NFL Analysis

4/2/21

2 min min read

Coaches Corner: Do You Want the Pocket Passer or the Mobile QB?

Veteran offensive coordinator and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter joined this week's 33rd Team Call to share his video analysis of some of the top quarterbacks in the NFL Draft. The discussion quickly turned to the different skill sets of the QBs in question -- and that led to a healthy debate among some of the coaches on the call...

 

Who would you rathe have, a strong pocket passer -- like Alabama's Mac Jones -- or a mobile QB that can go off-script -- like Ohio State's Justin Fields?

 

"I'd rather have the guy that sees it coming and knows where to go, because I don't think those guys in the NFL are missing those tackles very often," said Koetter. "Take a look at the defense Tampa has and the way they get after the quarterback. I'd rather have the guy that can get the ball out of his hands."

 

Former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo agreed. "You've got to be able to win from the pocket," he said. "Everything else is gravy."

 

When it comes to defensive coaches and what they're most concerned with, Wade Phillips noted that he would rather not face the quartterbacks that go off-script. Eric Mangini, however, went the other direction.

 

"Dealing with (Tom) Brady or (Peyton) Manning or any of those guys that can pick up all of your coverages ... that was rough," said Mangini. "Because you had to be right and you had to try to fool them, which is hard to do. Now, the off-script guys create a whole different set of problems. But to me, if you can get a quarterback who goes to the right place, I'd probably take that over mobility."

 

WATCH NOW: Offensive coaches answer the question...

 

WATCH NOW: Defensive coaches answer the question...

 

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