Let Them Play: Why Teams Need to Stop Trying to Change the Way QB's play the game

I know that I am not in any way shape or form qualified to be an NFL coach. I don't have the knowledge, dedication, or drive to ever achieve that kind of thing. However, sometimes I think NFL coaches could use a little bit of what I like to call "fan wisdom". See, while your typical NFL fan will never be equal to a coach, this actually can work as an advantage because we look at the game differently than they do. One of the best ways to explain this is the fact that so many NFL coaches try to force their QB's to play according to their system and not the way the QB plays best.

Think about it. Three seasons ago Ben Rothelisberger guided his team to the playoff's. During the offseason they hired a new offensive cordinator. That cordinator decided that he wanted Big Ben to be more of a traditional drop back QB. The result? The Steeler's sucked last year and they suck this year. While it is true that some of that suckatude has to do with an aging defense, the fact is that by trying to force Big Ben to play the game differently, it hampers one of the most important players on the team.

It's not just Big Ben either. You can see it in how the 49er's handled Kapernick, the Panthers keep trying to change Cam Newton, and more. It seems to me that every time a cordinator or coach gets it in their head the QB needs to play differently they teams fortunes fall down and sadly the QB winds up catching the game.

Think back for a moment to the 2011 season when the Broncos finally benched Kyle Orton and started Tim Tebow. The first two games they tried to make Tebow fit the system and didn't look like a good team at all. Once the Denver brass stopped and decided to let Tebow play the way he plays, they wound up making it into the playoff's. Had John Fox not decided to do that, chances are they wouldn't have had a winning seasons much less a playoff berth.

I am not saying that you shouldn't try to make a QB play better. I am just saying that maybe you shouldn't try so hard to make a QB play differently. If more coaches and cordinators adopted this philosophy I think a lot more teams would find out that their QB is capable of playing in the NFL and wouldn't waste so many draft picks on "busts"