Why quarterback is important

But that's not nearly enough for Rodgers. He dives in on his own, as do most players, but it has been suggested he puts in even more of his personal time.

He won't say how much - "I don't want to give out my routine because it's personal and it works for me" - but the study time shows up in his game. You can see in the picture above that Aaron Rodgers is communicating something with wide receiver Jordy Nelson before the snap.

Obviously, Rodgers sees something he likes from the defense and wants to take advantage. What we saw on this play was a yard touchdown pass to Nelson. It's just one small example of Rodgers seeing something on the field, processing it, communicating it and having that physically translate to a positive result on the field. Most fans and outsiders don't have any idea how many things are actually going on during a game in regard to the chess matches coaches play with personnel, formations and play-calling.

What is noticed is a positive or negative result on Sundays, but that's just the final piece to a weeklong preparation and study.

You can't play quarterback in the NFL if you aren't sharp, focused and intensely devoted to the mental side of the game. Well, at least you can't be a "successful" quarterback. There are just too many things a quarterback is responsible for out on the field for his mental acuity to not be required as one of his better traits.

The quarterback is often the face of a football team and program. He can represent his school or, sometimes his city, based on his behavior. For this reason, football quarterbacks are often used to perform public-relations activities. This can include visiting hospitals, giving media interviews, attending fundraising events or posing for pictures.

If a quarterback is suspended, expelled from school, dropped from a program or fired, it can have catastrophic results for the rest of the team. Scholastic athletes must retain their eligibility, or they can be dropped from the program. This means maintaining a required grade point average. Some high school and college football players work with tutors to ensure they make their required grades.

Quarterbacks have to be in top, physical shape. This means they must get enough sleep, eat healthy foods and exercise on a regular basis. Quarterbacks often use a periodization schedule to plan their year-round training. These periods involve different types of workouts and exercises during the pre-season, the offseason and during the season, explains the American Council on Exercise.

On top of that, they must call the play, read the defense , and control the tempo of the game, all before the play even starts! The importance of a quarterback is highlighted by the difference in success between teams with a great quarterback and teams with an average quarterback.

A major example of this is the New England Patriots, whose past two decades have been filled with 5 Super Bowl Championships, thanks to legendary quarterback Tom Brady. Where Is Football Most Popular? Who Created Football In America? Yet there is one critical biomechanical characteristic, not only to stay healthy but to throw the ball harder and more accurately. This vital movement is knee flexion, the ability to keep the legs slightly bent while stepping into the throw and rotating over that leg upon the release of the ball.

While several NFL quarterback coaches and MVPs would agree with this obvious observation, only one large research study has examined the differences between high school and higher lever performers at the university level. This thesis out of the University of Manitoba measured over 30 variables on high speed cameras, as well as an extensive review on previous studies looking at overhead athletes, specifically football quarterbacks.

The review found higher level quarterbacks kept their back leg bent to allow hip extension rather than just knee extension.