QB Depth Around The League - (Dolphins Dilemma?)
But here’s the problem. Most colleges prize mobile running QBs because the overall talent level of defenses isn’t as great and a running QB can rely on his speed to make plays without really learning all that great to a system. That’s why you see numerous QBs out of Fresno state. Fresno runs a generally pro type system for QBs. Dilfer, both Carrs, Haener all out of Fresno, which isn’t really some great college powerhouse.
So the amount of players coming up that are NFL ready is really pretty slim because that’s not how colleges work. Then couple that lack of knowledge with an NFL which has now a huge amount of limits on practice time, and coaches that just aren’t that good at times. They are looking to put in a guy, not train up a guy. It creates an issue with no easy solutions.
But you also see what happens to a mobile running QB. He has a short lifespan and gets beat down quickly. Tua is simply another highly mobile QB who exposes himself as he becomes a RB essentially and defenses go after. There will be another highly mobile RB to take his place somewhere in the NFL and he will get pounded down quickly also.
Tua is also extremely unlucky then most other mobile QB's who looked outstanding for several seasons and helped their teams win until injuries that werent concussions but knee, leg or ACL injuries forced them to alter their playing style to a more pocket-passing oriented system. Past QB's who fit this mold were Randall Cunningham, especially Michael Vick post-Falcons, Eagles tenure from 2009-2013, Steve Young was essentially forced into retirement due to concussions suffered from late hits, including one that knocked him out on the field vs. Cardinals in a early 1999 MNF game. Their are some, albeit relatively few, mobile QB's that do defy the law of averages and manage to avoid serious injuries, or at least, career-threatening ones.
Those above-mentioned guys either played in an era where they were lucky or fortunate enough not to receive as many concussions in a short period of time like Tua or more accurately, 20-25 years ago, NFL's concern for player safety as it related to effects of concussions wasnt a high priority and most trainers just made concussed players sit on the bench for a quarter or two "until the cobwebs cleared up" and then sent back out again.
BTW, the QB that immediately came to mind after reading your first paragraph was Cam Newton considering his success leading Auburn to a BCSNC, and parlaying that into having several great seasons until arguably he had his best statistical season and the game that would shape, define and mark the slow downfall of his career: Super Bowl 50. That game saw Newton get blistered, blown up, and knocked around so many times to where late in the 4th quarter, with Carolina down only 17-14 and after being strip-sacked by Von Miller and the loose ball on the field right in front of him, Newton froze up and didn't try to recover the fumble. I think his performance at such a large stage seriously damaged his confidence, ability as on-field leader and his penchant for once making huge, momentum-building plays. Something fundamental broke within his psyche that night and he never fully recovered and frankly neither have the Carolina Panthers.