QB — Luke Falk 7.01
by Nick Van Fossen
College: Washington State
Height: 6'4
Weight: 225
40-Time: N/A
Hand: 9 1/4”
Wonderlic: N/A
Athleticism
Q.A.B. 4.00 Not overly quick but good has good agility to slide in pocket. Is balanced on most throws, can use work on stepping into throws.
Flexibility 4.25 Not overly flexible or athletic.
C.O.D. 3.75 Does not change direction well in the pocket, slides forward only.
Explosiveness/Speed 3.90 Rarely will ever run. Not good speed.
Pocket Mobility/Avoid Pressure 8.80 Tremendous at moving in the pocket and avoiding pressure. He will stand tall in the pocket.
Passing Skills
Quick Release/Mechanics 8.50 Quick, compact release that gets the ball out in a good time.
Delivery 6.75 Needs to work on lower body balance when making throw, but he throws a very catchable ball for receivers.
Short Accuracy 8.75 Throws with good touch under neath and does not shy away from the check-down.
Intermediate Accuracy 8.75 Throws good out routes to both sides of the field and shows off his touch.
Deep Accuracy 8.90 Good deep ball thrower because of accuracy, not overly strong arm but can still make all the throws.
Big Play Ability 5.00 Does not scramble outside the pocket much for big plays. He can hit his deep balls and occasionally throws on on the move.
Avoid Errors/Mistakes 5.00 Prone to throw into questionable situations.
Arm Strength 7.00 Average arm for a quarterback, but can still make all the throws.
Footwork 7.00 Needs improvement with stepping into throws.
Competitiveness
Toughness 8.00 Stands tall in pocket and is not afraid to take a hit.
Intangibles/Leadership 7.70 Was benched his senior year. When placed back in he was a good leader.
Poise in Pocket 9.00 Extremely poised in the pocket, will stand tall even with defenders arm hanging onto him.
Consistency/Motor 8.85 Plays tough and plays all 4 quarters.
Production 9.25 Extrememly productive at the college level.
Improvisational Ability 5.00 Not much, goes through and reads progessions. If no play is there to be made then he will check the ball down.
Intelligence
Instincts 7.00 Good instincts to feel pressure and slide around inside the pocket.
Blitz/Coverage Recognition 7.45 Struggles to recognize where the pressure is coming from at times.
Decision Making 7.35 Completed 70% in college. Still is prone to questionable errors
Learn/Retain 9.50 Played in the Mike Leach system and masterd the concepts
Strengths
Falk is an expereinced quaterback and has shown that he can learn a system in and out as he did with Mike Leache’s system. His biggest strength is how he stands tall in the pocket and slide forward. Falk also is not shy of taking the check-down if the designed play is not there, which forces the defense to stay honest and allows him to complete the designed plays later in the game. Falk does not have a big arm but can make the throws necessary.
Weaknesses
Falk’s biggest strength is standing tall in the pocket, this is largely because he can not escape the pocket and make any type of play. He stays in the pocket too long and will take a lot of sacks because of it. This also forces him to have to either hit the initial receiver or the check down because he does not extend the play well. At the combine his footwork was below average, his throws were average and he really did not stand out.
Big Picture
Luke Falk is a tall quarterback who was extremely productive in college. However this past season he was benched for poor play. His poor play comes from his inability to extend plays. Where Falk shines is in standing the pocket and being patient before throwing the football. This strength will turn into a weakness when he is too patient and takes the sack. I was very intrigued to see Falk throw live at the combine and see if his arm was better live. The opposite occurrred and I was underwhelmed with his footwork, arm strength and accuracy. I have concerns that Falk will not be mobile enough to slide around the NFL and will be sacked often. Falk to me projects as late day 3 quarterback for a team that is looking for an experienced player.
Originally published at medium.com.
