Ian Allan
I don’t know if it’s a trend or just a coincidence, but it seems like more NFL teams are using pocker passers at quarterback. It looks like fewer teams are going with mobile pass-run threats at that position now.
Randall Cunningham really brought something extra at quarterback in the late ‘80s – a guy who could not only pass but also was as good as a scrambler as a running back. And other quarterbacks over the last 20 years also have also been dual threats – Steve Young, Michael Vick, Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb and others.
But the king quarterbacks in the league in the last few years definitely have tended to be first and foremost passers. Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers and the Manning boys. Those are the quarterbacks who’ve had the most success, and they also tend to stay healthy.
Maybe this whole thing is cyclical, and there’s another wave of great running quarterbacks on the way. Jake Locker, who’ll probably be a top-10 pick in next year’s draft, definitely has wheels.
But right now, it looks like most of the league has settled on the premise that a quarterback should be a distributor – a guy who gets the ball out of his hands.
Look at the chart below. It shows quarterback rushing production over the last 15 years. In only four of those seasons did quarterbacks average under 140 rushing yards per season, and three of those seasons have come in the last three years. Same deal with rushing attempts. Quarterbacks seem to be running less.
QUARTERBACK RUSHING PRODUCTION, 1995-2009
Ordered by average rushing yards per season.
Year No Yds TDs
2000 56 246 1.94
2001 55 212 1.90
2002 51 210 2.28
1999 50 194 1.65
1998 47 182 1.63
1997 48 172 1.80
2006 45 162 1.38
2004 44 155 1.22
2003 44 154 1.97
1996 46 146 1.47
2005 43 144 1.38
2008 41 139 1.50
1995 41 136 1.63
2009 42 134 1.41
2007 40 126 1.22
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Posted by Travis Billman | Jul. 07 at 09:01 AM
I'm curious to see how Michael Vick's rushing numbers skewed the stats. Seems to me that the early 2000's were definitely boosted by Vick.