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Christian Hackenberg- Foot Mechanics


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30 minutes ago, 56mehl56 said:

Basically what some on here are assuming is that once the mechanics are flawed they can never get fixed.  That's why QB's hire consultants and teams hire QB coaches to help players fix these type of issues. I along with many here are flummoxed as to exactly what Patullo(the QB coach) did last year with Hack, by many accounts it was completely nothing and even stated that way from Gailey.

I'm only speaking for myself but as a golfer , bowler etc , I know mechanical issues can get fixed through guidance and repetition, sure both sports don't entail 300Lb men trying to take your head off - but the mechanics are all muscle memory types of movements which can be corrected.

While this is all true, I think you're making it out to be much easier than it is.  If it was so easy to just fix mechanics and rely on muscle memory, all of us would be scratch golfers. No 300lb men chasing you down in golf. 

Or a more real life example that I can compare to is surfing.  I surf and I'm good but I'm no pro.  I know pros and surf with them and they often will give me tips.  One of my buddies who is on the qualifying tour has taught me some technique on a long skateboard that is all about correcting my mechanics.  It should translate onto a wave and a surf board ie: where my feet should be, how I need to bend my knees o do certain turns, releasing my hips at the right to maximize power, how to position myself in the barrel, etc. But when all of a sudden when I'm staring down a wave and I have seconds to react...it all goes out the window and I resort back to what I know will work to at least make sure I caught the wave.  Meanwhile, I missed an incredible barrel section because I had a poor take off or I miss timed my turn because of bad foot placement.  

Now I get that pro athletes should be better at this, hence them being a pro...but I still dont think it's that easy.  If it were, every player could be ridden of bad habits. 

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7 hours ago, Charlie Brown said:

Wow !!!

Just great work.  The links listening to Walsh alone would have made it a wonderful piece but the breakdown of Hack was just excellent.  

Thank you.  

Thanks, there are some real good videos out there about QB mechanics.  I always liked the Pennington one because it's informative, even if it's geared towards HS kids.  

This is a Sean Payton one (again HS targeted) but he also mentions the foot facing the receiver.  I don't know much about Bates philosophy, but I'm guessing Morton probably has a similar theory after being with Payton. I'm not sure exactly where he talks about the foot, but it's somewhere near the middle.  There are other videos but a good bunch of them are from people I (nor many people) have heard of, so I stuck with the guys that have name recognition, lol.

 

7 hours ago, Integrity28 said:

Agreed great post, don't let my goofing suggest otherwise.

Thanks. 

7 hours ago, Barkus said:

Excellent write up, better than anything that those hacks manish or cimini produce. 

Thanks.  

7 hours ago, KRL said:

Terrific detailed breakdown!!!  Most people don't realize that QB's "throw with their feet" not their arms

 

Thanks, yeah the foot is extremely important when it comes to accuracy and velocity.  

6 hours ago, Scott Dierking said:

Excellent read with great detailed explanation, but it does not explain anonymous sources, oceans and Franklin. 

Thanks, I really wanted to work something about tides, about how foot is the first wave, hips second, shoulders third but I couldn't make it sensible without pushing it (as I am now, lol) so I scratched it. 

5 hours ago, varjet said:

The second round pick used to pick Hack is "sunk."  The only issue now is whether he can be developed.  

Given all the issues presented, it is my view that he was clearly overdrafted.  But we are where we are.  

History has shown players like Fitz and McCown taking years to develop but have long careers in the NFL.   That could be Hack.  The question is whether there is enough time in his contract for the Jets to make him useful.  

I am not feeling Hack will be ready this year.  I can see next year being much better, so people should not panic and look to cut him this year if that is the case.  The Jets likely pick a QB high next year, and Hack can be our Glennon while that QB learns.  I don't see the Jets picking top 3.  The defense will bail them out.  

It's a tricky slope with him, in terms of over-drafting.  I thought he was an ideal 4th round type prospect, but since he's a QB, he would most likely go a bit higher (I expected 3rd).  However, his upside is of a first round QB, which complicates things because his case is so unusual.  What he needs to be doing is pretty rudimentary, so I can see a team like the Jets thinking we can fix him if we work with him over a season.  After the draft I said, best case scenario was that Hackenberg returns to freshman level skill Hackenberg, and then the Jets can build him up.  If the Jets are strong in their conviction that these issues can be fixed, then I don't know if it's an over-draft.  If we can't fix it, it's a completely wasted pick.  

With Hackenberg, I think we'll see the signs early (training camp/pre-season) if he's fixable because he has to show improvements.  If he can fix his mechanics to be consistent, then I have faith because both his arm and understanding of the game to go through progressions are pretty high level.  He doesn't have issues with loading time, a quirky release, or complete misunderstanding of defenses.  

I want Petty or Hackenberg to start, and I think either we will have enough proof to bypass QB next year, or they will be bad enough to pick high.  I think McCown is the one I worry about costing us because he can be average enough to let the defense bail us out a few times.  

5 hours ago, MDL_JET said:

At some point you have to play the guy. And work off improving from actual game experience. That footwork can go down hill again once defenses are flying around him. 

I do think we're in better hands with Bates and Morton, I'm excited to see how things unfold.

Yeah, it'll be really interesting to see how he does in real game action.  I think a lot of it stems from the lack of an offensive line at Penn State, where he got clobbered.  You see a ton of throws where he's spinning away from contact as he's throwing the ball.  

5 hours ago, Matt39 said:

The issue is he's got tiny hands for a QB. It's why he's so inconsistent throwing the ball. The footwork is fine. 

I don't think it matters as much because he's measured at 9 inches, and we see Derek Carr at like 9.13 or Rivers at 9.25.  It helps obviously if you have larger hands, but I don't think that's the root of his problems.  It might be more of a problem in inclement weather, but we're not even at that stage right now.  

5 hours ago, Matt39 said:

No QB has perfect footwork, the game moves too fast for every throw to be properly executed. Most QB's can compensate with grip. Hack cant. Trying picking up one of the Duke footballs if you're ever in Dicks or Sports Authority- that thing is tough to grip if your hands are smallish. Maybe we can secretly let some air out of it.

Every QB has bad footwork at times, you can pull up Tom Brady videos to see him make throws with bad footwork.  The difference is that, when the pocket is clean, he repeats his delivery extremely well, which helps him stay accurate.  If Hackenberg is going to have perfect footwork, he's not going to improve by 30% or so, but maybe around 8%-10% in his accuracy, which would go a long way.  

4 hours ago, JiF said:

I love these threads.  I really do.  I appreciate the effort and thought that go into them but this one...I'm just having a hard time with.  We're literally discussing a player who was taken in the 2nd round and the fact he doesnt know know you're supposed to step into a throw with your opposite foot pointing in the direction of your target.  

Like, we're actually going to debate whether or not Hack is capable of doing the most basic mechanic in the art of throwing anything and if a professional coaching staff is strong enough to teach this mechanic.  This is actually happening? 

Thanks.  

We have nothing else to discuss, lol.  I shelved the defensive looks one because I have some state exams coming up for my license, so I figured I should concentrate on that.  However, in the mean time it gets boring to read about "Coach Bowles..........ambiguous.........about everything" or the fluff "best shape of his life" pieces from random players.  I really wish these beat reporters would focus more on stuff like mechanics (although Connor Hughes did a good job in his article) and how the receivers are separating from corners or not.  I couldn't care less what offense Morton runs because it doesn't make a difference until I see it in action, not like people here are laying bets on the types of plays that will be called.  

4 hours ago, Augustiniak said:

i have faith in hackenberg.  even that 'errant' throw from OTAs the other day - the wr was not by the sidelines, he made his cut too soon.  put a wr on the sidelines and he does not have to jump that high to get it.

I'm interested in Hackenberg, I'm not sure I'm optimistic.  If he can fix his mechanics, then I'd be optimistic.  I don't like to put too much importance on the completions here because it's very early, and these guys are going right back on vacation after this.  I really doubt the timing is going to be good here.  I see it more like a team organized combine, where I want to hear about Hackenberg's mechanics, accuracy.  To be honest, I'd rather see one of those Pro-Bowl competitions type things where they have to hit moving targets rather than receivers (it's not possible because they have to evaluate other players as well) than see them throw passes to guys who are still staring at the index page of the playbook.  Otherwise, I like to hear which receivers are gaining separation and which corners are locking people down.  

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5 minutes ago, win4ever said:

 

We have nothing else to discuss, lol.  I shelved the defensive looks one because I have some state exams coming up for my license, so I figured I should concentrate on that.  However, in the mean time it gets boring to read about "Coach Bowles..........ambiguous.........about everything" or the fluff "best shape of his life" pieces from random players.  I really wish these beat reporters would focus more on stuff like mechanics (although Connor Hughes did a good job in his article) and how the receivers are separating from corners or not.  I couldn't care less what offense Morton runs because it doesn't make a difference until I see it in action, not like people here are laying bets on the types of plays that will be called.  

 

I know bud.  I love your work.  Truly do.  It's why I always respond and contribute to your threads.  I appreciate the work and the topic.  I guess I'm just depressed we're actually having to discuss it. 

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11 minutes ago, JiF said:

While this is all true, I think you're making it out to be much easier than it is.  If it was so easy to just fix mechanics and rely on muscle memory, all of us would be scratch golfers. No 300lb men chasing you down in golf. 

Or a more real life example that I can compare to is surfing.  I surf and I'm good but I'm no pro.  I know pros and surf with them and they often will give me tips.  One of my buddies who is on the qualifying tour has taught me some technique on a long skateboard that is all about correcting my mechanics.  It should translate onto a wave and a surf board ie: where my feet should be, how I need to bend my knees o do certain turns, releasing my hips at the right to maximize power, how to position myself in the barrel, etc. But when all of a sudden when I'm staring down a wave and I have seconds to react...it all goes out the window and I resort back to what I know will work to at least make sure I caught the wave.  Meanwhile, I missed an incredible barrel section because I had a poor take off or I miss timed my turn because of bad foot placement.  

Now I get that pro athletes should be better at this, hence them being a pro...but I still dont think it's that easy.  If it were, every player could be ridden of bad habits. 

Certainly not making it out to be easy otherwise there would be no need for QB coaches , mechanics experts etc... , in that case a QB would just watch a video and voila he's fixed.

The difference though between a recreational athlete and a professional is the pro has the ability to spend countless time honing his craft while we grab a few minutes/hours here or there.

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5 hours ago, Powpow said:

You'd think he'd have this pointing thing down by now. Point is, his foot mechanics are horrible because he was hit more than a piñata while at Penn State.  2nd coming of Jim Everett.  He'll have to get over it if he's to succeed and show progress this year to prevent Jet brass from going with a QB in next years draft. 

Usually they do, although some still have issues.  You usually see this more with guys that are super athletic like Logan Thomas or Terrelle Pryor.  They get away with it in college, because teams can't defend the pass, the run, and a dynamic QB.  So when they have bad mechanics, it doesn't matter as much because these guys are one on one in coverage or wide open, so they get away with it.   That's why you see someone like Pryor complete 65% of his passes in college with good TD/INT ratio, and have to eventually switch positions because NFL defenses are just better, even in one on one situations.  

In Hackenberg's case, I think he came into college with what you expect out of a HS QB.  Decent mechanics, and potential.  However, his last two years he got hit so much, that he's altering his mechanics to get the ball out much faster.  There are a bunch of throws, where he's literally spinning away from the play as he's throwing it, because he's bracing himself for the hit.  

This is realllllly early for mechanics breakdown, because I would love to see some pre-season action against actual players before writing something.  However, there is nothing else to talk about, and I figured I did some some semblance of improvement in these short videos from practice.  It's not going to matter much, unless these changes show up in real games as well though. 

4 hours ago, KRL said:

Give me in-depth, detailed articles everyday over the agenda driven narratives that are pushed in

the "mainstream" media.  Repeating the same things about the Jets from now until September is

beyond boring:

- They have the worst roster in the league

- They'll be in the top 5 of the 2018 draft

- These are the top QB's in the 2018 draft ...

Blah, blah, blah

The main-stream media couldn't care less about any Jets fans.  They care about controversy because that's what drives sales, clicks, and views.  If you create a thread about "Can you believe what X said?", it's free advertising for them.  Remember last year?  It was we can't let leader Fitz get away?  What the heck are the Jets doing? Do they not realize he's record holder Fitz?  How many of them are backtracking now and bashing the Jets for signing him afterwards?  

The Jets season hinges greatly on Petty/Hackenberg because if they step up, then we'll surprise people this year.  If they don't, we'll be scouting college games, lol.  

4 hours ago, thshadow said:

I suspect his foot placement has typically been fine in practice.  The issue is more along the shell-shocked, David Carr syndrome.  So obviously drilling it in to him in the offseason / practice is the right thing to do.  But we'll just have to wait and see how he does in games...

Yeah, I would love to see him in the pre-season and see if he's made improvements.  I was just glad that it seemed like, at least in practice, that they had him repeating good mechanics.  If it can become muscle memory, then it'd be great.  

4 hours ago, C Mart said:

And they probably will never say it but IMO part of the reason to "redshirt" him last yr was because he got the sh*t kicked out of him the prior two seasons at PSU. It's so clear via the stats. And who knows how many times he was hit while getting the pass off.  It would be surprising if any QBs mechanics didn't get messed up (especially a 19-20 yr old kid)..But 1 credit to him is he got up after each hit and got back into the huddle, knowing he was most likely getting hit again. It's been debated who's fault it is. Sure he deserves some of the blame but just look at the stats.  It's clear as day..

So the Jets, rightfully so, sat him a year and let him gather himself which it turn allows them to break him down and build him back up..

We won't know if his footwork issues have truly been corrected until he gets into the heat of game action.  

Freshman - 12 games - sacked 21 times

Sophomore-13 games - sacked 44 times 

Junior season-13 games - sacked 38 times. 

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/cfb/players.asp?id=229985

His sack numbers are high, but the amount of time teams created pressure while just rushing 4-5 guys is astounding.  I watched a bunch of those draft breakdown videos last year, and he would have people in his face, and still have pretty much every receiver double covered at times.  He developed this bad habit of spinning away from guys constantly and just trying to get the ball out as quick as he can.  

While it's not mentioned in this article, he also had a bad habit of throwing the pass from his back foot, instead of stepping up into the throw.  It was another example of him going into the habit of trying to get away from rushers to the point that he didn't feel comfortable stepping into throws at times.  

4 hours ago, jcass10 said:

This is definitely something to keep an eye out for in the preseason. Love reading things like this, considering I never ever notice with my eye.

How was his footwork as a freshman? 

Great post overall.

Thanks.  

He looked better honestly, not perfect by any stretch, but he was stepping into throws when he had the chance, the sideline throws were more with his foot pointing towards the guy and all.  He regressed afterwards.  He makes some mistakes with his reading of the defense (saw a couple of interceptions where the safety just read his eyes) but I guess that's par for the course as a true freshman.  He showed a good amount of promise (I didn't watch all the games, so I could be wrong) and someone that should have gotten better in the next two years.  

For his sake, he should have transferred after that year.  He goes to a good team with an offensive line, I think he would have been drafted much higher.  

4 hours ago, 56mehl56 said:

I don't think its an issue of him not knowing what to do , its an issue of him re-learning what to do repetitively .  Like a golf slice , we all know how to fix it , its breaking bad habits and learning to do things the correct way that's difficult. He developed really bad habits with his mechanics his final 2 seasons at PSU.

Yeah, it's mostly muscle memory issue with him now, because it's like his body is so used to trying to get the ball out under duress, that he speeds up the process.  It'll be interesting to see his progress this year.  

3 hours ago, bitonti said:

the problem with rebuilding a player's mechanics is that under stress the old habits often emerge

Hack might be able to look a certain way in practice in shorts against no defenders (it should be noted that the "good example" he airmailed the pass and that OOF noise was the ball hitting a camera man) 

but whether he can maintain that rebuilt mechanics under pressure is a whole nothing thing entirely. Once the real pass rush starts what will this player do? Not to say it's impossible just saying it takes longer than a few months to fix years and years of bad habits.  

 

It's true, there could be some growing pains where he reverts back to his old habit (that's assuming he fixed those old habits in the first place) and he will have to stay disciplined.  Hopefully, this offensive line can protect him better than the PSU line, and he can move up in the pocket.  

I think if he can just learn to rely on mechanics with a clear pocket, it'll go a long way.  It sucks that we had to carry Fitz last year, which meant that Hackenberg couldn't get nearly as much reps in practice.  

3 hours ago, Long Island Leprechaun said:

Why this is actually a red herring. Tony Romo's hands, just for the record: 8.88" (which may explain Jessica Simpson, but doesn't explain his career as a QB)

http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2016/3/4/11161580/quarterback-hand-size-a-statistical-cautionary-tale

 

I think Derek Carr has some small hands as well, and he's doing fine.  I think it's more of a problem in inclement weather, when the ball is slippery, and you have contact with less surface area.  

3 hours ago, RoadFan said:

Which is worse?

Tebow in the 1st or Hack in the 2nd?

Sad that professional scouts drafted these two very early to play QB in the NFL.  smh

Tebow in the first, and it's not even close.  

2 hours ago, RoadFan said:

Oh yeah... clearly the idea that the Jets have one of the worst rosters in the league is just agenda-driven "fake news." 

Ask yourself how many GMs would trade their current roster for the Jets.  One?  Maybe two?

Even if Hack does improve his mechanics in practice, as soon as he is facing full speed game action and gets walloped a few times by 300 lb men... he will revert right back to his bad habits.  But hey whatever... I probably just have an agenda.  Just find the one station or writer that tells you what you want to hear and stick to them.

 

 

 

 

 

Jets have one of the worst QB situations in the whole league, they do not have one of the worst rosters in the whole league.  Unfortunately, it's a QB based league, and therefore they have one of the worst teams in the league.  The WR core, I can tell you about 10 teams that have worse cores.  The defensive line, I can tell you about 20 teams.  RB duo? Another 10-12 teams.  

There are GMs that would trade for this roster if they could keep their current QB with the roster.  That's pretty much what it boils down to, the team isn't great because the QB situation is bad.  It's the same reason why a team like the Jags lose as well, because their roster is actually pretty good, but the QB is horrible.  

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It's really going to take a turnaround of epic proportions for this kid to become a franchise QB, but I (obviously) really hope he can make it happen.

How many times have we seen teams take a guy who could throw the ball with the best of 'em, only to find out he's an idiot and can't read a defense?  

With Hack, it's supposedly the exact opposite.  The brains are there, but he's gotta work on the physical aspects of his game.

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1 hour ago, JiF said:

While this is all true, I think you're making it out to be much easier than it is.  If it was so easy to just fix mechanics and rely on muscle memory, all of us would be scratch golfers. No 300lb men chasing you down in golf. 

Or a more real life example that I can compare to is surfing.  I surf and I'm good but I'm no pro.  I know pros and surf with them and they often will give me tips.  One of my buddies who is on the qualifying tour has taught me some technique on a long skateboard that is all about correcting my mechanics.  It should translate onto a wave and a surf board ie: where my feet should be, how I need to bend my knees o do certain turns, releasing my hips at the right to maximize power, how to position myself in the barrel, etc. But when all of a sudden when I'm staring down a wave and I have seconds to react...it all goes out the window and I resort back to what I know will work to at least make sure I caught the wave.  Meanwhile, I missed an incredible barrel section because I had a poor take off or I miss timed my turn because of bad foot placement.  

Now I get that pro athletes should be better at this, hence them being a pro...but I still dont think it's that easy.  If it were, every player could be ridden of bad habits. 

All I got from this is that your dude friend taught you to release your hips at the right time to maximize power. 

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2 hours ago, jeremy2020 said:

Let's see what happens when he wears pads, doesn't have a coach right there to tell him what to do and has a defensive line rushing at him.

Yes, it'd be interesting to see how he looks in the pre-season and if these improvements stick.  I think it's important to state again that these are just two passes on the first day of OTA's, but I liked what I saw, so figured I'd write about it.  Also, needed to show what was wrong in the first place to show the difference.  

2 hours ago, Maxman said:

 

Exactly. Sure if there was game film on Hack in the pros this would be the discussion. There isn't. So right now this is what it is. :)

Lol, there is pretty much nothing to talk about with the Jets now.  I think I've watched all the YouTube videos on all the draft picks so far.  

2 hours ago, bLguerriero1 said:

Hack had one of the worst offensive lines in college and took something like over 100 sacks in his career... The kid is gun shy... you can see him not stepping to the target and fading away when pressure is coming or the pocket is collapsing.

Changing his footwork mid-career (O'Brien Pro Style/Franklin Spread) definitely didn't help... but I think he's just more afraid of being hit, even if it's subconsciously... he took a beating and in the heat of the moment you see him revert

 

if he can break the bad habit, he's ridiculously talented and every bit as talented as anyone who's came out or is coming out... but that's a big if, Lord knows David Carr couldn't

Yeah, I think he really went away from contact after his initial season.  They constantly gave up pressure, while not being blitzed, which meant that Hackenberg knew he had short windows to throw to as well.  I think he mentioned at the Gruden camp that in shotgun, he had his lead foot back, which set him in a bad position for quick throws.  He said "the coaches wanted it that way, and I didn't correct them" or something of that ilk.  

Yeah, it's tough to break habits without reps, and last year he got limited amounts of it.  I wish they tagged him with a no contact jersey last year, and just told him to focus on mechanics while people came around him to drive home the point.  

2 hours ago, Tinstar said:

I wonder what Jet fans will say if this kid starts the season, has a 50% completion percentage rate, throws for 3000 yards, with 20TDs and 12 INTs and the Jets win 7 games in the season .

It'd be impressive to get 3000 yards and 20 TDs with 50% completion.  However, it would also need context, such as "Is it a wide open pass happy system?" or "A run first system?". 

2 hours ago, JiF said:

I'd say Hack in the 2nd was worse.  Obviously he could prove that wrong but Tebow was definitely a more sensible pick.  Even as a Florida fan, I knew Tebow would never be an NFL QB but I can remember saying at the time, I wouldnt bet against him because he's just that type of a competitor/Football player.  While flawed, he did leave college as one of the best to ever play, the most efficient passer in SEC history and the first player in the history of the NCAA to run and throw for 20+ TD's in a season.  And for as short as his career was, that ride he took the Broncos on was wild...all those comebacks in dramatic fashion, his all or nothing play, the playoff win vs. the Steelers.  Hack is going to be very fortunate to have that much success in the NFL. 

 

I think Tebow was worse, by far.  

Tebow thrived in a college system because he was a great runner for a QB.  He had the size and was hard to bring down.  I think I mentioned it when talking about Gailey, in that, the whole point of a spread system is to spread you horizontally, so you are weak vertically.  This meant that, when teams had to defend the pass, they were weak against the run.  And like in most spread systems, they would send the RB out wide to take away a LB, or run a read option and it's deadly in college.  Meyer works best with mobile QBs, be it Smith, Tebow. Miller, or Barret.  The system is dependent on the QB being able to move efficiently, which causes havoc everywhere else.  Those teams were also loaded I believe, I know his junior season, he had Chris Rainey, Jeff Demps, Percy Harvin, Aaron Hernandez, Louis Murphy, Riley Cooper, and old favorite David Nelson.  For a college team, that is just loaded in talent.  So if teams decided to stop the run, he could throw it up to one of his players and have relative faith that they would come down with it.  If teams tried to stop the pass, then running lanes abound.  

There were a few problems with Tebow.  One was that, he's left handed, which screws up protection for all the teams, because in most cases, your LT is your best offensive lineman, and this flips the script (it's also the same reason why it was stupid to bring in Vick as the backup to Geno).  Second, the ball spins the opposite way, so it's a major adjustment for the receivers.  So if a receiver is used to having the ball move a certain way from point A to B, he has to readjust his expectations while playing.  It's not major, but a minor miscalculation leads to wrong routes.  Third, he had a long windup, which meant that it took him longer to go from processing a play to executing a play, thus allowing for an extra fraction of a second for the defense to recover.  His arm was relatively weak, which took away the deep pass consistency, so he faces the same problem as Fitzpatrick.  NFL defenses moved up in the box against him, which negated the special value of his running to merely good, and that killed his value.  Also, from back then, he came from a quick read offense but it wasn't looked down upon as much as it is now.  He didn't have to go through progressions, but just read one side of the field, much like say Geno Smith or Cardale Jones.  

With Hackenberg, I think the issues are far more fixable, because he has the arm strength and experience with going through progressions.  His biggest issue is fixing his mechanics, but that is more do-able than fixing mechanics (speeding up Tebow's motion), getting better at progressions (Helping Tebow read the whole field), and increasing arm strength (Helping Tebow throw the ball down the field more consistently).  If we can fix one issue with Hackenberg, I think we can tap into his potential, where it was at least three problems with Tebow.  

2 hours ago, Matt39 said:

Tebow won a million games in college, scored a million touchdowns and sported a 65+ completion percentage. 

Much better system to play in, and an absolutely loaded team for college football.  

2 hours ago, Scottsdalejet said:

Right on... Please the guy has been playing QB his entire adult life and has a problem with his footwork facing the target so why does anyone think that he will not revert back to the open hip arm thrower he was in College when a 300 lb Lineman is in his face, or a LB for that matter.  Like a boxer who has poor defensive mechanics and is trained to be better always reverts back to his tendencies when he gets hit and hurt! 

best case scenario is I am wrong and Petty is better than both.... but that is a stretch too!

PS.  Thanks for the analysis it was right on.

He could very well return back to his old habits, I (nor anyone else) can really predict it at this point.  I just wanted to show the issues that faced him in college, and what I saw from the two short videos of him completing passes, which showed that he improved.  I don't think we can say anything until the games start, but we're going to be waiting for a long time for that to happen.  

1 hour ago, CanadienJetsFan said:

It won't come down to his foot mechanics. It'll come down to the space between his ears. If he's another interception machine, he will be added to the long list of QBs that simply couldn't "hack" it, pardon the pun.

I think his ability to process the defense is pretty good, but it's his mechanics that are the issue.  I do think it's a brain issue at times, where he just speeds up everything and his mechanics go out the window.  

1 hour ago, JoJoTownsell1 said:

You never watched tebow in college if you think he was a better QB prospect than Hackenburg or even Petty..tebow had zero arm strength, awful mechanics and wasn't even that fast for a mobile QB. He was just tebow and was able to out will inferior college talent with gimmick plays. It's the same reason the Mets are giving him a chance.

That doesn't make the hack pick look good, but it's comical to think anyone ever thought tebow could evolve into an NFL QB.

Yeah, Tebow benefited a ton from playing in the system.  I think it's pretty evident that a mobile QB needs to have a very strong deep ball arm, or be pinpoint accurate to really succeed, and Tebow had neither of those.  We see guys like Vick, Cam, McNabb, Tyrod, Cullpepper, and for a bit RGIII and Kapernick thrive because they could throw the deep pass.  Or guys like Alex Smith, Mariota or Wilson thrive because they have great accuracy. 

1 hour ago, 56mehl56 said:

Basically what some on here are assuming is that once the mechanics are flawed they can never get fixed.  That's why QB's hire consultants and teams hire QB coaches to help players fix these type of issues. I along with many here are flummoxed as to exactly what Patullo(the QB coach) did last year with Hack, by many accounts it was completely nothing and even stated that way from Gailey.

I'm only speaking for myself but as a golfer , bowler etc , I know mechanical issues can get fixed through guidance and repetition, sure both sports don't entail 300Lb men trying to take your head off - but the mechanics are all muscle memory types of movements which can be corrected.

It's hard to change mechanics, but it can be done, you just have to get repetition to make it muscle memory.  I see Peyton Manning always practicing plays because he wants it to be muscle memory rather than thinking out there.  I remember one story a few years ago (about some receiver) about how Peyton always practices the hand-off, and then do a fake throw afterwards because he didn't want to give the defense any advantages by his body motion.  I have no idea why we kept Fitz after benching him the first time last year.  His contract was structured to mean that he was gone after this year, so why keep him on the roster?  Especially after he rips the head coach for benching him.  The team wasn't going anywhere.  Why not release Fitz, IR Geno, and sign some old scrub as injury protection and put him as the 3rd team guy.  Then we have Hackenberg as the 2nd string in practice, but old scrub gets to play ahead of him in case of injury, and we actually accomplish something.  

1 hour ago, whodeawhodat said:

Great write up but.... it can easily be rebutted by a wise sage:

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth"

~Michael Gerard Tyson

 

Thanks.  

Lol, yeah very early in the process.  

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1 hour ago, JiF said:

While this is all true, I think you're making it out to be much easier than it is.  If it was so easy to just fix mechanics and rely on muscle memory, all of us would be scratch golfers. No 300lb men chasing you down in golf. 

Or a more real life example that I can compare to is surfing.  I surf and I'm good but I'm no pro.  I know pros and surf with them and they often will give me tips.  One of my buddies who is on the qualifying tour has taught me some technique on a long skateboard that is all about correcting my mechanics.  It should translate onto a wave and a surf board ie: where my feet should be, how I need to bend my knees o do certain turns, releasing my hips at the right to maximize power, how to position myself in the barrel, etc. But when all of a sudden when I'm staring down a wave and I have seconds to react...it all goes out the window and I resort back to what I know will work to at least make sure I caught the wave.  Meanwhile, I missed an incredible barrel section because I had a poor take off or I miss timed my turn because of bad foot placement.  

Now I get that pro athletes should be better at this, hence them being a pro...but I still dont think it's that easy.  If it were, every player could be ridden of bad habits. 

I think it's different because mostly these folks have pretty much nothing else to do.  I was following some "path to the draft" kind of video a year or so ago for some guy I've never heard of.  What does he do all day?  Wakes up, plans out his meals into like 8 different boxes, works out for like 3 hours, and then practices with some other guys, and calls it a day.  Pretty much doesn't do anything else, other than hang out with his girlfriend and it was kinda obvious the TV show wanted her there for some sex appeal.  

Personally, I can relate because when I was growing up, I was a huge baseball fan.  Now, I wasn't good enough to compete or actually get a college scholarship or anything, but among my friends, I was a pretty good pitcher.  I could throw a good fastball and slider, and that was it.  Unfortunately, I got killed by guys batting left handed because I couldn't throw the slider anywhere but the dirt so they would just sit on the fastball (and this is like 70s fastball, so not exactly Nolan Ryan here) so I decided to learn to switch pitch (before I ever heard of Pat Vendette) because I could throw almost as fast with my left hand.  I could throw the fastball, but for the life of me, I couldn't throw any other pitch.  I knew the mechanics of the slider, and in practice, I would get one right, out of about five, but as soon as someone stood in the box, it was just a slow pitch fastball that kept spinning.  

I think with Hackenberg, it's a bit different mainly because these mechanics are usually universal.  It's taught from pretty much HS on ward, so I think it's more about just relearning it from him.  

1 hour ago, JiF said:

I know bud.  I love your work.  Truly do.  It's why I always respond and contribute to your threads.  I appreciate the work and the topic.  I guess I'm just depressed we're actually having to discuss it. 

Thanks man, I appreciate it.  

It is depressing, honestly.  It's quite depressing to be a Jets fan at times, because people almost look at you with pity when you tell them.  I told a Titans fan a few weeks ago, that I follow the Jets and he gave the "aww" look.  I was like "WTF?" 

1 hour ago, 56mehl56 said:

Certainly not making it out to be easy otherwise there would be no need for QB coaches , mechanics experts etc... , in that case a QB would just watch a video and voila he's fixed.

The difference though between a recreational athlete and a professional is the pro has the ability to spend countless time honing his craft while we grab a few minutes/hours here or there.

Yeah, these guys have so much time and money invested in him, that some coach will be working with him consistently to get it right.  It's just a matter of enough repetition because he went two years with the wrong mechanics, so he has to work out the kinks. 

14 minutes ago, AFJF said:

It's really going to take a turnaround of epic proportions for this kid to become a franchise QB, but I (obviously) really hope he can make it happen.

How many times have we seen teams take a guy who could throw the ball with the best of 'em, only to find out he's an idiot and can't read a defense?  

With Hack, it's supposedly the exact opposite.  The brains are there, but he's gotta work on the physical aspects of his game.

Yeah, I really do hope he turns it around.  He shows so much potential, if he could just fix his mechanics.  I think he's different than some of the other projects because it's not quite as extensive in terms of relearning the mechanics.  A lot of project guys have long windups (similar to pitchers) to generate velocity (or they can't read defenses) but in Hackenberg's case, it's really more about the foot.  

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A couple of things, it says "Foot Mechanics" and not feet mechanics because I'm really only focusing in on the lead foot.  The back foot isn't of concern right now for this article.  

Also, I put this video in the draft section, but it's a video of Brett Rypien vs BSU.  Forget the game and results, but watch his foot on these passes.  You will notice that this is what good mechanics look like in college.  

 

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1 hour ago, win4ever said:

It's true, there could be some growing pains where he reverts back to his old habit (that's assuming he fixed those old habits in the first place) and he will have to stay disciplined.  Hopefully, this offensive line can protect him better than the PSU line, and he can move up in the pocket.  

 

The Jets offensive line isn't good. Or even average compared to others around the league.  but even if it was, Hackenberg gets 3 seconds in the NFL to make a decision. Truly less than that if we factor in the late blocking changes needed to avoid 6 on 5 situations or worse. Put it another way in an obvious passing situation the Cowboys best line in football doesn't give Dak Prescott that much more time than McCown/Petty/Hack gets behind the Jets line. Most of the time they each get 3 seconds before something has to happen. The reason why finding a QB is so hard is those 3 seconds. 

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2 hours ago, JiF said:

While this is all true, I think you're making it out to be much easier than it is.  If it was so easy to just fix mechanics and rely on muscle memory, all of us would be scratch golfers. No 300lb men chasing you down in golf. 

Or a more real life example that I can compare to is surfing.  I surf and I'm good but I'm no pro.  I know pros and surf with them and they often will give me tips.  One of my buddies who is on the qualifying tour has taught me some technique on a long skateboard that is all about correcting my mechanics.  It should translate onto a wave and a surf board ie: where my feet should be, how I need to bend my knees o do certain turns, releasing my hips at the right to maximize power, how to position myself in the barrel, etc. But when all of a sudden when I'm staring down a wave and I have seconds to react...it all goes out the window and I resort back to what I know will work to at least make sure I caught the wave.  Meanwhile, I missed an incredible barrel section because I had a poor take off or I miss timed my turn because of bad foot placement.  

Now I get that pro athletes should be better at this, hence them being a pro...but I still dont think it's that easy.  If it were, every player could be ridden of bad habits. 

If you had a full time coach and a wave pool you could probably improve quite a bit. It's about putting in thousands of hours to retrain your muscles, not tens of hours.

Think of it as learning a new language. If you didn't have any native speakers to talk to you will never be very fluent, but if you have only native speakers to talk to you would, very quickly.

It all depends on how determined Hack is to change, and how focused his coaches are. He's not going to get anywhere unless he's relentless. 

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Just now, NYs Stepchild said:

If you had a full time coach and a wave pool you could probably improve quite a bit. It's about putting in thousands of hours to retrain your muscles, not tens of hours.

Think of it as learning a new language. If you didn't have any native speakers to talk to you will never be very fluent, but if you have only native speakers to talk to you would, very quickly.

It all depends on how determined Hack is to change, and how focused his coaches are. He's not going to get anywhere unless he's relentless. 

Exactly.

Baseball pitchers do this sort of thing all the time. It is re-traini9ng muscles and creating muscle memory, so that you don't think about it. It happens naturally.

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I hope Hack gets it right. Hope he has good success this year. Hope we already have our franchise QB and put the Suck for Sammers to rest. I want the Jets to win. I hate losing. 

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6 hours ago, Tinstar said:

I wonder what Jet fans will say if this kid starts the season, has a 50% completion percentage rate, throws for 3000 yards, with 20TDs and 12 INTs and the Jets win 7 games in the season .

They'll say that they have one of the worst QBs in the league and that'd be right.

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13 hours ago, JetNation said:

Hackenberg-mechanics-1.gif?fit=636%2C356

The possible rise or fall of Christian Hackenberg is possibly the biggest subplot of the 2017 season for the New York Jets.   The team does not have a franchise QB right now, and this is a make or break year for both Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg.  Fans are thrilled about the possibility of drafting a Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, or Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL draft, and if the season goes according to pundits, the Jets will be in prime position to pick one of them.   However, the one big caveat in the situation is the progression of Christian Hackenberg, especially with his accuracy.  Hackenberg showed mental aptitude by picking up a pro-style offense as a freshman at Penn State University, and he’s always had a strong arm.  Unfortunately, his mechanics are atrocious at times, causing too many errant throws.  If Hackenberg improves on mechanics, his accuracy will naturally improve, which should help him live up to his potential.  To understand what he might be doing right at practice this year, we first have to understand the problem at hand.  So let’s examine the issues with his foot placement.

1) Hackenberg-mechanics-1.gif?resize=636%2C

This play is from last year’s pre-season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Notice the foot placement of Hackenberg prior to this throw, as his it’s not inline with the target at all.  He opens up his hips far too wide, which causes his body to naturally yank the ball towards where his foot is pointing towards.   The throw sails wide of the receiver, and it’s an incomplete pass.

2) Hackenberg-mechanics-2.gif?resize=636%2C

Same game, similar problem.  On this play, Hackenberg doesn’t step into the throw, completely opens up his hips, which causes this ball to be an “all-arm” throw with the ball again showing tendency to move towards where his legs are pointed.  This is a bad throwing motion because it’s not inducive to accuracy, nor does it allow you to achieve maximum velocity.  The ball sails wide, and is slow enough for the CB to undercut the throw, but the inaccurate pass prevents an interception.

3) Hackenberg-mechanics-3.gif?resize=636%2C

Do you see a pattern?  Same hips wide open, inaccurate pass.  On this play the ball sails too high, and goes for an incomplete pass because it’s another “all-arm” throw.

4) Hackenberg-mechanics-4.gif?resize=851%2C

This goes back to college as well, and notice how he does not step into this throw at all, shows “lazy feet” and has the ball sail.

5) Hackenberg-mechanics-5.gif?resize=851%2C

On this throw, notice where the feet is pointed, as this is the opposite of the other throws that we have seen.  He doesn’t follow through with his foot, which causes his hips to be closed, which causes another “all-arm” throw.  His feet is pointed towards the sideline, and the ball sails towards the sideline.  He has a partial excuse here since the rusher is coming towards him, but the point of this exercise to show the effects of foot mechanics on ball placement.

6) Hackenberg-mechanics-6.gif?resize=851%2C

Open hips, all arm throw, and can’t achieve accuracy or velocity again.  Hackenberg had time to step into this throw, but his mechanics under duress evades him, and he throws this ball with horrible foot placement.  The throw naturally is inaccurate and doesn’t even reach the receiver.

7) Hackenberg-mechanics-7.gif?resize=851%2C

This one is a bit harder to see, but he’s actually doing the throw across hips again.  The lead foot isn’t pointing towards the receiver, it’s towards the sideline, and the ball goes towards the sideline.

Now, that you have seen those mechanical issues, what is the solution?  When a QB throws a pass, the lead foot needs to be pointed towards the receiver (or a couple of inches to the left- if you are a right handed QB) and then let your hips be followed by your shoulder.  It’s the ideal throwing motion.

Joe-Montana-mechanics-1.gif?resize=851%2

Here we have Joe Montana explain the throwing motion, with how feet needs to be pointed towards the target, and to follow through.  It’s a short video, and click here for the link.   It’s a short video about QB mechanics, with foot and hip movements.

Pennington-mechanics-1.gif?resize=851%2C

This is part of a long series of videos by Chad Pennington, where he focuses in on QB mechanics.  He mentions the same theory of pointing your foot towards your target (he allows for a couple of inches to the left) and then letting your hips be chased by your shoulder, thus taking full advantage of your potential energy.  Click here for the video.

Jim-Harbough-mechanics-1.gif?resize=851%

Here is a long video by Jim Harbaugh on QB mechanics and other stuff at a coaches camp.  The part about pointing your foot towards the target is near the 32 minute mark of the video, and click here for the link.  It’s a good watch, although he does use a bit of NSFW language during the video.

There are countless other videos out there expressing the same idea, but these three folks are pretty famous around these parts and lauded for their attention to detail.   So how has Christian Hackenberg looked so far this year?

These two videos are from one of the best beat writers for the Jets in Connor Hughes, and his Instagram page, click here for the link.

Connor-Hughes-1.gif?resize=600%2C605

What do you notice on this play?  Foot placed directly at the receiver, the shoulders are following the hips and the throw is on point.  Hackenberg isn’t letting his hips fly open on this play, and causing his arm to do all the work.

Connor-Hughes-2.gif?resize=600%2C335

This play goes for an incomplete pass, but again Hackenberg shows improved mechanics with the foot slightly to the left of the receiver (if not directly at him) and the ball is accurate in terms of horizontal accuracy.  Unfortunately, the vertical accuracy is a bit off, although it seems as if it might have been a miscommunication about the timing of the play since it’s early in training camp.

Both of these two examples seem to show improved mechanics from Hackenberg.  However, it is EXTREMELY early in the process to proclaim anything, since these are just two examples in practice.  The sample size is very much limited, so this is not concrete proof that his mechanics have improved.  However, this is the best thing to come out of these practices this year because these early practices are exceedingly hard to gauge QB performance, since QB play relies heavily on timing.   In these two examples, Hackenberg has seemed to acknowledge the issues facing his foot placement, which should help his accuracy.

While this could be construed as making excuses for Hackenberg, part of his mechanical issues stem from the fact that he had a terrible offensive line in college.  With rushers consistently in his face, it seems as if he started to rush his throws, causing inaccurate throws.  For baseball fans, it’s similar to how an infielder handles a ground ball for a fast runner, rather than a slow runner.  You will see them compromise on mechanics to speed up the process, which leads to an uptick in errant throws.  It’s a similar theory with Hackenberg (or any QB behind a bad offensive line), who might have felt as if he needed to hurry up his motion to avoid getting hit.

It’s also important to remember that these are ideal condition mechanics.  If there is a rusher in the face of a passer, and the ball just needs to get out, it’s normal to see any QB out there abandon his mechanics to avoid the sack.  Hackenberg, unfortunately, had a habit of abandoning his mechanics far too often when he had space to operate.  So it’s important to see Hackenberg’s mechanics in game type situations as well to see if the adjustments are sticking under pressure.

Hackenberg was widely panned during the draft process because of his accuracy issues.  If he was accurate at Penn State, then he’s a first round QB easily in the draft.  Since he wasn’t an accurate QB, many people predicted him to fall to the third or fourth round (if not worse).  The Jets seemed to pick him high with the belief that his issues are mechanical, and therefore can be corrected.  It’s a gamble for sure, but if they can fix his accuracy issues, then fans won’t be talking about the curse of the second round pick for a long time.

Hackenberg’s progress is basically the story of the off-season for the Jets (be it positive or negative) so it will be interesting to see if the mechanical changes are permanent, or just the result of a short sample size.  We ask anyone covering the team with access to the practices to please cover the mechanical improvement (or stagnation) from Hackenberg and the accuracy of his passes.

Forum Questions:

A) How confident are you in the new coaching staff to preach good mechanics to Hackenberg?

B) What is your player comparison for Hackenberg as the upside or best case scenario?

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okay, so we see a lot of hack 2 and 3 years ago.  what about now?  the one video is overthrowing a guy who has serious alligator arms.  i guess it's nice to see anything about a possible jet qb for 2017 but at the same time wake me when there's something more substantial.  i want to hear hack being the no. 1 or not.

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7 hours ago, RoadFan said:

Oh yeah... clearly the idea that the Jets have one of the worst rosters in the league is just agenda-driven "fake news." 

Ask yourself how many GMs would trade their current roster for the Jets.  One?  Maybe two?

Even if Hack does improve his mechanics in practice, as soon as he is facing full speed game action and gets walloped a few times by 300 lb men... he will revert right back to his bad habits.  But hey whatever... I probably just have an agenda.  Just find the one station or writer that tells you what you want to hear and stick to them.

 

 

 

 

 

This is probably true, but it IS possible to fix this problem- even under duress. The key is to practice the correct mechanics so many times that it becomes your new habit.

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The Jets offensive line isn't good. Or even average compared to others around the league.  but even if it was, Hackenberg gets 3 seconds in the NFL to make a decision. Truly less than that if we factor in the late blocking changes needed to avoid 6 on 5 situations or worse. Put it another way in an obvious passing situation the Cowboys best line in football doesn't give Dak Prescott that much more time than McCown/Petty/Hack gets behind the Jets line. Most of the time they each get 3 seconds before something has to happen. The reason why finding a QB is so hard is those 3 seconds. 


I don't think Hackenberg got those three seconds with PSU like many college QBs. It wasn't even an issue with pressure, it's how easily the pressure got there. Teams would rush 4, and consistently get quick pressure, which meant the rest of the defense could match up better down the field. If they were getting pressure by blitzing, then they usually have hot reads, but I don't think that was the case.

Unfortunately, they won't release the All 22 tapes for the game.
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If you had a full time coach and a wave pool you could probably improve quite a bit. It's about putting in thousands of hours to retrain your muscles, not tens of hours.
Think of it as learning a new language. If you didn't have any native speakers to talk to you will never be very fluent, but if you have only native speakers to talk to you would, very quickly.
It all depends on how determined Hack is to change, and how focused his coaches are. He's not going to get anywhere unless he's relentless. 


I agree, it takes a ton of time but new mechanics are possible, especially if it doesn't require total deconstruction of your current mechanics.

However, you don't see many success stories because the situation is unique. Usually the ones that need new mechanics are the raw athlete QBs that have all the physical tools but have a slow delivery and can't read defenses well because they played in a spread system in college. When you speed up a delivery, you have to reconstruct the entire process, while still teaching them to react to new defenses.
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okay, so we see a lot of hack 2 and 3 years ago.  what about now?  the one video is overthrowing a guy who has serious alligator arms.  i guess it's nice to see anything about a possible jet qb for 2017 but at the same time wake me when there's something more substantial.  i want to hear hack being the no. 1 or not.


Right now, there is nothing substantial about anyone because media access is limited and I don't really trust fluff pieces from teammates that gush about how good someone is. We won't know until the pre-season starts.


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Exactly.
Baseball pitchers do this sort of thing all the time. It is re-traini9ng muscles and creating muscle memory, so that you don't think about it. It happens naturally.


I agree, actually in baseball we see it more from hitters making adjustments. Plenty of times, you see lead foot changes, crouches, etc.

I think Joey Bautista is one famous one, where he went from a JAG to a star after he made adjustments. For these hitters, they need the muscle memory so when they see a pitch, can just follow through without thinking.
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7 hours ago, Jet Blast said:

This is probably true, but it IS possible to fix this problem- even under duress. The key is to practice the correct mechanics so many times that it becomes your new habit.

Anybody that plays golf knows how difficult it is, and the amount of practice required to change your swing mechanics.   And then, even more difficult for the new swing to carry over on the course.  And that is without getting hit like a truck by huge men.

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6 hours ago, win4ever said:

 


I agree, it takes a ton of time but new mechanics are possible, especially if it doesn't require total deconstruction of your current mechanics.

However, you don't see many success stories because the situation is unique. Usually the ones that need new mechanics are the raw athlete QBs that have all the physical tools but have a slow delivery and can't read defenses well because they played in a spread system in college. When you speed up a delivery, you have to reconstruct the entire process, while still teaching them to react to new defenses.

 

You can't teach them to change their muscle memory while also teaching them to react to anything else. It must be done in a vacuum, and it needs to be consistent or it's just not going to work...which is why it usually doesn't work. 

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1 hour ago, RoadFan said:

Anybody that plays golf knows how difficult it is, and the amount of practice required to change your swing mechanics.   And then, even more difficult for the new swing to carry over on the course.  And that is without getting hit like a truck by huge men.

Exactly why you cannot bring your new swing to the course until it has become your swing instead of your "New" swing. Once you get on the course with your old swing you will have to begin all over again. Patience, effort, singularity, and consistency are the keys. I still close my club face instead of keeping my core straight because I don't play enough to change. By the time I get my swing down it will be winter again, and I don't want to look special all summer. 

It's not nearly as radical a change, but I changed my pool bridge from bare knuckles to a loop and it took me 3 weeks many hours a day until it started to pay off, and over a year before it was second nature. My consistency improved by about 50% in the end though.  

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10 hours ago, win4ever said:

 


I don't think Hackenberg got those three seconds with PSU like many college QBs. It wasn't even an issue with pressure, it's how easily the pressure got there. Teams would rush 4, and consistently get quick pressure, which meant the rest of the defense could match up better down the field. If they were getting pressure by blitzing, then they usually have hot reads, but I don't think that was the case.

Unfortunately, they won't release the All 22 tapes for the game.

 

Many still don't fully appreciate the impact of all those scholarships PSU was not allowed to offer. Hack was broken. That excuse isn't going to help the Jets win games, but if he has improved his mechanics and the O-line improves he could excel. He has  the arm strength and overall ability. I will believe it when I see it, but it's just about the only hope we have for this season. 

Some are making it seem as if Hack is the first QB to work on his mechanics after College. I am sure many QBs mechanics are different from when they were in college. Even the best QBs have QB coaches that work on mechanics and  tweak things here and there. 

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3 hours ago, NYs Stepchild said:

Exactly why you cannot bring your new swing to the course until it has become your swing instead of your "New" swing. Once you get on the course with your old swing you will have to begin all over again. Patience, effort, singularity, and consistency are the keys. I still close my club face instead of keeping my core straight because I don't play enough to change. By the time I get my swing down it will be winter again, and I don't want to look special all summer. 

It's not nearly as radical a change, but I changed my pool bridge from bare knuckles to a loop and it took me 3 weeks many hours a day until it started to pay off, and over a year before it was second nature. My consistency improved by about 50% in the end though.  

You make my point better than I did. I was trying to say that it is possible, but only if it becomes second nature. For that to occur, it takes repetition, time and effort.

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12 hours ago, Jet Blast said:

This is probably true, but it IS possible to fix this problem- even under duress. The key is to practice the correct mechanics so many times that it becomes your new habit.

Great point. I know there are some military, law enforcement, and some trained fighters on this site and when the sh*t hits the fan you fight how you were trained, it just happens. It's all about when Hack is under pressure what will he revert back too. I am not saying  he can not be re trained but it takes a lot of reps and real life scenarios to make this transformation a success or a failure. Either you have it or you don't, and when a DL is bearing down on him then we can see where his mechanics are. I wish him the best.

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