Over the Summer I had a discussion with an aspiring NFL draft talent evaluator. His breakdown of Easton Stick was as good as anything that I've seen on our quarterback but I disagreed with a few of the points that he made. The one that I am planning to address the most specifically this season is to pay close attention to the running of our quarterback. As a prospect being able to run can be an asset but being a running quarterback is often detrimental. I can count on one hand the number of running quarterbacks that have succeeded for many years without serious injury in the NFL over the last 20 years. Sure Stick could be the exception but I'm not ready to count on that.
I'm going to go game by game, watching whether the runs that he takes are part of the designed offense or because it's still a basic instinct & primary facet of his game!
According to the box score, Easton had one more run but I must have missed it because I don't recall seeing another. We're only one game into the season so it's a small sample size but as far as the quarterback running the ball, it was at what consider to be an acceptable level. More than five in a game is where I would get a little concerned about it, especially given all the tailbacks that are capable to producing. Three runs, with one going for a touchdown is đ .
Unrelated to this exercise, he's got to pass more. Or if the game plan only calls for 8 - 10 passes, he needs to connect on 7 or more of them. I know there are drops at times which is why I'm not saying 90% or more but if the number is going to be low, the percentage needs to be high!
That's just a little aside though, in terms of the main focus today, I think Easton did a good job picking his spots to run and not taking any unnecessary hits!