The eye-popping story from the first day of Denver Broncos minicamp was Von Miller claiming Joe Flacco threw a football 80 yards. 80. Yards. Impressive? Absolutely. Necessary? Maybe.
On the MHR Radio Podcast (iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher), Ian St. Clair asked what it means. Initially, the response is, “neat,” but how will that translate to success on the field? Arm strength is one of those things that can give quarterbacks a certain advantage, but it might not be the most important trait.
The history of the NFL is littered with huge arms. Guys who could throw from their knees at the 50-yard line and split the uprights (Kyle Boller). That being said, recent Broncos history is littered with guys who might not be able to do that from the 20. Perhaps that is why there are some enlarged eyeballs when Flacco shows off his arm.
Overthrowing receivers 70 yards down field, and chucking it 80 yards while rolling to the right are impressive, but how does that make the offense better? Broncos Country has been subjected to three seasons of weak-armed quarterbacks who seemed incapable of throwing the ball downfield. Case Keenum and Trevor Siemian seemed to have a penchant for throwing the ball 3 yards when the offense needed 4. It doesn’t look like that will be an issue for Flacco.
Joe Flacco's arm strength is cool, but @AdamMalnati16 & I think it gives a possible key to the #Broncos offense. On the @MileHighReport Radio Podcast, we also dive into what allows Fangio's defense to play so fast & Chris Harris Jr. @ApplePodcasts: https://t.co/0lAoGlD3X2
— Ian St. Clair (@IanStClair) June 5, 2019
The other aspect of Flacco’s arm strength that should make fans happy? This will stretch the field. Defenses will have to game plan for more than just stacking the box, or stopping a dink and dunk offense. Courtland Sutton will benefit from a little bit of that Flacco chuck-and-pray style, and Noah Fant should find success in the middle of the field.
Flacco’s best season in the NFL was in an offense that was almost identical to the offense that Rich Scangarello will run in Denver. He has already said the terminology is identical. Flacco seems comfortable. It looks like he has the weapons around him to be successful.
So, what does throwing the ball 80 yards mean for Denver? In my opinion, something that has been lacking in Broncos Country ... Points.