The majority on this board seem to think that River's arm is not strong enough for the Dolphin's offensive scheme. The scouting reports I read states that Rivers has an above average arm but not elite arm strength. So my question is exactly how strong is his arm and to which quarterback can he be compared? It has to be better than Fiedler.
River's Arm
- Thread starter Gamble
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ROSCO P.C. JR
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Agreed , I think the question is whether or not he is as good of a qb as Guss and Sage. I am not so sure.
Strangeworld
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If this year has told us anything, we need a QB in Linehan's O that has the ability to throw deep outs, and put it on a rope 50 yards in the air. Clearly Rivers is not 'that" guy.
Yes, better than Fiedler. Rivers has a very quick release and in the short to intermediate ranges is also very accurate. He has fine pocket awareness, ala #13, and excellent field vision. The time it takes from the instant he decides where to go with the ball until it leaves his hand is excellent imo. With all the other qualities that Rivers possesses, I'd be willing to sacrifice a little in deep strength, where he is not at an elite level, such as Frerotte, but still ahead of Fiedler.
ckparrothead
Premium Member
Gamble said:
The best way to answer this question is to break down the starters or quasi-starters in the NFL into groups based on arm strength.
Top Five (no particular order):
Daunte Culpepper, Carson Palmer, Drew Bledsoe, Byron Leftwich, Aaron Brooks
Next Five (top ten):
Kyle Boller, Kerry Collins, Brett Favre, Mike Vick, Jake Delhomme
Next Fifteen (top twenty-five):
Gus Frerotte, JP Losman, Kelly Holcomb, Ben Roethlisberger, Trent Dilfer, Peyton Manning, Steve McNair, David Carr, Jake Plummer, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Joey Harrington, Chris Simms, Matt Hasselbeck, Kurt Warner.
The one thing all of these guys have in common is that "arm strength" is considered to be a STRENGTH for every single one of those guys. It isn't necessarily their chief attribute, but they are all considered to have top level arms. The following group holds a bunch of QBs that have an arm that is not necessarily considered an outright weakness, but it is also not considered a strength in their game.
Next Five (top thirty):
Tom Brady, Trent Green, Mark Brunell, Alex Smith, Drew Brees
The final group listed here would be the guys whose arms are considered on the relatively weak side for NFL starters, but still are starter quality NFL quarterbacks.
Next Six (top thirty-six):
Brad Johnson, Chad Pennington, Brian Griese, Marc Bulger, Rex Grossman, Charlie Frye
Now, I know there will be argument over who belongs where and whatnot. But if you want to figure out whether Rivers has the arm Linehan wants, place Rivers into one of these groups, relative to some of the guys in the group. The lowest group would not be a group Linehan would accept at QB in his offense. The second lowest group would only be acceptable if the candidate had other things going for him that Linehan covets (some combo of accuracy, decision-making, and especially size and mobility). The third group down, top 25, would be the group from which Linehan would choose QBs, with a clear preference for guys that could make the top 10 or top 5.
If I were placing Rivers into a group, it would be the bottom group. Strong enough to be an NFL starter, but not the same kind of arm strength as Brady, Green, Brunell, etc...and definitely not on par with guys like Frerotte, Plummer, Roethlisberger, etc.
If I had to place Matt Leinart into a group according to arm strength, it would be the second from the bottom group, same as guys like Brady, Green, Brunell, etc. Matt also has size going for him, doesn't have mobility going for him but does have excellent pocket awareness (which makes him similar to Gus), and his accuracy and decision-making and intangibles are, IMO, through the roof. He compares well with Brady.
ckparrothead
Premium Member
Penthos said:
Completing a deep pass does not constitute having a good arm. Chad Pennington had the highest accuracy percentage on deep passes up until his injury this season, if I'm not mistaken.
Don't mistake throwing it accurately down the field with throwing if down the field with good velocity.
Using your analysis, I would put Rivers in the second from the bottom group. I don't think he's ideal for SL's offense, but his release is so quick and his timing is so good that he would still work IMO.
Winbaby#23
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I think all this Rivers talk is getting out of hand. For one we would have to give a high draft pick to get him and Saban is NOT gonna trade away first day picks, plus i really don't think he fits our system at all. :shakeno:
ckparrothead
Premium Member
rafael said:
So you think Rivers has an arm that is comparable to Tom Brady?
ckparrothead said:
Great post CK!
I'm curious, how would you rank the top 20 all time QB's by arm strength? The list would include: Marino, Tarkenton, Elway, Unitas, Montana, Moon, Bradshaw, Simms, and whomever else.
Should be cool.
ckparrothead said:
Good analysis there Buffet. I think arm strength is overrated, thats just my humble opinion. I'll take a smart QB over big arm any day. One thing Ive noticed about Rivers during practice/pre-season/regular season is his pocket awareness and ability to scan the field, he does not force passes in any which way..
I would hate Rivers to stay in the AFC.
kastofsna120
☠️ Banned ☠️
rivers' arm is not even close to brady. not only does rivers struggle with the deep passes, but the simple sideline out-route as well. combine that with his bad mechanics, complete lack of mobility, and you have a statue who throws well underneath and over the middle between 10-20 yards, but poor everywhere else. he's the kinda guy you want on the bench to come in if your QB gets knicked up, not a franchise player