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A Quarterback's Cold Remedy: Huge Hands
Suddenly, Long Fingers Are Seen as Common to Great Quarterbacks
By Kevin Clark
http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304856504579338703990998202?mobile=y
NFL fans can see it already. Falling snow frustrates the quarterbacks at next Sunday's New York Super Bowl. Passes flutter around like wounded ducks. Completions are as rare as fans in shorts.
But inside the game, it is understood that both starting quarterbacks possess a trait that renders them all but weatherproof. The Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning have huge hands.
"I don't know if it's going to be a wet ball, I don't know if it's going to be a cold ball but both those guys have big mitts so it's not going to make a difference," said Jedd Fisch, the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator who has been an assistant in both Denver and Seattle.
Quarterbacks with long fingers and big palms may seem like a sideshow, good for strong handshakes and getting stuck items out of vending machines. Even in the NFL, hand size received little attention until the 1980s, and no truly serious attention until the past few years.
But today's executives understand that height isn't the only or even the most important measure of a quarterback's size. Wilson stands only 5 feet 11. But from pinkie to thumb, his hands measure 10¼ inches, compared with an average male span of 7.4 inches.
"Russell Wilson's hands are a God thing—something you couldn't even design," said Jim Zorn, the former Seahawks quarterback who is between coaching jobs. On Super Bowl Sunday, Zorn added, "if it's wet, slimy, the grip won't be an issue."
Thomas Dimitroff, the Atlanta Falcons' general manager, said studies have shown that ball control in frigid outdoor games—from fumbles to interceptions—starts with the size of the quarterbacks hands.
"Big hands are anatomically the best thing for hurling a football, no question about it, in inclement weather," said Dimitroff, previously the New England Patriots' director of college scouting before taking over the Falcons.
In cold weather, Zorn said, a ball tends to get hard and prone to a "popping" wherein it bounces off the quarterback's hand. For most quarterbacks, that leads to short, inaccurate passes.
But Zorn said that cold weather isn't a problem for quarterbacks with fingers long enough to control the ball without use of the palm, which is the source of that pop.
Zorn said Manning's newfound ability to play with gloves further neutralizes the weather. Fisch, meanwhile, said there is a direct correlation between big hands and a quick, smooth release that gets the ball out in a matter of tenths of seconds in inclement weather. Larger-handed quarterbacks, he said, are likelier to touch part of the laces and, without looking, adjust their grip and quickly get off a throw.
A quarterback with huge hands was a must for the Seahawks, who play in a misty, rainy stadium in the Pacific Northwest. After selecting Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft, John Schneider, Seattle's general manager, publicly mentioned hand size as a determining factor. Schneider said he first noticed Wilson's iron grip when Wilson was a senior at Wisconsin and Schneider trekked to a game against Penn State. Wisconsin won 45-7.
"A really nasty, cold, rainy day and he lit it up. It wasn't close," Schneider said just after the draft.
Growing interest in hand size is reflected on the league's own website. The site doesn't offer hand-size statistics for older quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, the Patriots' Tom Brady or retired superstar Brett Favre—players known anecdotally to sport big mitts.
But the site lists younger-quarterback hand statistics as standard information. That information shows that Wilson's hands are bigger than all of his young quarterbacking rivals.
They are slightly bigger than Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck's hands, three-fourths of an inch bigger than those of the Washington Redskins' Robert Griffin III, and 1¼ inches larger than those of the Miami Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill, who was selected two rounds before Wilson in the 2012 draft. Wilson's NFC West rival, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, has a hand that spans only slightly over 9 inches.
In an informal poll of league executives this week, nearly all said the league was moving away from small-handed quarterbacks, in part because of the cold-weather advantage of large hands. Former NFL executive Gil Brandt said that throughout history, the list of small-handed NFL quarterback stars is short—and may consist only of Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin. "He had short little stubbs for fingers," said Brandt.
In a shocker, star Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, once considered a top draft prospect, fell to the fourth round of last year's draft. The team that drafted him, the Oakland Raiders, released him before he ever played in a game—which seldom happens for a pick that high. Scouts have confirmed that his incredibly small hands, 8¾ inches, were a huge factor.
In time elapsed before throwing, Manning and Wilson represent opposite ends of the spectrum. According to Pro Football Focus, Manning takes a league-shortest 2.36 to throw the ball. Wilson takes a league-longest 3.18 seconds. Manning likes to get the snap, find the laces then move the ball out as quickly as possible. Wilson, many times, runs backward or scrambles until one of his receivers gets open deep. It is crucial, according to coaches, for him to be able to control the ball with one hand while using the other to spin away from coverage. For the left and the right, size helps. The cold won't bother either Manning or Wilson.
Suddenly, Long Fingers Are Seen as Common to Great Quarterbacks
By Kevin Clark
http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304856504579338703990998202?mobile=y
NFL fans can see it already. Falling snow frustrates the quarterbacks at next Sunday's New York Super Bowl. Passes flutter around like wounded ducks. Completions are as rare as fans in shorts.
But inside the game, it is understood that both starting quarterbacks possess a trait that renders them all but weatherproof. The Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning have huge hands.
"I don't know if it's going to be a wet ball, I don't know if it's going to be a cold ball but both those guys have big mitts so it's not going to make a difference," said Jedd Fisch, the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator who has been an assistant in both Denver and Seattle.
Quarterbacks with long fingers and big palms may seem like a sideshow, good for strong handshakes and getting stuck items out of vending machines. Even in the NFL, hand size received little attention until the 1980s, and no truly serious attention until the past few years.
But today's executives understand that height isn't the only or even the most important measure of a quarterback's size. Wilson stands only 5 feet 11. But from pinkie to thumb, his hands measure 10¼ inches, compared with an average male span of 7.4 inches.
"Russell Wilson's hands are a God thing—something you couldn't even design," said Jim Zorn, the former Seahawks quarterback who is between coaching jobs. On Super Bowl Sunday, Zorn added, "if it's wet, slimy, the grip won't be an issue."
Thomas Dimitroff, the Atlanta Falcons' general manager, said studies have shown that ball control in frigid outdoor games—from fumbles to interceptions—starts with the size of the quarterbacks hands.
"Big hands are anatomically the best thing for hurling a football, no question about it, in inclement weather," said Dimitroff, previously the New England Patriots' director of college scouting before taking over the Falcons.
In cold weather, Zorn said, a ball tends to get hard and prone to a "popping" wherein it bounces off the quarterback's hand. For most quarterbacks, that leads to short, inaccurate passes.
But Zorn said that cold weather isn't a problem for quarterbacks with fingers long enough to control the ball without use of the palm, which is the source of that pop.
Zorn said Manning's newfound ability to play with gloves further neutralizes the weather. Fisch, meanwhile, said there is a direct correlation between big hands and a quick, smooth release that gets the ball out in a matter of tenths of seconds in inclement weather. Larger-handed quarterbacks, he said, are likelier to touch part of the laces and, without looking, adjust their grip and quickly get off a throw.
A quarterback with huge hands was a must for the Seahawks, who play in a misty, rainy stadium in the Pacific Northwest. After selecting Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft, John Schneider, Seattle's general manager, publicly mentioned hand size as a determining factor. Schneider said he first noticed Wilson's iron grip when Wilson was a senior at Wisconsin and Schneider trekked to a game against Penn State. Wisconsin won 45-7.
"A really nasty, cold, rainy day and he lit it up. It wasn't close," Schneider said just after the draft.
Growing interest in hand size is reflected on the league's own website. The site doesn't offer hand-size statistics for older quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, the Patriots' Tom Brady or retired superstar Brett Favre—players known anecdotally to sport big mitts.
But the site lists younger-quarterback hand statistics as standard information. That information shows that Wilson's hands are bigger than all of his young quarterbacking rivals.
They are slightly bigger than Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck's hands, three-fourths of an inch bigger than those of the Washington Redskins' Robert Griffin III, and 1¼ inches larger than those of the Miami Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill, who was selected two rounds before Wilson in the 2012 draft. Wilson's NFC West rival, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, has a hand that spans only slightly over 9 inches.
In an informal poll of league executives this week, nearly all said the league was moving away from small-handed quarterbacks, in part because of the cold-weather advantage of large hands. Former NFL executive Gil Brandt said that throughout history, the list of small-handed NFL quarterback stars is short—and may consist only of Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin. "He had short little stubbs for fingers," said Brandt.
In a shocker, star Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, once considered a top draft prospect, fell to the fourth round of last year's draft. The team that drafted him, the Oakland Raiders, released him before he ever played in a game—which seldom happens for a pick that high. Scouts have confirmed that his incredibly small hands, 8¾ inches, were a huge factor.
In time elapsed before throwing, Manning and Wilson represent opposite ends of the spectrum. According to Pro Football Focus, Manning takes a league-shortest 2.36 to throw the ball. Wilson takes a league-longest 3.18 seconds. Manning likes to get the snap, find the laces then move the ball out as quickly as possible. Wilson, many times, runs backward or scrambles until one of his receivers gets open deep. It is crucial, according to coaches, for him to be able to control the ball with one hand while using the other to spin away from coverage. For the left and the right, size helps. The cold won't bother either Manning or Wilson.
