QB Attribute and Intangible Chart to Measure Current and Potential QB Ratings

So I'm looking at compiling a list of QB attributes and intangibles and applying them to current QBs and their potential. My contention is that Kaep has the most potential of any QB in the league.

Things the zone can do to help... To get things started, we need to put proper weight on each attribute by ranking each one 1 to 10 in importance. We also need to agree on an encompassing list of attributes. I've begun one below.

Length - How tall is the QB (2)

Durability - How injury prone is the QB (6)

Speed - How fast is the QB in straight line speed (3)

Agility - How quick and maneuverable is the QB (3)

Arm Strength - How far and how fast can a QB throw the ball (7)

Accuracy (short-medium) - How consistently can the QB throw the ball to where it needs to be on short to intermediate routes (10)

Accuracy (deep) - How well the QB can throw the deep ball (7)

Touch - How often does the QB throw a catchable ball (3)

Vision - How well can the QB see the field. (7)

Pocket Presence - How well does the QB position himself in the pocket. Is he able to sense the rush and put himself in a position to make the throw or escape the rush. (6)

Release Time - How quickly can a QB make a read and release the pass (8)

Ball Security - How often does the QB fumble the ball (4)

Playmaking Ability - How often is the QB able to make plays when things break down. How well does he throw on the run and improvise on the fly. (9)

Decision Making/Intelligence/Football IQ - How well does the QB understand the game of football. How well is the QB able to make adjustments and learn from mistakes. How quickly can he process his reads. How often does the QB make the proper read, and how often do his passes result in positive or negative plays. (10)

Leadership/charisma/attitude - How well does the QB lead the team. Does he have command and respect of his troops? Does he take responsibility when things go wrong and give credit when things go right? Is his attitude conducive to improving the environment around him? Etc. (9)

Clutchness - How well does the player perform when the game is on the line. (10)

Work Ethic - How hard does the player work on improving his game. How well does he prepare for his opponent. (8)

Hand size - Does the QB have the hands of a child? (I kid, I kid)


After we agree on the attribute and intangible list along with the proper weight each term carries in importance to a QB, we can start ranking each QB a score on 1-10 on where they currently stand and where their potential lies.

BrianGo: I took all your considerations except the ability to throw while moving. I think playmaking ability and accuracy should be able to cover that. Thank you for your insight.

Fryet: I've decided keeping Agility separate from "pocket presence" as I feel elusiveness will be defined between the two while they are very different aspects of what makes a QB elusive. I've combined the leadership/charisma/attitude as your suggestion. Also breaking down the accuracy was a great idea. Also, I think ball security should be defined as holding on to the football, while interceptions will be defined by intelligence/decision making, and accuracy (for example, a QB poor at those to categories, is likely to throw many INTs). Anyway, thank you for you feedback as well.

Originally posted by AmpLee:
So I'm looking at compiling a list of QB attributes and intangibles and applying them to current QBs and their potential. My contention is that Kaep has the most potential of any QB in the league.

Things the zone can do to help... To get things started, we need to put proper weight on each attribute by ranking each one 1 to 10 in importance. We also need to agree on an encompassing list of attributes. I've begun one below.

Size - How tall is a QB and is his body equipped to handle the punishment of playing QB in the NFL

Speed - How fast is the QB in straight line speed

Agility - How quick and maneuverable is the QB

Arm Strength - How far and how fast can a QB throw the ball

Accuracy - How consistently can the QB throw the ball to where it needs to be

Release Time - How quickly can a QB make a read and release the pass

Decision Making - How often does the QB make the proper read, and how often do his passes result in positive or negative plays.

Ball Security - How often does the QB fumble the ball

Playmaking Ability - How often is the QB able to make plays when things break down. How well does he throw on the run and improvise on the fly.

Football IQ - How well does the QB understand the game of football

Intelligence - How well does process information in a general sense.

Leadership - How well does the QB lead the team. Does he have command and respect of his troops? Does he take responsibility when things go wrong and give credit when things go right?

Clutchness - How well does the player perform when the game is on the line.

Attitude - How well does the player carry himself. Is he cocky and arrogant, humble and confident, or somewhere in between.

Work Ethic - How hard does the player work on improving his game.


After we agree on the attribute and intangible list along with the proper weight each term carries in importance to a QB, we can start ranking each QB a score on 1-10 on where they currently stand and where their potential lies.

Can't what for you to finish this

My weighted list:

Size - 6
Speed - 7
Agility - 7
Arm Strength - 8
Accuracy - 9
Release Time -7
Decision Making -8
Ball Security - 6
Playmaking Ability -7
Football IQ - 9
Intelligence - 7
Leadership -10
Clutchness - 9
Attitude -7
Work Ethic -7

Might be covered in one of your other categories but..

footwork: drop back, pocket presence/maneuvering
mechanics: throwing motion, ball placement, follow through
play calling/audibling: does he get the offense into the right play.. can he call plays if he needs to.. run a 2 minute offense

Work ethic should be 8 or 9. Whitner said CK is the first one in the building and last one out!

Originally posted by verb1der:
Work ethic should be 8 or 9. Whitner said CK is the first one in the building and last one out!

I think his numbers were how important each category is in ranking QBs. Like accuracy would be more important than speed. Don't think those are how he rated Colin if I understood it right.

I would recommend combining several. Less is more.

Here is what I would combine:
Decision Making/Football IQ/Intelligence
Leadership/Attitude - I would just call this Charisma - how the player affects others by their word and deed

Other changes:
Accuracy: I would split this into short accuracy and long accuracy. Alex Smith is excellent now at short accuracy, but poor at long accuracy. He used to be bad at both.
Agility: I would call this elusiveness. Ability to shift in the pocket to get a better throwing lane, plus avoid sacks.
Ball Security - I would consider this to be both fumbles as well as interceptions
Size - along with this I would consider durability
Playmaking ability - I would include courage in this category.

And a couple new ones:
Off-field behavior - This probably was a part of your attitude, but I would just consider this a pass/fail situation. If they can avoid going to jail, and having problems at night clubs, then it is high, otherwise it is low and invalidates everything else.
Touch - How catchable of a ball does the QB throw?

So here is my list:
Size/Durability
Speed
Elusiveness
Arm Strength
Accuracy (short)
Accuracy (long)
Release Time
Ball Security
Playmaking Ability
Football IQ
Charisma
Clutchness
Work Ethic
Offfield Behavior
Touch

Originally posted by Gore_21:

Originally posted by verb1der:
Work ethic should be 8 or 9. Whitner said CK is the first one in the building and last one out!

I think his numbers were how important each category is in ranking QBs. Like accuracy would be more important than speed. Don't think those are how he rated Colin if I understood it right.

oh i get it, my bad...let me reevaluate and report back..

Here is how I would rate the importance of each attribute:

Size/Durability - 7 - Shorter QB struggle, and you can't lead the team when you are in the tub.
Speed - 3 - It causes problems for defenses, but too many QBs are successful that are poor runners.
Elusiveness - 3 - It helps, but QB can compensate in other ways.
Arm Strength - 7 - I have seen plenty of QB with weaker arms that are nothing more than career backups. This is often what forces aging QB to retire as well.
Accuracy (short) - 10 - If you can't hit the checkdown receiver, you aren't going to last long in the NFL.
Accuracy (long) - 5 - It definitely helps, but QB can be very successful specializing in the short and intermediate routes (see Alex Smith)
Release Time - 7 - This is the most effective way to avoid a sack, and can compensate for low elusiveness
Ball Security - 10 - Alex Smith/Tebow has shown how a strength in this area can compensate for many other deficiencies. It also is the biggest decider of who wins a game.
Playmaking Ability - 5 - This definitely helps, but efficiency can compensate for it.
Football IQ - 10 - If you can't read a defense, both before and after the snap, you will not succeed.
Charisma - 5 - It can help a lot, but so long as you have basic respect from your team, you can be successful.
Clutchness - 7 - See Joe Montana. Steve Young didn't have this, and I think that is why the 49ers would struggle in the big game. This is hard to overcome, if you don't have it.
Work Ethic - 10 - Everything else is dependent upon a QB being obsessive about preparation and developing their skills.
Offfield Behavior - 7 - The QB doesn't have to be an angel, but a devil won't even be on the team
Touch - 5 - Lack of touch results in dropped balls, which causes drives to stall.

With my rating system, here is how I would rate Alex Smith and CK:

Alex Smith:
Size/Durability - 4 - height is adequate, but he has had an above average share of injuries
Speed - 6
Elusiveness - 2 - takes too many sacks, and doesn't move well in pocket
Arm Strength - 5
Accuracy (short) - 8 (This has been an area of amazing improvement for Alex Smith)
Accuracy (long) - 3
Release Time - 6
Ball Security - 10
Playmaking Ability - 2 - he doesn't want to risk the INT so takes the safer throw, or if no one is clearly open, takes a sack
Football IQ - 10
Charisma - 5
Clutchness - 6 - we have seen it less this season, but Alex Smith won a lot of games in the 4th quarter
Work Ethic - 10
Offfield Behavior - 10
Touch - 8 - hard to grade this, but I think Alex Smith throws a catchable ball now

CK:
Size/Durability - 7 - too soon to say that he is durable
Speed - 10
Elusiveness - 8 - relies more on his speed than making people miss
Arm Strength - 10
Accuracy (short) - 8
Accuracy (long) - 8 (I tend to want to say he is 10, when comparing to Alex Smith, but Brady was better)
Release Time - 3
Ball Security - 5 (has done well with INT, but I cringe when I see him hold the ball away from his body when running)
Playmaking Ability - 7
Football IQ - 5 - impressive for a rookie, but he still has a lot to learn
Charisma - 7
Clutchness - 6 - he plays well in the 4th quarter, but I don't think he has won the game in the last 2 minutes yet
Work Ethic - 8 - maybe higher, but not quite ready to give him a 10
Offfield Behavior - 5 - no issues here, but not quite ready to call him an angel
Touch - 2 - we all know that he throws the ball hard

Originally posted by fryet:
I would recommend combining several. Less is more.

Here is what I would combine:
Decision Making/Football IQ/Intelligence
Leadership/Attitude - I would just call this Charisma - how the player affects others by their word and deed

Other changes:
Accuracy: I would split this into short accuracy and long accuracy. Alex Smith is excellent now at short accuracy, but poor at long accuracy. He used to be bad at both.
Agility: I would call this elusiveness. Ability to shift in the pocket to get a better throwing lane, plus avoid sacks.
Ball Security - I would consider this to be both fumbles as well as interceptions
Size - along with this I would consider durability
Playmaking ability - I would include courage in this category.

And a couple new ones:
Off-field behavior - This probably was a part of your attitude, but I would just consider this a pass/fail situation. If they can avoid going to jail, and having problems at night clubs, then it is high, otherwise it is low and invalidates everything else.
Touch - How catchable of a ball does the QB throw?

So here is my list:
Size/Durability
Speed
Elusiveness
Arm Strength
Accuracy (short)
Accuracy (long)
Release Time
Ball Security
Playmaking Ability
Football IQ
Charisma
Clutchness
Work Ethic
Offfield Behavior
Touch

The danger in combining intelligence with football IQ and decision making is that they can be very distinct--as in, a player can be very good at one and not at another. A great example of this is Alex. Alex gets probably a 9 or 10 for overall intelligence, but you get to decision making he's probably a 6 or 7 and his feel for the game itself ("football IQ"),probably lags back around a 5 or lower. Stuff like the run for 0 yards on 3rd and 10 against NYG, the INT in the endzone against SEA. His intelligence, knowledge of the playbook, study of film and tendencies and all of that somehow don't quite translate and it's important to differentiate the two I think.

Originally posted by Dr_Bill_Walsh:

I thought it was all about girth?

Originally posted by ninermedic:
The danger in combining intelligence with football IQ and decision making is that they can be very distinct--as in, a player can be very good at one and not at another. A great example of this is Alex. Alex gets probably a 9 or 10 for overall intelligence, but you get to decision making he's probably a 6 or 7 and his feel for the game itself ("football IQ"),probably lags back around a 5 or lower. Stuff like the run for 0 yards on 3rd and 10 against NYG, the INT in the endzone against SEA. His intelligence, knowledge of the playbook, study of film and tendencies and all of that somehow don't quite translate and it's important to differentiate the two I think.

Any rating system has flaws, but I think you end up overvaluing the head part of things when you have 3 very similar items listed separately. Also, I would disagree with your review of Alex. We agree that he is intelligent. I would also rate his Football IQ very high - he is very good at presnap reads. For decision making, he rarely throws INT plus has a high completion percentage, which indicates that he makes good decisions. Where he lacks is in playmaking ability. He chooses the safe throw, rather than throw into a tight window and risk an INT.

To put this another way. Do you think that Alex Smith doesn't see that a player is open, or do you think that he sees that the player is open, but is too afraid to throw it? One is an issue of intelligence. The other is courage or moxy.

Originally posted by fryet:
I would recommend combining several. Less is more.

Here is what I would combine:
Decision Making/Football IQ/Intelligence
Leadership/Attitude - I would just call this Charisma - how the player affects others by their word and deed

Other changes:
Accuracy: I would split this into short accuracy and long accuracy. Alex Smith is excellent now at short accuracy, but poor at long accuracy. He used to be bad at both.
Agility: I would call this elusiveness. Ability to shift in the pocket to get a better throwing lane, plus avoid sacks.
Ball Security - I would consider this to be both fumbles as well as interceptions
Size - along with this I would consider durability
Playmaking ability - I would include courage in this category.

And a couple new ones:
Off-field behavior - This probably was a part of your attitude, but I would just consider this a pass/fail situation. If they can avoid going to jail, and having problems at night clubs, then it is high, otherwise it is low and invalidates everything else.
Touch - How catchable of a ball does the QB throw?

So here is my list:
Size/Durability
Speed
Elusiveness
Arm Strength
Accuracy (short)
Accuracy (long)
Release Time
Ball Security
Playmaking Ability
Football IQ
Charisma
Clutchness
Work Ethic
Offfield Behavior
Touch

Excellent points. Can't go over everything tonight, but would like to take some of your suggestions to the big list. Off the bat, I still think leadership needs it's own category as charisma does not always encompass a good leader. A leader by example comes to mind. I like what you've done separating accuracy as well as adding touch as it gives more emphasis to throwing the ball, which ought to be a QB's main job, however, I'd probably weigh down each in order to not skew the list dramatically. Thanks.