Are We In A New Golden Age Of QBs?

[The Marshall Plan]

If there was ever a time to be a fan of high level or elite QB play, then it is right now.

In this context when I say elite or high level I'm evaluating the individual not like a Top 5 thing that's limited by statistical categorization.

In no order:

1) The GOAT
2) Mahomes
3) Rodgers
4) Allen
5) Herbert
6) Burrow (I just love watching Burrow and Chase play together. Every play I look for the bomb.)
7) Murray
8) Lamar Jackson
9) OK fine I'll put Dak on here
10) IDK if Russell Wilson is elite or high level anymore
11) Watson. If this guy wasn't so allegedly addicted to hand jobs he'd be out there rockin' it too and he'd be way up high on this list.

Honorable mention to Stafford. He's had a great career, but it was squandered in Detroit. Hopefully he's got a solid 5 years in LA doing good things.

All of these guys play at such a high level. A true blue NFL fan would see a game with any one of these teams and be like yeah I'm watching that one.

That list doesn't factor in the crop of QBs that were drafted this year. I'm biased against Lawrence so screw him. But Fields and Jones could easily make that list one day. Maybe even next year.

It isn't even just that they're good QBs. It's how they play. You've got your pocket passers. Your mobile guys. We need a lefty in there but whatever.

I've been watching football since the mid-80s. I don't EVER remember it being this deep with the QBs.

Thoughts?

[malk]

I'm interested to see how this pans out:

Brady taking less (and then cap shenanigans with Tampa to give him extra talent) is part of the reason why he's the GOAT.
Mahomes and Allen going into the part of their career with big cap hits and having to adjust for less talent around them.
Herbert, Burrow, Murray and Jackson all on rookie deals.
Prescott, Wilson and Watson at the bottom of that list now they're on market rate deals.
Then Rodgers as a GOAT level player.

Brady has next year but after that I don't see him sticking around for a rebuild, but if they draft well he'll likely stick to less money to keep ring chasing. Legendary smarts!

Of the rest, will Mahomes and Allen trend towards Prescott and Wilson or is a new age beginning. I'm guessing that their success is partially down to teams around them being hamstrung by paying Goff, Cousins, Wentz, Ryan, Tannehill, Garoppolo etc. $30m per year. But we'll see, I've been wrong before!

[HurricaneBear]

We had some pretty good QB play in the 2000s and early 2010s. I think it's way to early to see if this group passes them.

What it does say that us fans have been spoiled. That is a good thing. Well, maybe not us Bears fans, but other NFL fans have been spoiled. Our QBs still can't pass out the ghost of Sid Luckman.

[IotaNet]

I think it's about the evolution of the game.

1) The rules have been heavily skewed toward offense. High scores sell tickets and attract eyeballs.

2) The player safety rules also favor Quarterback play. Gone are the days when QB's were targets for being clobbered silly. That leads to more creativity and success at the position. "Roughing the passer" is a real thing and defenses are being coached to avoid it.

3) Coaches and GM's have become way more open-minded about what makes up a successful quarterback. 20 years ago, a tiny guy like Kyler Murray wouldn't have gotten serious consideration as an NFL quarterback. Russell Wilson came into the league 10 years ago and there were all kinds of questions about his height.

4) Teams have now made the decision to tailor their offenses around the strengths of a particular QB instead of making the QB fit their system. Lamar Jackson is the most obvious example (and some feel that the jury is still out on that) but look at the local situation. We've been SCREAMING that Nagy should have tailored his offense to JF1 and we rode him out of town on a rail because he didn't.

You might call it a golden age and you wouldn't be wrong -- but there are a lot of factors that have contributed.

[Arkansasbear]

Not yet the New Golden age. That won't get hear until 2023 when Fields is the best QB in the NFL.

[Richie]

I think it's about the evolution of the game.

1) The rules have been heavily skewed toward offense. High scores sell tickets and attract eyeballs.

2) The player safety rules also favor Quarterback play. Gone are the days when QB's were targets for being clobbered silly. That leads to more creativity and success at the position. "Roughing the passer" is a real thing and defenses are being coached to avoid it.

3) Coaches and GM's have become way more open-minded about what makes up a successful quarterback. 20 years ago, a tiny guy like Kyler Murray wouldn't have gotten serious consideration as an NFL quarterback. Russell Wilson came into the league 10 years ago and there were all kinds of questions about his height.

4) Teams have now made the decision to tailor their offenses around the strengths of a particular QB instead of making the QB fit their system. Lamar Jackson is the most obvious example (and some feel that the jury is still out on that) but look at the local situation. We've been SCREAMING that Nagy should have tailored his offense to JF1 and we rode him out of town on a rail because he didn't.

You might call it a golden age and you wouldn't be wrong -- but there are a lot of factors that have contributed.

Each and every generation had it easier from a QB/offensive standpoint than the one before it, both rule and scheme wise. I think people understand that you can't judge the numbers of today's players vs QB play in 00's. Just like the 00's vs the 80's/90's. So on and so forth. An average QB NFL season now would be pro bowl material just 13-14 years ago. I looked like a year ago or something. The average QB (even back in a 16 game season) threw for 4k yards like 24-25 TD's and 11-12 INT's with a 92 rating or something. Like a 4.4 TD% and 2.1 INT%. That's a REALLY good season back in the late 00's.

So, it's not like QB's will be considered great because they're posting numbers that would otherwise be historically solid. You're judged vs your modern counterparts. So, I don't think the whole "it's easier to put up big numbers nowadays" thing is a factor. You can still see who is elite and who is not.

I think what people mean by a possible "golden age" at QB isn't that a bunch of guys will post eye popping numbers. It's that instead of 3-4 guys jousting among themselves in the elite category. You might see 6-7 guys neck and neck over the course of an extended period of time.

The rest, I definitely am with you, though.

[crueltyabc]

A few years ago I had some fear that the product was going to decline as the guys drafted in the early 2000s retired. Instead it looks like they've been replaced and there are still going to be at least 8-10 very high level QBs for the next decade. I certainly hope and currently believe that Fields will be one of them

[Boris13c]

don't know if it will be a golden age or not, but it sure is fun to watch ... it will be even more fun when OUR guy gets the coaching and support he needs to join the party and the discussion

[IotaNet]

I think it's about the evolution of the game.

3) Coaches and GM's have become way more open-minded about what makes up a successful quarterback. 20 years ago, a tiny guy like Kyler Murray wouldn't have gotten serious consideration as an NFL quarterback. Russell Wilson came into the league 10 years ago and there were all kinds of questions about his height.

I just came across an excellent article on today's SI.com that does a great job of expanding/elaborating on the point I was trying to make.

"Patrick Mahomes and the evolving NFL draft quarterback evaluation: How the Chiefs' QB changed the way Todd McShay scouts the position"
https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2022/stor ... s-position

It's an excellent read. Here are a couple of excerpts:

<<Mahomes' evaluation and his greatness in spite of the mechanics still carries significance for me today. Why? Because it fundamentally changed the way I scout quarterbacks for the draft.>>

<<The continued success and the ability to hit those nonstandard throws on a consistent basis made me reconsider how I evaluate the position, and my scouting mentality absolutely shifted.>>

<<It didn't take long for another quarterback to come along with similar traits. The Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray was from a similar college system (Oklahoma) and had that same baseball background ... His game had a lot of improv and wasn't always pretty, but like Mahomes, he had results. Murray was the first pick overall that year, and he has since been one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL when healthy>>

Bottom line for me is that this new crop of QB's is bringing a whole different paradigm to the game and the decision-makers and evaluators have opened their mind to the differences.

[Burl]

I remember a time when there was Manning/Brady as the elite QBs.
Then Palmer was like the next best guy with Favre in the mix and you had dudes like Hasselbeck and Delhomme making multiple pro bowls.
This was before the ascendence of Brees I guess.

[Yogi da Bear]

I think it's about the evolution of the game.

1) The rules have been heavily skewed toward offense. High scores sell tickets and attract eyeballs.

2) The player safety rules also favor Quarterback play. Gone are the days when QB's were targets for being clobbered silly. That leads to more creativity and success at the position. "Roughing the passer" is a real thing and defenses are being coached to avoid it.

3) Coaches and GM's have become way more open-minded about what makes up a successful quarterback. 20 years ago, a tiny guy like Kyler Murray wouldn't have gotten serious consideration as an NFL quarterback. Russell Wilson came into the league 10 years ago and there were all kinds of questions about his height.

4) Teams have now made the decision to tailor their offenses around the strengths of a particular QB instead of making the QB fit their system. Lamar Jackson is the most obvious example (and some feel that the jury is still out on that) but look at the local situation. We've been SCREAMING that Nagy should have tailored his offense to JF1 and we rode him out of town on a rail because he didn't.

You might call it a golden age and you wouldn't be wrong -- but there are a lot of factors that have contributed.

Couldn't agree with this more. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's not so much a "Golden Age" as a "Golden Evolution."

And I'd like to add another factor to it--the gradual acceptance of black QBs. Look at how many of those QBs you mention are athletic black QBs. And this inclusion has also affected the development of white QBs. They've had to become more athletic themselves. Look at the measurables of guys like Herbert and Allen. There's nothing that demoralizes a defense more than a QB running for a first down after you already effectively covered up all his other weapons. There aren't too many Sonny Jurgensons out there...well, maybe Mac Jones. lol

So I think that this is not just a Golden Age. This is a Golden Age that's going to continue as more and more athletic kids are going to be taught that QB position and let loose. And the general measurable athletic ability of QBs across is going to be increasingly developed.

[Rusty Trombagent]

A few years ago I had some fear that the product was going to decline as the guys drafted in the early 2000s retired. Instead it looks like they've been replaced and there are still going to be at least 8-10 very high level QBs for the next decade. I certainly hope and currently believe that Fields will be one of them

I think about this constantly. It was just a few years ago that, after peyton retired and brees/brady/rodgers' retirement looked imminent, there was so much hand wringing that we'd somehow never see that level of qb play ever again.

[crueltyabc]

Don't be too hard on the handwringers. It's easy to lose faith when you're looking at an EJ Manual, Geno Smith, Mike Glennon draft class

[Rusty Trombagent]

Don't be too hard on the handwringers. It's easy to lose faith when you're looking at an EJ Manual, Geno Smith, Mike Glennon draft class

i see you conveniently left DA GOAT MATT BARKLEY off that list.

[crueltyabc]

I didn't want to enrage the Matt Barkley stans

[malk]

I didn't want to enrage the Matt Barkley stans

*whistles*