Peyton Manning
Drew Brees
Eli Manning
Tom Brady
Matt Ryan
Andy Dalton
Alex Smith
Philip Rivers
Tony Romo
Andrew Luck
Kirk Cousins
https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/4bpaiz/dispelling_the_myth_that_arm_strength_is_the_most/
I've seen you list these names before and choose not to comment. I will however now give you my take on a few.
Peyton....came out of Tenn as a 6'5, 235 lb player...He's an interesting case....Very cerebral player. But Peyton could ALWAYS throw with velocity as a young pro. His deep balls did wobble quite often which many took for a lack in arm strength.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/11654158/manning-leaf-1998-draft
Tom put Peyton through the arm-strength drill, and his pass to the 50-yard line was on a rope. Peyton's arm was among the strongest I have seen. It maybe was not quite as strong as Jim Kelly's, but certainly strong enough. Interestingly, Peyton threw what we call a "heavy ball," meaning it has a lot of rotation on it, which was quite interesting because guys with weaker arms usually don't throw a heavy ball. When you catch a heavy ball, your hands sting because it comes out with some heat on it.
Peyton had a slam-dunk workout, as good as you could have. Not that workouts are everything, but that one served as fairly solid evidence that all of the perceived negatives -- that he was a bad athlete, that he had a weak arm, etc. -- were untrue.
As a rookie, Peyton had PLENTY of arm strength...It was only later that he appeared to lose velocity.
http://harvardsportsanalysis.org/2016/01/understanding-the-decline-of-peyton-manning/
Drew Brees
He's an excellent comparison. Because Drew lacks the physical size of most pro QB's. Drew is one of the hardest working players at any position on the field, and is a
GREAT ATHLETE. Even at Purdue, you could see he threw an excellent deep ball, and with the work he put in after his shoulder injury, he turned into an elite thrower....
http://www.nola.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/10/optimum_performance_drew_brees.html
Archie Manning, who's NFL quarterback career spanned fifteen successful years, noted that the measure of a quarterback's arm strength is based on his ability to throw a 18 yard "comeback route," where the receiver runs eighteen yards, plants, and comes back to the 15 to make the catch. The "zip," according to Manning, is how many RPM's the QB can put on the ball. Next to former Denver Bronco QB John Elway and the Patriots' Tom Brady, Brees throws the "comback" as good as (with more power and accuracy) anyone I've seen in recent times - the operative word being "accuracy."
Please note the names he's compared to...namely Brady...another guy on your list.
http://the8percent.com/drew-brees-faith-and-a-strong-arm/
Like Peyton, Brees is a savant when it comes to QBing....he's better with time, although arm strength has diminished.
Tom Brady
We all know Tom...I saw Tom in the combine...Tom is the reason I watch the combine so intently. I never could have guessed this guy would make it..After he did, I figured the guy that came after him, Henning I believe would be a great QB too. Tom is motivated by an incredible chip to perform & excell to prove people wrong. Tom always had a decent arm...Even in college...With the work of Tom House, Brady has turned a so-so arm into somethin special...Not the rocket, but with great mechanics, he can drive the ball into tight windows with the best of them. One only need to look at how often he hit Randy Moss in stride that Tom has superior arm talent & strength.
http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/...-guys-improve-it-so-much-in-the-nfl/35218233/
http://www.packersnews.com/story/sp...ards-agree-brady-rodgers-best-at-qb/19680685/
The scout said that in 2000 he rated Brady as a sixth- to seventh-round pick. The main concern was his frail build (6-4½ and 211 pounds).
"Very accurate but not overly strong (throwing arm)," the scout said. "I just keep going back to his frame. He looked like the paper boy, didn't have a lot of muscle. That's why we put him down in that area."
Throwing accuracy is a quarterback's most important physical trait, so Brady had that. The scout said Brady's arm strength improved while in the NFL, and his height combined with his ability to slide in the pocket has compensated for his inability to make plays on the move....
Gilbride, who won two Super Bowls as the New York Giants' offensive coordinator, didn't evaluate Brady or Rodgers coming out of college. In both years (2000 and '05), he was an offensive coordinator and was not asked by his team, for whatever reason, to look at either.
But he's seen plenty of videotape of both since they've been in the NFL. He rated Brady as "off the charts" in all intangibles plus throwing accuracy.
"Mechanics throwing the ball, as good as you get," Gilbride said. "Running ability very limited, very restricted, not going to run for positive yards. Can slide around in the pocket effectively but not going to run for yards. Good arm strength, great accuracy.
.
Much like Brees, Brady's arm strength IMPROVED while in the pros...
Lastly.....I think just like the others Phillip Rivers & Andy Dalton have very good arms...Hell, they call Dalton the Red Rifle...and not because of his hair...but I'll go to Cousins & Ryan...2 guys who are also on the average arms in college, but have developed in the pros...Ryan's arm is stronger than Cousins...And Cousins is another guy who needed to get considerably stronger IMO...But I'd rate these as two with below average arm talent, but have been very successful in the league...Cousins really has an average skill-set...
Can you win with a popgun at QB? Maybe...if you have the experience & savvy vet play of a Brees & Manning...but with the increasingly smaller throwing windows, you make it almost impossible to succeed as a rookie with a wobbly ball.
I didn't include Eli Manning...I think he has a cannon...6'5 240 lbs...
Again...JMO
And no, Montana didn't have a cannon...I doubt we'll ever see another QB win like Joe did....
