Why a Canadian QB is different than any other Canadian Pos..

CFL Talk
#1

just in case you're wondering that last word is suppose to be Position.

anyway,

I have been trying to figure out in my own mind why you cannot compare Canadian QB's to the rest of the Canadian Positions in the league.

and here's the reason.

how many receivers do you have on an offense that are considered starters?

4

Defensive Lineman? 3 to 4.

Offensive Lineman 5.

Linebackers? again 3 to 4

Secondary 5.

QB's - 1.

You have 4 or 5 spots that you can have for starters in your receiving core...

And given that there are probably about 30 Canadian Receivers in the CFL today.. that's a pretty good number.

there are a lot more to choose from when you are looking for Canadian Receivers.

you go and look at the College receivers that are playing in Canada today and the odd one or two that made it down south..

60% of them likely will never see a Pro field.. that number could possibly be even higher.

I am going to list all the Canadian Receivers that had a good to great season in 2010

Fantuz
Getzlaf
Stala
Bauman - it was pretty good.
Franklin

these 5 had what you would consider really good seasons.

Cahoon was not his usual self, everyone even said so.

now you look at all the receivers out there in the CFL that are Canadian and that's about 1/6th of them.

Why would you want to sacrifice a player like a Henry Burris or Darian Durant or Ricky Ray or Kevin Glenn, Anthony Calvillo for a Canadian Just because he's a Canadian QB?

it's 1 player. wouldn't you want to have your best QB out there? and if that best QB happens to be an American, then it should be him!

unless Brannagan suddenly comes to 2011 camp and totally puts on a show like we've never seen ever.. it's unlikely he'll ever become a starter in the CFL.

and at this point today, I dont' see any Canadians capable of truly becoming a starting QB full time in the CFL.

maybe in the future, like 10 years from now if they do it right, at the very beginning you might see one or two..

but not today.

#2

The football programs in the south kick the crap out of ours up here.Kids throw from a VERY young age down there, kids multi task sports here.Brannagan is a good example of US-Canada QB comparisons.In the CIS he was beast, but his throws were terribly weak and slow in the CFL and he looked like he was making decisions in slow motion whilst everyone else was at full speed.N/I QB's just don't have the know how or the arm strength to compete with American QB's at this time.Thank the non-existent requirement for 1 N/I QB on each roster.

#3

exactly. you made it look pretty good.

in order for a Canadian QB to have any chance in the future, the future has to be started NOW.

when the next season starts for Minor league football.. they would have to start working on it. but that's the problem here.

vast majority of Minor Football coaches that coach in the young guys age range, really don't know squat! they're a lot like those minor hockey fathers who wanna coach their sons team so they go become a coach.

they don't know how to develop anyone?!? they're just there to volunteer as a coach and they may have 2 or 3 assistants with them. they don't exactly have the time to spend each day of the week on a specific position and train them.

as you get up to like High School football, now you might be able to do a lot more of this if your Coach at the HS level is willing to do something for the player. But in reality, most aren't.

they don't have the time or the desire to really focus on a Canadian kid who may have potential to be a QB.. they just want to have a good team period.. and besides, what do they tend to do most of the time? Run the ball.

if they do pass the ball it's like really cheesy simple things. They either don't know how or don't care to teach the QB skills like reading defenses, proper technique for the 3 or 5 step drop, proper throwing techniques..

the attitude and idealism of 99% of the School programs in Canada is to just play football. they don't spend extra time over the off season to train in specific positions with specific skills.

sure as you get up to levels like Junior football and University Football, almost every team will have some sort of off season training schedule and routine.

but by then you're already years and years behind your American Counterparts.

In Order to truly give a Canadian Kid a decent shot at becoming a Professional QB you need to find them early, develop them early! train them and shape them into a real talented QB right then! not later when he's about to Graduate from HS. you get him when he's playing Pee-Wee football.. you dedicate time to show him the little things, work with him all the time to develop the things that will make him stand out from the other wanna be QB's.

he has to develop

proper throwing technique.
proper footwork
skill building with eye/hand coordination
teach the player how to watch game film and understand it , break it down.
then over time you teach the player how to read defenses and pick out situations and learn to adapt to them.

Plus you have to have him on a training regiment..

he needs to have a very strong arm (this happens later in life obviously)

he needs to have a good developed body, weight training and exercise programs.

THIS.. will get the guy to the next level.. BUT!!

it doesn't matter if the kid doesn't already have the natural ability in the first place.

you just can't pick a random kid out of a group and say "I'm going to make him into an All-Star QB!"

isn't that simple.

#4

and for the record, I'm not bragging about myself..

I had the fortunate luck of having a lot of natural skill for the game of football.

I already knew how to throw a football. I had to learn how to be a QB.

I started early, even before I played a single game.

my father was coaching football when I was a kid and I got involved at the tender age of 6.

I was too young to play at the time of course as there was nothing for kids my age yet.

I remember learning little things, I was at every practise. I would participate in drills with the QB's.

heck, before I played my first game at age 11, I knew how to do the 5 step drop, I knew how to take the snap from the center, and other things.

I played football for a couple seasons and then I attended a University run Football camp for minor football teams at the University of Calgary in 1992 and 1993. I got to have coaching from the actual Coaches for the U of C Dinos.. we sent 4 players down to partake. was fun, a whole week in Calgary, staying at the University.

I also participated in other camps in other years too. can't quite remember them all.

My fall back was that I wasn't tall enough and I wasn't fast enough.

I had the skills and ability to be a QB in College for sure, but I just didn't measure up to the "proto typical" QB. 6'2" and a 4.6 40yd run time.

not that It's my fault really. you are born with your body so I can't change that.

That's why I put my talents and knowledge to use in Coaching now.

#5

I definitely understand the point you're making and I agree with it, but I have to say.. just because Cahoon wasn't his usual self doesn't mean he wasn't way better than Bauman and Franklin..

#6

yeah but Cahoon is pretty much past his prime... if he doesn't retire this year he'll be likely used in a limited fashion in 2011