Kaufman: Young QBs must learn to take a hit
The Browns sacked Marcus Mariota seven times on Sunday. QB Jameis Winston has been sacked seven times in 2 games.By Ira Kaufman | Tribune Staff Published: September 22, 2015TAMPA — It won’t show up on the Wonderlic test or the combine workouts, but it just might be the most telling factor when evaluating quarterback prospects:Can he take a beating?From Peyton Manning to Eli Manning, NFL quarterbacks who start as rookies tend to struggle with both the mental aspect and the physical rigors of the pro game. Jameis Winston of the Bucs says his biggest adjustment is getting used to the speed of defensive linemen intent on separating quarterbacks from both the football and their senses.Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota, drafted No. 2 overall behind Winston five months ago, learned that lesson the hard way Sunday in Cleveland, where the Browns sacked the reigning Heisman Trophy winner seven times in a 28-14 triumph.“Some of those sacks, he didn’t have a chance,” Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “We’ve got to do a better job with protection.”Despite Sunday’s battering, which resulted in a sore left ankle, Mariota became the first player in league history to throw six touchdown passes in his first two career games.Hounded by Tennessee in the opener, Winston has been sacked seven times through two weeks, but he remained poised most of the way in Sunday’s 26-19 victory at New Orleans.Although the decision to play Winston and Mariota in Week 1 was never much of an issue, the NFL is littered with cautionary tales of rookie quarterbacks who never recovered from early failures.“I’ve always believed that 90 percent of the quarterbacks coming out of college would benefit from taking a year or two to learn the pro game behind a veteran,” said CBS analyst Steve Beuerlein, a fourth-round pick by the Raiders out of Notre Dame in 1987 who started by his second season. ”You pay a heck of a price. Getting sacked was part of my game — that’s what made me last 14 years in the NFL. Getting hit was something I took a great deal of pride in.”For some, the hits just kept on coming.David Carr, the first selection in the 2002 draft, was sacked 76 times as a rookie with the expansion Texans and never recovered. In 1999, top pick Tim Couch joined the expansion Browns and suffered 56 sacks and 10 lost fumbles.Blaine Gabbert (Jaguars) and Ryan Leaf (Chargers) are also examples of premium draft picks who couldn’t make a successful transition under center in the pros, in large part because they couldn’t deal with pressure ... in all its forms.“These rookie quarterbacks have to be able to protect themselves,” former Bucs coach and current ESPN analyst Jon Gruden said. “By that, I don’t mean scrambling, necessarily. I mean, do you see the double corner blitz? Do you see the all-out blitz? They’re not coming to play two-hand touch — they’re coming to knock you down hard.”Quarterback Vinny Testaverde, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1987 draft, sat behind veteran Steve DeBerg until the final four games of his rookie season with Tampa Bay.“You need thick skin in the NFL, particularly at the quarterback position,” Testaverde said. “It’s the guys who are mentally tough enough to stay focused who ultimately succeed.”Some rookie quarterbacks can’t recover from the physical beating. Others struggle with the toll sacks inflict on the psyche.“There’s a roller-coaster ride that comes with that position,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “Generally those guys you are looking for in the draft have that toughness to overcome.”ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski suffered 363 sacks in a 15-year NFL career, leading the league in that category three times. He said the onus is on coaching staffs to protect rookie quarterbacks with the proper scheme and approach.“I’ve seen the Patrick Ramseys of the world get their brains beat in,” Jaworski said, referring to a first-round quarterback picked by the Redskins in 2002 who finished a pedestrian career with only 24 NFL starts. “If you’re going to put a rookie out there from Week 1, you’d better manage his game. You can’t expect these guys to throw 45 passes and not get humiliated by NFL defenses.”Former Giants quarterback Phil Simms, now an analyst for CBS, suggests the ultimate responsibility rests with the youngster under center.“If you throw him out there and it doesn’t go well and that ruins his career,” Simms said, “then he wasn’t the guy to begin with.”[email protected]Twitter: @IKaufmanTBO
