Breaking down film of quarterback play is one of the tougher aspects of analyzing the game of football. These days, there is so much nuance to schemes and concepts in the passing game, making it hard to ascertain what the quarterback is supposed to be looking at, or in what order his progressions are supposed to be. With that said, there are still things to take away from the film of the Detroit Lions’ ongoing backup quarterback competition between Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen.
Meko Scott and I got
into the tape from the Lions’ second preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, and over on the Pride of Detroit YouTube Channel, we highlighted several plays from each quarterback:
In short, there are some things Allen is doing really well right now where Hooker is still behind.
From a pre-snap standpoint, Allen’s experience in the NFL is proving to be a big difference-maker. He appears to be more confident in what he is seeing from the defense once he gets to the line of scrimmage, resulting in him making quicker decisions once the ball is snapped. On the other hand, Hooker is having issues with progressing through his reads in a timely manner, which have, at times, ended in negative plays and turnovers.
After going through the film, it is clear that Allen is the frontrunner right now. He is consistently moving the offense when he is out there, and getting the ball where it needs to go—even if there are some accuracy issues here and there. However, training camp isn’t over, and Hooker still has time to make the decision more difficult for Lions coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes.
