Originally posted by NYniner85:
Originally posted by 5_Golden_Rings:
There are literally HUNDREDS of guys who never got much better at these things. Thousands probably. We have three on our team the last few years. We also had several others: Kaepernick, Gabbert, Barkley, Hoyer, Shaun, Troy Smith, David Carr, and on and on. The only one of our QBs the last 15 years that actually got appreciably better at the mental side of the game is Smith -- and he was TERRIBLE at it before then, so it's not like he became elite.
And there's SO MUCH context to every single case...you're throwing it all into one bag, which is silly.
IF you don't have the right coaching staff or roster you're f**ked. IF you're lazy and can't put the time in your f**ked. IF you get thrown out there too quickly and it's overwhelming/you're not prepared...you're f**ked.
I can point out HUNDREDS of guys coming out of college that were regarded as smart and could read coverages that failed all the same.
It is a learned trait, you're not born with the god given ability to read coverages lol. YOU LEARN THAT. Thinking a guy is a finished product regarding X's and O's At 20-22 is absurd.
That's because it's not about being smart or reading coverages. It's about visual instinct.
Mahomes per his own admission couldn't really read coverages coming out, but he still had this trait I'm talking about.
Yeah, I think there's a disconnect about what you
believe I'm talking about and what I'm
actually talking about. I'll try to clarify.
.
.
.
You know how Russell Wilson has a magical "feel" for when someone is about to grab him? That's not learned. It's inherent instinct. Something similar applies to when I say "vision" and "processing speed." I probably need to change my terms, because it seems they have variable meaning.
I am referring to a guy who has a visual instinct, where he can --
subconsciously -- take in a bunch of spatial information, his brain (behind the scenes) calculating trajectories and motions.
Now, it is true that sometimes this can be learned to an extent. For example, it's not impossible for you to learn how to juggle (which is something similar). But certain guys have a tremendous natural advantage at that, and I believe when a guy struggles at it, it will often times show up in him, for example, failing to see wide open hot routes on a regular basis.
Anyway, I think that's a good analogy of what I'm trying to say here. Think about juggling. That frame of mind. You can't just look at one ball. If you do, you'll drop them all. If you've ever juggled before, you know exactly the state of mind that takes. It is NOT about intelligence at all. It's related to spatial awareness. This isn't the same thing as what I'm talking about with quarterbacks, but it's similar. It's a similar state of mind, and a similar subconscious awareness. I don't know what the technical term is for that in football circles, but I do know that it comes easy for some guys and very hard for others.
That said, we don't know if Lance is failing to see open guys because he lacks that, or if it's just because he loves the long ball too much. A lot of the times when he doesn't see that route, he's taking a shot. So he might just need to be reigned in, like Brett Favre was. I'd say that's less likely the case with Fields because it appears sometimes he just doesn't realize a blitz is coming (which I might add I was skeptical of until I was convinced by gifs and links from guys here on this forum, before some ignorant mor0n calls me a racist again).
[ Edited by 5_Golden_Rings on Apr 2, 2021 at 8:43 AM ]
