Yesterday, my football dream came true when the Jets drafted
former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg. But for many other fans, that dream was a
nightmare.
“The
Buccaneers traded actual picks to take a kicker in the second round & it
wasn't even the dumbest thing that happened today. #Hackenberg @jwyeNFL”
“Can't
put into 140 characters how pissed off I am about #jets drafting #Hackenberg! Mike you've lost the
plot on this one I'm afraid! 
@danlahunter”
@danlahunter”
Hackenberg or Hack, was the top QB prospect coming out of Fork
Union Military Academy where he led the school to a state championship as a sophomore,
getting back to the final game as a senior.
His career at Penn State started on fire but ended in flames as he was
sacked over 100 times . Completions
declined. Footwork fundamentals became
unwound. He was constantly maligned in
the press and social media as a sure-fire pre-draft bust.
Despite all that, I still have him as the best QB coming out
of the draft and I am ecstatic my Jets drafted him. Here’s why:
The Guy:
Both parents were collegiate athletes. From a genetic, discipline and competitive
standpoint, such players can have an advantage.
Dad was a football player at UVA.
HS football coaches may not
always have as much time to develop players as they would like. Players coming from a football family (Tyler
Lockett, Rob Gronkowski, Derek Carr) have access to college and pro level concepts,
coaches, players and facilities from Pop Warner on.
Penn State Adversity:
Sandusky Scandal – Despite the horrific scandal that rocked
PSU and saw top prospects de-commit, he
maintained his commitment to Penn State.
Maybe he didn’t fully understand the impact the bad publicity and
sanctions would have on his surrounding cast but to stand by your commitment
despite the opportunity to leave for one of his other scholarship offers (and
he had them from many top schools) shows a lot of character. Many others de-committed, including first
round WR Will Fuller who went on to Notre Dame.
When his coach Bill O’Brien, the man who carried the whole
of Penn State on his shoulders through the aftermath of the scandal, left for
the NFL, Hack had another opportunity to sit out a year and move on to another
program. Again, he stayed to fulfill his
commitment.
With the hiring of Coach
Franklin, we saw a clear disintegration in Hack’s performance. As
pointed out on many outlets, his footwork was totally changed by the
staff. In my opinion, some coaches get
fixated on how things should be and forget that if something isn’t broken, don’t
fix it. When asked by John Gruden why
Hack changed his footwork, he replied, “Because they asked me to.” He’s a young man who respects his
coaches. If he fought change, the media
would have been all over him for being a trouble maker. Despite having accomplished so much using
the techniques he’d built all his life, he respected his coaches and made
changes, although to his detriment. In
the hands of coaches who understand how to use the talents their players bring
to the table and don’t try to reprogram successful players, he will be able to
build on his solid foundation.
Playing the Game
Hackenberg played in a pro style system. That is why he wanted to go to Penn
State. He was under center and was able
to make adjustments at the line of scrimmage.
If you are in a spread offense at the college level, not only are you
not under center, but you have to learn many new concepts like the exchange with
the center, dropping based on the play and footwork in play action. This is a huge advantage he has over the QBs
drafted before him in the 2016 draft.
Given he is in a pro system his ability to read defenses at
the line is critical. If the defensive
scheme would blow up a play, he is free to recognize, change the play and OL
protection and exploit a defensive miscue.
One thing I’ve noticed is, despite the off the mark passes, Hack rarely makes the wrong decision in terms
of where the weakness is on defense.
Fully clear on understanding
leverage at the line of scrimmage (basically, how will the defense respond to
our play and what do I do about it) and how to make defenses pay, his fundamentals are far and away more
advanced than any QB in the draft.
Supporting Staff
Not to blame the rest of the team but a QB can’t do it all
alone. Ignoring stats and watching
games, the mind boggles at all of the missed blocking assignments, incorrectly
run routes and dropped passes (a LOT of dropped passes) over the course of a
season. A key factor to all this was the
scholarship sanctions and de-commitment of players following the scandal. The absolute lack of skill across the board
on that team could not be overcome by any one player. Watching tape, you will see consecutive first
downs erased by consecutive sacks.
Drives stopped by dropped passes.
All the while, Hack getting popped with hits as his OL of subpar players
just could not hold up vs. top programs.
You will have many “lowlight” reels showing short or
overthrown passes but when you watch games you see how a measure of panic set
in as the futility of the supporting cast stops drive after drive after
drive. Hack would press and also got out
of kilter. One can argue that he should have risen above the poor supporting
cast but he is human. Again, one must
watch full games to see the progressive disintegration of the team. To watch clips out of context will lead to an
oversimplification of the complex issues driving this situation.
Hack Mechanical Issues
As previously stated, Hack has some mechanical issues,
mainly with footwork. He was a master of
his fundamentals prior to the arrival of Coach Franklin, and after, major
issues. Hence, these problems are
related to confusion in going against the natural tendencies he had developed
his entire life. Working with Chan
Gailey, who knows how to focus on the strengths of his players rather than
forcing his own styles down their throats, will work for Hack, not against him.
Poor throws especially from shotgun can be traced to
Franklin’s staff forcing a change. Simply
having a Hack switching his back foot will cure this problem. The work required to do so is as simply as
giving him permission to do so. The
investment to cure is next to nothing.
Above the Neck
Hack ran a pro-style offense and was given the keys. Other QBs in spread offenses rarely got past
the 2nd progression option (with the exception of Goff) and, as
such, never developed much in assessing leverage to find open receivers deep in
the progression. Not only does Hack
know were his receivers are, he has a great understanding of defenses so that
he can anticipate coverages to quickly go through progressions and find the
open receiver. Youtube any whiteboard
session and try finding any QB who showed a better understanding of his
offense. You can’t.
In terms of dealing with adversity, that’s all he faced at
Penn State and still led his team to bowl games. Playing under the pressure of a sports team in
the harsh NY market has broken many athletes.
Dealing with the harsh NY media and the rabid fans will be a piece of
cake for him.
Below the Neck
At 6’4” and 224 lbs, he looks the part of an NFL QB. His arm strength is undeniable. He can make every throw and can consistently put touch on the ball
when required. He is not a dual threat
QB, but he will pull the ball down and pick up a first down when the defense
allows it. He is a big strong kid who
has time and again picked himself up after his many knock downs without missing
time due to injury.
In conclusion, the NY Jets have drafted a physically
imposing QB who has all the fundamentals in place. He is superior above the neck given his
ability to process information on the fly in a pro-style defense. His tape shows a player who can make all the
throws on the field with ease. His durability
is unquestionable and, with the draft of OL Brandon Shell, the Jets will rebuild the OL to protect
Hack. When he has time to operate in the
pocket, he is deadly. He makes
adjustments on the field, frequently outthinking opposing defensive
coordinators. As we have seen from his
last two years in the Big 10 with no notable players on his supporting staff,
if he has no time to work, disaster happens.
If we juxtapose Hack with any other QB in FBS, I’m not sure any of them
could have fared much better than Christian.
I would wager they would have performed much worse.
Look for him to absorb the playbook over the Spring and
compete over the Summer. Given the
turmoil at QB, don’t be surprised if we see Hack start at some point in
2016.
Looking forward to a long, solid career from Hack.
