From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pejorative American football term
A
system quarterback
is an
American football
quarterback
who flourishes under a particular offensive
system
, specifically one that focuses on
passing
. The term is often seen as a pejorative, for it implicitly downplays a quarterback's talent or skill by implying that a successful offense is due to a particular scheme or that a quarterback is successful due to his employment under specific circumstances.
Russ Lande of
Sporting News
traced the term's etymology, or at least currency, to the early 1990s, when two
University of Houston
quarterbacks failed to carry college success into their professional careers.
[1]
First,
Andre Ware
, in head coach
Jack Pardee
and offensive coordinator
John Jenkins
's
run and shoot offense
, had a record-setting 1989 season that culminated in a
Heisman Trophy
. He was the seventh overall pick in the
1990 NFL Draft
, but did not have success in either the
National Football League
or the
Canadian Football League
.
[2]
David Klingler
took over for Ware at UH and was the sixth overall pick in the
1992 NFL Draft
. He too, failed to find exceptional success in the NFL.
[1]
Usage
[
edit
]
Recently, the appellation was commonly applied to
Texas Tech
quarterbacks that operated under former head coach
Mike Leach
and offensive coordinator
Dana Holgorsen
's
spread offense
. In the 2000s, the school had several different quarterbacks that threw in excess of 4,000 yards in a season. According to some pundits, this demonstrated that the quarterback had simply been an interchangeable part in a prolific passing offense. Some Texas Tech quarterbacks, with their college tenure in parentheses, described as such include:
- Sonny Cumbie
(2001?2004), threw for 4,742 yards his senior year.
[3]
[4]
[5]
- Graham Harrell
(2004?2008), threw for 4,555, 5,705, and 5,111 yards his last three years.
[4]
[6]
[7]
[8]
- Cody Hodges
(2001?2005), threw for 4,238 yards his senior year.
[4]
[6]
[9]
- Kliff Kingsbury
(1998?2002), passed for 4,642 yards his senior year.
[4]
[6]
[10]
- B. J. Symons
(2000?2003), threw for 5,336 yards his senior year.
[4]
[6]
[11]
The label is not restricted to Texas Tech, however, and pundits and coaches have referred to players from several other schools as benefiting from systems. In 2007, then Hawaii head coach and offensive coordinator
June Jones
infamously defended his own alleged system quarterback, Colt Brennan, by making the counter-accusation against Tim Tebow of Florida.
[12]
Players from schools other than Texas Tech that were described as system quarterbacks include:
- Colt Brennan
?
Hawaii
(2005?2007), under June Jones's
run and shoot offense
.
[12]
- Timmy Chang
? Hawaii (2000?2004), under June Jones's run and shoot.
[3]
- Chase Daniel
?
Missouri
(2005?2008), under
Dave Christensen
's spread offense.
[12]
- Dennis Dixon
?
Oregon
(2003?2007), under
Mike Belloti
's spread offense.
[12]
- Connor Halliday
?
Washington State
(2011?2014), under
Mike Leach
's spread offense in his years post-Texas Tech.
[13]
- David Klingler
? Houston (1988?1991), under
John Jenkins
's run and shoot.
[3]
[1]
- Kevin Kolb
? Houston (2003?2006), under
Art Briles
's spread offense.
[1]
[14]
- Marcus Mariota
? Oregon (2012?2014), 2014
Heisman Trophy
winner, under
Chip Kelly
and
Mark Helfrich
's spread offense
- Tim Tebow
?
Florida
(2006?2009), 2007
Heisman Trophy
winner, under
Dan Mullen
's spread option.
[12]
- Gino Torretta
?
Miami (FL)
(1989?1992), 1992 Heisman Trophy winner, under
Bob Bratkowski
's
pro-style offense
.
[12]
- Andre Ware
? Houston (1987?1989), 1989 Heisman Trophy winner, under John Jenkins's run and shoot offense.
[12]
[1]
[6]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Russ Lande,
A 'system QB' in Hawaii? Not Brennan
,
The Sporting News
, August 8, 2007.
- ^
The List: Biggest Heisman Flops
, ESPN, retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^
a
b
c
Quarterback: 'System' label a burden come draft time
,
Dallas Morning News
, April 22, 2005.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Quarterbacks Harrell, Bomar are battling perception
,
Dallas Morning News
, January 23, 2009.
- ^
Sonny Cumbie Stats
, ESPN, retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Shaking the 'system' label
Archived
2008-10-11 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Pro Football Weekly
, July 5, 2008.
- ^
'09 NFL draft: Top 10 QB prospects
,
Sports Illustrated
, February 12, 2009.
- ^
Graham Harrell Stats
, ESPN, retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^
Cody Hodges Stats
, ESPN, retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^
Player Bio: Kliff Kingsbury
, Texas Tech University, retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^
Cumulative Season Statistics
, Texas Tech University, 2003, retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Heisman candidates could make history -- and change minds
, ESPN, December 7, 2007.
- ^
"Washington State Cougars QB Connor Halliday quietly making history - Pac-12 Blog- ESPN"
. 22 October 2014.
- ^
John Murphy,
Rating the quarterbacks
, Yahoo! Sports, February 15, 2007.
|
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Offense
(
Skill position
)
|
|
Defense
|
|
Special teams
|
Linemen
|
Tackle
,
Guard
,
Center
|
Linemen
|
Nose tackle
,
Tackle
,
End
,
Edge rusher
|
Kicking
|
Placekicker
,
Punter
,
Kickoff specialist
|
Quarterback
(
Dual-threat
,
Game manager
,
System
)
|
Linebacker
|
Snapping
|
Long snapper
,
Holder
|
Running backs
|
Halfback/Tailback
(
Triple-threat
,
Change of pace
),
Fullback
,
H-back
,
Wingback
|
Backs
|
Cornerback
,
Safety
,
Halfback
,
Nickelback
,
Dimeback
|
Returning
|
Punt returner
,
Kick returner
,
Jammer
,
Upman
|
Receivers
|
Wide receiver
(
Eligible
),
Tight end
,
Slotback
,
End
|
Tackling
|
Gunner
,
Upback
,
Utility
|
Formations
(
List
)
?
Nomenclature
?
Strategy
|
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