Diagnosing how difficult learning an NFL playbook really is for a rookie QB as minicamps kick-off
Most of you reading this have been a part of an onboarding process. Whether it was syllabus week in school/college or on-the-job training at your new place of employment, everyone has a learning curve when they start something new. And for many rookie QBs, that curve is often a big one, as NFL schemes and playbooks […]
Most of you reading this have been a part of an onboarding process.
Whether it was syllabus week in school/college or on-the-job training at your new place of employment, everyone has a learning curve when they start something new.
And for many rookie QBs, that curve is often a big one, as NFL schemes and playbooks make college offenses look elementary. So how hard is it to transition to the NFL? Let’s take a look:
Information Overload
Here we have current NFL analyst for ESPN, and retired 10-year veteran QB Dan Orlovsky showing his playbook from 2008. As Dan reiterates in the video, the information in modern playbooks is similar in detail and expansion but with a modern flare of technology, often visualized through an iPad or Microsoft Surface.
The fundamentals and structure of playbooks from 2008, 2018, and 2024 are all the same though. Players must first learn the terminology of their offensive coordinators scheme. What was called a skinny post in college, might be a tight 8 in the NFL.
From there, signal callers are tasked with remembering and visualizing verbose play calls in an instant. Often sentences long, these calls contain key pieces of information including the formation, the pass protection or run-blocking scheme, the route combination, and the built-in audible system:
Here we have another longtime veteran signal caller turned NFL analyst sharing one of his former playbooks. But in Chase Daniel’s example, he’s showing what it takes to make just one successful call as an NFL QB.
The initial play, “Gun King Bunch Rt Jab 15 Stutter F” is a run play that details the formation and alignment, along with the blocking scheme and direction of the run play. Easy enough right?
Well where things get tricky is on the back half or where it says “KILL 84 Z Cowboy Y Shallow Cross." The first word, KILL is a common term used in the vanacular of many offensive coordinators. “Kill” or “Can” is a common phrase you will hear barked from QBs during the pre-snap process on Sundays.
In this example, it signifies the changing of the run play, (Gun King Bunch Rt Jab 15 Stutter F) to the pass play (84 Z Cowboy Y Shallow Cross). As Daniel alluded to in the video, the QB is required to do so if the defense shows a pressure look.
So let’s step back and take a 10,000-foot view of things. You’re a rookie QB who has probably yet to see an NFL playbook. You likely haven’t ever used half of the terms and verbiage in your install book, and you certainly have never been asked to repeat it word for word, visualize it in less than 40 seconds, be able to adjust on the fly based on the look of the defense, and then above all else, execute the play.
Oh and the best part? That’s just one play of potentially hundreds depending on your offense, all of which you need to know inside out come mandatory minicamp in a little over a month.
So while QB is often viewed as the most glamorous position in professional football and maybe even all of sports, one look at how much is put on your plate in the first weekend of your pro career shows the position isn’t for the faint of heart.
2024 NFL Draft Grades for all 32 teams
See how your favorite team graded in the 2024 NFL Draft
