Scrambling Quarterbacks......

[KensPen]

they seem to be all the rage right now,

and they make for great highlight reel fodder,


but,
bottom line is I would not want one,

They can do great things, and generate great regular season records,
but in the post season,
when they face a strong defense,
they crumble.

[Wetzelbill]

1. Brady is slower than molasses but that guy is a winner

[dad]

10. Here is another reason to hate the Patriots!

Tom Brady was at Dubya's speech tonite! A Repuke QB! F THA PATSIES, U R GOING DOWN! Delhomme is a big D DEM QB with a FRENCH name! F ALL YOU REPUKERS and PATRIOTS FANS!!

[RummyTheDummy]

11. I wonder if you'll piss and moan like a Colts fan....

When the Kitties get the shit kicked out of them Feb. 1. Carolina blows. And by the way, you're talking out of your ass. You have no idea of Tom Brady's political beliefs.

He was invited because of his involvement working with kids in the Boston area. But I guess because he was there tonight that makes him a Repug. Nice logic.

Pats 31, Panthers 3 (their offense blows)

[PVnRT]

2. Joe Montana, John Elway, Brett Favre, Steve Young

Yeah, they never did anything with their careers...

[KensPen]

3. Don't make me laugh.....

Montana and the others you mentioned had the ABILITY to scramble if they had to.....
but it wasn't a primary option,
or a significant portion of the offense.
They picked and chose their spots and made defenses pay for giving them lanes....

I am referring to the Randall Cunninghams, Donovan McNabbs, and Vicks,
who opt to tuck the ball and run when the primary reciever is covered. In my opinion a team can't win with that type of offensive philosophy.

[HuckleB]

4. That ability won a number of ballgames, however.

Just because they didn't follow in the footsteps of the three you mentioned doesn't mean that the ability to scramble wasn't huge in their careers. Vick and McNabb will have to learn to QB in the style of those folks, if they ever want to go all the way. For one thing, they aren't likely to remain healthy enough to go all the way, if they don't.

[PVnRT]

8. With a quarterback who can run

you are forced to play more conservatively to not give 11 yards every time he takes off. That means committing a safety or a linebacker or a corner to watch out for him. This opens up the passing game.

McNabb would be better if he had a great receiver to throw to, which he doesn't. Ditto for Cunningham - Vicks just needs to throw more accurately, and that gets better every year.

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. Brett may not tuck and run...but his ability to scramble and wait

for an open receiver is unsurpassed in the league...scrambling means more than rushing...which is what you're talking about. :shrug:

[Whitacre D_WI]

5. Plenty of scramblers succeed.

Thing is, those that do have

1) good running backs
and
2) good receivers.

The problem is, too many coaches/GMs think that all their offense needs is a QB who can run, and they ignore the rest of the offense.

[KensPen]

6. When I started this

thread I was addressing the QBs that are a significant portion of their teams rushing offense, and not quarterbacks who are "elusive".

the problem with quarterbacks who run often is that a good defense can shut them down, and force them to do something that they haven't done all year long,
beat them with their arms.

the QBs that were offered up as proof of the success of scramblers were awesome pocket passers....
and their escapablility was just another facet of their game.

[Whitacre D_WI]

7. Well, you seem to be proving my point...

QBs who are a significant portion of their teams' rushing numbers often don't have anyone else who can run the ball successfully.

It's not their fault: put Vick or McNabb on one of Montana's '80s teams -- with Jerry Rice and a healthy Roger Craig -- and they'd win championships. Put them on the mid-'90s Cowboys, with Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, same thing -- they would win.

It's not the fault of their skill set, it's the fault of team management which utilizes that skill to the point of neglecting other positions.

[KensPen]

9. I disagree....

Cunningham had talent on his team,
but he often chose to run instead of going through his rotation.

[CShine]

12. Roger Staubach.........

....was always, to quote you, a significant portion of his team's rushing offense. And you talk that down? To this day he ranks 8th all-time in Cowboy team history for rushing, and that list includes every running back to ever play for the team. He also ran for 20 TDs in his career. Hell, the guy was called "Roger the Dodger" for a REASON.

Oh, and by the way, he led his team to 2 Super Bowl titles.

So much for your scrambling-quarterbacks-suck theory.