*Don't be a quarterback

[JuOSu]

I know this is going to be a fairly controversial opinion maybe. Everyone grows up wanting to be the quarterback. I get it, it's the most amazing position in football and by far the most important. Everyone wants to be the hero and stand out and get all the praise and all the attention.

That being said, I am here to talk a little about the quarterback position for the ISFL. Now, I know that this is a slightly different thing here and thankfully we aren't in a position where everyone wants to be quarterback to begin with. That being said, we have still seen certain players create over the years who want to be quarterback and nothing else.

So why am I hating on the quarterback, especially since my last player was notably a quarterback? 

First off, I want to describe how I got to be a quarterback in the first place. I never wanted to be one, to be honest. My first player was a linebacker and I created as a tight end the second time around. I was a tight end for a season or two when I got a call about becoming new New Orleans Second Line General Manager. I actually did not want to take the job in the beginning. I barely knew the league and I felt like I couldn't do it justice. I said I'd rather be the co-GM if that was an option. Well, turns out it wasn't and I ended up being the GM in a way that I did not foresee at the time. 

At the time, New Orleans had the legendary Bovo as the quarterback, or Borkus Maximus III. He was the quarterback for many seasons and had lead the team to glory. But who was going to replace him, as he was already regressing? Well to be honest, NOLA didn't really have a replacement yet and with many other holes, we decided to put the focus elsewhere in the draft, with the idea that I as the GM could switch to GM. As the GM you do what is best for the team and having a near max earning QB is the way to go. So there I was, kind of pushed into that position a bit.

This is one of the first reasons why I think being the quarterback is less fun than other positions. In some positions you can already play in the majors with 250 TPE, while others require a lot more. QB especially needs a lot more TPE and you really only get good a long time later. I don't like that imbalance that exists here.

As the General Manager of the team, you face a lot of pressure. You want the team to perform well and you want to find success. You also have responsibility over a lot of players and want to be able to make sure they perform well too and that they see some wins and championships. I was lucky enough that in my last season as GM, NOLA won the championship and it finally gave Stan a win there too. But in general, that is a big pressure on GMs I think, to deliever success.

Stan (my QB) had some success in his career, but overall he was just kind of... there. He was always a middling quarterback, strong enough to lead a team to the playoffs but not good enough to really win any awards. I was a game manager on a team more built around running and defense. And I was very happy in that role too. That being said, it was frustrating at times when Stan could not get anything done.

And this is going to be where the crux of my argument lies. Being a quarterback? It kinda sucks sometimes. I have been thinking a lot about the pressure that I felt as a GM, but frankly, that pressure only got ten times worse as the quarterback. You lead the team. If the offense can't score points, that's on you. If you turn the ball over and the team loses, that's on you. I felt responsible for every single loss we ever had, I felt like I let my teammates down and I felt like I was the main reason it happened. That's just the nature of the quarterback. 

Towards the end of my career with Stan, I was ready to let go and move on. I couldn't really enjoy it anymore and I am happy to start over now. Seeing sloth take over as the QB fills me with pride and happiness as I originally drafted him to NOLA in my first draft as the GM. He is a great person to lead this team in this position. But I also worry about him and his mental state. It's only been two games but I can see that same pressure he puts on himself already. I understand a lot of that is on me too, I definitely know that I deal with anxiety and such already, so maybe some other people will enjoy quarterback and thrive in it, but personally, I just think it's not the right choice for me and I think I see the same in some other people.

So this is my advice to young players or those that are recreating. When you make a choice for position, don't go for quarterback. Let someone else go through that pressure and that heartache when your team isn't performing as well as you want them to.

I will also leave an even more controversial opinion or thought here. We have talked about OL and DL bots here before. What if we had a revolutionary idea of quarterback bots. Imagine a world where no one has to deal with that pressure and everyone can just be happy and enjoy themselves.

No but seriously, I know that my own experience doesn't need to be the experience of everyone else. I will be curious to talk to sloth in a few seasons to see his opinions on it then. If any other quarterbacks have made similar experiences, i'd love to start a self help group. And if you loved being a quarterback, well good for you.

[timeconsumer]

QB was perfect for me. I was able to ignore the failures. It also helped that I made a gunslinger QB so interceptions kind of come with the territory. I had actually hoped to be #1 in career interceptions when I retired, but I didn't throw enough.

But if you can't get into that same mindset? Don't play QB.

[C9Van]

I have been thinking about going QB in the next career a lot but more so been leaning towards Running Back in DSFL and LB in ISFL or something like that.

Also heavily doubt I could get a starting position until later on when teams realise they would need me due to others regressing but then it is far too late to get Hall of Fame. Usually QBs seem to be someone with a tight connection to a team and I don't have any for or against feelings right now for any teams.

[speculadora]

[JuOSu]

LMAO

[Opera_Phantom]

Depends on how you take this game.

I'm not having a lot of problems with it because i do understand that if i have shitty games, it's not my fault personally, the sim just wanted it to be that way.

Don't take your player as the real you, because it's not.

And mine sucks because @Unicorn and @xQCFamous have no idea about GMing and take it out on Cue.

[moonlight]

Armstrong has had a very fortunate career as a QB. Never had a bad season, whether it be DSFL/NSFL, lot of awards, lot of fun. I wouldn't recommend a new player create as a QB because there just aren't many spots and there wasn't when I created either. It also takes about 600+ TPE to even be a viable NSFL starter. I got lucky, drafted to a great team with great GMs.

[SwagSloth]

I had a very similar experience myself. Andrew Reese was one of the top TPE QBs in the league toward the end of his career, but he never stood out. Even from a player standpoint, it was infuriating simply because I was busting my butt just to be mediocre. I do feel that QB is based partially on your own TPE and partially on the stats/TPE of the players around you. Good receivers can elevate a QB that looks weaker on paper and you almost need the combination of both for a QB to thrive consistently. And, of course, the pressure of being both a GM and a QB is awful. I do not recommend that for anyone. It's no coincidence that my next character was a complete meme designed to entertain myself; the burnout from playing QB took its toll and my soul needed cleansing.

This said, I do think it should remain a player position. Regardless of how infuriating and demanding the role is at times, with the right mix of hard work, planning, and luck, you can be an absolute star and the chance at the spotlight that comes with that will attract players. Not everyone will have a positive experience as a QB, but many will still try their luck. I like the approach that TC and Opera both mentioned. There are so much variables involved that are out of your control that you can't take failure to heart. If you're doing the work, you just have remind yourself that you've done everything you can and hope for the best.

[infinitempg]

QB sucks. Don't do it if you want an easy path to the HOF, or to pack stats and be a great player for your team. DO do it if you are gonna be a max earner, are fine with sucking all the time despite being a top 2 TPE player for 2 straight seasons, and are fine with being a team player and not having the spotlight.

I've been forced into being a QB twice - once out of my own will and once when I really did not want to but had to. It's draining.

[JuOSu]

@SwagSloth and @infinitempg glad to see I am not alone in this. Sorry you had similar experiences to a degree. Glad you were able to relate