John Beck – Syndication Server

Former NFL GM not yet impressed with QB Drake Maye

This GM also spent a second-round pick on John Beck.

Former NFL GM Randy Mueller did not like what he saw in his film study of UNC quarterback Drake Maye.

Mueller, who was VP of Football Operations with the Seahawks (1995-98), General Manager of the Saints (2000-01), and the Dolphins (2005-07), sat down with John Keim and discussed the Commanders’ 2024 season.

First, Mueller thinks the hiring of GM Adam Peters instantly raised the bar and expectations of head-coaching candidates. That is to say, Mueller firmly believes that Peters makes the job more desirable for HC candidates.

The coaches being interviewed certainly know Peters is going to have the final say in personnel matters, so the candidates are going to be asking their questions as well. “They want to know they are going to be heard,” declared Mueller.

The conversation then moved to the biggest position the Commanders needed to fill. Mueller did not go as far as to say the Commanders must remain at No. 2 and pick a quarterback. He did, however, state the Commanders don’t know when they will be back up at No.2 again. Consequently, they have to get it correct and get the quarterback that will help this team move forward.

Mueller agrees Caleb Williams is special, the Bears will select him, and they will also trade Justin Fields.

Then Mueller dropped his bomb, “I am not a Drake Maye guy. I haven’t seen anything that wows me. I have seen a lot of film, and I’m still waiting to be impressed.”

Wow, and many in the DMV fan base are insisting the Commanders select a quarterback with the overall second selection.

Interestingly, Mueller then added, “I do like Jayden Daniels and J.J. McCarthy as well.” Daniels won the Heisman Trophy this past season at LSU, while McCarthy quarterbacked Michigan to the College Football Playoff national title.

“The size is what everybody sees 6-4 220. But I don’t see an elite arm, anticipation, or processing like Herbert. I don’t think that is a good comparison. I see him as a bigger Mac Jones. Mueller referred to Maye’s arm strength as ordinary and referenced what he saw on film was “inconsistent accuracy” and “inconsistent timing.”

However, Mueller was higher on Daniels. He can make all the throws, and he’s athletic enough to extend plays. I see a rougher-around-the-edges C.J. Stroud.” Notice he was favoring Stroud.

Did Mueller draft quarterbacks when he was the GM in New Orleans and Miami? Yes, in 2000, he used a 6th-round pick on Marc Bulger, who passed for 22,814 yards in the NFL. In 2007, he chose John Beck, a name many Washington fans will recall, with a 2nd-round (40) selection.

Jets coach Rob Calabrese not getting Kentucky job helps Zach Wilson

Jets QB coach Rob Calabrese sticking around is huge for Zach Wilson’s development in Year 2.

Zach Wilson’s top positional coach is staying with the Jets.

Quarterbacks coach Rob Calabrese was being considered for Kentucky’s offensive coordinator position, but 49ers quarterback coach Rich Scangarello ended up getting the job instead.

This is a huge win for the Jets and especially for Wilson. Robert Saleh already decided not to keep senior offensive assistant Matt Cavanaugh and Wilson’s personal coach John Beck because he wanted Calabrese to play a bigger role in Wilson’s development. Now, Saleh won’t have to worry about another assistant leaving after a few were already were hired for other jobs this offseason.

While Calabrese is still a relatively new name in the coaching ranks, he is one of the most important members of the Jets staff. He and Wilson worked closely during the season while Matt LaFleur ran the offense. Keeping Calabrese maintains continuity for Wilson as he progresses in his second year. Wilson has a lot to work on after an overall mediocre rookie season – including efficiency, decision-making and release time.

Wilson will likely continue to work with Beck during the offseason, but now he and Calabrese can pick up where they left off the 2021 season instead of Wilson having to learn how to work with a new coach. This is crucial for Wilson’s development, especially considering how the Jets watched Sam Darnold struggle after switching coaches after his rookie season.

Consistently is key for a young quarterback, and coaching is a huge part of that. The same goes for having a quality offensive line and as many playmakers as possible. The Jets aren’t quite there yet with the last two, but at least they’ll keep some of the most important coaches around their franchise player heading into a pivotal 2022 season.

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Dak Prescott to reunite with private QB coach as Cowboys’ title quest hits hurry-up mode

Prescott is entering his 7th season, so the time is now if he wants a Super Bowl run. John Beck may be the man to help him get there. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys’ Dak Prescott declined an invitation to the Pro Bowl so he could finally, after 16 months of nonstop rehab for a trio of injuries- not to mention a full regular season of football- get in a small bit of rest before starting his prep for the team’s 2022 campaign.

NFL quarterbacks have to be uniquely in tune with an internal clock in their heads, the one that tells them when a blitz is closing in, when the pocket is collapsing, when his receivers are about to be open, when to throw, when to hit the deck, when the play is no longer salvageable.

In the case of Prescott, who’ll turn 29 in July, his clock may be telling him he’s running out of time on leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl.

ESPN’s Todd Archer points out that, in the last 42 years, only three quarterbacks have made it to their first Super Bowl with their original team after a longer run as the every-game starter. Ken Anderson took the Bengals to Super Bowl XVI in his 10th season with the club. Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan were in their ninth year as starters when they led the Colts and Falcons to Super Bowls XLI and LI, respectively.

Prescott will be entering his seventh season as the starter in Dallas.

The work he puts in between now and training camp, though, is all on him. Prescott asked Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy during the team’s exit interviews last month about the offseason quarterback program McCarthy used to run in Green Bay. McCarthy isn’t allowed to run the same kind of sessions now under the league’s current collective bargaining agreement, but Prescott says he plans to take a version of McCarthy’s “quarterback school” to his personal coach, John Beck of 3DQB.

“I can go simulate that, in a sense, in my way of training,” Prescott told USA TODAY Sports. “Knowing the drills we’ve done all year long in quarterback and individuals [work in practice], and just taking those now and going out and working with John or other quarterbacks. When the coaches aren’t around, coaching myself and the other guys and being hard on myself as if it was the quarterback school.”

A former quarterback with four NFL squads and now a specialist who works privately with several of the league’s passers, Beck was the man behind Prescott’s pregame warmup routine that went viral for a time. The work he did with Prescott on his mechanics seemed to significantly improve Prescott’s game.

But Prescott lost access to Beck during the 2021 season, right when he could have used that extra coaching the most.

Due to a strained calf he suffered two weeks earlier, Prescott was forced to miss the Oct. 31 game versus Minnesota. That same day, Beck appeared on the New York Jets’ sideline for their game against Cincinnati; the Jets had just hired him on a full-time basis for the remainder of the season to help mentor Zach Wilson.

Prescott’s much-debated “slump” began the next week during the Cowboys’ blowout loss to Denver.

He continued to work with Beck’s 3DQB partner, but he downplayed the significance of losing the California-based Beck as a tutor.

“The in-season is not that important, I guess you can say, as much as the offseason is,” Prescott said during the season. “But yeah, I look forward to getting back to him [when] the offseason happens.”

Beck will reportedly not return to the Jets in 2022. He’s once again available to put Prescott through the paces, often at the turf field he had constructed in his own backyard, where he sometimes arranges for teammates to visit for unofficial practice sessions.

And even though the coming weeks will inevitably bring some change to the Cowboys in the way of coaches and players coming and going, Prescott is optimistic about building on the foundation of last year’s 12-5 season.

“This is the first year I could say in my time that this much has stayed the same, this much continuity,” Prescott said. “We had a lot of carryover in coaches and staff. Obviously, we’ll lose some players, but just the young guys and what we’ve built, this thing does roll over one year from another when you have the culture that we do. It’s going to be exciting next year. Looking forward to having a full offseason of just growth and work, obviously coming into it healthy- or healthy for the most part. It’s going to be huge. I’m excited for it.”

The regular season is still 203 days away. But the Cowboys quarterback has already switched to hurry-up mode.

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Robert Saleh calls John Beck hire ‘a win-win for everybody’

Robert Saleh explained why the Jets hired Zach Wilson’s personal QB coach, John Beck.

Multiple reports confirmed that the Jets added John Beck to their coaching staff Wednesday, but his role wasn’t exactly clear. Beck has been Zach Wilson’s personal coach and has his own business, and the Jets already have a quarterbacks coach in Rob Calabrese and a senior offensive specialist in Matt Cavanaugh.

But after Wilson met with Beck during the Jets’ Week 6 bye, Robert Saleh concocted the idea to just hire Beck so he could be closer to the team, learn the language of the playbook and help the rest of the quarterback room.

“[Wilson] went to see John and we were just talking and I was like, ‘Well, why not just bring him here?'” Saleh said Tuesday. “So we just started talking about it and one thing leads to another and now there’s just a really good plan for the rest of the year.”

Beck is a full-time staff member working exclusively with the quarterbacks. He played in the Shanahan-style offense during his NFL days with Washington, so Saleh felt comfortable bringing him into the fold.

Saleh added that Beck’s hiring wasn’t a critique of the other members of the coaching staff, particularly Calabrese and Cavanaugh. He just wanted to make sure that everyone who supports Wilson would be under one roof and using the same language throughout the year.

“It’s not an indictment on anyone whatsoever,” Saleh said. “More and more, you’re starting to see players have specialists, especially coaches… With John, the idea was, well, shoot, he talks to [Wilson] all the time, he’s a young man and he’s an information gatherer. Why not bring him in to consolidate all that information to help him simplify his game and, at the same time, keep everything tight with regard to his mechanics?”

Beck started after the bye week during the Jets’ abysmal 54-13 loss to the Patriots. Wilson suffered a PCL sprain and was replaced by Mike White midway through the first half. The Jets rebounded well with White under center against the Bengals in a 34-31 comeback win.

Whether Beck remains on the team after the 2021 season will be discussed at the end of the year, Saleh said, but it can’t hurt to add the former NFL quarterback to the staff during Wilson’s rookie season.

“It’s a win-win for everybody,” Saleh said.

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Zach Wilson’s personal QB coach joins Jets’ staff

The Jets added former NFL quarterback John Beck to their staff. Beck is Zach Wilson’s personal QB coach.

The Jets added another veteran quarterback — to the coaching staff.

John Beck, a former BYU and NFL quarterback and Zach Wilson’s personal coach, has joined Robert Saleh’s staff for the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Beck was spotted on the Jets’ sideline with Mike White during the team’s Week 8 win. Beck’s addition to the staff has been confirmed by multiple reports, though it’s not clear what his role is. He isn’t listed as a member of the staff on the team website and the Jets already have a quarterbacks coach in Rob Calabrese, as well as a senior offensive assistant in Matt Cavanaugh.

Regardless of his specific role, adding Beck makes a lot of sense for the Jets. He played six years in the NFL after the Dolphins picked him in the second round of the 2007 draft. He also spent time with the Ravens, Texans and Washington. Not only is Beck close with Wilson, but he also understands Mike LaFleur’s offensive system after his time in Washington with Mike Shanahan.

Beck advocated for the Jets to draft Wilson last spring and called New York’s offense “hand-picked” for the former BYU quarterback.

“[Wilson] brings such a skill set to get out on the edges, to be used in the keeper game, the play-pass game,” Beck said in April. “He can drive balls in very small space off unique platforms as he’s moving.”

That assessment hasn’t translated onto the field yet for Wilson. The rookie has completed just 57.5 percent of his passing attempts for 1,168 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions during his first six games in the NFL. White, meanwhile, thrived with the same offense in his NFL starting debut with 405 passing yards and three touchdowns in the Jets’ win over the Bengals.

Ideally, Beck will benefit White and Wilson once the latter returns from a PCL sprain.

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Justin Herbert’s personal QB coach a familiar face for Dolphins fans

Whether you choose to take the murmurs of Miami’s interest in Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert at face value or believe that there’s something deeper to the Dolphins’ reported interest, there’s no denying that the momentum has built to a point that this isn’t going to go away in the near future. And as Dolphins fans peel back the layers to Justin Herbert, there are some interesting factoids that could make a marriage between the two parties even more interesting.

Among them? The revelation that Herbert is working with a familiar face as he expands himself to new coaches to hone his skills as a quarterback. Herbert is working with 3DQB — and his primary coach, according to NBC Sports’ Peter King, is former Miami Dolphins quarterback John Beck.

While it is understandable to cringe at the thought of Beck in a Dolphins uniform, given how his tenure with the team flopped, it isn’t uncommon for low end quarterbacks to go on to find a lot of success in coaching. Kellen Moore is a highly coveted offensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys. Jordan Palmer has coached the likes of Sam Darnold and Josh Allen. And who could forget Trent Dilfer — a middling starting quarterback who has risen to a prominent figure with the Elite 11.

So don’t push the panic button if Miami ends up committing to Herbert because of his connection to Beck. If anything, it’s a fun layer to the Dolphins’ quarterback search.

Miami will come to their decision in the coming weeks — and although Beck is far enough removed from his tenure in Miami to provide any legitimate connection as a clue for their direction, it’s a nugget none the less that could prove to be poetic if he’s able to help prove the Dolphins with their answer at the quarterback position as a coach and not a player.

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