Ballard’s draft record

[Kray007]

Originally Posted by rm1369

My belief on AR is that Ballard and Steichen wanted him. And Stechein soured on him because of his work habits. So you can certainly say that AR failed. However, they drafted probably the rawest QB ever and did jack shit to support him. He either needed to sit and watch and learn or he needed true veteran mentor. Not someone to compete against, someone who knew his role on the team was not to win games, but to teach AR how to be a professional QB. Those to me are the two valid ways to develop a QB who clearly isn’t ready. In typical Ballard fashion the team had no direction and did neither. He has said he doesn’t believe in veteran leadership he believes his coaches set the culture. That MAY work if you hire a hard nosed chew your ass type coach. Maybe. But it sure as fuck doesn’t work with the Reichs and Stechein analytical, Xs and Os type coaches. AR shares some blame in his failure, but the majority falls on the fucking grown men and supposed leaders that failed to provide him the structure and time he needed to succeed. AR is a symptom of the completely rotten culture Ballard has developed.

It’s hard to peg the reasons why quarterbacks fail. It’s easy to say that it was an organizational failure; that coaching staffs are somehow negligent or inept. In some cases, I’m sure that’s true. In some cases, being drafted by the New York Jets dooms you to some corner of quarterback hell.

I’m not sure, however, but that isn’t too broad a brush. Was a colts organization that turned Andrew Luck into an all pro all that much different than the one that failed Anthony Richardson?

What was it that caused the Pittsburgh Steelers to stumble so badly with Kenny Pickett? How to explain the 49ers and Trey Lance?

How do you explain the ability of organization so inept as the Cincinnati Bengals to develop Joe Burrow? Houston and Jacksonville were both considered shit shows until they lucked into Stroud and Lawrence.

I get the feeling that part of the problem is structural. Over the years, the Players Association has systematically reduced off-season workouts and contact between players and clubs. There just isn’t a lot of opportunity for coaches to shape a raw lump of potential into an elite player. That might not matter much if you’re talking about a Tom Brady or a Daniel Jones, players with an inner fire to excel and an unsurpassed capacity for work.

But, with Anthony Richardson…