GroveDiesel
Footballguy
We all know that prospective NFL players go through all sorts of testing, from actual written tests to lots of drills on the field. And of course, each team has lots of their own questions and drills/tests that they run players through.
It seems to be that two important measures of a QB are the ability to judge distances accurately and the inherent risk taking of the individual. I think that often times these are qualities that we assume are X-factors or are not really quantifiable. But I don't buy that. I don't think that you can measure somebody 100% accurately, but the physical drills and other written tests don't measure somebody 100% accurately either.
Maybe some teams already do this, but it seems to me that it wouldn't be all that difficult to add two more written tests to a player's evaluation to see how accurately a QB can judge distances (important for accuracy and for making those split second decisions on whether a guy is open or not) and to guage how much risk a player is willing to take.
For judging distances, you could devise a test where a player is shown an object, and then asked how many of those objects would fit inside another object. Or ask them to estimate how many inches a line is on a piece of paper. Questions like that would show their ability to estimate spatial dimensions. IMO, a QB that can more accurately judge spatial dimensions, all other things being equal, should be able to make more accurate throws and more accurate reads.
For risk taking, there are psychological tests that help determine how much risk a person is generally willing to take. I would imagine that a lot of pro athletes would have a higher level of risk taking in general, but I think that it would be possible to devise a test to see which QBs would take more risks. Obviously previous tape would give a pretty good idea of this quality already, but it could help show just how much of a "gunslinger" versus "game manager" a QB would be. A good mix of potential game situations (4th and 2, down by 3 with 35 seconds left on the 32 yard line, what call would you make) and life situations (you have a guaranteed $1M, or flip a coin to get $5M or nothing) would help teams look at what kind of decisions their QB would make on the field.
Actually, I think the risk taking test would be a great one for players in general. Not just to see what choices they'd make on the field, but off the field as well. A player that is willing to take a lot of risks in life in general is going to be more likely to get hurt outside of football or find themselves in some kind of trouble.
Anyway, just something that was rattling around in my head yesterday.
It seems to be that two important measures of a QB are the ability to judge distances accurately and the inherent risk taking of the individual. I think that often times these are qualities that we assume are X-factors or are not really quantifiable. But I don't buy that. I don't think that you can measure somebody 100% accurately, but the physical drills and other written tests don't measure somebody 100% accurately either.
Maybe some teams already do this, but it seems to me that it wouldn't be all that difficult to add two more written tests to a player's evaluation to see how accurately a QB can judge distances (important for accuracy and for making those split second decisions on whether a guy is open or not) and to guage how much risk a player is willing to take.
For judging distances, you could devise a test where a player is shown an object, and then asked how many of those objects would fit inside another object. Or ask them to estimate how many inches a line is on a piece of paper. Questions like that would show their ability to estimate spatial dimensions. IMO, a QB that can more accurately judge spatial dimensions, all other things being equal, should be able to make more accurate throws and more accurate reads.
For risk taking, there are psychological tests that help determine how much risk a person is generally willing to take. I would imagine that a lot of pro athletes would have a higher level of risk taking in general, but I think that it would be possible to devise a test to see which QBs would take more risks. Obviously previous tape would give a pretty good idea of this quality already, but it could help show just how much of a "gunslinger" versus "game manager" a QB would be. A good mix of potential game situations (4th and 2, down by 3 with 35 seconds left on the 32 yard line, what call would you make) and life situations (you have a guaranteed $1M, or flip a coin to get $5M or nothing) would help teams look at what kind of decisions their QB would make on the field.
Actually, I think the risk taking test would be a great one for players in general. Not just to see what choices they'd make on the field, but off the field as well. A player that is willing to take a lot of risks in life in general is going to be more likely to get hurt outside of football or find themselves in some kind of trouble.
Anyway, just something that was rattling around in my head yesterday.
