Now what?
That is the million-dollar question. Now what? How do you repair the broken quarterback? What can Frank Reich actually do now?
I truly wish I knew the answer. Both because I could pass it on to Wentz and his new coaches, but also because it might have helped me years ago, when I struggled with my own shattered confidence as a failed Division III QB.
Unfortunately, tough times are a part of playing the position, whether against Amherst College on a fall Saturday in New England, against the Green Bay Packers in the NFL, or wearing a Notre Dame uniform in the shadows of “Touchdown Jesus.” In his book “Art and Magic of Quarterbacking” Joe Montana talked about his own days at Notre Dame, and his struggles with a lack of confidence:
Let’s debunk some myths about successful athletes having an easy time of it…There’s one thing I can guarantee any young quarterback: you will face adversity. For every “magic moment” I’ve had, I’ve been picked off, benched, thrown down, or knocked cold. Every athlete has doubts and low points. Looking back on it, I guess I have my parents and my coaches to thank for my never quitting and never whining when things got rough.
Myth: You Never Lack Confidence
I had to deal with the controversy created by my erratic play. Some people thought I should be the starter, while others pointed out how I only seemed to play well coming off the bench. The other quarterback, Rich Slager, was my buddy, so at least I had someone to talk about all the pressure that this was putting on the two of us. It’s hard to play when you’re worried about your next mistake meaning a spot on the bench. Football is hard enough without having to look over your shoulder, and you can’t play quarterback without confidence. (Emphasis added).
There it is, from one of the greatest to ever do it. It’s hard to play when you’re worried about your next mistake meaning a spot on the bench. Football is hard enough without having to look over your shoulder, and you can’t play quarterback without confidence. It is not a position for the timid, or the afraid. Fearlessness is a prerequisite, not a nice thing to add to the list of traits. Scared quarterbacks do not make throws when they should. Scared quarterbacks are easy to defend.
Scared quarterbacks fail.
Some might argue that if Wentz was shattered enough by the selection of Jalen Hurts to perform well then perhaps being an NFL quarterback is not for him. But there you have it from Joe freakin’ Montana. Sure, it was before he became “Joe Cool,” but the quarterback that grew up to win Super Bowl still had to deal with that lack of confidence in college, and yes even in the NFL. Who can forget the end of Montana’s time in San Francisco, as he gave way to Steve Young.
Consider what Solak wrote about Wentz, quoted earlier:
He plays like a quarterback in fear of his teammates and how their failures will reflect on him, in a locker room he has never won over, to a fanbase that has forever wondered if a better option is on the bench — an idea only encouraged by the same front office that considered his current weapons sufficient when they drafted Jalen Hurts.
That environment is not conducive to confident quarterback play.
Quarterbacks are tough to coach, and not every quarterback is the same. Some need tough love and harsh criticism, others need a more gentle approach. A wise man wrote once that:
[d]eveloping the quarterback is at the heart of a team’s ability to compete in the NFL. As such, the quarterback position should receive a substantial amount of attention from the coaching staff. This attention should be well-planned and should focus on sequential learning
The need for a comprehensive and well thought-out plan for developing the quarterback has been heightened by the fact that the ‘process’ of developing players in the NFL has changed more for the quarterback position than for any other position since the advent of free agency. The traditional approach of a team drafting a quarterback, developing him over a period of three to four years, and positioning him to be that team’s eventual starter is no longer consistent with the philosophy of many teams.
The same man also said this about the quarterback position years before putting that into writing:
I might talk to you a little bit about quarterbacking–I’ve coached quarterbacks individually for the last 12-14 years. Without doubt, if you are going to coach a football team you almost have to treat this man individually. Unless he really has a good idea of what you’re doing prior to the rest of your team beginning practice, you’re going to have your problems. So, I believe that an awful lot of a coach’s work in the off-season is related to his QB.
The man that put both of those statements? Bill Walsh, who wrote the first two paragraphs in Finding the Winning Edge. The second segment came from a coaching presentation he gave in May of 1977, right around the time that his future quarterback was struggling with a lack of confidence at Notre Dame.
If Walsh and Montana are not enough evidence to this point, consider Paul “The Bear” Bryant. The legendary Alabama coach also went to lengths to coach his quarterbacks differently, much like Walsh outlined. Consider this:
Coaches, how much time do you spend with your QBs? Legendary @AlabamaFTBL coach Bear Bryant understood the importance of this position. Do you? From @LarsAnderson71’s book Chasing The Bear. pic.twitter.com/wSCx0ZjH3q
— SportSource Analytics (@SportSourceA) February 8, 2021
But that is what Wentz’s new coaches have to grapple with. Treating him individually and building up his confidence to where it was back in 2017. That begins now, by instilling in him the belief that this is his team now, and removing that feeling of looking over his shoulder that Montana wrote about. When your confidence is shattered and you’re afraid that the wrong throw is going to make you lose your job, you won’t make the right throws that will allow you to keep it. That is the biggest difference from Wentz in 2017 – and even into 2019 – and the Wentz we saw in 2020.
The schemes and the routes and the designs are not the answer, but the relationships are. That is how Wentz can be fixed, by finding that confidence again. That belief that this truly is his team. Building that foundation will take time, but it must be in place before Week 1. Hopefully, for the Colts’ sake, they can fix what ails him and put that into place. Otherwise, we might be right back here by next winter.