Gridiron Genius by Michael Lombardi

Author:Michael Lombardi [Lombardi, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown/Archetype
Published: 2018-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

7. LEADERSHIP

Quarterbacks who fail to gain the respect of teammates leave a team rudderless. When teams I worked for were in the market for a quarterback, we made sure we knew what the teammates of any prospective hires were saying about the guy (off the record, of course). Is his competitiveness contagious or overbearing? Are players willing to go to war with him? Does he command the huddle? Finding the truth isn’t easy. College coaches used to be a good source for this kind of stuff, but lately they have become adept at talking up their prospects because they want their guys to make it to the league—and not just for the players’ sake. Pros promote programs. Therefore, scouts have to dig deeper to get what they need even if it’s not what we want to hear.

A recent very high pick was dinged by his college teammates. Check that. They flat-out hated him. They refused to attend his private workouts, for heaven’s sake. But the team that drafted him chose to ignore all that, and today most of the teammates he’s had feel exactly the same way his college teammates did. Trust me, injuries are not the only reason Robert Griffin III has had such a hard time finding a job.

Gil Brandt, the Cowboys’ legendary personnel guy, once told me: “The best time to draft a quarterback is when you don’t need one.” It’s actually one piece of advice I got to pass along to Belichick. In New England before the 2014 draft, we had a meeting to make sure we were focused on finding a player to replace Tom Brady (on the assumption that someday, eventually, perhaps, he was actually going to have to retire). The current backup, Ryan Mallett, was entering his final season under contract, and we knew he was not the answer. When we drafted Mallett, he looked to have all the skills. Unfortunately, he lacked the maturity and work ethic to play at the next level. Guys like that are exceedingly frustrating to coach because they never see that they are wasting their talents. We gave Mallett time to shape up, but he didn’t and it became time to move on. Brady was coming off a subpar season for him, with his lowest quarterback rating since 2003. But nobody thought he was anywhere close to finished, so the timing was perfect. Whoever we selected would have at least a couple of years to get ready away from the spotlight.

The draft had many prospects: Blake Bortles of Central Florida, Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville, Derek Carr of Fresno State, and Jimmy Garoppolo of Eastern Illinois. Choosing near the bottom of the first round was going to prevent us from having our pick of the group. Still, the offensive staff, mostly Josh McDaniels, the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, spent time watching tape on them all and then narrowing the field. Fresh off my time in Cleveland, I was up to speed on our options because I had spent considerable time assessing each quarterback for the Browns.

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