Philadelphia Eagles Need Quarterback Guru George Whitfield Jr.

Jan 3, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback

(7) throws the ball as Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker

(55) defends in the second half during the 2014 AFC Wild Card playoff football game at Heinz Field. The Ravens won 30-17. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Roesthlisberger Test Case

While it’s virtually impossible to draw a “before” and “after” case that is concrete proof, let’s examine the career of a two time Superbowl quarterback before and after his “engineering” with Whitfield.

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As you can see in the table above, two things jump out:  After engineering, he’s more consistent.  Better still, his interceptions throw seems much more manageable, despite a significant increase in the number of passes thrown.  Would that have happened anyways?  It’s virtually impossible to confirm.  But having the word of those directly involved during and after, and seeing the statistical evidence that it was more than a “feel good” session, I’m ready to cast my vote.  San Francisco brought him into the 49ers organization as a quarterback coach intern in 2014.  But as of now, he’s back to being a free agent.

Let’s not lose sight of the big picture.   Need does not create a supply.  Mechanics that can fall into disrepair can be retrained back into sound fundamentals.   The results from the Eagles linebacker crew should confirm this innovative “jump starting” of quarterback play.  The efforts of the San Francisco 49ers show that not only will he help out a team, but he is willing to align with an NFL team to rise to the next level.