The Rise of Playmakers and the Changing Role of Quarterbacks
Image Credit: Karen
Many great quarterbacks have taken the field in the history of the NFL. Names like Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Dan Marino have been forged throughout history due to their outstanding performances. Quarterbacks often get a lot of credit for the success of a team. The evidence for this is that in the league's long history, only a handful of non-quarterback players have won the MVP award. However, we have recently seen teams getting great results without an elite quarterback. Yet those teams have good playmakers around the quarterback. This is an intriguing shift in focus, where the spotlight is shared with playmakers, raises the question of whether having an elite quarterback is less crucial for teams than in the past.
Key Playmakers Are A Must
A quarterback is key for a team's success, as the players are running the offence during a game. Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rogers have proven that having a 'clutch' quarterback behind centre is good, as it can sometimes be the difference between winning and losing a game. There is an argument to be made that if you build an excellent situation around a decent quarterback, you can find a large amount of success. You can see this in the Philadelphia Eagles' performance last season. Philadelphia's quarterback Jalen Hurts didn't have an exceptional first two seasons in the NFL. You saw a jump in his and the team's performance in his third year. You could argue that Hurts just made a massive step in his development. However, a key difference was that in the last couple of seasons, the Eagles brought in a lot of good playmakers for Hurts' offence; examples of these playmakers were AJ Brown and Dallas Goedert. It suggests that the team's improvement was adding these players rather than Hurts' development.
A Strong Defence Is Critical
Of course, football has two sides, with the defence being crucial to a team's success. Without a good defence, a team will always struggle to get results. The reason for this is that the defence controls how the offence plays. When a defence plays well, it takes a lot of pressure off an offence, allowing a team to take fewer risks if the score is low. Back in 2015, the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl, and it is easy to forget how dominating the defence was that season, with players like Von Miller, Chris Harris Jr, and DeMarcus Ward leading the charge. It is easy to forget because it was Peyton Manning's last Super Bowl. Yet, looking at Manning's numbers in 2015, it wasn't his best season. He threw for 2,249 yards, but the most worrying stat was his touchdown to interception ratio. The Hall of Famer threw nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions; this shows how big of a role the defence played in the franchise winning the Super Bowl. The offence struggled, which meant the defence needed to keep the score low. It proves a team can succeed with a good defence even when a quarterback isn't playing well.
Coaching
The coach is crucial to a team's performance as they are scheming and calling the plays. Some may argue that a coach is the most important person in an NFL franchise. It is because they are responsible for the performance and development of a team. There has always been a debate about who is more critical, a coach or a quarterback. Kyle Shanahan may have put an end to the discussion in 2022. Shanahan managed to take the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC championship game with three starters at the quarterback position. After losing Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo to injury, Shanahan was left with rookie Brock Purdy, but the 49ers still got a record of 13-4. Shanahan achieved this by using his offensive playmakers like George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Christian McCaffrey to make plays that took the pressure off the quarterback. It is important to note that the San Francisco defence last year was incredible. Shanahan's inspiring ability to make adjustments was the key for San Francisco last year.
Quarterback will always be an essential position in the league. Yet, there are specific scenarios where they are not crucial for a team's success. With the NFL having a great crop of playmakers at the moment, it's hard to see other teams not following this trend in the future.
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