How NFL quarterbacks learn dozens of new plays every single week

Quarterback Carson Palmer of the Arizona Cardinals

(Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

last updated 18 November 2015

Carson Palmer is a six-foot-five, 235-pound starting quarterback in the NFL. He's a 13-year veteran in the league. He's also "freaking out."

That's because he's in the middle of learning dozens of new plays as he prepares for his Arizona Cardinals' Nov. 1 matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Sports Illustrated's Peter King paints the hectic picture in a new story for The MMQB, which details how an NFL signal-caller like Palmer learns the litany of plays required for each game in only a matter of days. One of the plays the Cardinals are thinking of running against the Browns is called Pistol Strong Right Stack Act 6 Y Cross Divide:

"Pistol means Palmer will take the snap four yards behind center. It's a short shotgun snap. Strong tells the fullback to line up to the tight-end side of the formation. Right is the side the tight end will line up on, assuming the ball is spotted in the middle of the field or the right hash. Stack tells the two wide receivers on the play to line up in a stack to the opposite side of the formation from the tight end. Act 6 is the protection, telling the two backs which linebacker to block if the 'backers rush; the fullback will seal the tight-end side, while the running back will take the blitzer from the middle or weak side, if there is one. Y Cross Divide comprises the two routes run by the wide receivers." [The MMQB]

And that's just one of the 171 plays Palmer had to master for a single game. Plus, every single play has a list of fail-safes and permutations in place, should the defense do something unexpected — adjustments to be made at the line of scrimmage before Palmer takes the snap. And once he's memorized every single form the play could take, Palmer has to run through the list of options in the heat of the moment, when the play is called and the ball is in his hands. For a passing play like this, for example, Palmer has to know which receiver is the first option, the second, the third.

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The Cardinals use virtual reality, comprehensive strategy meetings, and a gigantic whiteboard to help their quarterback learn the week's plays — but at the end of the day, Palmer simply does a lot of studying, writing, and reviewing. So after all that work, how'd Palmer do? He completed 60 percent of his passes against the Browns, including four touchdown passes, and the Cardinals won the game 34-20. Read the whole fascinating story at The MMQB.

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