The Haskins Threat

[Buffalo Bob]

I don't know where the improvement is the coaches keep talking about. He looked worse than preseason by a country mile. His mechanics even seemed to get worse. Obviously the quicker speed and more confusing defenses of games that count caused the regression.

Don't know where I saw it but back when he was still playing there was a long piece on the development of Steve Young and how Bill Walsh coached him up. He said a QB relies on instincts when they are under pressure. One of Young's biggest faults was to take off running if his first read wasn't open and he saw a running lane. He said he would practice making all his reads, and was getting better at not taking off running too soon, yet when the pressure was on like being down late in a game, he would revert back to quickly looking to run.

Young said not until he practiced good habits over and over and over again to the point of exhaustion did the good habits become his instincts. The amount of repetitions that Walsh made him go through bordered on insanity.

So hopefully Haskins just needs time and obviously lots of it. Nobody thought the dumpster fire that was Steve Young early in his career would end up in the Hall of Fame. I am kind of amazed and how bad Haskins mechanics are.
You can get away with a lot as a college QB when you are lining up with guys who are far superior than the guys on the other side of the ball. Now Haskins is lining up with guys inferior to those defending them and it definitely shows.