We’ve seen the Commanders’ QB room ranked dead last by Mike Clay, and Sam Howell ranked 39th of 40 quarterbacks listed by Chris Simms – but how much stock can we really take in those rankings?
Mike Martz, one of the architects of “The Greatest Show on Turf” in St. Louis, broke down Howell’s tape as a contributor for The 33rd Team, and, well, he liked what he saw.
“You start with the skill level, which above all else starts with accuracy, and he has that; he has very strong legs that can drive the ball when he wants to, so he can be accurate on the deep ball, and he has touch, so he can make all those throws,” Martz said. “And, he’s a tough guy, very competitive and intense with a high motor. That intensity, when not bridled, got him in a little trouble in college, but in a more structured place in the NFL, he was remarkably different. I think the Commanders did a tremendous job with him.
There wasn’t a lot of NFL film to watch, granted, but some of the sloppiness and “dumb plays” Martz saw in college didn’t show up on the pro tape he saw of Howell – but the one thing he still needs to do is “learn the discipline of the game.”
“There’s enough there to say there’s something to this guy, and more than anything, he has to learn the discipline of the game,” Martz said. “The only thing I don’t know is his read and react – how quickly he can see and digest things and react without thinking about them. He has some unique things, and he’s a guy who can be off-balance and can throw balls accurately through windows – and the best thing that maybe happened to him is that Eric Bieniemy is going to be his coach, because the complexity of that passing game will absolutely change him. I wouldn’t expect it would take that long; when you take a guy who is raw and put him with Bieniemy and his ability to teach, good things can happen.”
What is it about Bieniemy’s tutelage that can help Howell succeed?
“Sam has the ability to do anything at any time in that system, so this thing will transform into different things every weekend,” Martz said. “He has to learn it so well he doesn’t have to think about it, and that doesn’t come right away, but once he has it and has the discipline to run that system, it’s a perfect match.”
That said, is there a danger putting too much stock in either a preseason showing or one game playing out the string?
“When you line up and that ball gets snapped, the intensity isn’t any different for the quarterback; the speed and competition level are still high,” Martz said, “and he just looked so different in that one year from his college days. It blew me away, that transition and the development he showed. I talked to the coaches, and the thing they’re taken by is who he is and how much respect he commands from his teammates. If they know he’s all in and will do anything he can to win, they respect that. Just watching him, you could see that, and the toughness he showed reminded me of what I saw of Kurt Warner watching him over in NFL Europe. I'm convinced he's a special competitor, and I think Howell will grow a lot this year, and has the talent to become a very special player.”
So, how is it that Howell lasted until the fifth round?
“I thought that was awful low, I thought he was maybe a late-second or third-rounder, but one thing that worked against him was some of the dumb plays he would make,” Martz said. “He didn’t do those things in that game against the Cowboys, he had a little more discipline to do the right thing. Those are the things he has to learn.”
Listen to Martz’s entire conversation about Howell with Grant & Danny above!
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