Not sure what's going on; but the chorus from the NFL HCs and GMs is that the college QBs are simply not ready to play in the NFL.
And now, joining them, is that OL guys are also not ready.
The reason, generally, is the schemes offenses use and the dumbed-down techniques and reads and that in spread offenses linemen often never put their hand on the ground. QBs are one read and throw OR everything is based off of pre-snap reads and close to nothing post snap. Many have never operated under center. Many don't even call plays in the huddle or protections; it is signaled in from the sidelines.
Without getting into the why of it, I have no reason to doubt this situation. I see it with my own eyes and it is the general chorus of complaint that comes from the NFL guys who have to make players out of them that convinces me. Most recently Arians dropped a couple of F bombs on a reporter who asked about incoming college QBs he is so frustrated with them.
So.....what this tells me is that GMs and scouts are having a REALLY difficult time projecting these guys (QBs and OL) to the NFL because the NFL is going to ask them to do stuff that they haven't done in college. But if they only pluck guys from offenses that at least have some Pro characteristics, the sample size is WAY too small.
And....old school NFL coaches who are determined to stick with the way they've always done things don't understand the breed of players they are dealing with. Short attention spans; video oriented; richer; distracted; protected by the bubble wrap CBA, and while perhaps better athletes they are less advanced on technique than a generation of players before them.
The result is that different teaching techniques, shorter teaching sessions, more visual/video and less text/diagramming, and considerably longer, drawn out, step by step, development times are needed.
It is interesting when you hear McVay talk about development and teaching. Snead says that McVay speaks a technology language that is new to him, but to McVay it is second nature. McVay says his classroom sessions don't go over 20 minutes because focus goes away. Clearly, teaching is becoming at least as important as game plans. Assistants must be great teachers who can teach in a way that this generation of 22 year olds can best learn and retain. And it is not how most of us learned a few years ago.
I think this is one reason why Fisher and company failed so miserably. And why we can name on one hand the guys that really developed during Fisher's 5 years with the Rams. Did Long, Laurenatis, Jenkins really get better? Or were they about the same after 3 or 4 years as when they arrived? How about GRob? Austin? Quick? Have they really advanced much? Why not?
I don't think Fisher's staff could teach or probably much tried to because they expected a certain level of self responsibility and competence from the players that they didn't have; and therefore they couldn't develop the players. They expected the players to know long division; failing to realize that they couldn't add 2 +2. McVay emphasized that his coaching staff is about being great teachers and communicators above all else. This is exactly what McVay is all about......in fact, we hear that constantly from everyone he's dealt with.
We're in a new era fellas. Guys that can operate mainly on instinct and athleticism (Edge Rushers, CBs, WRs to a degree) can probably contribute earlier than later. But OL, QB, S, MLB and some of these who have a lot to learn probably will take longer. I think the better HCs and GMs know this. Not sure the old guard does; or if they do, they fight it. And I'm pretty certain fans don't get it because rookies who don't light it up are declared busts if they are among the higher picks.
I think we're going to have to gain a lot of patience and be a lot slower on the ejection seat button.
But I think it also means something else. Just as in the lower grades of school it requires a greater teacher to student ratio, it is going to mean the same thing in the NFL. And HCs can only have so large of staffs. So I think HCs are going to be careful about how many guys in the more sensitive to develop positions they're going to carry.
Know why they didn't draft a QB late? Because with only 3 QBs, they have more than they can really develop. Too much to teach, too little time to do it. And they have to begin from a more elementary level. This is why a kid with a good mind, a good accurate arm, a good compact motion, pretty decent footwork, etc., is preferable even if he comes from a spread system. Because if they have to change a kids motion or footwork too drastically, it'll never happen what with all the work on learning a system, and on reading D's and understanding new concepts......and the CBA makes the time to learn it too small.
