The Game Manager

In the old days, when sports debates took place at bars and dining room tables, and not behind silly tags on social media, the biggest insult that could be hurled at a quarterback was calling him a "system quarterback". From the mouths of the ignorant, a system quarterback was a signal caller who had to credit his success to the team he was on. The insinuation was that he would not have the same success, or any success at all, were he to play for another organization.

The reality is that every quarterback is a system quarterback because every quarterback plays within a system. Tom Brady was called a system quarterback under Charlie Weiss, Bill O'Brien, Josh McDaniels, and Bruce Arians. It's true that he was, and that he was great in every system. Because this logic is irrefutable, the people looking for a fight had to come up with another derogatory term for quarterbacks, and they concocted the game manager.

What Is A Game Manager?

There are two trains of thought about what a game manager is. One train is driven by language, and the other train is driven by trolls. The definition of a game manager is in the title itself. It is someone who manages the game. It's somebody who knows what throws to make when and is always aware of the clock and the situation.

The trolls driving the other train would have you believe that a game manager is someone devoid of talent. A quarterback with a below-average arm who can only complete short passes and relies on his running game and defense to carry the team yet accepts all the credit for the wins. For example, Brock Purdy of the 49ers has an elite running game and defense on his team, so trolls use the term game manager as a slur when describing him.

What Is The Opposite of A Game Manager?

Once again there are two definitions of the antonym of game manager. The trolls will tell you the opposite of a game manager is a playmaker. That is someone who is creative, has an electric arm, and can beat you with deep throws, and sometimes with his legs. Playmakers don't ride their teams to victory, they drag them there on their coattails. In every draft and free agency, trolls want playmaker quarterbacks going to their teams.

The true opposite of a game manager is a gunslinger. A gunslinger plays without tact. They throw the ball into double teams with the safety over the top because they believe you either go big or go home. More often than not, these cowboys, like the Dallas Cowboys, usually go home. They take big risks and hope for big rewards. They are fun to watch unless you are rooting for the team they are on.

Game Managers Win Games

The folks on social media who barely understand football can laugh and say game manager all they want. At the end of the day, you can't win games, and you certainly can't win Super Bowls without knowing how to manage the game. Gunslingers like Tony Romo never win the big game. There are exceptions to every rule and that would be Brett Favre.

You take a guy like Josh Allen who comes into the league throwing the ball as hard as he can on every pass, and he doesn't do anything until he learns to hit that check down or complete those passes to running backs out of the backfield. There's a reason Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and Jeff Hostetler have Super Bowl rings and Dan Marino doesn't. The Dolphins great never learned to be a game manager.

The next time a fool makes fun of your favorite team's quarterback by calling him a game manager, just smile and say, "Right? Thank goodness for that.", because what he is actually doing is making fun of your quarterback by calling him a really good player.

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