Jarrett Bell

USA TODAY Sports

Warren Moon has a suggestion about how to stunt the perceived decline in quality of play in the NFL.

It starts with football’s most important position.

“If this is going to be a quarterback-driven league, the quarterback has to be coached better,” Moon, a Hall of Fame quarterback, told USA TODAY Sports. “There’s a lot of bad quarterbacking out there.”

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Moon’s prime during the late ‘80s and ‘90s came during a golden era of quarterbacks. His counterparts included Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Steve Young and a young Brett Favre – all of whom are now fellow Hall of Famers.

It’s not that Moon doesn’t appreciate the future Hall of Fame quarterbacks playing today. Tom Brady would probably shine in any era, and the position has evolved to feature multi-dimensional stars such as Russell Wilson and Cam Newton.

But the depth at the position across the league concerns Moon, now a color analyst for the Seattle Seahawks’ radio broadcasts.

“You’ve got a few stars and a lot of teams with good quarterbacks,” Moon said, “but for most teams, once their starter goes down their season is finished.”

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Although there is so much more emphasis now on developing quarterbacks before they reach the pro level, compared to Moon’s formative years, they are largely still not ready when they reach the NFL, in part because of the proliferation of spread offenses at the high school and college levels.

The same concern applies to offensive linemen, too, Moon says.

A solution?

“The NFL needs a farm system, like it used to have with NFL Europe,” Moon said. “It gives them those reps. Think about guys like Kurt Warner, Jon Kitna and Brad Johnson, who all played overseas and benefitted from the experience.”

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.

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