BROCK AND SALK

Are good young quarterbacks an endangered species in the NFL?

Nov 3, 2015, 12:20 PM | Updated: Nov 4, 2015, 12:09 pm

Colin Kaepernick’s benching is the latest example of the struggles of many of the NFL’s...

Colin Kaepernick's benching is the latest example of the struggles of many of the NFL's young quarterbacks. (AP)

(AP)

Russell Wilson has won a Super Bowl, got back to another and hasn’t missed a start in his professional career. Meanwhile, other young quarterbacks who entered the NFL around the same time are falling apart.

Thus the question posed on “Brock and Salk” on Tuesday: Where have all the good young quarterbacks gone?

It wasn’t long ago that the NFL was in the midst of a dual-threat quarterback renaissance, with a horde of athletic players under center who seemed poised to join the ranks of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees.

Related: Hawk Talk highlights: In defense of Russell Wilson, Jermaine Kearse

However, while Wilson continues to play at a high level, Brock Huard noted that many of the other once-bright stars have flamed out.

Colin Kaepernick has been benched; Robert Griffin III has disappeared; Andrew Luck is an injured, turnover mess; Jake Locker quit; Christian Ponder is out of football; Blaine Gabbert is about to show he still can’t play; and Ryan Mallett was just released after recurring tardiness and ineffectiveness.

Related: Seahawks may have found formula to reduce sacks on Russell Wilson

Huard noted that quarterback has always had the biggest boom-bust potential and is the hardest position to scout. It’s a point Mike Salk hopes reaches Wilson’s critics.

“Which is why you never take anyone seriously who is saying the Seahawks shouldn’t have signed Russell Wilson to the big money and they should have gone back into the lottery to figure out who their next quarterback was going to be,” Salk said.

Salk asked whether the recent quarterback struggles are actually a trend or a symptom of playing the position as a whole. He noted that even the famous 1983 draft class that produced Hall of Famers Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and John Elway still included a majority of otherwise average quarterbacks or complete busts.

Huard, who took snaps at quarterback in three of his six seasons in the NFL, said there used to be a grooming period that helped young players transition into the game’s most demanding position.

Huard recalled former Seahawks offensive coordinator Gil Haskell pulling him aside “and saying, ‘You can play in this league a long time; you may have to be a second- or third-(stringer), but just weather the storm.’ That there was some degree of patience and I just think that that has become razor-thin in this day and age.”

Salk agreed, suggesting that neither organizations nor fans have the time or patience for gradual growth.

“The moment a young quarterback makes three mistakes, they’re like, ‘This guy doesn’t have it, you’re out,’ ” Salk said. “There’s no willingness to wait for it, there’s no willingness to allow a guy to develop.”

While the potential answers are numerous – the bar is set too high, the bad luck of injuries, jumping immediately into the starting role, lack of a stable coaching staff – no matter the root cause, John Clayton said there’s “no doubt” that the future of the NFL at quarterback is shaky and that the system being taught on the college level is adding to the issue.

“Everybody in the National Football League is afraid of the spread quarterbacks and there is more of them than there are pro-set quarterbacks, and if these young quarterbacks start to fail, then you know things are really going to be bad for the National Football League,” Clayton said.

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Are good young quarterbacks an endangered species in the NFL?