In the opening week of the 2024 NFL season, football fans were treated to an unusual display of low-quality play on the gridiron. As final scores of 18–10, 16–10, 20–17, and 22–10 flashed across the scoreboard, it became apparent that even high-scoring games were plagued by struggling quarterbacks facing off against aggressive modern defenses.
“It was a week of uninspiring football,” remarked one observer. The lackluster performances sparked a discussion among football’s elite about the state of the sport’s most crucial position – the quarterback. On Tuesday morning, Kirk Herbstreit, former Ohio State quarterback turned color commentator for “Thursday Night Football”, shared his thoughts on the matter in an interview with ESPN’s Kevin Clark on “This is Football”.
Herbstreit offered two theories to explain the subpar quality of September football. The first theory revolves around the current trend of teams not taking the preseason seriously.
“I don’t know if it’s a lack of preseason football – that’s become the new thing. A lot of the starters don’t play,” Herbstreit expressed. “The result is really bad September football. I feel like September football is becoming what August football used to be, where you kinda work the kinks out. … Now you almost have to wait three or four weeks, to get us into what you expect to see.”
As for the second theory, Herbstreit suggested a disconnect between two generations of quarterbacks – the old pocket passers and the new dual-threat signal-callers.
“We have coordinators who are trying to adapt to this modern college quarterback,” Herbstreit explained. “There are very few guys who now come in that look like Philip Rivers. Everyone’s more of a dual guy. Everyone’s relying on his feet to create.”
As the debate over the state of quarterback play in the NFL rages on, one thing is clear – the opening week of the 2024 season has left many questioning the direction of the game and what can be done to elevate the level of play on the field.