Once
upon a time, there were a handful of left-handed quarterbacks making
their marks on the NFL. Across the league, you had southpaws carving up
defenses and bringing home hardware. Kenny Stabler, Bobby Douglass,
and Jim Zorn were the mainstays of the '70s and '80s. Boomer Esiason,
Steve Young, and Mark Brunell bridged the next generation of lefty
gunslingers. Then came a new batch of first-round picks in Cade McNown,
Michael Vick, Matt Leinart, and Tim Tebow over the next 15 years.
Look around the league this summer and youll see quarterbacks of all shapes and sizes. But youll find only five left-handed quarterbacks with legitimate shots at making their teams final 53-man rosters and that is giving Leinart the benefit of doubt in Buffalo. Vick, who won the starting gig in Philadelphia, is entering his 13th NFL season. After him, the rest of the left-handed quarterback crop left in the league leaves a lot to be desired.
Tim Tebow is in New England, Kellen Moore is in Detroit, and Pat White is in Washington this summer, but all three will serve as emergency third stringers on their respective teams, if they make the final squad at all. Leinart was signed just last week by Buffalo when injuries sidelined the top two guys. Tyler Palko, like Leinart a journeymen veterans who held a roster spot a season ago, was not in NFL training camps this summer. Sean Canfield, a former Drew Brees backup in New Orleans, isnt either.
Its a great question. Whered all the lefties go? asks Brian Martin, owner of the TEST Football Academy, a workout facility that specializes in preparing college quarterbacks for the NFL draft. Martins trained Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco, JaMarcus Russell, and over 200 other high school, college, and professional quarterbacks over the past five years. Off the top of my head, I can think of maybe two of our guys that were left-handed. And both of those kids were more of the athletic, running type of quarterbacks than pure pocket passers.
"Now that you bring it up its pretty bizarre, isnt it? There were a lot more back in the day," says Martin. "Steve Young,How to change your dash lights to Cheap Crafts Products this is how I have done mine. Mark Brunell even guys like Scott Mitchell and Todd Marinovich. Now, there really doesnt seem to be too many left-handed guys out there. It's pretty crazy."
Greg
Cosell, an executive producer at NFL Films in Mount Laurel, N.J., has
seen just about everything in his two decades of watching film with the
company. Chatting at last weeks Eagles-Panthers preseason game, Cosell
was perplexed by the dearth of left-handed quarterbacks in the game
today.
I have no idea. I never thought about it or noticed it, really, he said during halftime at Lincoln Financial Stadium. Are there even any standouts in the college game right now? I dont know if theres really a good reason why there arent.
Of the top 10 ranked college quarterback prospects on prominent NFL draft website NFLDraftScout.com, not a single one of them is left-handed. There wasnt one southpaw quarterback selected in the 2012 or 2013 NFL drafts, either. Twenty-two quarterbacks were taken. None of them were lefties.
Martin, the quarterback guru, suggests that it could be more of an issue of NFL economics than anything else. Its just a theory I'm throwing out there, but maybe its because teams invest so much money into their left tackles now. Aside from quarterback, its arguably the most important position on the field. Right tackles dont tend to be the same caliber of player, says Martin.
If youve got a top 5 pick playing left tackle, and youre paying him top 5 pick money are you necessarily looking to draft a left-handed quarterback? No, you probably want him to protecting that quarterbacks blind side.
Plausible theory? The numbers dont lie. Teams are investing more in left tackles now than ever before. To be certain, there were five left tackles taken in the 2013 NFL drafts first round, alone. Only one quarterback, Buffalos EJ Manuel, was selected in the first 39 picks. The last time a left-handed quarterback went in the first round was Tebow in 2010. Leinart, taken in the 2006 draft, was selected 10th overall. Is the sudden rise in the value of left tackles responsible for the left-handed quarterback becoming a rare species?
Thats just wrong, said a dismissive Simms. If a guy can play quarterback, teams dont care if he throws with his left hand, his right hand, or both hands. Make no mistake teams still build their rosters around the quarterback; not the offensive line. Its the quarterbacks who are signing the $100 million deals this offseason. You need a quarterback to win. You build the offense line around the quarterback, not the other way around.
Former NFL scout John Middlekauff insists theres no prejudice against left-handed quarterbacks in NFL draft war rooms, either. Honestly, it's not even something we pay attention to, says the longtime Eagles scout.
Personally,
I think it's totally random. If Andrew Luck or Colin Kaepernick would
have been born with the same tools, but were left-handed would we even
be having this conversation? I don't think it's something scouts,
general managers, or even coaches think about.
Brock Huard, a former left-handed quarterback who had an 0-4 career record as an NFL starter, laughed at the thought of a potential anti-lefty bias. There was no prejudice against any of us. I dont think so,We have a great selection of blown glass backyard solar landscape lights and Cheap Granite Countertops. at least," says Huard.
Maybe it was a disadvantage being left-handed because it became a bit of a challenge for the traditional right tackle. When I was in, he had to block the blind side. Play-callers, too, had to flip the calls around, adds Huard. Having said that, I don't think Tom Moore, my offensive coordinator in Indianapolis, even knew I was left-handed.
Middlekauff insists that he never dinged a draft prospect for being left-handed. I never even thought about it when evaluating a player. I may make a mark in my report that he's left handed but that would be it, says the scout. It would be a small detail of the final report. Thats it. Are there disadvantages? I think it all depends on the player, and really it has nothing to do with being left handed, Steve Youngs strengths and weaknesses as a player are totally independent from Mike Vick,Need a compatibleCheap Stair & Baluster for your car? yet they are both lefties.
Click on their website http://www.granitetrade.net/!
Look around the league this summer and youll see quarterbacks of all shapes and sizes. But youll find only five left-handed quarterbacks with legitimate shots at making their teams final 53-man rosters and that is giving Leinart the benefit of doubt in Buffalo. Vick, who won the starting gig in Philadelphia, is entering his 13th NFL season. After him, the rest of the left-handed quarterback crop left in the league leaves a lot to be desired.
Tim Tebow is in New England, Kellen Moore is in Detroit, and Pat White is in Washington this summer, but all three will serve as emergency third stringers on their respective teams, if they make the final squad at all. Leinart was signed just last week by Buffalo when injuries sidelined the top two guys. Tyler Palko, like Leinart a journeymen veterans who held a roster spot a season ago, was not in NFL training camps this summer. Sean Canfield, a former Drew Brees backup in New Orleans, isnt either.
Its a great question. Whered all the lefties go? asks Brian Martin, owner of the TEST Football Academy, a workout facility that specializes in preparing college quarterbacks for the NFL draft. Martins trained Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco, JaMarcus Russell, and over 200 other high school, college, and professional quarterbacks over the past five years. Off the top of my head, I can think of maybe two of our guys that were left-handed. And both of those kids were more of the athletic, running type of quarterbacks than pure pocket passers.
"Now that you bring it up its pretty bizarre, isnt it? There were a lot more back in the day," says Martin. "Steve Young,How to change your dash lights to Cheap Crafts Products this is how I have done mine. Mark Brunell even guys like Scott Mitchell and Todd Marinovich. Now, there really doesnt seem to be too many left-handed guys out there. It's pretty crazy."
I have no idea. I never thought about it or noticed it, really, he said during halftime at Lincoln Financial Stadium. Are there even any standouts in the college game right now? I dont know if theres really a good reason why there arent.
Of the top 10 ranked college quarterback prospects on prominent NFL draft website NFLDraftScout.com, not a single one of them is left-handed. There wasnt one southpaw quarterback selected in the 2012 or 2013 NFL drafts, either. Twenty-two quarterbacks were taken. None of them were lefties.
Martin, the quarterback guru, suggests that it could be more of an issue of NFL economics than anything else. Its just a theory I'm throwing out there, but maybe its because teams invest so much money into their left tackles now. Aside from quarterback, its arguably the most important position on the field. Right tackles dont tend to be the same caliber of player, says Martin.
If youve got a top 5 pick playing left tackle, and youre paying him top 5 pick money are you necessarily looking to draft a left-handed quarterback? No, you probably want him to protecting that quarterbacks blind side.
Plausible theory? The numbers dont lie. Teams are investing more in left tackles now than ever before. To be certain, there were five left tackles taken in the 2013 NFL drafts first round, alone. Only one quarterback, Buffalos EJ Manuel, was selected in the first 39 picks. The last time a left-handed quarterback went in the first round was Tebow in 2010. Leinart, taken in the 2006 draft, was selected 10th overall. Is the sudden rise in the value of left tackles responsible for the left-handed quarterback becoming a rare species?
Thats just wrong, said a dismissive Simms. If a guy can play quarterback, teams dont care if he throws with his left hand, his right hand, or both hands. Make no mistake teams still build their rosters around the quarterback; not the offensive line. Its the quarterbacks who are signing the $100 million deals this offseason. You need a quarterback to win. You build the offense line around the quarterback, not the other way around.
Former NFL scout John Middlekauff insists theres no prejudice against left-handed quarterbacks in NFL draft war rooms, either. Honestly, it's not even something we pay attention to, says the longtime Eagles scout.
Brock Huard, a former left-handed quarterback who had an 0-4 career record as an NFL starter, laughed at the thought of a potential anti-lefty bias. There was no prejudice against any of us. I dont think so,We have a great selection of blown glass backyard solar landscape lights and Cheap Granite Countertops. at least," says Huard.
Maybe it was a disadvantage being left-handed because it became a bit of a challenge for the traditional right tackle. When I was in, he had to block the blind side. Play-callers, too, had to flip the calls around, adds Huard. Having said that, I don't think Tom Moore, my offensive coordinator in Indianapolis, even knew I was left-handed.
Middlekauff insists that he never dinged a draft prospect for being left-handed. I never even thought about it when evaluating a player. I may make a mark in my report that he's left handed but that would be it, says the scout. It would be a small detail of the final report. Thats it. Are there disadvantages? I think it all depends on the player, and really it has nothing to do with being left handed, Steve Youngs strengths and weaknesses as a player are totally independent from Mike Vick,Need a compatibleCheap Stair & Baluster for your car? yet they are both lefties.
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