Luke Falk and Drew Brees: A Comparison I have been working on this for quite some time, and wasn’t planning on sharing it until the off-season kicked off, but I’m simply too eager. Before I begin, allow me to state that this is in no way a reflection of how I feel about Ryan Tannehill; I fully support him as the franchise and hope his return is graceful. However, there is still reason to pursue a quarterback in the 2018 NFL draft. A. The longevity of Ryan’s knee must undoubtedly be called into question after two ACL and MCL injuries. While I am hopeful that he remains a capable football player, this is absolutely no guarantee--these kinds of injuries have derailed many careers. As such, it is important to err on the side of caution. This is a quarterback-driven league, after all, and we need to swing for the fences until we hit a homerun. B. Luke Falk, currently a 2nd-3rd round prospect, is an unpassable option at that juncture if my analysis holds true-to-life, and especially if Ryan’s knee is going to remain chronically unhealthy. At worst, Ryan struggles in his comeback to the league, is consequently let go due to his performance/salary ratio, and is replaced by Luke. At best, Miami sees a quarterback competition down the road that features two capable franchise players (a good problem to have). C. Miami fans have long dreamt of what could have been had Brees donned the aqua and orange. Now, Miami has a chance to press the reset button. Below, you will find that I have provided scouting reports and statistics related to collegiate-level Brees and Falk. Consider the eerie similarities of their strengths, supposed weaknesses, statistics, and play-styles, and decide for yourself if Luke Falk is the next Drew Brees. Drew Brees: Collegiate Scouting Report Positives: “Touch passer with the ability to read and diagnose defensive coverages...Confident leader who knows how to take command in the huddle...Very tough and mobile moving around in the pocket...Has a quick setup and is very effective throwing on the move... Throws across his body with great consistency...Hits receivers in stride and improvises his throws in order to make a completion...Puts good zip behind the short and mid-range passes...Shows good judgement and keen field vision...Has a take-charge attitude and is very cool under pressure...Hits receivers in motion with impressive velocity...Has superb pocket presence and uses all of his offensive weapons in order to move the chains...Has solid body mechanics and quickness moving away from center...Elusive scrambler with the body control to avoid the rush.” Negatives: “Plays in the spread offense, taking the bulk of his snaps from the shotgun...Tends to side-arm his passes going deep...Lacks accuracy and touch on his long throws...Seems more comfortable in the short/intermediate passing attack...Does not possess the ideal height you look for in a pro passer, though his ability to scan the field helps him compensate in this area...Will improvise and run when the passing lanes are clogged, but tends to run through defenders rather than trying to avoid them to prevent unnecessary punishment.” Statistics: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/drew-brees-1.html Luke Falk: Collegiate Scouting Report Positives: Falk operates with excellent poise. He never looks flustered and he shows a complete command of coach Mike Leach's offensive system. While much will be mentioned about the lack of production for some of the top QBs in the country, Falk doesn't have that issue. His career stats are eye-popping. Falk operates in the shotgun and he is quick to scan and throw with anticipation. Although he plays in an Air Raid offense, he does read the entire field. He has a very quiet lower body (calm, firm base) and a smooth release. He has tremendous touch at all three levels. Leach gives him a lot of responsibility in the offense and he has handled it extremely well. Negatives: Falk doesn't possess a huge arm. It hasn't been a big issue for Falk because he is so adept at throwing with anticipation. However, he does need to add some RPMs to his throws and it has been reported that he's added weight/strength during the offseason. He's a functional athlete, capable of avoiding the free rusher, but he isn't much of a threat as a ball carrier. Fair or unfair, he will have to answer questions about the lack of success Air Raid QBs have had at the next level. I think he'll be given more responsibility to make calls at the line of scrimmage this season and that should ease some of those concerns. Statistics: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/luke-falk-1.html These highlights provide a glimpse of his capability as a passer: , Lastly, this interview provides an in-depth look at Falk as a person: Perhaps my favorite things about Falk are his absurd pass accuracy and his dynamic, success-driven personality. Similar to Brees, Falk is a tremendous touch-passer, has excellent short-medium range accuracy, is capable of scanning the entire field and commanding an offense, is calm and poised in the pocket, and is a functional athlete on the run. He also has questions surrounding him in regard to the collegiate offense he played in and how it will translate to the NFL, his overall arm-strength/size, and whether or not he is too reliant on the short-medium passing game--all consistent with Brees' critiques coming out of college. And yet, to me, it is Falk's immense maturity that truly sets him apart from the rest of the draft class as a sure-fire franchise quarterback. There is no doubt in my mind that this Washington State Cougar will find success in the NFL; I just hope it’s with the Miami Dolphins.
I saw him throw a bubble screen...Gase loves that. I think that Miami should draft a QB. There is no telling how long Ryan will last behind this line.
Falk is okay, but I see Baker Mayfield as a better Brees comparison. And I would draft Mayfield with a quickness.
Been watchin Falk for a couple of years, he's for real. Can make any throw, tough as a Denny's breakfast steak. Smart humble and hard working. Brees is a good comp, Carson Wentz, Drew Bledsoe come to mind. Maybe even a little Eli Manning in there. Seriously doubt he makes it to the second round, someone will trade up into the low twenties to go get him I think.
Zero chance of Baker Mayfield being available to us. IMO he is clearly the best college QB coming out this year, which almost guarantees him the #1 overall draft spot.
Well, we need a quarterback at this point. I trust a lot of what you guys say on here. If he draws comparisons to the players mentioned above, then I'm all for it.
Zero chance you say? Just where do you think the team will land season's end record-wise? Both the rams & philly identified the qb they "wanted" and got him. The Rams moved up from 15th. It's a near certainty we'll finish a lot higher than 15th.
At this point we are looking at a top fifteen to top 10 pick, but that's what we were looking at as soon as Cutler put on a Dolphins Uniform. Top ten pick would be better spent on a freakin G at this point. But I don't think a top ten QB pick is in the best interest of the team. A 2nd round top ten pick is a good place to jump into the late first or top of the second to go after a QB like Falk. And if they can trade down out of that top ten pick and get 2 G out of the deal or a C and a G or a G and a DE then they would be on to something.
Browns, 49ers and Giants all need QBs and are much worse than us. 49ers may come off that list if Garropolo comes good. Add in similar tier to us teams like the Ravens, Jets, Texans, Cardinals, and Bears who should be looking for a new QB as well as the Colts who may have run out of Luck. It isn’t just what you want, it is what other teams want and with the anticipated feeding frenzy for Baker Mayerfield, I just don’t see the phins brass putting enough on the table to get Mayerfield in trade since we already have Tannehill. So with 4 wins already we aren’t going to get the #1 draft slot. Technically it may not be zero, but it is a number very close to zero.
I don’t love Falk as a prospect, maybe with some time away from that silly spread gimmick that Leach runs. I can however appreciate the hard work you put in to that post. Great work. Personally, I still have Rosen and Mayfield as my top 2 QBs (I think Darnold goes back to school)...with Rosen at 1 even if Darnold comes out. Rosen’s the one QB, I’d trade Tannehill for the chance to draft.
Miami has to get into the mix for the top rated qb's in the draft. Maybe this guy climbs up the board, but Miami has no business waiting until round 2-3
I'm feeling Josh Rosen. Will need for us to move up to say #2 but we need to pull that lever. Based on how we're playing should only cause us to move up 4 spots....
Been saying this for a couple moths now, him and baker Mayfield are really the only nfl caliper qb's who stand a chance in the nfl.
until last week sam darnel was the #1 qb in this class which I had Mayfield #1 from the start, when baker wins the Heisman he will solidify his #1 pick status, and I think a trade can be made for the #1 if the browns think Kiser is their qb
im sure aqua has a good read on Falk...apprecite the post dude..well done.. I cant start looking at the offseason until were mathematically eliminated..just a thing
Great post. His arm strength looks good to me, not what I expected after reading the scouting report. Excellent ball placement and overall accuracy based on those videos. Looks like he scans the whole field and is quick and decisive when throwing the ball. Haven't seen him play in other games, but would've liked to see how he does under more pressure. Seems like his OL does a good job protecting him, he likely won't have the luxury of those nice, well-formed pockets in the NFL (and certainly not if he gets drafted by the Dolphins lol). Drew Brees is great at escaping pressure and making things happen on broken plays, do you have some clips that showcase this particular skill?
Guess we will find out in 2-3 years after hes had some time in the pros. At this time last year everyone thought Goff was going to be garbage but hes looked good this year
I thought goff was decent he was making nfl throws with ease he just had no line and or help anywhere, he got a line which helped the running game which helped him. I think rosen and GOFF are on 2 different scales coming out of college. For his sake I hope he succeeds and the browns or giants get a qb for the next few years lol.
