http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderlic_Test
*strokes chin*

That's why you see more offensive linemen as head coaches in the NFL than quarterbacks.

That's why you see more offensive linemen as head coaches in the NFL than quarterbacks.

That, and the battering QB's take (concussions, etc.)...

i've heard this before, too. i didn't check the link Elta :blush: but iirc, they regularly score higher on those Wonderlik tests than all of the other positions...

That's why you see more offensive linemen as head coaches in the NFL than quarterbacks.

Several back-up QBs are coaches, the rest usually have enough money already that they don't want to put up the nonsense/aggravation of
coaching.

i guess it's ok to say that o-linemen are typically more cerebral than most positions. i remember a dude from Miami, Dwight Stevenson i think his name was - and dg'll remember him, too - who was regularly hailed as one of the smartest (intelligence quotient-wise that is) to have ever played in the nfl. i don't recall his scores or anything but i remember this from when i was a kid. iirc, Stevenson is in the HoF.

Oj Simpson, Maurice Clarett = halfbacks

As a defensive lineman, I can tell you that offensive linemen are so much smarter than quarterbacks. QBs can make numerous bad decisions in a game and still look good, one breakdown from any of the five of them usually causes a small massacre.

To play O-Line requires football savvy and awareness, more so than any other position.

As a former QB... I can tell you it depends on the individuals. I myself did not
care so much for how smart my linemen were, just if they were aggressive
and at least knew their blocking assignments. Some QBs are smarter than
others, some get by on just pure skill, others are just part of an effective
'system'... again, it depends on the individuals.

I wouldn't say that o-linemen are smarter than QBs, but I will say that of all the positions on the field, OL and QB are the two most demanding, mentally.

The trick with the offensive line is that there's five of them, and all of them must function flawlessly and in unison for a play to work. All five must read a defensive front, determine how to adjust to it, communicate the blocking scheme, and execute it with full faith that everyone is performing exactly as they should. In the 15 seconds or so that you get before the snap, this isn't easy, and requires some really quick thinking.

Of course, compared to what a quarterback is doing at the same time, and during the play itself....

Both are complicated positions, and people who just can't grasp the intellectual side of the position tend to suffer noticeably.

I think it's important to look at the psychological side of this and consider that the wonderlic might not seem as important to offensive linemen. Not to say that linemen aren't smart, but there's higher expectations for QBs to score high on these. I've heard so many stories about guys scoring high because they simply weren't too concerned about the result. Although it still translates well because if a guy overthinks and makes mistakes on the Wonderlic, he'll do the same against an NFL defense.