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Question about Scouting


CanadaSteve

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With the premium that is now placed on one position in the NFL at Quarterback, are there any teams that SPECIFICALLY hire a scout whose sole position is to scout QB's?  And if not, why would an organization not do this, given the almost absolute need in finding a QB who can take you to the Super Bowl?

 

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The issue is that finding a QB is art not science - there is no list of traits that results in finding a QB.

Plus, in a lot of cases these guys try too hard to project what a player is GOING to be.  GMs see guys like Paxton Lynch or even Hack and say "well if he puts everything together, with his arm strength he will be elite".  The problem with that is that if you arent elite in college, the chances of being elite in the NFL is very very slim.

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26 minutes ago, BCJet said:

The issue is that finding a QB is art not science - there is no list of traits that results in finding a QB.

Plus, in a lot of cases these guys try too hard to project what a player is GOING to be.  GMs see guys like Paxton Lynch or even Hack and say "well if he puts everything together, with his arm strength he will be elite".  The problem with that is that if you arent elite in college, the chances of being elite in the NFL is very very slim.

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I think this is a PRIME example as to why you would want a scout that does nothing put research QB's.  With the premium that is placed on the position, wouldn't you want a scout who can give you the names of about 10 guys each year that he thinks has what it takes to develop into a good/great QB, and you know then that if the opportunity arrives at the round/position you like, you would draft them and NOT waste picks?  I know its an art, but why not give yourself the best opportunity/percentage for success by eliminating 50 percent of the prospects early on?

 

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2 hours ago, CanadaSteve said:

With the premium that is now placed on one position in the NFL at Quarterback, are there any teams that SPECIFICALLY hire a scout whose sole position is to scout QB's?  And if not, why would an organization not do this, given the almost absolute need in finding a QB who can take you to the Super Bowl?

 

I’m not 100% sure that all teams operate this way but I’ve met a few scouts and they were regional based and/or covered specific conferences down to the division.

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Bottom line is if a scout was good enough to be trusted with the task of QB scouting, and could be considered reliable enough at it for that to be his sole full-time job, he would likely find himself with a higher position very quickly.

Besides that, it's also probably not considered particularly efficient to have someone that focused in, as if your scouts are spending time on watching tape and at games, you're going to want them evaluating the other players they're watching as well, not just one.  It's next to impossible to get a clear answer on what the QB is capable of without also understanding the talent he is playing with.

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2 hours ago, CanadaSteve said:

I think this is a PRIME example as to why you would want a scout that does nothing put research QB's.  With the premium that is placed on the position, wouldn't you want a scout who can give you the names of about 10 guys each year that he thinks has what it takes to develop into a good/great QB, and you know then that if the opportunity arrives at the round/position you like, you would draft them and NOT waste picks?  I know its an art, but why not give yourself the best opportunity/percentage for success by eliminating 50 percent of the prospects early on?

 

This article is pretty good explaining why scouting QB's are so hard. You can make scouts dedicated to the position but if there's nothing to go off of...it's all a prayer. 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2734400-matt-millers-scouting-notebook-why-does-the-nfl-hate-star-college-qbs

Last Saturday, against Pitt, Rudolph completed 23 of 32 passes for 497 yards and five touchdowns, and he didn't play the fourth quarter. At 6'5", 230 pounds, Rudolph should be the type of player the NFL is drooling over, right? Wrong.

NFL scouts I spoke to over the summer graded Rudolph as a Day 3 guy. What's missing? Here's what one area scout had to say this week: "Arm strength is a major concern with Rudolph, but you can get around that. What really worries you is what's between the ears. That offense [at Oklahoma State] doesn't make him think. Coach [Mike] Gundy draws it up and he executes it. He's a robot."

My thoughts on Rudolph? He's a solid mid-second-rounder at this stage. That can change with more time to study his offense and his duties in it, but on traits his only flaw is a lack of elite arm strength.

Rudolph is one of the bigger names in college football, as is Lamar Jackson, who took home the Heisman Trophy last year and was poised for another run before playing against Clemson last weekend. What do scouts think of the Louisville star, you ask? While many in the media are promoting Jackson as a legitimate franchise quarterback, I have not spoken to one NFL evaluator (scout, director, general manager) who believes he's an NFL quarterback.

One director I spoke to believes the scheme Jackson is in will limit his NFL potential. "List me the quarterbacks Bobby Petrino has sent to the NFL that are any damn good." He's right; there aren't any. Petrino is a noted quarterback guru and excellent schemer, but his players haven't translated to the pros. Jackson's struggles to win from within the pocket against Clemson—a defense with legit NFL talent—were pointed out multiple times this week in conversations with scouts.

When evaluating players, more and more we have to either throw out the statistics or do a ton of homework to give the stats context. When asked about this, one owner told me that good evaluators must "be scouts, not statisticians." It used to be that you could watch three games of a quarterback and evaluate him. Now that job is harder because, as one scout told me, scouts might watch three games but only get a handful of plays to find traits that might translate to the league. This is why we see quarterback "stock" rise every year at the Senior Bowl, combine, pro day and in interviews; because the players are being asked to do only pro-style things.

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35 minutes ago, JiF said:

I’m not 100% sure that all teams operate this way but I’ve met a few scouts and they were regional based and/or covered specific conferences down to the division.

This is what I have seen as well.  When they start narrowing down guys they love, they will have coordinators and position coaches work out/evaluate/interview the prospects.

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