ReInventing the QB Position

Monday night Michael Vick did something that Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, or Tom Brady have never done but more importantly not built to do. He not only threw for a prolific four touchdowns but also rushed for two in one game. What most of the media has been focusing on are the pure numbers that he is putting up but what is getting lost is the fact that he is reinventing the quarterback position in the NFL.

In the modern day NFL, the quarterback position’s most notable function is to throw the ball to other players down the field. This has not always been the case. In the days of the single wing, the quarterback was traditionally a much more physical runner. As of late, we have seen a small resurgence of the single wing in a formation known as the wildcat that a handful of teams now run as a change up play or a gadget to cause confusion to defenses. However, with the exception of Miami, it is not a major part of anyone’s offense. While Philadelphia takes certain concepts out of the wildcat, they are running something very different.

At six feet tall and two hundred fifteen pounds, Michael Vick is one of the more physical quarterbacks in the NFL. But the two things that separate him are his arm strength and his speed. While being a good left-handed quarterback in the NFL isn’t unheard of, what is more unusual is the laser like almost side arm that Vick uses to get the ball down the field. This has allowed him to be the most accurate quarterback in the NFL. What is much more impressive is the fact that he hasn’t thrown a single interception all year. The key to Philadelphia’s offense though is the reverse logic of being more effective the farther back from the line of scrimmage the play is designed to get.

Most effective plays in the NFL are specifically choreographed to give the quarterback a fixed amount of time in the pocket. A typical play might entail a five step drop in the pocket with three quick reads and if there is no one open, throw the ball away before the quarterback gets sacked. With a player like Vick, the traditional pocket rules don’t apply. Three, five, seven step drops aren’t necessary with his ability to scramble. The first evolution out of this new offense is to roll Vick to the left while his receivers get down the field. If the pocket breaks down and there is a free lane, off he goes. I suspect we will start to see variations of this in the coming weeks involving the right side and getting farther back from the line of scrimmage. Will the Giants have an answer? We shall see.