There has never been a better time to be a quarterback in the National Football League NFL Of course quarterbacks have always been important They lead a team’s offense They touch the ball on every play But the NFL has made quarterbacks even more important Football began as a running game The first quarterbacks were not even allowed to throw forward passes However NFL teams began passing more and more Fans loved it So the league made it easier to pass Rule changes protected quarterbacks and gave receivers more room to make plays Today’s rulebook basically encourages quarterbacks to pass New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a 2014 game QUARTERBACKS TAKE OVER THE NFL 1 4
Having a good quarterback is essential these days Just ask the New England Patriots Tom Brady led that team to its fourth Super Bowl win in February 2015 The Denver Broncos Peyton Manning has set dozens of passing records Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees are expert passers too And Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has another weapon When there are no open receivers he can take off and run down the field himself Quarterbacks dominate the league’s major awards Meanwhile the Super Bowl almost always features star quarterbacks It’s no surprise so many teams pick quarterbacks in the first round of the NFL Draft each year It’s clear that you are witnessing some of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game out there right now said Brees Yet he added Maybe our best is yet to come 7 Seasons in which a quarterback won the NFL Most Valuable Player MVP Award from 2007 to 2014 In 18 NFL Drafts from 1998 to 2015 the first pick was a quarterback 13 times The forward pass was illegal in organized football until 1906 5 New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady won his third Super Bowl MVP Award in February 2015
Odell Beckham Jr amazed fans on November 23 2014 The New York Giants wide receiver ran toward the end zone A long pass sailed his way But Beckham got tangled up with the defender The pass was high But Beckham went higher He stretched his body high into the air and grabbed the ball with one hand Touchdown NFL players are some of the best athletes in the world Every position requires a different skill set But today’s players have few AMAZING ATHLETES LIGHT UP THE FIELD 2 6 The Giants Odell Beckham Jr makes an amazing touchdown catch against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014
weaknesses Skill position players are often lightning fast Some can leap high into the air Even most linemen are great athletes They are big and strong But they also must be very quick and nimble too Fans can see these amazing athletes every Sunday That athleticism is measured each February at the NFL Scouting Combine Players likely to be drafted show off their tools there They run the 40-yard dash to demonstrate their speed They do a shuttle run to show their agility They bench press 225 pounds 102 kg as many times as possible to show their strength Of course players need to be skilled to succeed in the NFL But great athleticism doesn’t hurt Each year players rise and fall in the NFL Draft based on their performances at the combine STARS IN OTHER SPORTS Several NFL players have starred in other sports as well Tight ends Jimmy Graham and Antonio Gates were college basketball players Quarterbacks Tom Brady Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick were all chosen in the Major League Baseball draft Other football players have competed in track and field in the Olympics Among them are Lawrence Okoye and Marquise Goodwin 4 24 Seconds in which running back Chris Johnson ran the 40-yard dash at the 2008 combine That was a record In 1999 Justin Ernest set a new combine record by doing 51 reps on the bench press Gerald Sensabaugh holds the combine record for the vertical jump He leaped 46 inches 117 cm in 2005 7
