In an earlier post I noted that the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Oregon QB Dennis Dixon in the 5th round of the NFL draft. Dixon has blazing speed and very good instincts; a combination that should make him a playmaker at the next level.
But what position should Dixon play?
Dixon wants to be a QB, that much is clear. However, at present, he lacks NFL caliber accuracy and....he played in a spread offense in college (brooding music sounds).
Concerning the former, Dixon has an all too common problem: too much arm strength and no control. In college, he threw beautiful deep passes (great arm strength), but tended to put too much on the ball on routes less than 15 yards (no control). If he continues along this path, Dixon will throw a lot of picks in the NFL. Why? Because putting too much on the ball equates to passes that are off the mark, deflected easily, and hard to catch.
Unfortunately, QBs with this trait rarely pan out in the NFL. The only modern example I can think of is Brett Farve. Brett eventually overcame his "arm strenth problem" by improving his footwork and changing his delivery. QBs always say they will work on this, but few actually accomplish the task. Of course, Brett was still known (throughout his career) for throwing the ball way too hard...a fact that made catching Farve's passes a skill in and of itself. Dixon may work on his throwing mechanics, but I bet dollars to bettsies that he won't spend enough time on his footwork. Really mobile QBs never spend time on their footwork....they like to run too much.
Interesting side observation: Strong armed QBs often develop very bad habits. I think this stems from the fact that strong arm QBs often use their arm strength as a crutch. They start forcing passes because they have too much confidence in their arm.
Dixon also ran a spread offense in college. Few teams run a traditional spread offense in the NFL. For example, the Houston Oilers (aka, Tennessee Titans), Atlanta Falcons, and Detroit Lions have all tried to run some version of the spread (not an encouraging list). Some people incorrectly think that the Steelers and Patriots ran a spread offense during the 2007-2008 season (see the Wiki site on spread offenses), but they are mistaken. Just because you run a 4 or 5 WR set does not mean you are running a spread offense. Neither the Steelers nor Patriots have a QB who can run effectively with the ball....something that is pretty important in a traditional spread.
The spread offense is not well respected in the NFL. It is a way to put up big numbers and prey on weaker opponents. The spread offense basically turns the game into playground football. That usually doesn't work in the NFL. But defensive rule changes may make the spread offense a reality in the NFL....someday. For the time being, QBs who played the spread offense in college will typically be "graded" lower than their peers who played in pro-style offenses. The spread offense teaches bad habits, inflates numbers, and can disguises QB with incomplete passing abilities.
How strange is life? There is an entire website (fansite?) devoted to the spread offense (with "action" shots):
http://www.spreadoffense.com/
Anyway, Dixon doesn't seem to project as an NFL QB. He might be a successful slash type player though. The Steelers have had nice success converting college QBs into hybrid WRs. It started with University of Colorado QB Kordell Stewart (Slash) and continued with Indiana University QB Antwaan Randle El (Slash II). Dixon could be Slash III.
Want to know more about Dixon?
Here is an article written by Mark Kaboly of SteelCityInsider.com:
http://pit.scout.com/2/754139.html
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