KDawg Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Earlier, on Cowherd's show, Brees had said that playing QB is 90% mental. I'm wondering, how many of you believe that to be the case? Any particular reason? I want to see what values people place on mental and physical attributes in a quarterback. What I don't want with this thread is for it to turn into a Colt/Campbell thread. If you have to use examples, please, for the love of the Redskins, find another QB in the league to use as an example. How important are the physical properties of a QB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnb123 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brees, and most of the other great QB's in the league are IQ football players. Physical attributes are overrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicious Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Yeah ok Mr. More Accurate Than an Olympic Archer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pcQa5bu5Vs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrifNick21 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Well, according to John Madden, "90% of the game is half mental." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 I would honestly say that physical attributes are highly overrated. However, I'd say 90% mental is a bit of an overestimation, but then again it's tough to put a percent value on something so subjective. If you stop and think about it, where you hold the ball, your drops, etc don't take all that much learning to figure out. The hardest part is throwing the ball (physically) and once you get that down, I'd say you have it. The mental part is huge. You have to know where your receivers will be, where the defense is and then anticipate where they will be when you deliver the ball. All of this has to happen within 3 seconds of the snap. I would definitely argue that QB is THE most cerebral position in the NFL with physical traits that are necessary and important, but not anywhere near as important as the mental aspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flexxskins Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 What I don't want with this thread is for it to turn into a Colt/Campbell thread. If you have to use examples, please, for the love of the Redskins, find another QB in the league to use as an example.How important are the physical properties of a QB? I'm not trying to be an ass Dawg, but wouldn't we need to bring Colt/Campbell into the equation just to keep this Redskins related?Anyway, in answer to your question, IMO the mental percentage would definately be higher than the physical. But, I think that Mr. Brees exaggerated a tad bit with the 90% thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Full Monty Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I think Mr. Brees had a reason for saying that its 90% because of all the doubters he's faced his whole life harping about his height and his arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskns21 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I would lean more towards 75% mental. I remember back when Brees was in his last season with the Chargers, the offseason before, he did some type of mental training/excercises and was talking about how he was now able to visualize a lot more. I remember it being posted as it related to Ramsey and a lot of people dismissing it. He then had a stellar season and has been a top-5 QB since. He was mediocre at best prior to that so maybe that's why he's leaning towards it being 90%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horton_Predator48 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 63% Mental, 37% Physical. Granted I've never played Quarterback, but I watch a lot of football and play Madden. My opinion must matter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I would say that playing QB is mostly mental though a certain level of talent is needed. The biggest mental requirement is confidence in oneself, in one's team and in the coaching staff. Less important but still significant is an understanding of the game. While a good coach might be able to plan around some physical limitations, NO coach can plan around mental deficiencies, especially a QB who does not believe in himself. Its probably more like "90% of the game is half-mental." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhouse Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I honestly don't know. I'm sure it's a combination of many things, coaching, teamates, mental, physical etc. but it doesn't surprise me that it's Brees that's preaching the mental aspect since he doesn't have the prototypical physique of NFL QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flexxskins Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I would say that playing QB is mostly mental though a certain level of talent is needed. The biggest mental requirement is confidence in oneself, in one's team and in the coaching staff. Less important but still significant is an understanding of the game. While a good coach might be able to plan around some physical limitations, NO coach can plan around mental deficiencies, especially a QB who does not believe in himself. Its probably more like "90% of the game is half-mental."Wow, well said. Sheesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arsenic Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Well, according to John Madden, "90% of the game is half mental." haha :hysterical: Let me guess.. This was during a Packers game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I would honestly say that physical attributes are highly overrated. However, I'd say 90% mental is a bit of an overestimation, but then again it's tough to put a percent value on something so subjective.If you stop and think about it, where you hold the ball, your drops, etc don't take all that much learning to figure out. The hardest part is throwing the ball (physically) and once you get that down, I'd say you have it. The mental part is huge. You have to know where your receivers will be, where the defense is and then anticipate where they will be when you deliver the ball. All of this has to happen within 3 seconds of the snap. I would definitely argue that QB is THE most cerebral position in the NFL with physical traits that are necessary and important, but not anywhere near as important as the mental aspect. The ability to read the defense and diagnose it, while very important, is a subset of what is meant when one says something about mentality. It includes the ability to be confident in your decisions and communicate that to your teammates, the belief that your receiver will not blow the play (for example, drop the ball) and the ability to block out the pain coming your way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MustangSteve Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 There is no doubt about it, and thats the main reason why JC isn't an elite QB today. He has all the right tools as we all have seen, but he doesn't have the mental part of it down. On the other hand we had a very smart QB in Mark Rypien, who wasn't a great athlete in any way, and couldn't even out run a statue if his life depended on it, but won a Superbowl and dayum near had a perfect season doing it. If Jason Campbell had half the football mind that Mark Rypien displayed , there wouldn't be a quarterback controversy in Washington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shilsu Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I would honestly say that physical attributes are highly overrated. However, I'd say 90% mental is a bit of an overestimation, but then again it's tough to put a percent value on something so subjective. I pretty much agree. Mental is more important than physical at the quarterback position, but 90%? There's a reason why Brett Favre has enjoyed a highly touted career, and it has very little to do with him being smart. There's also a reason a relatively weak-armed quarterback like Tom Brady worked hard through his early years to increase his arm strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd421 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Yeah ok Mr. More Accurate Than an Olympic Archerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pcQa5bu5Vs this video = insane....that guy is a freaking machine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskns21 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I think this is the article that I was referring to, http://tsn.sportingnews.com/exclusives/20041122/581636-p.html Maybe only Brees saw this future. He spent last offseason studying game tape daily for hours and undergoing intense visualization training, imagining good things about himself and the team. "I saw myself making good plays and passes," he says. "If you can visualize it, it will happen; that is huge. That's when things start to slow down." In high school and at Purdue, Brees always succeeded. Being benched for all or parts of seven games last season stunned and hurt him, and the drafting of Rivers just deepened his angst. "If I listened to what people said, I might as well have quit after last year," he says. "We had a lot of talent last year, but we kind of got going in the wrong direction and couldn't change it. We got rid of some of the guys who didn't fit where we wanted to go. There was a lack of trust last year; now you are seeing a bunch of guys who busted their tails in the offseason to formulate a new attitude around here." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsBry Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I believe that your pocket passing Qbs are 80-90% mental players where your scrambling Qbs rely more on their physical attributes to move and react, so they may be more 55-65% mental players. So, he's partially right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chachie Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I think Drew speaks from the POV of an athlete who, like most, already has the physical components. In other words, all NFL QBs have strong arms compared to the rest of the world. That's how they got in the door. It's just that only a percentage of those guys have the mental makings to really succeed beyond that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitmandm Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Well, according to John Madden, "90% of the game is half mental." Which is actually a Yogi-ism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitmandm Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Campbell doesnt have the mental ability to read the defenses quickly and throw TDs. He didnt have it in college and doesnt have it-what a surprise-in the NFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 I believe that your pocket passing Qbs are 80-90% mental players where your scrambling Qbs rely more on their physical attributes to move and react, so they may be more 55-65% mental players. So, he's partially right. You bring up an extremely interesting point... Is this why pocket passers are generally more successful than the scrambling variety of QB? Are the scramblers the ones with more physical ability than the pocket passers? Or are the scramblers just less mentally inclined? Or a combination of both? I don't see your Mike Vick's, Vince Youngs of today with much of a mental grasp on things. An exception to that could be Steve Young, but as a scrambler, he scrambled only when he had to, which is part of the mental thing. The new generation of scramblers don't seem to want to throw the ball, so they run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 An exception to that could be Steve Young, but as a scrambler, he scrambled only when he had to, which is part of the mental thing. John Elway, Fran Tarkenton, and Roger Staubach weren't half bad either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 John Elway, Fran Tarkenton, and Roger Staubach weren't half bad either. I was just naming one, but since you went there, I'll expand it further: Are the scrambling QBs of today alot less mental and much more reliant on athletic ability? And is that the reason why they aren't as successful as scrambling quarterbacks of the past? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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