Austin ‘big hands’ Davis
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Well you know…Seattle’s GM said that that was one of the reasons he drafted Wilson. Handsize.
Here’s what I have heard about the “hand size” issue–which is kind of new in terms of being a thing fans discuss (GMs apparently knew about it for a while).
One way I learned about it was listening to Gruden yap on about Manziel. Gruden kept extolling the advantages. I personally don’t like either Gruden or Manziel, but from what I can tell Gruden is right that it’s a positive attribute. It allows a guy to be more accurate than they would normally be when they don’t set up properly, like under pressure or on the move. So it gives you a little more room to be spontaneous and improvise. A firmer grip with more fingers than palm just allows more control of the ball. In that sense it can compensate some for not having a “drive the ball” level strong arm.
They say it would be MOST important in bad weather. That’s one of the reasons the Seattle GM wanted Wilson–and in fact he openly talked about that.
People who have written about this back it up with some numbers. QBs with bigger hands have a much better chance of making it and playing than ones who don’t have that. The percentages back this up, apparently.
It’s not THE ONLY THING of course and not everyone with big hands is a qb let alone a good one–you obviously need a whole package of skills. But it’s one more advantage if you have it.
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