Drew Allar is still two months away from stepping inside an NFL stadium and making his preseason debut. The work he’s done since being drafted is largely behind the scenes. All in an effort to be at his best once the cameras are on him, and Allar thinks he’s come a long way already.
“I feel a lot more comfortable physically,” Allar told reporters Tuesday after practice via the team website. “I feel like you can see that in my tape from 7-on-7 reps and even team reps that I’ve gotten. I look like I’m playing slower, which is a good thing. I’m thinking fast, but my feet are playing slow.
“I’m on time and in rhythm. I know when I’m not in rhythm just based off my feet. So I feel like I’ve really grown in that area.”
Like the Navy Seals, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” applies to quarterbacks. Allar’s footwork needed a major overhaul and is the primary area Mike McCarthy rebuilds quarterbacks, preferring not to change their throwing motion unless absolutely necessary. Early clips of Allar going through drills earned Internet mockery, but a learning curve was expected. The only thing that counts is what Allar looks like once the reps are live.
If Allar can become mechanically sound, the Steelers’ investment in him will pay off. Physically, he has all the tools. Big, strong arm, athletic, experienced in adverse conditions and on big stages. That makeup convinced Pittsburgh to draft him in the third round, the fourth quarterback taken overall.
Despite Allar’s progress, he’ll have to prove it beyond practice. Creating the muscle memory to carry practice work to game action isn’t always easy, and players have a tendency to revert to old habits when pressured. The NFL game will only get faster, and Allar must resist speeding up his footwork in an attempt to compensate. Mike McCarthy’s West Coast roots mandate the passing game be on time with the quarterback’s drop synced to the route concepts.
With most veterans away, Allar has a chance to apply what he’s learned so far during the team’s final two practices Thursday and Friday. An additional “rookie school” next week will be his final team reps until camp. Then, the training wheels start coming off, and Allar’s play will be evaluated.
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