Discussion about this post

User's avatar
G Lee's avatar

Thanks Mark! This is great.

Expand full comment
Ray's avatar

Hey Mark...tks for posting. I'm really interested in your perspective - and maybe it comes in the form of a post versus a reply here - but I came across this article that really casts doubt on Sam's potential to be "the answer" for the Commanders at the QB position.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/scouts_view_is_sam_howell_the_answer_at_qb_for_commanders/s1_13132_39612437

Because it comes from someone with a talent evaluation background and/or front office experience, I wanted to get your sense of the accuracy of the criticism. As an effective "rookie" I get that some of Sam's struggles should largely be expected. The question for me is whether there are additional holes in his game that other young QBs with similar pro experience levels aren't contending with as well.

Beyond what I'd call tepid criticisms of Sam's performance based on his QBR and how he's benefitted "more than most" from YAC, it seems the focus is on how susceptible to the sack Sam's been so far this season, how his timing has been negatively affected by poor footwork, and that he takes far too many risks with the football - dare I say that he's a "gunslinger."

Anyway, this kind of analysis feels a little one-sided, meaning there's very little offered to contrast Sam's performance with other young QBs. For what it's worth, I'd expect a rookie to have a middling QBR and I don't know what to make of a critique that "too many" of his passing yards are coming on YAC... QBs have been getting credit for that for as long as the sport's existed, so how unique is the ratio from Sam's performance this year to others? Is it even worth the time it took for me to type it out? LOL

Anyhow, your thoughts are appreciated...

Expand full comment
3 more comments...

No posts