Dawgs By Nature
There is so much that goes into being a successful NFL quarterback beyond just showing up on Sundays to “ball out.”
Putting in time at practice, learning a new and often more complex offensive system, studying film to decipher defenses that are far more complicated than in college, finding your voice and developing into a leader; it all matters.
Then there are those quarterbacks who bring bad habits with them from the college game, with Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders being the latest example.
Sanders electrified college football the past two seasons at Colorado, but some of the issues he could get away with on Saturday afternoons – taking too long to make the correct read, drifting in the pocket, and not being in position to deliver the ball – are not easily solved at the NFL level.
That is going to be one of the biggest challenges for Sanders if he hopes to move from third on Cleveland’s depth chart to eventually succeed at the pro level, according to former NFL quarterback Akili Smith.
Speaking with the ESPN media platform Andscape, Smith said that while it will not be easy, Sanders needs to embrace his current situation if he hopes to succeed:
“It’s going to be hard. Very hard. Just where he’s at now, and the things he needs to work on … it’s a lot. If he stays positive and works hard, he still has a chance. But the tape is clear as day.
“I know fans don’t want to hear this, but you can’t deny what the tape is saying. If you take some time and break down the tape, and you understand what concepts they’re running, you see that Dillon Gabriel is ahead of Shedeur.
“No one who looks at the tape of those two, and understands what they’re looking at, could see it any other way. Gabriel is ahead of him, and a big thing is pocket presence. Shedeur took a sack in [the last preseason] game … it was ridiculous. You had all these people [on social media] blaming the line. He’s dropping back [too far]. He had to step up in the pocket or throw the ball away. It’s one or the other.”
Smith added that the best thing Sanders can do is put all his effort into improving every day. That will show the Browns, and by extension the other 31 teams in the league, that he is serious about his craft and keep his career on track.
The good part is, outside of one small slip earlier this summer, that is exactly what Sanders has done from the moment he arrived in Cleveland.
If Sanders keeps working and shows actual improvement, his time will come, either in Cleveland or with another team in a league that is always desperate for competent quarterback play.
