Can a Quarterback Be Too Fired Up? Yes

Players and coaches often rely on the quarterback to be the emotional leader of the team.

In addition to taking every snap, the quarterback is often someone who other players look up to for inspiration and motivation.

But is it possible for a quarterback to be too fired up?

According to Joe Dailey, yes.

Dailey, who spent the 2018 season as the offensive coordinator for Liberty University — who averaged 422 yards per game — believes that a quarterback's mentality needs to be like baby bear's porridge: just right.

"A quarterback has to have a mild attitude," Dailey said. "Can't be too bored—cold, and can't be hot—which is so fired up and stir crazy. [The quarterback] needs to be mild, dialed in on what's going on, yet still confident."

As one of the country's top quarterback prospects coming out of high school, Dailey knows the position intimately. He lined up behind center at Nebraska before later transferring to North Carolina, where he played wide receiver.

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The experience at both positions gives him unique insight into how the quarterback-wide receiver dynamic needs to work so that a quarterback can maintain a “mild” demeanor and achieve success.

Much of it comes down to trust—trusting in the offensive line and running backs to block. And earning the trust of wide receivers.

"The hardest thing to do as a quarterback or wide receiver is to trust that we see the exact same thing," said Dailey, an upcoming guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast.

"If I'm a wide receiver and I'm running a go-route and the defender is beating me down the field, I can see what the QB sees. I have to trust that he sees that, and that he throws me the ball according to how the defender is playing me."

Developing that trust requires repetition and communication, and it demands that quarterbacks and receivers sync up after a mistake—not play the blame game or quietly sulk on the sidelines. This, Dailey says, is what allows for quarterbacks to make adjustments.

"You have to make some mistakes and then come back and speak about those mistakes, and say, “Hey, last time we saw this, I didn't communicate it," Dailey said.  "But we got it fixed, and now we're able to make an adjustment according to what occurred.”

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And adjustments lead to confidence--and confidence is what allows a quarterback to be completely focused without being overly fired up.

So quarterbacks can be too hot and fired up. But those that trust and communicate with their teammates can reach just the right temperature for sustained success.

Stephen Spiewak is the former senior manager of digital content at USA Football. He now works for Vivid Seats and has written about the popularity of football across the U.S.