Could Don Strock have been a successful long term starter?

[sheajets]

I was always impressed with what Strock was able to do when called upon...which wasn't all that often. But enough to leave an impression. He attempted something like 800 NFL passes in 15 years. Not the largest body of work but enough to get a feel for what he could do. Miami went 16-6 in the regular season games he started. His completion % and TD to Interception ratio was pretty good for that era.

I wonder was he ever considered as a long term solution in Miami? Did any other team show interest in having him as their starter? Was Strock just simply happy and comfortable to be in a backup role with a good franchise in Miami and milk that for all that it was worth...just being ready when he had to be? He had the size, he had the smart. Always thought he had a good quick release and more than adequate arm strength.

Why was his career never anything more than just a good backup who stuck around for ages?

[TanksAndSpartans]

Think he had a chance in 1980 starting twice in the first 6 games.

Griese -> Strock
Griese -> Strock
Strock -> Griese
Woodley -> Griese
Griese hurt -> Woodley
Strock hurt -> Woodley
Then I think it was Woodley the rest of the season and the next few. I would say his best shot with the Dolphins was between Griese and Marino, but I think Shula felt Woodley was the QB of the future. I vaguely recall there was something mentioned about trading Strock in a long bio piece on Woodley I read, but I'm not sure.

[Brian wolf]

I honestly believe Strock was content to be a backup. Shula had learned the value of keeping a good backup after Unitas went down with the Colts in 1968 and somehow convinced Strock to accept that role. Since Strock wasnt that mobile anyway, Shula probably pushed him to develop his pocket skills but after nearly leading an epic comeback against the Chargers in the playoffs, some team should have tried to obtain him but nobody did. Teams may have felt he just didnt have the fire to be a full time starter. The way he threw the ball, I felt he could beat out Woodley at the time but thanks to the Steelers, who should have drafted Marino, the Dolphins had Marino fall in their laps and Strock once again accepted his role. I wonder if the USFL teams tried to obtain him ?

[rhickok1109]

Some players just aren't comfortable as starters and some aren't comfortable being backups.

Lombardi touched on that in "Run to Daylight," when discussing Bob Skoronski and Norm Masters. Even though Skoronski was the starter at LT, Masters saw a lot of playing time. Lombardi said they were equal in talent, almost twins in fact. But if Skoronski didn't start, he lost his spirit and didn't play well if sent into the game, while Masters got too keyed up to be effective if started the game.

[Brian wolf]

Thanks Ralph ...

That has to be the reason Skoronski didnt have more accolades, though he was vital for the team. I can understand Shula choosing Griese over Strock, though he was aging but if Strock couldnt beat out Woodley, he should have tried to get traded but Shula probably wasnt allowing it.

[74_75_78_79_]

Like bad-ass (mind you) Silvio on the Sopranos, perhaps ('Join the Club'/'Mayham' - the closest thing ever to a '70s-style...'two-part' episode from that 'Greatest of ALL Time' Series)? Tony's in a coma (or was it 'purgatory'). Gabriella suggests that Sil being 'Boss' "nothing to sneeze at", but Sil responds to his wife that he's more comfortable being a '#2'. Being in the background and all about offering strategy. And then when the going got 'sort-of' tough while Tony was still in that coma/'purgatory', he needed his...puffer!

Strock was SO tough! SO old-school! I wouldn't have minded he AT ALL being a QB of my team in that very post-Bradshaw '80s era! Even if just as a backup (Batch precursor). Charlie was SUCH a solid backup QB!!

[Bryan]

Strock was too erratic to be a consistent starter, IMO. He was also immobile, kind of like a poor man's Lynn Dickey. Even in Shula's ball control offense, Strock would manage to have terrible performances. Two things that I found extremely surprising when looking at Strock's career statistics:

1) His career YPA is less than 7.0
2) He started 20 games for Shula's Dolphins...in half of those games, he threw for less than 100 yards and had 10 or fewer completions. He had one game of 250+ yards. I guess I thought of Strock as more of a 'gunslinger', but he really wasn't. He had a great playoff game against the Chargers in 1981, and I'm sure that clouds the judgement of Strock, but David Woodley destroyed the Chargers in 1982 as well.

[Jay Z]

I think Strock was better than guys like Pat Ryan or Matt Cavanaugh, other backups of the time who hung on for a long time. His stats are better and he had more wins. Ryan is another who had a big performance in a playoff game once.

Yet Ryan managed to hold Ken O'Brien off for a while. Meanwhile, in 1980, Strock can't beat out a 8th round draft pick David Woodley. Strock also chose 1980 to put up the worst stats of his career. Woodley was one of these physical QBs who won't do the film work. These guys always peak as rookies or really early, they play on their physical gifts and that's it. Still, he's an 8th round pick, plays really poorly in his first game against the Saints, still Shula goes with Woodley when Griese's done and Strock barely gets a look.

I have Strock's book. Strock eventually came to resent Woodley and that situation, but he comes across as a little too passive otherwise, and probably should have shown some degree of "swagger" if he wanted more of a look in 1980. So it does seem he got a little too used to holding a clipboard, even if he didn't really like coming in off the bench.

[7DnBrnc53]

Woodley was one of these physical QBs who won't do the film work. These guys always peak as rookies or really early, they play on their physical gifts and that's it. Still, he's an 8th round pick, plays really poorly in his first game against the Saints, still Shula goes with Woodley when Griese's done and Strock barely gets a look.

David also had issues with playing in front of crowds. He was scared to death of it. Woodley would have fantasies about playing in front of an empty stadium. It went back to his time at LSU, when the boos started to affect him greatly:

https://www.profootballhistory.com/david-woodley/

[sheajets]

Woodley was one of these physical QBs who won't do the film work. These guys always peak as rookies or really early, they play on their physical gifts and that's it. Still, he's an 8th round pick, plays really poorly in his first game against the Saints, still Shula goes with Woodley when Griese's done and Strock barely gets a look.

David also had issues with playing in front of crowds. He was scared to death of it. Woodley would have fantasies about playing in front of an empty stadium. It went back to his time at LSU, when the boos started to affect him greatly:

https://www.profootballhistory.com/david-woodley/

Awful what happened with him. Tough to be an NFL starting QB while being a natural introvert.

He needed a liver transplant (and received one) at 33 years old. Though he was an alcoholic, it was actually speculated that alcohol was not the reason he needed a new liver so soon. That liver disease at 33 even for a guy who has been drinking like a fish for as long as he possibly could would likely not need one by then