There were plenty of major reasons why Jay Cutler never worked out in Chicago. To be fair not all of them were his fault. Still things just never seemed to click for him. A big part of why was he never truly paid attention to details. There was always a lack of precision to Cutler’s game. He came across as a man who, while intelligent, relied a bit too much on his natural ability. So when referencing “detail,” what does that mean? Nothing will explain it better than the Mike Glennon hard count.
Fans took delight in lambasting Mitch Trubisky during the draft when it was revealed he didn’t know what a “hard count” was. Considering high school and college offenses don’t utilize them at all, that shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s a much bigger deal that Cutler himself didn’t seem to know what it was either. That or he never bothered to try it.
For those who need a refresher, this is what a hard count is according to Sporting Charts.
“A strategy used by a quarterback in which they will use a deceptive snap count in an effort to draw the defense offsides. Typically, a good hard count will rely on using a longer count to force an overaggressive defense to rush too quickly. A hard count can benefit the offense in two distinct ways. First, a team could be called for offsides and the offense could gain five free yards. Second, a team could receive a free play and have a chance to gain significant yardage risk free.”
Mike Glennon hard count is already turning heads
Only true football fans have a clear understanding of how valuable a good hard count can be. There is no greater master of this in the league today than Aaron Rodgers. One of his favorite weekly ploys is to get defenders to jump offsides just before the snap. With free play in hand, Rodgers always will take a shot down the field. More often than not the results are explosive.
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Based on reports out of Bears training camp, it’s a method that Glennon has become quite good at as well. He’s gotten the defense a number of times with it already.
Glennon had a good hard count.
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) July 29, 2017
Mike Glennon's hard count already inducing a couple of offsides from the defense – and offense.
— Robert Zeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 31, 2017
Will the hard count be the decisive measure that makes Glennon great in Chicago? No, of course not. The point here is that he’s taking in the entire intricacies of the position he plays. Hard counts may be a small part of what makes a quarterback great, but in a league where adaptation is so prevalent having one is another thing defenses have to practice for.
It doesn’t allow pass rushers to pin their ears back and go on every obvious passing down. They know there’s always the risk of a hard count, especially in situations of five yards or less to go for a first down. The extra split second that can buy a quarterback to throw can mean the difference between a sack and a long touchdown.
Go back and watch the film on Cutler. Try to find any instance in his time with the Bears where he utilized a hard count. Odds are it doesn’t exist.
