Stretching the Field: System Players
by Luke Paul Chandler
The term “system player” doesn’t carry with it the stigma it once did, writes Luke Paul Chandler.
It once was a term that carried the same amount of grief as the Scarlet Letter. Yes, at one point in the NFL, being labeled a “system player” was a scourge that could mire a player’s career. The label followed a player around like a bad tattoo that could not be hidden. The label “system player” has evolved, however, and is no longer the career killer it once was.
The term “system player” previously had been used to explain a player’s faults. It meant that a player had no chance to succeed outside of his current system. Usually a system player had flaws in his game which precipitated the label they received. System players were always a step too slow, weren’t quite adequate size for their position, or were lacking in some other physical attribute. They then were played in systems that highlighted their strengths and minimized their weaknesses. The greatest system player of all time though is long revered as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time: his name is Joe Montana. The modernization of the term was born with Montana.
Montana was a good college quarterback at Notre Dame with limited arm strength, below average size, but a solid pedigree for the mental side of the game. He fell in the draft because he was not the type of quarterback that teams sought in late 1970s. The rest became history, as San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh drafted him in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft, and the two went on to become one of the most famous and successful duos of head coach and quarterback in the history of the NFL. Out of that selection grew the exposure of the West Coast Offense, which produced several other system players.
Because of its nature, the West Coast Offense was viewed as productive by league standards near the mid-1990s, but players were consistently bashed by scouts because they couldn’t succeed in other systems. In particular, quarterbacks became viewed as gimmicky because they couldn’t push the ball down the field as well as quarterbacks who played in systems that stressed more of a vertical passing game. At this stage, the system player label became so commonly associated with a player’s flaws that no one saw a player’s strengths. The same perceptions were also forming around the Cover 2 defense, made famous by Tony Dungy and Monty Kiffin in Tampa Bay.
As college scouting departments became more advanced, and their understanding of these two systems increased, teams became better at drafting these players. Seeing the impact that could be had, in particular by defenders for the Cover 2/Tampa 2 defense, teams were no longer focusing on a player’s flaws when scouting them, but rather their strengths. Somewhere down the line, players like linebacker Derrick Brooks became the norm, rather the exception on NFL rosters. Front offices had become more adept at understanding how to make something out of a player.
The drafting of system players also started to resemble the idea that a team was solidifying its image on the field. If a team selected a pure zone-coverage defensive back late in the draft, they were going to be able to take the time to develop him for a few seasons. This replaced a system in which coaching changes led to drastic scheme changes and tweaks which would typically require roster overhauls. The front office would feel assured knowing that a few years inside the same system would help set a precedent of consistency on the field.
On the field, coaches would become more content knowing that they were getting not only the type of players they needed, but also a higher quality of system player. A precedent had been set, and a better understanding of what to look for in a player was becoming more clear. Coaches became more comfortable knowing that the were receiving their kind of player in the draft and in undrafted free agency. The only step left was for the player to start to understand the scheme. More time could be spent on the finer points of a player’s game — rather than doing a massive overhaul of it.
A great example of this is the consistency seen on the field is the Indianapolis Colts defense. Under the partnership of general manager Bill Polian and head coach Tony Dungy, the team has consistently lost players in free agency after their rookie contracts expire, but they have been just as consistently replaced by an able and ready defender. Only one linebacker under Polian and Dungy, middle linebacker Gary Brackett, has been retained past his rookie contract, yet the Colts have one of the steadiest group of linebackers — in terms of production — in the NFL.
There will still always be a small stigma attached to the system player label, but not like it once was. With very few new and innovative ideas coming forth in the past decade, teams are starting to identify their type of player quickly; and rather than putting a round peg into a square hole, they have a seamless transition. Finally they are being recognized for their true value.
Contact Luke at Luke@newerascouting.com.