Matt Waldman
Footballguy
This is the period of time where I really get heavy into film study for the Rookie Scouting Portfolio.
Over the weekend I have been watching a lot of games around the clock and will continue to do so for the rest of this week while I have some vacation time. Occasionally, I see some plays where I feel like sharing what I see that is a nuance of the game that the casual observe might miss.
Right now I'm taking a quick break from the Oregon State-Stanford game from 10/10/09 where I'm watching several players, one them is QB Sean Canfield. I'll say that overall, I have a pretty good impression of Canfield and look forward to evaluating more of his games over the next few months. However, he provides an example of the kind of nuance of the game I just described:
On a 2nd and 5 with 1:38 in the half, Oregon State is at the Stanford 29 yard-line. The offensive lines up in a two-TE, single back set with WR James Rodgers split left. Rodgers motions towards the hash and runs a skinny post to the end zone. Canfield delivers a pass that the safety comes over the top to defend, nearly intercepting the football. The commentators say Canfield under-threw the pass.
To the casual observer, this might be an example of Canfield lacking arm strength to complete an NFL quality route. The pass lacked the zip and distance on first blush. However, when you replay what happened there is an explanation for Canfield's poor throw that is extremely coachable and has nothing to do with his arm strength.
The real issue was his footwork. When Canfield finished his drop, he should have been in a position to throw as soon as his back foot hit the ground on the last step of the drop.
However, he didn't have his body in position to achieve this because he didn't make an effective drop in terms of his body position and steps. When his back foot hit the ground on the final step of the drop, Canfield had to shuffle his back foot just a bit before he delivered the ball. This shuffle and bounce to get in position after the throw forced him to deliver the ball out of rhythm.
The skinny post is a very precise route with a tight window for success. The delay allowed the safety to come over the top and nearly pick off the pass.
Another issue with this poor drop is that Canfield never got his feet in the right position and they were spread too far apart. This prevented Canfield from using his hips correctly to generate velocity on his pass. Earlier in the game Canfield demonstrated strong zip, timing, and accuracy on a deep out thrown from the opposite hash landing over Rodgers inside shoulder just inside the sideline. So the issue isn't his arm strength, because this pass covered about the same distance. The real issue was his footwork that inhibited his timing, distance, and velocity on this one throw. Interestingly enough, if the safety hadn't come over the top, the ball would have arrived over the WRs inside shoulder out of reach of the trailing CB, so to say that the ball was under thrown might not be that accurate. It was more a matter being just a bit earlier with the release that would have made the real difference.
Footwork is one of the most correctable issues a coach can address for a quarterback. If you see anyone say Canfield lacks arm strength, they are missing the details.
Over the weekend I have been watching a lot of games around the clock and will continue to do so for the rest of this week while I have some vacation time. Occasionally, I see some plays where I feel like sharing what I see that is a nuance of the game that the casual observe might miss.
Right now I'm taking a quick break from the Oregon State-Stanford game from 10/10/09 where I'm watching several players, one them is QB Sean Canfield. I'll say that overall, I have a pretty good impression of Canfield and look forward to evaluating more of his games over the next few months. However, he provides an example of the kind of nuance of the game I just described:
On a 2nd and 5 with 1:38 in the half, Oregon State is at the Stanford 29 yard-line. The offensive lines up in a two-TE, single back set with WR James Rodgers split left. Rodgers motions towards the hash and runs a skinny post to the end zone. Canfield delivers a pass that the safety comes over the top to defend, nearly intercepting the football. The commentators say Canfield under-threw the pass.
To the casual observer, this might be an example of Canfield lacking arm strength to complete an NFL quality route. The pass lacked the zip and distance on first blush. However, when you replay what happened there is an explanation for Canfield's poor throw that is extremely coachable and has nothing to do with his arm strength.
The real issue was his footwork. When Canfield finished his drop, he should have been in a position to throw as soon as his back foot hit the ground on the last step of the drop.
However, he didn't have his body in position to achieve this because he didn't make an effective drop in terms of his body position and steps. When his back foot hit the ground on the final step of the drop, Canfield had to shuffle his back foot just a bit before he delivered the ball. This shuffle and bounce to get in position after the throw forced him to deliver the ball out of rhythm.
The skinny post is a very precise route with a tight window for success. The delay allowed the safety to come over the top and nearly pick off the pass.
Another issue with this poor drop is that Canfield never got his feet in the right position and they were spread too far apart. This prevented Canfield from using his hips correctly to generate velocity on his pass. Earlier in the game Canfield demonstrated strong zip, timing, and accuracy on a deep out thrown from the opposite hash landing over Rodgers inside shoulder just inside the sideline. So the issue isn't his arm strength, because this pass covered about the same distance. The real issue was his footwork that inhibited his timing, distance, and velocity on this one throw. Interestingly enough, if the safety hadn't come over the top, the ball would have arrived over the WRs inside shoulder out of reach of the trailing CB, so to say that the ball was under thrown might not be that accurate. It was more a matter being just a bit earlier with the release that would have made the real difference.
Footwork is one of the most correctable issues a coach can address for a quarterback. If you see anyone say Canfield lacks arm strength, they are missing the details.
on Gerhart here...got to interview him when he was in NYC for the Heisman presentation, good kid, humble, and told me he patterned his game after Michael Turner. His dad's favorite player was Earl Campbell. 
The Vardell comparisons are wrong. Gerhart runs like a tailback and is very light on his feet. In fact, I told him that he reminds me of Jerome Bettis. He's hard to bring down when he gets a head of steam, and can spin/juke around defenders. It's rare that a big man has that type of footwork. He's not Alstott either in my opinion because he doesn't run as low as Alstott did. Mike Alstott was all power and determination. he gave you nothing to tackle except shoulders and knees. Gerhart is big and swift, but generates power from momentum. He runs a little upright for my taste, but I see him having a good (not great) pro career.
on Gerhart here...got to interview him when he was in NYC for the Heisman presentation, good kid, humble, and told me he patterned his game after Michael Turner. His dad's favorite player was Earl Campbell. 
on Gerhart here...got to interview him when he was in NYC for the Heisman presentation, good kid, humble, and told me he patterned his game after Michael Turner. His dad's favorite player was Earl Campbell. 
The Vardell comparisons are wrong. Gerhart runs like a tailback and is very light on his feet. In fact, I told him that he reminds me of Jerome Bettis. He's hard to bring down when he gets a head of steam, and can spin/juke around defenders. It's rare that a big man has that type of footwork. He's not Alstott either in my opinion because he doesn't run as low as Alstott did. Mike Alstott was all power and determination. he gave you nothing to tackle except shoulders and knees. Gerhart is big and swift, but generates power from momentum. He runs a little upright for my taste, but I see him having a good (not great) pro career.
Chris Brown is a great comparison. The swiftness, upright style, and footwork are all very similar.
