Interesting quote from Stanley at the combine

[#1DieHardHawk]

He was being pressed a bit about lack of accuracy while at Iowa, then dropped this interesting statement:

“They worked on a lot of footwork. It wasn’t really the width of your base — it was more so just timing things up with your feet. And the explanation of why you missed throws wasn’t always there,” Stanley said.

Not that he was critical of the Iowa coaches at all (he was complimentary of the program), but he definitely intimated that coaching on mechanics and analysis of the accuracy issues wasn't forthcoming. My first thought was wondering what KOK thinks after reading that...

https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...yle-experience-reformed-mechanics/4871740002/

 

[tksirius]

I'd replace KOK with Drew Tate immediately.

 

[SpiderRico]

Honestly, the QB coach isn’t necessarily there to work on technique, per se. It’s more about offensive execution, reading defenses, etc. That’s what QB camps are for.

 

[BVHawk95]

Honestly, the QB coach isn’t necessarily there to work on technique, per se. It’s more about offensive execution, reading defenses, etc. That’s what QB camps are for.

Exactly.

By 18-23 years old, trying to adjust someone's throwing mechanics is like trying to teach them how to ride a bike differently. It's muscle memory for them at that point. It's why Tebow was never able to fix his mechanics.

 

[CP87]

He was being pressed a bit about lack of accuracy while at Iowa, then dropped this interesting statement:

“They worked on a lot of footwork. It wasn’t really the width of your base — it was more so just timing things up with your feet. And the explanation of why you missed throws wasn’t always there,” Stanley said.

Not that he was critical of the Iowa coaches at all (he was complimentary of the program), but he definitely intimated that coaching on mechanics and analysis of the accuracy issues wasn't forthcoming. My first thought was wondering what KOK thinks after reading that...

https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...yle-experience-reformed-mechanics/4871740002/

The Athletic article on this offers a bit more detail. His QB mechanics guys says that Stanley fixed his major issue in about 2-3 days of work (several hours per day). He also noted that is not the kind of thing you can do withn a college football practice because you only get a few minutes each day to dedicate to skill work, and most QB coaches are in their position more for their tactical knowledge than their proficiency with the minutia of mechanics.

If the College Football All-Stars Skills challenge is any indication, the work has paid off:

State Farm QB Accuracy Competition (amount of time to successfully complete all throws)

1. Big Ten – Nate Stanley, Iowa (18.1 seconds)
2. SEC – Riley Neal, Vanderbilt (23.4)
3. Wildcard – Jordan Love, Utah State (25.8)
4. Big 12 – Carter Stanley, Kansas (27.0)
5. ACC – Bryce Perkins, Virginia (35.6)
6. Pac-12 – Anthony Gordon, Washington State (44.4)

 

[guffus]

Yes, the article does go into more detail about this

Quote--
He is working with a quarterback coach, Tony Racioppi in New Jersey, and drilling away at the mechanics of his lower body to make sure he is using his hips to generate power instead of bending at the waist and overusing his elbow.

It’s the first time he’s ever addressed his mechanical problems, he said, particularly the issues which have led him to sail the ball on deep passes.

"I never really worked with anybody (on mechanics),” Stanley said. “I was just throwing a football like I would throw a baseball when I was a kid.”

Stanley added that the focus at Iowa was primarily on strategy and less about mechanics.

“They worked on a lot of footwork. It wasn’t really the width of your base — it was more so just timing things up with your feet. And the explanation of why you missed throws wasn’t always there,” Stanley said.
---Unquote

So basicly Stanley was a 3 year starter at Iowa and not once did the Iowa coaches work on throwing mechanics. Only footwork. That is hard to believe

 

[AreWeThereYet]

So basicly Stanley was a 3 year starter at Iowa and not once did the Iowa coaches work on throwing mechanics. Only footwork. That is hard to believe

That would be the extreme interpretation. (Which could still be true.) Another interpretation is that the Iowa coaching staff never addressed it in a methodical way, or didn't have either the knowledge, time, or resources to address it in a methodical way.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

I do see an opportunity in this. Stanley will be preparing extensively with the team staff for Iowa's Pro day tryouts. Time to methodically go over with him how his mechanics issues are being addressed, and maybe pick the brains of the people he is training with. Add to the staffs knowledge, for future reference.

 

[SpiderRico]

Yes, the article does go into more detail about this

Quote--
He is working with a quarterback coach, Tony Racioppi in New Jersey, and drilling away at the mechanics of his lower body to make sure he is using his hips to generate power instead of bending at the waist and overusing his elbow.

It’s the first time he’s ever addressed his mechanical problems, he said, particularly the issues which have led him to sail the ball on deep passes.

"I never really worked with anybody (on mechanics),” Stanley said. “I was just throwing a football like I would throw a baseball when I was a kid.”

Stanley added that the focus at Iowa was primarily on strategy and less about mechanics.

“They worked on a lot of footwork. It wasn’t really the width of your base — it was more so just timing things up with your feet. And the explanation of why you missed throws wasn’t always there,” Stanley said.
---Unquote

So basicly Stanley was a 3 year starter at Iowa and not once did the Iowa coaches work on throwing mechanics. Only footwork. That is hard to believe

Once again, the offensive coaches (OC and QB coach) aren't there to spend time working on the mechanics of throwing a football. They are there to work with the QB on specific plays, reading defenses, tendencies, strategies against specific coverages, etc. If the QB is having mechanical issues, then that's why there are QB camps that he can attend during the off-season. Any insinuation that the coaches at Iowa dropped the ball on fixing specific throwing mechanics with Nate is ill-informed.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

Yes, the article does go into more detail about this

Quote--
He is working with a quarterback coach, Tony Racioppi in New Jersey, and drilling away at the mechanics of his lower body to make sure he is using his hips to generate power instead of bending at the waist and overusing his elbow.

It’s the first time he’s ever addressed his mechanical problems, he said, particularly the issues which have led him to sail the ball on deep passes.

"I never really worked with anybody (on mechanics),” Stanley said. “I was just throwing a football like I would throw a baseball when I was a kid.”

Stanley added that the focus at Iowa was primarily on strategy and less about mechanics.

“They worked on a lot of footwork. It wasn’t really the width of your base — it was more so just timing things up with your feet. And the explanation of why you missed throws wasn’t always there,” Stanley said.
---Unquote

So basicly Stanley was a 3 year starter at Iowa and not once did the Iowa coaches work on throwing mechanics. Only footwork. That is hard to believe

while i can understand that a college qb coach might be more tactical in nature, it seems to me there is a fundamental flaw in any program that operates the way iowa (appears) to. i mean, there is evidence that not figuring out a way to address this cost points and wins. that needs to be fixed.

 

[HawkGold]

Don’t have time to fix major flaws... The test of that will come under fire. If it is that they just didn’t fix it, that is a fundamental flaw in the program. It would if true a major flaw in fan homerism..

 

[CP87]

Once again, the offensive coaches (OC and QB coach) aren't there to spend time working on the mechanics of throwing a football. They are there to work with the QB on specific plays, reading defenses, tendencies, strategies against specific coverages, etc. If the QB is having mechanical issues, then that's why there are QB camps that he can attend during the off-season. Any insinuation that the coaches at Iowa dropped the ball on fixing specific throwing mechanics with Nate is ill-informed.

I think 2 things can be true:

Iowa staff did a great job of developing Stanley in many ways, and they raised his ceiling to the best of their ability.

Iowa staff was not capable of addressing mechanical flaws that could have improved QB and team performance.

To the 2nd point, I doubt Iowa is unusual in that regard among staffs. I would guess most staffs lack true expertise to recognize and address fine mechanical issues. They know and teach the basics, and most of their time is spent on tactical issues. Similarly, most basketball coaches are not highly schooled in shooting mechanics; they know the basics, but there is a reason most NBA teams employ a "shot doctor" whose only role is working on shooting form. It is a very technical movement, and most coaches will not be great with the fine nuances.

The other issue with addressing a throwing motion, shot, golf swing, etc.., is you have to be willing to break some eggs to make that omelet. You need to be willing to slide backwards in performance due to trying a new way of performing a task (vs. the old way you have practiced for a decade), with the knowledge that eventually practicing that new way enough will take you to a higher level. That is a tough thing to get young athletes to buy into. It becomes especially tough if you are trying to accomplish that within a competitive environment. As soon as the bullets start flying, you are going to resort to what feels natural. You have to be able to drill a new technique over and over again in a non-competitive environment to get that to stick. It is impossible to do that within a college football season. I am not sure the extent to which it can be tackled in the offseason, as I don't know the specifics of player-coach contact restrictions.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

So, why can't Iowa hire a consultant to work with its QBs? If some guru can fix his mechanics in a week after he left the program, why can't that same guru be hired by Iowa to work with him last Summer? And, why can't KOK watch the guru work and then reinforce what he is teaching him throughout the year?

 

[uihawk82]

Yes, the article does go into more detail about this

So basicly Stanley was a 3 year starter at Iowa and not once did the Iowa coaches work on throwing mechanics. Only footwork. That is hard to believe

I thought it was reported on here a year or two ago that Nate went to one or more summer camps before his junior and senior seasons. As was mentioned those camps can get at extensive training to repair re-train some basic but slight mechanical issues. Then if the accuracy gets better the less the brain has to think about it and it is natural.

The pros know he can make big time throws but they have to also know he can get more consistent.

 

[uihawk82]

The Athletic article on this offers a bit more detail. His QB mechanics guys says that Stanley fixed his major issue in about 2-3 days of work (several hours per day). He also noted that is not the kind of thing you can do withn a college football practice because you only get a few minutes each day to dedicate to skill work, and most QB coaches are in their position more for their tactical knowledge than their proficiency with the minutia of mechanics.

If the College Football All-Stars Skills challenge is any indication, the work has paid off:

State Farm QB Accuracy Competition (amount of time to successfully complete all throws)

1. Big Ten – Nate Stanley, Iowa (18.1 seconds)
2. SEC – Riley Neal, Vanderbilt (23.4)
3. Wildcard – Jordan Love, Utah State (25.8)
4. Big 12 – Carter Stanley, Kansas (27.0)
5. ACC – Bryce Perkins, Virginia (35.6)
6. Pac-12 – Anthony Gordon, Washington State (44.4)

Very interesting. So has someone on this thread mentioned that Stanley has been working with a QB guru on mechanics etc since the bowl game against USC and that this accuracy increase is the result???

 

[Xerxes]

So, why can't Iowa hire a consultant to work with its QBs? If some guru can fix his mechanics in a week after he left the program, why can't that same guru be hired by Iowa to work with him last Summer? And, why can't KOK watch the guru work and then reinforce what he is teaching him throughout the year?

A couple of reasons:

1) That makes too much sense
2) Its not the KF way & KF changes like old people F, slowly and not very often
3) Iowa won their bowl game so everything is all good, particularly on offense, Iowa scored 49 points after all, never mind what happened over the rest of the season

 

[CP87]

So, why can't Iowa hire a consultant to work with its QBs? If some guru can fix his mechanics in a week after he left the program, why can't that same guru be hired by Iowa to work with him last Summer? And, why can't KOK watch the guru work and then reinforce what he is teaching him throughout the year?

I suppose it has to do with limitations on staff numbers (which many programs are getting around by hiring "analysts", but I don't believe they can work directly with athletes), and limitations on out of season, sport-specific contact hours. Anyone know what those limitations are?

 

[tksirius]

It would've been pretty cool if Nate could have spent these 3 days fixing is mechanics during a summer break a few years ago. Oh well.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Once again, the offensive coaches (OC and QB coach) aren't there to spend time working on the mechanics of throwing a football. They are there to work with the QB on specific plays, reading defenses, tendencies, strategies against specific coverages, etc. If the QB is having mechanical issues, then that's why there are QB camps that he can attend during the off-season. Any insinuation that the coaches at Iowa dropped the ball on fixing specific throwing mechanics with Nate is ill-informed.

Throwing is a complicated movement. I wouldn't want most of the guys in college football anywhere near a guy working on his throwing motion outside of fixing the most obvious faults. The guys who teach mechanics aren't doing it in the season. Last thing you want to do is mess up a kid's motion. You take the faults in the motion rather than risk messing with his head in the middle of game prep.

I thought we already settled this argument in 2006 when Tate had a bad senior year because his injury messed up his mechanics. You can't just fix them in the middle of the season and something like a rotator cuff, wrist, finger, foot, leg, back or elbow injury is going to subtly change the mechanics. The great QBs can adjust. O'Keefe is a genius tactician, but I don't want him messing with mechanics 3 days before we have to play at Camp Randall or something.

 

[CP87]