SB and went on to have good success with Raiders.

Parcells' QB track record isn't impressive.-- He didn't draft Simms.-- Bledsoe played for a very long time, but he was far from great. I'll give Parcells credit for taking Bledsoe over Mirer, but drafting a QB with the #1 pick isn't successful if the guy doesn't become very good. Bledsoe was never a first-team All-Pro QB, and never came close to that. He never ranked in the top 5 of the league in any season in Y/A, ANY/A , AY/A, or NY/A. Or QB rating if you like that.-- Molded Vinny Testaverde? C'mon. Testaverde had his best year under Parcells, no doubt, but it also was the only season he was surrounded by studs in the lineup. And Parcells had little to do with the Jets offense, it was mostly Weis.-- Hostetler was solid for a 3rd round pick.-- Romo -- not sure how much "developing" Parcells did there, either. I'll give him credit for spotting him, though.Then look on the other side:-- With the Giants, he also drafted Craig Kupp, Mike Perez and Dave Walter. None of them ever threw a TD in the NFL.-- With the Jets he took Chuck Clements out of Houston. Never threw a pass in the NFL. He traded for Rick Mirer, he stunk up the joint.-- With Dallas, he went through the utterly miserable Quincy Carter/Chad Hutchinson/Drew Henson merry-go-round. He also brought back Testaverde and Bledsoe, with limited success.His best work at QB might have been with Ray Lucas. But I don't see how Parcells is an authority on QBs. It's Bill Parcells, not Don Coryell, Joe Gibbs or Mike Martz.

Very That's a very pedestrian list. There's not a QB on that list who I would call "great."

 

[Saints-Man]

...-- Romo -- not sure how much "developing" Parcells did there, either. I'll give him credit for spotting him, though.....

I thought it was Sean Payton, now HC of the Saints, that found Romo and pushed for him. The talk shows here in Dallas seem to be split on who gets the credit for that.

 

[GoFishTN]

-- With the Giants, he also drafted Craig Kupp, Mike Perez and Dave Walter. None of them ever threw a TD in the NFL.-- With the Jets he took Chuck Clements out of Houston. Never threw a pass in the NFL. He traded for Rick Mirer, he stunk up the joint.-- With Dallas, he went through the utterly miserable Quincy Carter/Chad Hutchinson/Drew Henson merry-go-round. He also brought back Testaverde and Bledsoe, with limited success.His best work at QB might have been with Ray Lucas. But I don't see how Parcells is an authority on QBs. It's Bill Parcells, not Don Coryell, Joe Gibbs or Mike Martz.

They're supposed to be suggestions for drafting QBs, not any QB he ever signs. Also, I assume he cared mostly about the potential of the 5th-7th round guys you pointed out, since those are almost throw-away picks.

 

[Jeff Tefertiller]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?page=NextLevel3

The biggest question mark for any team going into a draft is how to measure intangibles at the quarterback position.

Personnel legend Don "Duke" Klosterman may have put this quandary best when he told former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, "Do not evaluate a quarterback the way you evaluate the other 21 positions. They're playing a different sport. With a quarterback, it's the things you can't put down on paper that make all the difference."

The problem this presents is simple: Those items that can't be put down on paper all generally lend themselves to emotional swings; a perfect example of this comes via the case of Tim Tebow. Tebow's significant pocket passer weaknesses have ESPN draft experts Mel Kiper (fourth round) and Todd McShay (third round) grading him as a less-than-stellar choice, but Tebow's seemingly off-the-charts intangibles have others -- such as Tony Dungy -- rating him as a first-round pick.

One solution to this quandary is to try to find a way to measure the impact of these seemingly unmeasurable characteristics. This is the path that Bill Parcells took when he put together the following four rules for drafting quarterbacks:

1. Be a three-year starter

2. Post at least 23 wins

3. Be a senior

4. Be a college graduate

The idea behind these guidelines is simple: Any quarterback who achieves each of these goals has proved that he can handle the rigors of frequent play, has a history of winning and will stick to a goal until he finishes it.

These sound like terrific mile markers to gauge intangibles, but does this system work? Do quarterbacks with these characteristics significantly outperform players who don't reach these goals?

To find the answer to these questions, I enlisted the help of the Stats & Information department at ESPN. I asked its researchers to compile the figures for all of the first-round picks in the BCS era (since the 1999 NFL draft) along with every other current starting quarterback who was drafted in that time in the four aforementioned categories.

The first study we did revolved around the three-year starter guideline. The initial quandary here was how to determine how many starts constitute three years. Every FBS (formerly Division I-A) team today plays a minimum of 12 games -- but that level has been in place only since 2006. In the years before that, the minimum was 11 games, so we ran the study with both 33 starts and 36 starts as the qualifying line.

At the 33-start level, quarterbacks were 637-542-1 (54 percent) in the NFL; at the 36-start level, they were 606-515-1, which is a very similar percentage mark of 54.1 percent.

College quarterbacks with fewer than 33 starts were 493-528-1, for a winning percentage of 48.3 percent; those with fewer than 36 starts were 524-555-1, for a winning percentage of 48.6 percent.

The difference here is an NFL win percentage of around 5.6 percent, or about nine-tenths of a win per season (16 games multiplied by 5.6 percent). Not quite a slam dunk for the high-volume college starts criterion, but certainly a notable positive indicator.

Next up is the 23 collegiate wins mark. The findings here were quite similar to the high volume of starts study. The quarterbacks who had a minimum of 23 wins posted an NFL record of 664-575-1, or a winning percentage of 53.6 percent. The quarterbacks who posted fewer than 23 wins had an NFL mark of 466-495-1, or a winning percentage of 48.5 percent. The favorable percentage differential was 5.1 percent, or nearly identical to the 33-36 starts criterion.

The third study looked at how senior quarterbacks fared compared with sophomores and juniors who declared for the draft. The seniors posted a professional record of 914-891-1, or a winning percentage of 50.6 percent. The second-year and third-year collegians did not post anywhere near as high of a volume of games as the seniors, but their 216-179-1 record equates to a 54.7 winning percentage, a mark that is 4.1 percent better than that of their counterparts.

The fourth criterion, graduating college, is a bit tougher to gauge because there are some instances where extenuating circumstances need to be taken into account. One example of this can be found in the case of Joe Flacco. Flacco had to put his final college classes on hold because of an odd confluence of rules. Here, we ended up giving any players in situations of this nature the benefit of the doubt and crediting them in the graded category.

The findings here were quite notable. Players who graduated posted a 965-855-1 NFL record, or a winning percentage of 53.0 percent. Quarterbacks who didn't graduate tallied an NFL mark of 165-215-1, or a winning percentage of 43.4 percent. That is a difference of 9.6 percent, or an average of around 1.5 extra wins per year. To put it into perspective, that mark is 75 percent greater than the average extra wins generated by the high-volume starts or collegiate wins criteria.

Each of these individual bars is high on its own, but the Parcells rules require that a player meet all four. That should mean only the best of the best make the final cut, but the numbers do not indicate that is the case. The combined record of the 16 quarterbacks who satisfied all four criteria (all of whom had at least 36 starts) was 494-432-1, or a 53.3 percent winning percentage. That is lower than the winning percentages generated by two of the individual criteria, so this combination of traits cannot make a claim as being the most notable success indicator.

That honor goes to the college graduate criterion. To put it another way, when talent evaluators are looking for a tiebreaker in making a choice of which quarterback to draft, they should turn to the classroom for guidance.

"Parcells' Guys"

These 15 quarterbacks meet the four qualities discussed in this article.

Twelve of the 15 guys on this list started at least one game in the NFL in 2009.

Player Name First NFL team

Chad Pennington New York Jets

Philip Rivers San Diego Chargers

Kevin Kolb Philadelphia Eagles

Donovan McNabb Philadelphia Eagles

Brady Quinn Cleveland Browns

Carson Palmer Cincinnati Bengals

David Garrard Jacksonville Jaguars

Cade McNown Chicago Bears

Jason Campbell Washington Redskins

Charlie Whitehurst San Diego Chargers

Matt Leinart Arizona Cardinals

Byron Leftwich Jacksonville Jaguars

Eli Manning New York Giants

Drew Brees San Diego Chargers

Chad Henne Miami Dolphins

linenums:0'>"Parcells' Guys"These 15 quarterbacks meet the four qualities discussed in this article. Twelve of the 15 guys on this list started at least one game in the NFL in 2009.Player Name First NFL teamChad Pennington New York JetsPhilip Rivers San Diego ChargersKevin Kolb Philadelphia EaglesDonovan McNabb Philadelphia EaglesBrady Quinn Cleveland BrownsCarson Palmer Cincinnati BengalsDavid Garrard Jacksonville JaguarsCade McNown Chicago BearsJason Campbell Washington RedskinsCharlie Whitehurst San Diego ChargersMatt Leinart Arizona CardinalsByron Leftwich Jacksonville JaguarsEli Manning New York GiantsDrew Brees San Diego ChargersChad Henne Miami Dolphins

 

[az_prof]

The three year starter rule makes sense and will weed out a lot of losers. To be a three year starter as a QB means that you must have a good mix of both physical talent and intangibles. Without the physical talent and some pedigree you don't start as a Sophomore. And you don't keep the job for three years without the intangibles otherwise you are likely to loses the team and the coaches ' confidence.

This doesn't mean the guy will be a great NFL QB, but it certainly increases the chances that he won't be a complete bust.

 

[az_prof]

I am wondering if it wouldn't be more accurate to use the Parcell's formula for comparing QBs who were drafted in the SAME ROUND. We would be comparing apples and oranges otherwise.

 

[Jeff Tefertiller]

It is interesting to me that Whitehurst and Kolb meet Parcells' requirements. But, then again, so was Cade McNown, Brady Quinn, and Byron Leftwich ..............