Like everyone else inside the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on Feb. 24 -- workout day for the quarterbacks at the NFL Combine -- I was floored by the natural passing abilities of Joe Flacco and Chad Henne. They had pretty spirals for every type of throw, launching them with velocity, touch, accuracy and ease.
Those two players opened my eyes, but I couldn't prevent my gaze from continually drifting back to John David Booty. He didn't wow me, but he grew on me.
Booty's arm was more than good enough, and he looked capable of every throw. But his best qualities were more subtle. His feet were better than expected, he looked comfortable with every drop. His release consistently timed up with his receivers' breaks, and his balance was remarkably good.
In quarterbacking terms, John David Booty had rhythm.
After the session, I ran into an AFC offensive coordinator. I raved about Flacco; he said he liked Henne even better, then we said goodbye. A moment later he called back, "Hey, you know who else I really liked?"
He looked around to make sure it was just us, lowered his voice and said, "Booty. But don't tell anyone."
The Minnesota Vikings liked Booty, too, and two months later when they traded up to draft him in the fifth round, their interest was no secret.
While there's no such thing as a perfect situation for a player selected with the 137th overall pick, Booty's fall to the Vikings was a fortuitous one. Their system requires quarterbacks to blend footwork, timing and accuracy in much the same way that Pete Carroll's offense does at USC.
"You want to see a quarterback time up drops with plays and get it to the right place on time,"
said Darrell Bevell, the Vikings' offensive coordinator. "You've got to see anticipation, and he's gotta let it go on time. (Booty) showed that at USC."
So at training camp in July, when Booty's mind is racing to learn the intricacies of the playbook, at least he won't have to re-teach his body at the same time.
To understand how important this is, consider the young careers of Alex Smith, the top overall pick in 2005, and Vince Young, the first quarterback selected in 2006. Both came out of college systems that took advantage of their many physical skills but didn't necessarily prepare them for what the NFL requires of its quarterbacks. At Utah and Texas, respectively, neither had to get under center regularly, take a three-, five- or seven-step drop, and deliver the ball with anticipation and accuracy.
Considering Smith and Young had to learn NFL pocket rhythm and an NFL offense at the same time, each has struggled. In 28 regular-season starts with Tennessee, Young has a 17-11 record, but has thrown 30 interceptions to only 21 touchdowns and completed only 57.1 percent of his passes. Similarly, in his 30 starts for the 49ers, Smith has thrown 31 interceptions to 19 touchdowns, with an unacceptable completion rate of 54 percent.
Unlike Smith and Young, Booty enters the league with rhythm as his No. 1 asset.
"Our offense was a lot like Minnesota's; it was all timing,"
Booty said upon returning from his first minicamp in Minnesota. "A lot of the throws I had to make at minicamp were ones I'm used to throwing."
Of equal importance were his feet, which were familiar with putting him in position to make those throws.
"We had seven-step, plant and throw. Seven-step, hitch and throw. Five, plant and throw. Three and get it out. All those little things they want done in Minnesota were the same things Sarkisian and Kiffin required from us,"
said Booty, referring to current USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and former USC quarterback coach and current Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin.
Yet in addition to physical skills, Booty's success in Minnesota also will require a virtue: patience. The starting quarterback job belongs to incumbent Tarvaris Jackson, and journeyman Gus Frerotte, who enters his 15th season, is in place should Jackson fail. Booty's spot on the depth chart -- if he beats out six-year veteran Brooks Bollinger in training camp -- will be at No. 3.
Booty thrived in a similar situation at USC, sitting behind future NFL quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Matt Cassel for three seasons. But fifth-round draft picks aren't granted a redshirt year in the NFL, and whatever contract Booty signs wont provide the security that his scholarship did.
A season of development -- and a promising future -- awaits, but only if he can answer the questions that all rookie quarterbacks face. Will a faster game increase poor decisions and decrease accuracy? Will his huddle call be as confident with "Saw right F short 2 jet flanker drive zebra basic"
as it was with "Door right 8l?"
Can he command the respect of a 30-year-old veteran the way he did from a college sophomore? And how will he play without superior talent around him, like he had for each of his 23 starts at USC?
In short, can Booty be the same quarterback this summer that he was last fall?
"I'm always that guy," Booty said. "Even if I don't know the play totally, I still feel that I can go out and make it work somehow. If I have the best day of my life or the worst day, as far as my demeanor and the way I act, it never changes."
If his rhythm doesn't change either, Booty and the Vikings have the potential to move along to a pretty good beat.
