Strong Arm Tactics

Strong Arm Tactics:

A History and Statistical Analysis of the Professional Quarterback

Online Supplement

The professional quarterback must have a wide breadth of skills to be successful. He must have a strong and accurate arm, sound footwork and throwing mechanics, poise, confidence, intelligence, physical and mental toughness, and be a leader on the football field. Today, formations and strategies change on every down as clever defensive coordinators attempt to confuse the quarterback and disrupt the play. No matter what formation is run or what offense is employed, there is one man in charge on the field, and that is the quarterback. The quarterback gets the ball on every play and decides what to do with it, even though quarterbacks rarely call their own plays anymore. The quarterback still has the ball and the game in his hands. The quarterback chooses where the ball goes; the offense is his responsibility. He is there to lead the team so he gets the blame when his team loses and the credit when his team wins. It is why the quarterback is celebrated, and why he gets rich. Quarterback is the toughest, most pressure-packed, most visible, most lauded, most vilified and most fascinating position in sports.

I wrote this book to try to understand better everything about the position and the men who have played it throughout history. In the interest of space and readability, I could not use everything. Tables that had to be abbreviated in the book are completed here and tangential information that didn't fit in the flow of the narrative is posted here as well. To learn more about what is in the book, try the preface; to check out the stuff that didn't fit, try the pages below.