"If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming," encapsulates a winning coach’s mindset.

Spoken by renowned German statesmen and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe during in the early 1800s, the quote sounds like something that Vince Lombardi would say.

After all, coaching isn’t just about the game, it is about the players on the team and how coaches inspire individuals to become the best version of themselves both on and off the field.

Many are familiar with the story of Kurt Warner, who was unceremoniously cut by the Packers during his rookie season in 2004. He bagged groceries until he decided to continue his playing career. Warner spent two years honing his craft in the Arena Football League and one year professionally in Europe until he got his shot with the St. Louis Rams in 1998.

He concluded his prolific 11-year NFL career with a Super Bowl MVP and two Most Valuable Paper of the Year awards.

If Warner is eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame, he will almost certainly thank his coaches, as he as done via social media:

Just had an awesome dinner w/ the 2 guys most responsible 4 my NFL career! Thanks Coach V & Charley Armey! pic.twitter.com/Ic1HvErARe

— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) February 11, 2014

Head coach Dick Vermeil and general manager Charley Armey did not view Warner as an Arena League quarterback, but as someone capable of running an NFL offense.

When starting quarterback Trent Green was lost for the season with a torn ACL during the preseason, Vermeil publically underscored his belief in what the unproven quarterback was capable of becoming,

“We will rally around Kurt Warner and we will play good football,” Vermeil said.

Even though it was said in August before Warner ever started in an NFL game, these were not hollow words spoken by a coach attempting to revive a season that was on life support.

The previous season, Warner was the Rams third string quarterback, but he still managed to impress Vermeil.

“I’d watched him be the service team quarterback for the whole season and I started to think either, ‘you know, this guy’s pretty good’ or ‘our defense is pretty bad’,” said Vermeil.

Even though the team would disappointingly finish with a 4-12 record in Warner’s first year, they won the Super Bowl the following season while becoming the Greatest Show on Turf.

Ultimately, Vermeil saw something in a journeyman quarterback that others had failed to see and helped Warner develop into what he was always capable of becoming.

The NFL is littered with previously overlooked players who became reclamation projects by coaches who saw potential others failed to perceive.

Did you know that a three-time Super Bowl champion and four-time MVP was cut and working a construction job during his rookie season?

Johnny Unitas is widely perceived as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play an NFL game, but he also took the long and winding road like Warner.

Prior to his career in the NFL, Norte Dame and Indiana both thought the quarterback was too small and passed on recruiting him.

The Steelers selected him in the ninth round of the 1955 NFL Draft but ultimately cut him because they believed he was not intelligent enough to run an NFL offense.

Yet one of the greatest quarterbacks made sure to thank his coaches for his success.

“I want to be honest with you…the coaches I had…they were directly responsible for my being here. I want you all to remember that. I always will,” said Unitas.

The underlying similarity between both players can be summed up by a quote from Lombardi: “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”

This quote is true of both Warner and Unitas, but more importantly, it is true of every coach who has ever inspired someone to be a better version of themselves. These coaches realize that the measure of a great team is what the coach does with the individual players they have.

#ThanksCoach

The purpose of this drill is to teach quarterbacks footwork skills for moving away from pressure in the pocket while always remaining in good throwing position. 

Drill Setup:

Align quarterback at normal shotgun depth in a proper pre-snap stance.

Directly behind the quarterback, at two yards depth and one yard away from the quarterback’s throwing shoulder, place a pop up tackling dummy.

Two yards directly behind that, place another pop up tackling dummy.

Use a coach or fellow player to simulate the shotgun snap.

Key Coaching Points:

Once the ball is snapped, the quarterback will drop back to normal depth, which should be inline with the deepest pop up dummy. Once inline with this pop up dummy, the quarterback should plant his back foot and shuffle forward toward the first pop up dummy and begin to shuffle around the pop up dummies in a figure 8 pattern.

Once the quarterback completes the shuffling figure 8 and is in his original starting position, he should plant his feet and execute a throw.

Throughout the drill, make sure the quarterback is constantly shuffling and leading with his correct foot. The front foot is always the correct foot when moving up in the pocket or in the direction the quarterback is facing. Meanwhile, the back foot is the correct foot when moving back in the pocket or moving in the direction his back is facing.

This ensures the quarterback keeps his feet under his hips at all times so he is in the proper throwing posture and always ready to throw. 

Photo courtesy of Panthers.com