If the eyes are the window to one’s soul, then when it comes to an NFL quarterback, one can often get a good sense of just how comfortable he is by simply looking at his feet.
How much does footwork affect a quarterback?
A lot.
Ideally, when the quarterback sets up to throw the ball, his feet should be shoulder-width apart and his body weight distributed between both feet.
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At the top of his drop (just prior to releasing the ball), the quarterback usually shifts more of his weight to his back leg to gain some momentum in throwing the ball the required distance.
He then turns his upper body to where he is viewing his intended target over his non-throwing shoulder as he cocks back his arm to throw.
As he follows through with the ball, his front foot should be pointing toward his intended target, his weight shifted forward.
All these little nuances make for a sturdy throwing base. When the footwork is changed, it can sometimes throw a quarterback off his game to where he tries to compensate for the lack of being comfortable by either over striding or using “all arm” to reach his intended receiver.
The result is an inaccurately thrown ball (usually one that falls short of its target) that can easily be mistaken for the quarterback having lost something in his velocity.
What does all this mean for Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who despite having recorded three 4,000-yard passing seasons under Ben McAdoo’s guidance had to do so by throwing an average of 100 more pass attempts per season?
Let’s look at the differences in Manning’s footwork under Ben McAdoo and what we can expect under Pat Shurmur.
The Ben McAdoo Theory
In 2014, McAdoo arrived in New York with the challenge of rebuilding an offense that Giants co-owner John Mara famously described as being “broken.”
For a while, McAdoo seemed to have the answers when it came to the quarterbacks. Manning, who finished the 2013 season completing 57.5 percent of his passes, saw his completion percentage rise to 63.1 in 2014, with the ensuing years never dipping below 61.6 percent in the four seasons with McAdoo in his ear.
He also enjoyed a resurgence that saw him throw for over 4,000 yards in McAdoo’s first three seasons with the team, the 2017 season being an exception.
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Once McAdoo was promoted to head coach and free to run the show his way, he took advantage of that opportunity.
Let’s look at an example from 2017 of how Manning tried to execute McAdoo’s preferred footwork.
Credit: NFL Game PassThe first thing that jumps out is how close together Manning’s feet are under center. Because of this, when Manning takes the snap, instead of simply pivoting to the side on his left foot, as he did previously, he takes a slight hitch step to get his body into the proper position for the drop.
Another major point of emphasis McAdoo taught the quarterbacks to do was to hold their weight on their back foot when they got to the top of their drops.
Notice how as Manning gets to the top of his drop, he has picked up his front foot off the ground and appears to be leaning back in a stance that reminds one of a shot-putter’s stance.
Manning’s foot is off the ground by a lot here. pic.twitter.com/ChJVHo58fa
— PTraina-GIFs (@PtrainaG) August 11, 2018
The quarterback uses his back foot to push off and get velocity on his throws. While every quarterback is different regarding how much of his weight he puts on both feet, there is usually some sort of weight distribution.
If a quarterback is asked to hold on his back foot until he’s ready to make the throw, the pass is almost always going to be off-target because now the quarterback has to put a little more arm into the throw rather than using the rest of his body to gain the right amount of touch on the pass.
Also noteworthy in this clip is Manning’s follow-through. When a quarterback releases theball, the toes of his front foot should be facing the intended target. In this clip, Manning’s toes are facing the flat while the receiver is several yards down the field. Not surprisingly, the ball ended up behind the intended receiver.
The Pat Shurmur/Mike Shula Effect
Shurmur and Mike Shula’s approach to footwork is a lot less rigid than what McAdoo deployed in that they are more concerned with allowing the quarterback to find their own comfort zone regarding weight distribution just so long as they get the ball out of their hands and to the intended target on time.
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It’s an approach that is very similar to what Manning had under Kevin Gilbride.
(Note: The All-22 film from the Giants first preseason game this year isn’t available, so I have used an example from the Vikings’ Week 17 game last year with Case Keenum at quarterback to illustrate some of the changes in how the quarterback’s footwork might look under Shurmur/Shula.)
Credit: NFL Game PassAgain, every quarterback is different, and there are little differences between Keenum’s approach last year and Manning’s approach from the Gilbride years, such as the exact weight distribution in their feet.
However, the key similarities include no hitch step at the start of the drop and no holding on the back foot at the top of the drop.
Keenum’s throwing motion is smoother and more efficient and was a big reason why in 2017, he enjoyed career-highs in completion percentage (67.6) and in passing yards (3,547) in 15 games played.
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images; Clips from NFL Game Pass)
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