Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Coaches and their "systems" get way too much credit. The QB still has stand in there or get away from pressure in their face ... If they execute fine, if not the coach will eventually find someone who can, or get fired first ...

Quarterbacks might have grown up calling their own plays in the 50s, 60s, etc. I don't think any college qbs are calling their own plays now either, so it might be kind of a lost art.

Elway called his own plays one year, I think. Anyone else remember that? He's the last one I can remember. And then the classic Harbaugh audible that made Ditka furious.

I think Howie Long is right, the coaches likely want more control over the game. Paul Brown of course sent his plays in via "messenger guard" and he experimented with the headset in the helmet. Landry wouldn't let Staubach call plays, if I remember right....of course now they've got cameras all over the place and computer tablets, a lot of info can be conveyed quickly and the coaches can see more than ever. Although I prefer qbs calling their own plays, one person here made the comment about coaches' jobs being at stake and they'd rather be holding the dice when it comes to play calls rather than a qb (who might be woozy from a hit). So put that way, it's completely understandable. I do believe that a quarterback on the field in the middle of a game, getting info from his receivers and blockers, is going to have a better understanding of certain things that might work rather than going with viewing alignments on a tablet.

The last QB I remember calling his own plays was Jim Kelly, though watching Peyton Manning, he probably had alot of leeway himself in terms of options ...

Brian wolf wrote:The last QB I remember calling his own plays was Jim Kelly, though watching Peyton Manning, he probably had alot of leeway himself in terms of options ...

Yeah, it seems like Manning had a lot of leeway at the line of scrimmage to call what he thought was best. Omaha!

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:Quarterbacks might have grown up calling their own plays in the 50s, 60s, etc. I don't think any college qbs are calling their own plays now either, so it might be kind of a lost art.

In my original post, I actually wasn't complaining about coaches calling the plays. My beef is with the coaches reading the defenses for the quarterback. The quarterback doesn't have to think anymore. And in the case of the Golden Gophers, when you watch Tanner Morgan play, if it's a pass play, he looks directly at his receiver the entire time. That guy is just limbs and appendages. No higher thinking required.

On the sandlot, all the QBs (and "defensive coordinators") had to call their own plays.
There were a lot of guys who played QB (myself included, when pressed into action) who could win games by virtue of their play calling despite having inferior arms. And there were guys with great arms who couldn't' call a game to save their.. errr, lives,*

Of course, the very best could do both.
What a concept...

*We actually played against a team who didn't call patterns... their QB would say "Yours is to short left, yours is to deep left, you fill in the middle..." And they had college football players on the team...

Brian wolf wrote:The last QB I remember calling his own plays was Jim Kelly, though watching Peyton Manning, he probably had alot of leeway himself in terms of options ...

Roethlisberger too. Believe last year vs Indy he was calling plays during a game they came back to win in the 2nd half

When Brian Griese was with the Bears at the end of his career, he beat the Eagles with a last-second TD pass that culminated a flawless two-minute drill. The story was that the Bears offense hadn't done anything all game, Griese got sick of the play calling, so he ignored the coaches and simply called his own plays during the two-minute drill. After the game, he tried to claim that his QB headset wasn't working, so he didn't have any choice but to call his own plays. The Bears ended up deactivating Griese shortly thereafter (for Kyle Orton no less).

Brian Griese had talent and could pick up an offensive system quickly but was a magnet for pass rushers.

Bryan wrote:When Brian Griese was with the Bears at the end of his career, he beat the Eagles with a last-second TD pass that culminated a flawless two-minute drill. The story was that the Bears offense hadn't done anything all game, Griese got sick of the play calling, so he ignored the coaches and simply called his own plays during the two-minute drill. After the game, he tried to claim that his QB headset wasn't working, so he didn't have any choice but to call his own plays. The Bears ended up deactivating Griese shortly thereafter (for Kyle Orton no less).

Not shocking. Big egos are a common thing with these coaches, and they think that they are always right. You have to have narcissistic traits to coach in the NFL.