Now that Ben is officially done, I've started watching as much video on Haskins and Rudolph that I can find. Quite a bit of it on both.
The YouTube link above is from Haskins' last season in Washington and it is surprising in both a good and a bad way. Curious what you guys see here.
Positive: The arm strength jumps off the screen even though he didn't have many throws pushing it down field. The power in his right arm is unmistakable. Different level than what we have seen in a Steelers uniform in a long, long time.
Negative: The footwork is bad, really bad. He makes a lot of throws off-balance, wrong foot, even weight falling away from the direction of his throws. Even with all these bad mechanics, the ball jumps out of his hand. He's generating all that power with just arm speed without much help from his lower body. So even with all the bad mechanics, he can generate great velocity. BUT, inconsistent body mechanics will always lead to inconsistent accuracy. He's all over the place with his lower body and relies far too much on that right arm.
I watched several highlight clips from his Ohio State days and it's more the same. He did have the time to sit deep in the pocket and throw it deep downfield with no pressure in his face, and on those he showed very good mechanics and a fluid motion.
I'm really surprised he made it this far with some of those mechanics though. Can someone straighten this out? Can it be done with Pittsburgh because it doesn't seem like anyone made a dent before he got here. I really think his accuracy would improve drastically if he threw more from a solid base. Yes, Ben did a lot of throwing from awkward positions and he made career of it but watch Brady throw from that statue base of his. That guy was painfully accurate with a good, but not great arm.
Haskins has a great arm, but can he combine it with better mechanics and study habits? Not going to hold my breath but he has rare arm talent.
