Kurt Warner on Bryce Young

[Loyalty4Life]

On 1/4/2026 at 2:43 AM, TheSpecialJuan said:

https://x.com/kurt13warner/status/2007683519280230590?s=46&t=xeIgh_-Vr2aKxBkBJdfnKA
 

I know #BryceYoung has come a long way from his rookie year but until he cleans up his feet in the pocket & learns to set strong & ready at top of drop, it will be really hard to take that next step! It causes him to be late & miss a lot of throws & with his limited arm strength, playing late is not a winning proposition a lot of the time!

Kurt is correct.  One of Bryce's biggest issues is throwing behind his receivers and being late on the throw.  That is 100% true and I wish this tread had actually discussed that more.  

Average velocity on throws in the NFL is 54mph.  Estimates for Bryce are around 55-60mph.  For reference, elite arm velocity for guys like Josh Allen is 60-65mph.  

Every scouting report has said he has the NFL arm strength to make all the NFL throws.

What he does NOT have is the ability to generate power with just his arm.  This limits him in a crowded pocket or when he can't generate power with his base.  The lack of power from throwing without a proper base is a smaller issue.  The BIG problem is how this combination effects his accuracy. 

It causes him to throw late and behind his receivers.  This is why he has to play with timing and anticipation.  Numerous other QB's in the league also have this same issue.  Jared Geoff,  Mac Jones, Drew Brees are examples.

 

[Moonraker]

Man...watching Kurt break this tape down shows just how many potential BIG plays are sitting there on the field begging to be taken. I think most of us already knew or assumed that, but watching him show it makes you wanna pull your hair out.

[kungfoodude]

9 hours ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

 

These same videos with these same issues have been getting released since his rookie year and we are seeing minimal improvements, at best. 

IMO, this is not something that is fixable. If we are through two "QB Guru" head coaches and he is still struggling with basic throw mechanics so often, this is not something that is fixable. It's been three full offseasons and three full seasons. This is inexcusable for this to be so incredibly common in each game. 

This place is squarely on Bryce. It is very apparent that he has zero inclination to improve himself at all. There is no way on earth I believe that of all the QB people around him in his NFL career that they are just shutting the fug up and ignoring all of this.

[kungfoodude]

32 minutes ago, Moonraker said:

Man...watching Kurt break this tape down shows just how many potential BIG plays are sitting there on the field begging to be taken. I think most of us already knew or assumed that, but watching him show it makes you wanna pull your hair out.

This is why I laugh at the "Well Canales has to cater his offense to noodle armed Bryce" guys. We are calling deep shots, he is not taking them even when they are available. 

[strato]

26 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

These same videos with these same issues have been getting released since his rookie year and we are seeing minimal improvements, at best. 

IMO, this is not something that is fixable. If we are through two "QB Guru" head coaches and he is still struggling with basic throw mechanics so often, this is not something that is fixable. It's been three full offseasons and three full seasons. This is inexcusable for this to be so incredibly common in each game. 

This place is squarely on Bryce. It is very apparent that he has zero inclination to improve himself at all. There is no way on earth I believe that of all the QB people around him in his NFL career that they are just shutting the fug up and ignoring all of this.

The problem with him fixing it s it really can only be practiced in real games. At game speed and under game conditions. 
 

Doing it right in 7 on 7 or when you have a red jersey on, and even preseason games - which are Not played at the pace and intensity of in season, that is kind of a piece of cake. By comparison anyway.

The only way to overcome it is at full speed, and even then if you aren’t pressured you can stay with the new mechanics. But man when it gets down to it do or die time there is an overwhelming urge to revert to your comfort level.  (That is what people can’t overcome, usually). 
 

I think theoretically you could fix the mechanics but realistically, in NFL games that count, people don’t have multiple seasons to indulge you using games as practice reps.  

Also, that game speed. They say that come playoff time, that intensity and speed of the game really gets into high gear. It will be his first taste of that. 

On Warner, it was late when I found that video. I made it through only half , but it seemed like Kurt was being extra polite and trying to be positive and constructive with his criticisms. I didn’t think he was at all attacking Bryce.  
 

PS, go ahead and laugh at the idea that Canales alters the play call approach to compensate.  He does. Anyone would have to.  

Edited yesterday at 05:50 PM by strato

[kungfoodude]

3 minutes ago, strato said:

The problem with him fixing it s it really can only be practiced in real games. At game speed and under game conditions. 
 

Doing it right in 7 on 7 or when you have a red jersey on, and even preseason games - which are Not played at the pace and intensity of in season, that is kind of a piece of cake. By comparison anyway.

The only way to overcome it is a full speed, and even then if you aren’t pressured you can stay with the new mechanics. But man when it gets down to it do or die time there is an overwhelming urge to revert to your comfort level.  
 

I think theoretically you could fix the mechanics but realistically, in NFL games that count, people don’t have multiple seasons to indulge you using games as practice reps.  

Also, that game speed. They say that come playoff time, that intensity and speed of the game really gets into high gear. It will be his first taste of that. 

On Warner, it was late when I found that video. I made it through only half , but it seemed like Kurt was being extra polite and trying to be positive and constructive with his criticisms. I didn’t think he was at all attacking Bryce.  

Even Cam at the end fixed some issues with his throwing mechanics, largely because his arm was shot. Mechanics are about drilling over and over and over. This is why QB camps exist and working out in the offseason with personal QB coaches and so on. Every elite QB is constantly trying to improve and reinforce the basics because that is how you train yourself to eliminate bad habits. This is no different than kickers or punters or wide receivers or golfers or batters or.....

That's the point. You train to rid yourself of the bad habits. If you recall, I believe it was after Bryce's rookie season he supposedly "took time away from football" over the summer. So, instead of working to improve himself he just escaped away. Sound familiar? It should. That's Jamarcus Russell or Kyler Murray lack of dedication. 

I am coming to think that is one of the bigger issues with Bryce. He either has no will to improve at all or he doesn't believe it is as big of an issue as it clearly is. 

[SmokinwithWilly]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

Even Cam at the end fixed some issues with his throwing mechanics, largely because his arm was shot. Mechanics are about drilling over and over and over. This is why QB camps exist and working out in the offseason with personal QB coaches and so on. Every elite QB is constantly trying to improve and reinforce the basics because that is how you train yourself to eliminate bad habits. This is no different than kickers or punters or wide receivers or golfers or batters or.....

That's the point. You train to rid yourself of the bad habits. If you recall, I believe it was after Bryce's rookie season he supposedly "took time away from football" over the summer. So, instead of working to improve himself he just escaped away. Sound familiar? It should. That's Jamarcus Russell or Kyler Murray lack of dedication. 

I am coming to think that is one of the bigger issues with Bryce. He either has no will to improve at all or he doesn't believe it is as big of an issue as it clearly is. 

I remember after Icky's rookie season he was getting hammered on this board about his dedication and his need to go get a coach in the off season and work on his pass blocking and people were questioning his dedication to his craft. 3 years in and the same mechanics and footwork issues that were present in college are still present with Bryce and there's crickets. Hell, there was even a thread made a couple of weeks ago about XL needing to lay off TikTok and go get a WR coach and work on his game this off season. I don't get why everyone else needs to work on their craft, but the guy that is supposed to lead by example isn't working on his. 

[kungfoodude]

1 minute ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

I remember after Icky's rookie season he was getting hammered on this board about his dedication and his need to go get a coach in the off season and work on his pass blocking and people were questioning his dedication to his craft. 3 years in and the same mechanics and footwork issues that were present in college are still present with Bryce and there's crickets. Hell, there was even a thread made a couple of weeks ago about XL needing to lay off TikTok and go get a WR coach and work on his game this off season. I don't get why everyone else needs to work on their craft, but the guy that is supposed to lead by example isn't working on his. 

You have a portion of the fanbase blinded by Bryce hatred that screams "TOO SMALL! TOO WEAK!" and then the "Forever Brycers" that think he can do no wrong that are really jamming up the works with the content. 

It's not an accident that we keep seeing this fuging video breakdowns beating the same fuging horse for a third season about mechanics and footwork issues. Couple this with the fact that Bryce has been in more than one offense and had more than one HC, OC and QB coach in his three years. Yet somehow all these problems persist. So what's the common denominator?

But yeah, it will be about how David Moore shouldn't be on the roster or Jake Curhan is better than Austin Corbett or Christian Roseboom is actually a good LB if you watch the games with a welding hood on or some other less impactful thing than......our QB isn't fuging dedicated to his craft.

[strato]

15 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Even Cam at the end fixed some issues with his throwing mechanics, largely because his arm was shot. Mechanics are about drilling over and over and over. This is why QB camps exist and working out in the offseason with personal QB coaches and so on. Every elite QB is constantly trying to improve and reinforce the basics because that is how you train yourself to eliminate bad habits. This is no different than kickers or punters or wide receivers or golfers or batters or.....

That's the point. You train to rid yourself of the bad habits. If you recall, I believe it was after Bryce's rookie season he supposedly "took time away from football" over the summer. So, instead of working to improve himself he just escaped away. Sound familiar? It should. That's Jamarcus Russell or Kyler Murray lack of dedication. 

I am coming to think that is one of the bigger issues with Bryce. He either has no will to improve at all or he doesn't believe it is as big of an issue as it clearly is. 

I don’t disagree with any of that. Any sport that relies on drilling to get a reliable and repeatable physical action presents these same challenges. I have used Tiger Woods as an example because he is so well known and suffered through trying to change and make it stick in tournament play. Majors and stuff. He really struggled.

At some point you can end up stuck between the old way and the new and just totally confused.  But all the training and drilling in the world often falls apart under pressure. Think about the years he spent training himself to do it the way he did it his entire life. It is really hard to overcome that stuff, it is ingrained in you to the point you don’t have think at all. Hopefully. Undoing that and rebuilding it into a different process is a massive challenge. Getting to the point you don’t have to think and you are doing the new way, is the final hurdle.

This mechanics thing and my opinion on the level of difficulty he would face is the biggest reason I had for being against drafting him. More so than his height. 
 

which, btw, the adapting to a new technique thing, freaking Larry Bird played an NBA game shooting only left handed and they still couldn’t stop him. On a whim. Damndest thing…

Edited yesterday at 06:07 PM by strato

[strato]

9 minutes ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

I remember after Icky's rookie season he was getting hammered on this board about his dedication and his need to go get a coach in the off season and work on his pass blocking and people were questioning his dedication to his craft. 3 years in and the same mechanics and footwork issues that were present in college are still present with Bryce and there's crickets. Hell, there was even a thread made a couple of weeks ago about XL needing to lay off TikTok and go get a WR coach and work on his game this off season. I don't get why everyone else needs to work on their craft, but the guy that is supposed to lead by example isn't working on his. 

And when you realistically discuss it, point it out, whatever, you are hating!

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, strato said:

I don’t disagree with any of that. Any sport that relies on drilling to get a reliable and repeatable physical action presents these same challenges. I have used Tiger Woods as an example because he is so well known and suffered through trying to change and make it stick in tournament play. Majors and stuff. He really struggled.

At some point you can end up stuck between the old way and the new and just totally confused.  But all the training and drilling in the world often falls apart under pressure. Think about the years he spent training himself to do it the way he did it his entire life. It is really hard to overcome that stuff, it is ingrained in you to the point you don’t have think at all. Hopefully. Undoing that and rebuilding it into a different process is a massive challenge. Getting to the point you don’t have to think and you are doing the new way, is the final hurdle.

This mechanics thing and my opinion on the level of difficulty he would face is the biggest reason I had for being against drafting him. More so than his height. 

I think the problem has always been that he was never trained properly from the start. If you look at polished QB prospects, you will not see this BS over and over and over. It's always very raw guys or those with little QB experience historically that struggle with these kind of issues or just generally dumb QB's that can't really learn at all but they usually get filtered out at the HS/college level.

I did not put as much stock in his mechanics issues because they ARE fixable during the draft. Now that we are this deep into his career with all those same issues, I think the problem is that he just doesn't have the will to change any of this. That's not something that is easy to diagnose.

I sorely regret having him #1 on my QB board that offseason. Although I was right about the other two. CJ is a very good QB and Anthony Richardson is absolute garbage.

[PNW_PantherMan]

22 minutes ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

I remember after Icky's rookie season he was getting hammered on this board about his dedication and his need to go get a coach in the off season and work on his pass blocking and people were questioning his dedication to his craft. 3 years in and the same mechanics and footwork issues that were present in college are still present with Bryce and there's crickets. Hell, there was even a thread made a couple of weeks ago about XL needing to lay off TikTok and go get a WR coach and work on his game this off season. I don't get why everyone else needs to work on their craft, but the guy that is supposed to lead by example isn't working on his. 

Icky is still catching strays to insulate Bryce Young from any and all accountability.  So tiresome.

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

Icky is still catching strays to insulate Bryce Young from any and all accountability.  So tiresome.

poo, go to the other thread. One of these MFer's is blaming the entire WR Corps for why Bryce didn't play well this year. 

[strato]

4 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I think the problem has always been that he was never trained properly from the start. If you look at polished QB prospects, you will not see this BS over and over and over. It's always very raw guys or those with little QB experience historically that struggle with these kind of issues or just generally dumb QB's that can't really learn at all but they usually get filtered out at the HS/college level.

I did not put as much stock in his mechanics issues because they ARE fixable during the draft. Now that we are this deep into his career with all those same issues, I think the problem is that he just doesn't have the will to change any of this. That's not something that is easy to diagnose.

I sorely regret having him #1 on my QB board that offseason. Although I was right about the other two. CJ is a very good QB and Anthony Richardson is absolute garbage.

I think he is such an outlier people didn’t know what to do with him coming up. If he can get by with his unique mechanics and get the win, those coaches accept it and work around whatever they need to. Path of least resistance.

Easier to put him in the gun and snap it to him back there, you don’t have to teach him to do under center drop plant throw timing stuff. Matter of fact that isn’t just him. That is all over high school and college. But he is a special case with that crazy parallel meandering back pedal on the tippy toes. That is height related, seems to me. It is how he adapted. 

Talk about fixing it, tall odds, as fuged up as his mechanics are relative to proper. What Warner is pointing out (and explaining it much much better than I ever could) is a lot easier to talk about than do something about.