USA TODAY Ranks the 32 Starting Quarterbacks

[t96]

http://sportswire.usatoday.com/2015/07/17/qb-rank-nfl-quarterbacks-rankings/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnfl-topstories

 

Surprisingly a really solid article. I don't agree with 100% of it but it's about as good as any national media will do.

 

ACCURACY

Newton’s sloppy footwork leads to a lot of poor throws but his lack of touch is also a contributing factor. Every pass he makes is a rocket, no matter the situation. Part of the problem is a three-quarters delivery, which makes it difficult for him to put loft on the ball when needed, causing him to miss on touch throws down the sideline.

His splits on middle of the field throws and sideline throws in 2014 are telling:

Middle of the field: 64.8% comp, 94.9 rating
Outside the numbers: 51.8% comp, 67.8 rating

Grade: 6.5

POCKET PRESENCE

Newton grew more comfortable with his protection later in the season and showed more patience in the pocket, but this is still a weak part of his game. He still sees ghosts in the pocket and would rather escape out the backdoor than climb the pocket and keep his eyes downfield.

Grade: 7.5

FIELD VISION

Newton has struggled to shake the perception that he wasn’t capable of being a pocket passer, but his field vision has improved every season of his NFL career. He’ll go through his progressions and knows how to manipulate defenders with his eyes. His next step will be throwing with more anticipation and learning to hit his checkdown when a downfield throw isn’t there.

Grade: 8

PRE-SNAP

This is another underrated aspect of Newton’s game. Last season, he became more involved before the snap, making checks to favorable plays and changing protections. He will still miss some reads pre-snap, but the steps he made in 2014 were encouraging.

Grade: 8

[PhillyB]

pocket presence should be a little higher due to the turnstile line that's produced his performance there and the fact that he's number one in the league in blind escapability from a pocket collapsing around him.

[RelaxImaPro]

Really good and well put together list... but they know good and damn well Cam's arm strength should be a 10.  It's like they docked those 0.5 points for absolutely no reason.  As much as I dislike him, same thing for Kaepernick.  Other than that, it's pretty fair.

[pantherclaw]

Disagree where luck is ranked. 

He shouldn't be above Roethlisberger. 

Stopped reading after Cam. 

Will say he described Cam's pros and cons very well.

[pantherphan96]

11 seems fair to me coming into this year. Could see him breaking into top 6 if Manning / Brady retires.

[Mol3m4n]

Tbh I don't think it's that great of an article.

[Goondal]

Cam is the only one I read but I did scroll through the rankings. May not be the exact order I would have but I did not notice anybody dramatically out of place. Good list

[t96]

Tbh I don't think it's that great of an article.

Compared to the ESPN ones ranking Cam 20th?

pocket presence should be a little higher due to the turnstile line that's produced his performance there and the fact that he's number one in the league in blind escapability from a pocket collapsing around him.

I agree, and his accuracy isn't that bad. The sloppy footwork is entirely due to the offensive line struggles. Lack of touch is definitely an issue of Cam's but overall I think he has better accuracy than they give him credit for. The middle of field and sideline differential is interesting though. Could that be because of the receivers? Other than that though I think they're pretty spot on for Cam (though I'd put him ahead of Wilson and Ryan), and the only ones I've seen give him credit for his strength in field vision and pre-snap. Arm strength should be 10, yes. But that's not really a big deal.

[PoundCat]

Not for nothing, but I love the way they put the whole freekin list on 1 page instead of making you click through a bunch of slides. That's annoying 

[pantherking15]

Newton’s sloppy footwork leads to a lot of poor throws but his lack of touch is also a contributing factor. Every pass he makes is a rocket, no matter the situation. Part of the problem is a three-quarters delivery, which makes it difficult for him to put loft on the ball when needed, causing him to miss on touch throws down the sideline.

Really good insight on Cam's accuracy issues. The sloppy footwork issue is fairly obvious, but I never realized Cam's three-quarter delivery is what limited his ability to make touch passes. Both of those issues can be improved with more off-season reps, game experience, and coaching. Cam's ankle surgery, better pass protection, a stronger running game, and our big WRs with a wide catching radius can help a lot as well.

On a sidenote, I liked the metrics by which USA Today ranked QBs. Cam can be an elite QB without elite accuracy if he masters the other facets of his game.

If Cam improves his pre-snap skill from 8 to 9, field vision from 8 to 9, pocket presence from 7.5 to 8.5, and accuracy from 6.5 to 7.5 along with keeping a 10 in athleticism and arm strength (should be a 10), his overall average goes up to a 9 which would rank him 3rd behind Tom Brady.

[Razeyfingers]

That list is about a billions times more accurate than the NFL one at least.

 

Wilson a 10 in athleticism? . . You just got done saying that no compares to Cam in athleticism. Why would you give Wilson a ten? He's not running over anyone and he's not shaking any tackles off. 10 my ass. Did what he had to do to rank him higher. Just dumb logic there. Same with the Peyton comments