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Originally Posted by LaRamsFanLongTime
If Ferotte could just huck that ball 50 plus yards down the field we might see a Moss Culpepper type of thing. I throw rock you run under it.
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While Randy Moss does have great speed, I think the reason Culpepper-to-Moss worked so well was more because, at 6'4" with a very impressive vertical leap, Randy could simply outjump defenders and come down with the ball. Culpepper didn't have to be deadly accurate because Randy would just dwarf defenders in the air when fighting for the ball. Curtis isn't going to do it nearly to that extent. His vertical game is much more dependent on beating a guy with his speed and being able to get the ball in stride to continue down the field.
As for arm strength, Chris Chandler also displayed a pretty good arm, hitting
Torry Holt on a 75-yard bomb near the end of the first quarter of 2004's game against Carolina. Chandler went on to throw five interceptions in the remaining three quarters of that game. Not comparing Frerotte to Chandler, but here's another QB who looked like a qualified back-up whom some even felt could push for the starting job in part because of arm strength.
Arm strength is great, but consider that those deep bombs make up a very small percentage of the passes a quarterback is going to make. When the Rams were on top of their game in 2003, only 2% of Bulger's throws were more than 40 yards down field. That's gone up in recent years - I believe 6% in 2004 and as high as 13% last year with 38 attempts - but also consider how we've been playing catch-up with a bad defense quite a bit the last two seasons.
13% and 38 attempts at that distance is
far from normal, and one needs only to look around the rest of the league to see. Out of 450+ pass attempts last year, Peyton Manning threw only five passes that were 40+ yards down field. Matt Hasselbeck made only two attempts. Tom Brady, who had the most passing yards in the league last year, threw only 11 which accounted for a mere 2% of his throws. Trent Green threw seven, and Carson Palmer I don't believe threw one ball deeper than 40 yards at all.
Me personally, I'll take a guy who may not have a cannon but knows where to go with the football and can deliver it accurately over a guy who can physically make all the throws but doesn't always know where to go and has problems getting the ball in the right spot. Frerotte can make the throws down field, but has some pretty apparent problems with reads and accuracy, and it shows in his history. And considering how little those deep passes are actually attempted by successful quarterbacks on competitive teams, I don't see how one could consider an advantage in arm strength enough of a reason to really threaten for the starting job.