Chiefs: Brady Quinn Mechanics

The conversation for the Chiefs is the Quarterback.  I'll preface everything by saying this isn't about the angle of Brady Quinn getting playing time.  With Quinn being in the conversation in Kansas City.  Thought I would provide my thoughts on him as a player.

Footwork is always thrown around when talking about sports.  In basketball Ray Allen is regarded as one of the premier shooters.  His "stroke" often gets praised as the sweetest in the game.  What makes Ray Allen is his incredible base and ability to generate power to his shot as a shooter.  Because of this Ray Allen doesn't need as much range in the upper body to compensate for power.  So much force is generated by lower body all Ray Allen has to do is compensate for accuracy.

This principle is no different when evaluating any sport.  How a player physically accounts for power and accuracy is often paramount in Quarterback play.  Peyton Manning looks awful dropping and throwing.  The quirk with Manning is establishing a base quickly.  For a big guy he takes short strides, making him appear clumsy.

What Manning does is move in a way that his feet are always in position to deliver the ball.  Because the way Manning establish his base, he can account for a lot of power.  Peyton Manning doesn't have a lot of "arm talent".  Like a great shooter in basketball, Manning establishes a great base where he generates power.  The accuracy is the byproduct.  Similar to Ray Allen...so much force is generated in balance from lower body...upper body can compensate more for accuracy.

I reference those two players mechanics to contrast how Brady Quinn accounts for power.  Unlike the two mentioned above, Quinn rarely establishes a base.  Quinn is a strong kid and can generate plenty of force, but without balance that force hinders accuracy.  With Quinn the mechanic is a simple fix.  Essentially the flawed mechanic is in how he generates power.

With Manning/Allen their bodies move in unison.  When the feet begin to generate force the arm is moving right along with it.  With Quinn it's more sequential.  When the feet begin to generate force, the hips follows, then the shoulder and arm.  The quirk that bothers me follows.

While the body is transferring force the arm is in motion.  With Quinn the arm starts with the feet, but the arm moves backwards.  Unlike Manning/Allen who have little to no negative motion.  With Manning his arm is moving up and over the top.  With Quinn it's moving back then forward effecting his release point.

Quinn's arm rarely gets extended, by the time the momentum is there to make the pass...Quinn has little time moving arm forward.  While at camp the trajectory of his passes were all the same.  Because of the release point/extension/reduced forward motion Quinn is very limited in the types of passes he can make.

In baseball there is the pitcher that throws 90mph fast ball but has little versatility with other throws.  In a nutshell that is Brady Quinn.  His "fastball" isn't good enough to overcome his lack of versatility as a passer.  Quinn has little control of the ball because of his flawed mechanic.

Quinn has been on 6 teams in 3 years...there are reasons a 1st round pick is being let go.  When I say Quinn shouldn't start, it's not because he's the back-up.  It's because he has more limitations passing the ball than Matt Cassel.  To me it's as simple as that.