After the Dallas Cowboys released QB Joe Milton, and the Tennessee Titans did the same thing with QB Will Levis, some bloggers and fans suggested the Jets sign one of them.
In fact, the Jets actually worked out Levis this week. The announcement was made by Zack Rosenblatt of the New York Times.
Milton re-signed with the Cowboys’ practice squad.
Both of these quarterbacks look like they are right out of central casting to play the position. Milton is 6-5, 235 pounds, with unreal arm strength. The 6-4, 230-pound Levis also has a howitzer arm.
One of the reasons the quarterback position is such a poorly evaluated spot, not just by the media, but by NFL decision-makers, is an obsession with arm strength and not a QB’s ability to go through progressions, throw with accuracy, and anticipation. Levis and Milton struggle in these areas (not due to a lack of effort – this stuff is very hard).
As Chip Kelly once famously said, “Sometimes the arm strength aspect of it is overrated because people are trying to paint it with a brush. We’re not trying to knock over milk cartons at the county fair. It’s can you put the ball in the right spot at the right time?”
Maybe someday more people will get off this laser focus on rocket arms and looking the part, and focus more on what matters the most – reading defenses well, going through progressions smoothly, and delivering the ball on time.
We can only hope.
Because right now there is a dearth of answers at QB, and perhaps a broken evaluation process has something to do with it.
*****
The new issue of Jets Confidential Magazine is out, and true football fans will not want to miss it! To subscribe to the magazine, our Website Whispers (different content than the magazine), or both, click an option below . . .
