Malcolm Gladwell's recent compilation What the Dog Saw includes a 2008 article examining what he calls "the quarterback problem." This phenomenon refers to the difficulty NFL scouts have predicting which college quarterbacks are most capable of succeding at the professional level. Quarterbacking is so different between college and the pros--more drastically than is the case for any other position in football--that even some of the most talented, highly-touted quarterbacks in college football history have proven incapable of making the adjustment. Gladwell's observation is that there is no sure way to know how a quarterback will perform for an NFL team until they are given the opportunity to do so, because there's really no relevant track record to evaluate.
There's a recent, curious case that I'd love to hear Gladwell's take on: Tim Tebow.
Tebow is only in his second season, so the jury is still out on whether he's a legitimate franchise quarterback. But what he's demonstrated so far has been nothing short of baffling.
There's a recent, curious case that I'd love to hear Gladwell's take on: Tim Tebow.
Tebow is only in his second season, so the jury is still out on whether he's a legitimate franchise quarterback. But what he's demonstrated so far has been nothing short of baffling.
