We did an article on the QB Guru named Tom House a few years back here at the EYE. We asked him to rate the strongest throwing arms among NFL quarterbacks at the time— to the surprise of many, he listed Tom Brady at the top, followed by Michael Vick and Joe Flacco.
A former professional baseball pitcher, the 68-year-old House has earned a solid coaching reputation based upon rotational mechanics, especially as it applies to a quarterback’s throwing motion.
“I’m a rotational-athlete evaluator,” House once told NFL.com. “Pitching, quarterbacking, tennis, golf, hitting . . . all rotational athletes have the same timing, the same kinematic sequencing—hips, shoulders, arms and implement—and, depending on the verbiage, the same mechanics. It’s all the same, in order of importance: timing, sequencing and mechanics.”
House uses high-tech tools to capture and analyze a quarterback’s throwing motion, picking up on even the smallest deficiencies and imbalances. He places small sensors all over the athlete’s body and uses 1,000-frame-per-second cameras to create a three-dimensional rendering of their throwing motion. This allows House to pick up on minor mechanical issues that might be difficult for the human eye to detect.
RELATED: How Tom House Made Tom Brady an Even Better Quarterback
Carson Wentz is going to spend some time with Tom House this offseason. When the Eagles unexpectedly threw the rookie QB into battle on opening day of the 2016 season, the priorities of preparation changed for Wentz. Long days were spent in meeting rooms going over tape of the week’s next opponent. Actual practice time was devoted to play execution reps. Little time was left over to examine or refine physical mechanics.
Now with some down time ahead of him, Wentz has thought about seeking the guidance of an individual such as Tom House, who has worked with players like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Joe Flacco in the past.
Wentz has heard some technical criticism that he needs to refine his release point on downfield throws. There’s a bit of a hitch in his throwing motion which sometimes costs him valuable nano-seconds and mini-degrees of accuracy.
“I definitely need to reflect on a lot of things,” Wentz said the day after the Eagles’ season finale. “A year ago at this time, my life was crazy different, and then how many things have changed and what all just transpired in terms of this season. Definitely need to take some time to reflect and kind of sit back and look at all the crazy things that have happened. Taking the time to analyze and improve mechanics is just one of the things I need to look at.”
Tom House was last seen working with Robert Griffin III in Cleveland. A gradual decay in RG3’s mechanics was a major factor behind his recent struggles. “[He has] regressed in the fundamental way of throwing the football: his throwing slot, his footwork, his inability to remain consistent in that,” ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski told Colin Cowherd during a 2014 radio appearance.
Another QB who went to Tom House for mechanical help was Tim Tebow. I guess that session didn’t take, for some reason.
Here’s another factoid about Tom House I did not know until now—House was portrayed by Bill Paxton in the Disney film Million Dollar Arm.
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