In this diary, a reader by the screen name of "VegasPhinFan" gives us a little perspective on John Beck from his days at BYU. Interesting stuff, so I decided to move it to the front page so those who missed it can read it:
I was probably more disappointed in his rookie season than most of you. He was a stud in college and in my opinion at that time, was better coming out of BYU than Steve Young was. Most people place the blame on the coaching, but I'm not sure if that was it. John just seemed to look like he did when he first started at BYU as a freshman. To tell you the truth, I yelled at him constantly during his first two years at BYU. He always overthrew his receivers and always rushed his decisionmaking. He settled down for his last two years and was an absolute stud his Senior year.
So, why does that matter? Well, I am betting that John just needed to fall on his face a couple of times (or in his case fumble) to gain some perspective and motivation. I think he's got it now, and he'll drastically improve over the next two seasons. It sounds like he's getting a lot more grooming from the coaching staff this off-season and he's working his tail off.
It's also interesting to note that Steve Young had a very similar rookie year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their offensive line was horrendous and Steve got sacked a billion times and he looked like a joke. Hopefully the comparison will hold and John will turn out just as good as Steve was once the team around him improves. (Steve will always hold the edge over John on mobility though).
Thoughts below...